Have to agree with everyone else... The good news is you are on it early. The bad news is that with your experience you are much more likely to get an offer in SEA later in the game. There are some dodgier places though... There are a lot of schools in Hong Kong. Don't discount it. Same as Singapore. Yes they are more desirable but HK has 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier schools. Let's be honest they have some 4th tier as well.

As for China... have you heard of Dalian, Tianjin, Chong Qing, Xian... they all have schools. Most don't pay all that bad either.

Don't give up hope and for the love of GOD if the school doesn't feel 'right' don't go there. There are horror stories about the middle east and teachers being trapped. Research before you take anything.

Best of luck.
G

Been to ASIJ and have to say... that the campus is nice. Might be the nicest campus in Japan but is it nicer than AISBudapest? ASDubai? ASWarsaw? ISBeijing? WAB? ASDoha? I don't think so.

My thoughts on your list.

AS Paris has about the worst (top tier) facility in Europe. They hired Ulfers to try and improve it but the people they rent from would love to take the land back over. He has an uphill battle.

IS Berne is a nice little school.

IS Brussels was on my list as well so I must like it. Brussels is a great city to live in.

AS Milan is an ok school but it is a horrible part of Milan and as far as Italian cities go Milan ain't the best (IMO). Singles especially have a tough time making it on the salary there and have to tutor to make ends meet. Couple I know who have worked there have also left because of financial concerns.

Stockholm is a great city but pays a pittance. A member of ABBA used to be on the school board. Reason enough to go.

AS London - Great school. Good pay for London. They extract their pound of flesh for it though. They work you there. Even with the good pay I know people who went into debt living and working there.

ASIJ - Will you have a job next year at ASIJ? Hard to know. They are hurting. I was looking at going there at one point but I hear morale is in the toilet and there is no guarantee of there not being more layoffs next year.

Whammo!

I want to speak about the world traveler list of schools and ASIJ.

First ASIJ... yes for Tokyo it has a lovely campus but there are a lot better in the world. Second it is having big financial problems. The package was lowered by 10% for new hires this past year. Second they have told 10 staff members that there is no contract for them next year. Be wary of ASIJ although I don't think they'll be hiring this year at all.

The list...

If it is just package then ASIJ makes it... if not... they don't...

Here is my top 7 list in no particular order.

ISBeijing
ISBangkok
Shanghai American
Singapore UWC
ISBrussels
New Delhi
ASLondon

Runners up: Frankfurt and Prague.

I have worked at a couple of these schools and have friends working at the rest. Some you can make good money while others have a solid curriculum rep.

As far as Hong Kong vs Tokyo. It all depends on what you want. I lived in HK. It's a great city. It is warmer. It is closer and cheaper for travel in Asia. It is crowded and polluted. Tokyo is crowded. It's people are more genteel. There is more to see in Japan. As far as savings... I think you would come out just about equal if you were offered a similar package.

Woot Woot!

Glerk
PS - heard a rumour that TIS might be on the brink of going under. This is unsubstantiated though. All of Japan is having tough times. The gov't isn't giving companies tax breaks and they are pulling out and the Tsunami. Double whammy.

The best word to describe this school is 'intense'. You will work hard for every pence they pay you. A good school but not for everyone. This especially true in the ES.

Good luck.

Yew Chung... avoid like the plague...

ISB is more academic
WAB more 'touchy feely'
BISS is not really an option as it has the same fees as the above but the facilities don't match

Both British options are new campuses and if you want the UK curriculum are great options.

ASIJ - may be having financial problems. They have lowered the pay scale by over 10% for incoming teachers. Not a happy place at the moment. ASIJ is also not an IB school.

ISBeijing has a slightly better package then WAB.

JIS has a great package but you have to live in Jakarta.

ISBangkok has a better package then NIST but is in the suburbs compared to downtown.

ISManila has a great overall package.

HKIS should not make your list... best packages in HK are ESF, CHineseIS and German Swiss.

ISKL means staying in Malaysia for a tax year.... if you leave for more then 7 days your first year you get dinged with a big tax bill.

Pros and Cons everywhere.

Interviewing with a school in Japan several years ago...

I was a single guy...

After 45 minutes of intense questions the guy gets up to get a drink while I'm in the middle of an answer. I finish and as he walks back he says, "Do you like Asian women?" I have no idea what to say so I umm and ahh for a second and then say "I find them attractive." He practically yells out, "then you're gonna love Japan!"

He then tells me that although married he wished he had had the opportunity to dabble.

I never worked in Japan.

Is it possible that this person wrote this message in another language and put it through a online translator? No idea!

From the sound of this thread the majority of teachers are working at international schools. Think for a second about everyone you work with. I'm not really in agreement with the good senator (although those types exist but I have know a lot more of the middle of the road in my years) but there are different types of people who work at every school.

The "lifers"
The "Two and outs"
The "why did I leave my beautiful homes?"
The "I hate I it here but am scared to leave"
The "Might break contract"
The "My family is comfortable so we stay"

And on and on...

The truth is that the right school for you might not be the right one for me. As the one I am in now is not good for the 20 people who are leaving this year. These reviews just give a glimpse into what one person thought about a school at a particular moment. If this site could get 10 reviews each year from each school that would make it a lot more relevant. It can't so look at this as a piece of a puzzle. If there is overwhelming negativity and you are not sure about a school then ask them about what you have read. That is better then spending two years in Timbuktu educating goats. There are really bad schools out there and that is the reason I like this site.



"Jakarta IS, or Vienna IS, or Southbank in London or the American School in London, or Anglo-American in Moscow" IStraveller IMO these are not top-tier schools... maybe JIS and ASL (have heard they have things together) but the other 3 no way and because Jakarta is a cesspool and London is uberexpensive I am not so sure about them as places to live... there is another thread for this but you should wonder about Caracas, Graded in Brazil, Bangkok, Brussels, Frankfurt, The Hague, Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan, Singapore and Muscat... missing a bunch... I have worked at a few of these schools and I can tell you some people loved them and others hated them.

The best thing about living in a few different countries is you eventually know someone who has worked at most IS schools and can get first hand info.

The American school in HK is a small school but HKIS is bigger and you may have better luck there and a better package.

Singapore is a huge school... one of the biggest international schools. I would be surprised if they had openings this late... all these big schools hire extensively in February.

This being said put your resumes in for sure as you never know as things change quickly at these big schools. There are also a number of smaller schools that you may want to look into that may still be looking for the upcoming school year.

Both cities are great to live in. Positives are easy travel and great food. Negatives for Singapore are the heat and it is like Truman show Asia. Hong Kong is pollution.

Good luck

I worked in Beijing a couple of years back and had several friends at that school. Some liked it but most did "two and out". Compared to the other schools in the city it is considered one of the lower tier schools at least facility wise. It is also owner operated.

It is a smaller school and the staff was younger and always out having fun. It is close to downtown and the package is ok for Beijing although there is better out there. If this is your first time overseas you may really enjoy it... at least you'll get some IB experience.