It really depends on what you teach, location and year level.

If it's Yr 11/12 - then having experience is important as you would have already taught the curriculum a couple of times. You would also have data to show your students results from previous years.

This does not mean that you are not employable - just that a top tier candidate WITH experience would probably be placed above a top tier candidate WITHOUT experience.

Why are schools not advertising if vaccination is required or not?

Well - governments keep on changing the rules and it's difficult to advertise when you don't know what August will intail.....

From what I have experienced, the checking of resumes is eligibility and gets you an interview. The interview is your suitability. I've often seen schools employ less skilled staff (experience) because they were more suitable for the position.

Hi All,

Earlier today I had a former student try and friend me on facebook (I know - I'm a boomer) and it got me thinking - what is your countries or schools policy (or lack thereof) between communication of current and former students?

For me - it's a big red flag and I felt guilty replying that I can't friend students due to child safety requirements for teachers. Just to reiterate - I feel guilty just replying (it seems like a grey area) not that I won't accept the friend request.

You are employable - but there are basically two things holding you back.

(1) What you teach (there is more competition in this subject than others)
(2) Your amount of experience and your ability to get good references

As you are at the start of your teaching journey - you need to ask yourself what you are willing to compromise in. For example - if the laws allow you to travel to China or the ME (your teaching experience may not be enough to get a visa) then this will probably be your biggest option. You might get lucky and score an amazing school in asia or Europe - but set your net far and wide. Stuff often comes up at the last minute as the world game of teacher musical chairs begins again.....

Quiet is actually a book that I think that many people who think that everything needs to be collaborative.

Another good one is Brainstorm: The Power & Purpose of the Teenage Brain by Daniel Siegel if you teach middle or high school.

Is your associate based in the United States?

If yes - then I've heard many complaints about many of the US based associates who don't really do much.

What do you teach?

For my area of expertise (Science/Chem/Math) there has been more than the last couple of years - but I've also heard that this year has been a difficult one for some areas due to the influx of teachers from China, reduced numbers at many international schools along with the rigidity of government mandates related to Covid (thus more people than normal wanting to move).

Congrats on getting a job in Singapore.

Do note that Singapore is a strange beast when it comes to prices. It's reasonably easy to live local (aka - cheap) and it's also extremely easy to live extravagantly.

Unless you want to live in one of the posh areas - 4,000 SGD should get you a reasonably place within walking distance of the MRT (this is important in Singapore!). If you are happy to visit parks and spend weekends by the pool - then life can be quite cheap. Tasty food can be purchased cheaply at Coffee Shops (think clean semi-open food courts) and the basics of what westerners like to eat don't cost an arm and a leg.

Do note that alcohol is prohibitively expensive in Singapore - even in the supermarket! Doing things like visiting Musuems and such are quite expensive for expats and it adds up quickly. Visiting Pulau Ubin is also a great day trip if your kids are old enough to ride bikes.

Once the world starts to get back to normal - remember that you can catch a short Ferry to Indonesia or easily catch a bus across to Malaysia. Malacca is a great weekend away - just never make the mistake of taking the bus on a long weekend - 10 hours to drive 3 hours of normal driving! Yuck! Batam and Bintan both have cheap shopping and cheap fancy hotels where you can also get nice and cheap spa treatments.

I also found it odd - but look carefully at credit cards in Singapore if you are careful with paying them off. If you pay everything on them - some give great cash back rates - like close to $1000 a year (I don't get how it works but it does!)

On a positive - as you are only working for the first 6 months you will pay very little in tax for the first and last year.

I guess my main problem was:

(1) I see a school from China/HK and my eyes gloss over them due to border restrictions
(2) Total numbers are significantly lower than pre-covid (normally around ~150 in BKK) and many of the better asian schools have already hired for many of the more difficult to employ positions if they were aware of movement.

I guess that I've got the opposite of rose tinted glasses. I do not see SA as being anywhere near over - but see job fairs (in it's current form) as close to defunct.

After experiencing the uselessness of one of the earlier Search Associates job fairs late last year - I decided to look at the list of schools which are attending for the 2022/23 school year. To be honest - it's starting to look like some free website's online fair which includes schools most of us have never heard of or are surprised are still on Search's books.

https://www.searchassociates.com/Job-Fairs/Default.aspx

How long do we think Search will attempt to continue Job Fairs if this is what's being attracted????

HINT - it's best not to mention specific schools here as this is the open forum....

Singapore was great before covid - but note that it is not a democracy like we are used to in the west. This was more shown in Covid than normal.

For example - it's still illegal (in Singapore) to gather in groups of 3 or more people due to covid restrictions unless you live in the same household.

Singapore is more open to outside travel than HK - which it's still more arduous than other countries but much better than HK which sees opening up to China as more important than opening up to the world.

Singapore has a very low tax rate - which you pay from memory around March from the previous calendar year.

You can work out your tax rate here. Note that if you have multiple kids this will significantly increase you tax burden each year.

https://www.iras.gov.sg/quick-links/calculators

For a single - I used to get around $9K SNG a month before tax with benefits included in this amount. I also got Health Insurance and one flight a year home included. This would be considered a mid-tier pay in general.

Note that the education sector in Singapore is much more financially cutthroat than other international cities. Think of public buses with International School advertisements as an example. This trickles down to how a school runs - where appearance AND finances are concerned.

In Singapore - accommodation can be broken down into 2 different types. Condos (privately owned accom often with nice amenities) and HBD. Although it's technically illegal for us to rent HBD - they are nice enough in general and are much cheaper than condos. Expect rent in a nice condo to cost $1800-$2500 SGD a month and probably $2,500-$4000 a month for a 2-3 bedroom condo.

Living in certain areas (such as Sentosa Island) can add another zero to those numbers.

My knowledge of HK is a bit weaker than Singapore - but note that life is fine for people who get involved in NO POLITICS but HK is moving away from the original one country two systems. I'd not live in HK at the moment and would not live in Singapore during covid (specifically with stronger restrictions). However - they are only my opinions which everyone normally has 1 of.

It really depends on what level and specialization you are discussing.

There seems to be a large need (at least pre-covid) for special needs teachers and they are often considered to be one of the harder positions to find. The main problem is that these positions tend to be an "everything under the sun position" and it's quite rare to specialize.

There are a few specialist schools that cater to international students - but I'm guessing it would only be one in the major international hubs (think Singapore, HK, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul etc). Most positions seem to be more generalist and it can be a hard slog. For example - students who find it difficult to grasp a second language compared to their peers may be placed into "special needs". I've also seen local students in a couple of schools in asia who don't fit into their national schooling go to international schools.

I've also seen very rich Chinese parents send students who may have social/emotional problems under the Chinese system be moved to international schools in HK and Singapore and then come under the wing of 'student services'. Note that some of these schools make tremendous profits through providing these services.

So is there a strong demand for a person who only specializes in autism? No. But there is a great demand for people with multiple skills in this general area. Just do your research carefully. Some student services departments work with students who would not make it into the mainstream 'student services' or special needs due to being on the lower end of needing help (think of students who used to be diagnosed as asphergers) while other schools are much more complex

To be honest - you only have 2 years experience which puts you at the bare minimum needed for most countries when it comes to visas.

I may have missed the boat - but masters degrees or bachelors degrees which include an IB component don't really help you get a job compared to their normal components.

A certificate for IB does not get you a job - but gives you the basic knowledge to be able to teach when you start at an IB school. That's why IB experience is so important - it's knowing how it works which helps you land that job.

In my experience - it's only schools which are truly counting pennies who see you as having finished an IB certificate that saves them $500. Most schools are happy to pay that money to get the right teacher.

If you are willing to stay in China (or even Hong Kong if things continue to degrade) - you may have a fantastic opportunity soon to just up to a strong school in China. That's mainly due to the exodus of qualified staff in China along with the new tax laws which I'm sure you are aware of.

These two problems seem to have also affected other jobs in Asia. In general, there are less jobs available in asia than before the pandemic. This is specifically true to schools with a true international school demographic. Many experienced teachers are also leaving China and are looking to live in countries where they might be able to visit home some time before 2023 which has made jobs in Asia a hot market.

As mentioned, you have 2 years experience in China and it seems as though you are focusing on PYP. This puts you in a subject which is over saturated and many of the better schools often use a PYP position to land that teaching couple with one that is in a hard to find subject. Think HL Maths/Physics and a PYP spouse.

Thailand seems to have stabilized covid wise but some people have had a sour taste of the governments response so there may be a larger churn rate than normal. The big problem is that Thailand is still a really popular destination and the number of highly desirable schools is somewhere in the number of fingers and toes a normal person has.

Vietnams response to covid was interesting. At first life was meant to be fantastic compared with the rest of the world - then they had (from what I've heard) one of the most draconian lockdowns in Asia. There might be a bigger exodus from there - but the number of jobs available is still very much up in the air. Let's just say that my knowledge on Vietnam on the ground less less than Thailand and others will know more.

If I were you - I'd hope for the best but come in with realistic expectations. Some schools will see you as having no experience until you are fully certified. You did not mention if you actually had a teaching degree - which will also make a big difference.

Some of the bigger schools can also be very judgemental. For example - your EAL and International kindergarten experience will be looked on as a liability.

My last sum up is not to be disheartened by anything I've said - as I'm good at finding weaknesses and pitfalls. Others will be better at painting a postive way forward than I.....

Since the post I started has been kind of dead - I should say what's happened to me.

In the 2019/20 school year (prior to covid), I decided to go back home for a couple of years after living in mainly asia for around a decade at the end of the school year.

When I went home (an English speaking country), lockdowns were in place which basically stopped schools being open and there was little or no need for replacement teachers. Thankfully the government gave some money for living expenses to people who were affected by the lockdown.

I tried working a public school in a rural area and hated it - I thought I wanted a tree change. I've learnt that in my home country - getting jobs happens much later than internationally. For example - I was also offered an ongoing position in my nations capital the day after I accepted that job.

Fast forward a couple of months with replacement teaching - I applied for 2 jobs through an agency who specialized in private schools. I was offered an interview with both, with the first one which is an IB school interviewing me first. I accepted this position - and a few months later they offered me an ongoing position.

My current position is not a dream position but in the long term - it's better for me financially. The facilities make the better international schools look like second rate schools but some of the parents make god look poor. It is however nice to have 2 week breaks between terms with a slightly shorter summer vacation.

It will also make me rethink ever taking a job at one of the Third Tier low wage schools - when I can save in a month what they pay in a month if I'm frugal in my home country.....

At the moment - it seems as though there has been plenty of comments about problems with getting visas, getting flights and being able to do stuff in different countries all over the world.

Has anyone had much luck with moving home and been happy with the choice - specifically looking on the job front?