Joe30 wrote:

"The thing is though, aside from a few schools (i.e. I can count them on one hand) you don't get the financial compensation for putting up with these hardships."

I was merely responding to your consternation at not getting financial compensation for living in Africa. I too was initially surprised to learn that there are many die-hard Africa lovers out there. (I still have not met anyone who would love to travel in Saudi or Kuwait).

@joe30

You really are not getting the simple message. SOME PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE IN AFRICA. International School of Kenya has no trouble getting qualified teachers, and Nairobi is one of the most dangerous posts out there. How do they pull that off? Well, SOME PEOPLE LIKE AFRICA. I am not living in a third world country now, but I actually miss a lot of the third world benefits.

@Joe30

You don't seem to understand that some people actually like places in Africa and want to live there. How many people do you need to hear that from? Believe it or not we don't all have the same criteria.

PsyGuy wrote:
> Youd have a better chance of having the conversation with grand kids by NOT
> going to some conflict, impoverished region of Africa.
> The only part of Africa worth going too and living is South Africa (Cape
> Town/JBurg) and you can make your safari adventure story on the weekends
> and holiday.

Seriously? Out of all the countries being discussed in this thread South Africa is one of the more dangerous posts. I have lived in African countries for the last 7 years and would not trade that to breath polluted Asian air that is guaranteed to lower my life expectancy. Stop being scared, we live in the safest time in human history. It is easy to look at statistics etc and see that for an IT life in many African countries is not that dangerous. Many people move overseas to have an adventure. If your priority is being as safe as possible you should probably stick to being a bureaucrat in some first world country.

I have written a few good reviews (for my last two schools), but I have not found reading reviews to be particularly helpful when looking for a job. Reviews are all out of date because things change very quickly at international schools.

If the new administration were to get into a trade war then some of the good jobs in China would disappear. Globalization is definitely slowing down, and if less companies are moving people overseas then we will have less international students. There may still be a lot of growth in local students attending international schools, but I know I like to work in schools with an international population. These schools tend to be the best places to work.

I used to go to the beach all the time when I lived in Dubai. Now I live right on the Mediterranean and I spend way less time at the beach because it is too cold for me to enjoy swimming for much of the year. In the Emirates you get 6-7 months of excellent beach weather. During the hottest months you will be on summer vacation or busy settling into or out of a school year anyway. Beaches in Oman are just amazing.

I've used turbo tax with success. It is probably more trouble than actually filling out the paperwork though.

Wait isn't that almost a ten percent increase? Seems like a significant increase but it could just mean more schools are using Tie online this year.

I don't know what is normal for JIS, but I didn't se all that many openings this year. The chances of this happening again are pretty slim, and generally IT's are not adverse to risk, so I doubt JIS will have any trouble finding tons of applicants. There are plenty of more dangerous countries out there.

I was in a similar situation. I spent a year teaching in China and then came back to the USA to get a credential. I was easily able to get a CA State credential in one year with classes starting in July and ending in June. I also was allowed to teach part time and use that paid work as my student teaching.

Psy guy recommends the CA State credential, but I would be wary because they have a required 2 years of teaching in CA in order to clear the credential. This can be a huge problem for people, and for me the only way to finally clear it was to get National Board Certification.

The air in Shanghai and Beijing can be so shockingly bad that someone who hasn't experienced it cannot even imagine it. People will try to downplay it, but I have never seen anything remotely close to that level of air pollution in the USA or any other first world country.

If you are going to fret when the air is bad then don't go Beijing, Guangzhou, Xian, or Shanghai. Some people are really bothered (psychologically) when the air is incredibly polluted and you cant spend time outdoors, but I didn't worry about it and I loved my time in Beijing. Now that I have kids I have steered clear of highly polluted air though.

There is tons to do in Dubai. Live music, art, theatre, concerts, Dubai Jazz festival, water sports, sports clubs, off roading in the desert etc. There are also tons of expats so it is a good place for younger teachers who very social.

Each GEMS school has a different culture and I am not familiar with the one mentioned. Try to get in touch with someone at the school since things change rapidly.

My wife and I did a few interviews this year where we talked as a couple, and then individually, and then as a couple again at the end. One thing that helped me a lot in a skype interview is having a friend in the room listening. For me anyway a real human presence helps me focus and get into the zone.

@fine dude

The poster wasn't asking about one of the 4 elite schools you have experienced. They were asking about general trends. At least in the American system there are schools where the director has some room as to where they place the teacher on the salary scale. This is my experience and that of my colleagues. You can also look at the link someone posted above and others mention the same thing.