What kinds of jobs should I be on the lookout for?

[boatofcar]

A little bio first:

I'm a certified music teacher in the US; this is my 10th year teaching in public schools. About 10 years ago (after my 4th year of teaching in the states I taught ESL (through EPIK) for two years--I didn't know about international schools at that time.

I'm thinking about going back abroad to teach through an international school. I'd love to return to Korea, but I'm open to anywhere in Asia. I've read good things about Search Associates--is that who you would recommend? I'm looking to match or exceed my current salary (~40kUSD.) I'm married to a Thai citizen with a US green card.

Any ideas on where the best place to start is?

[Thames Pirate]

I would start with Search. The other option is ISS, but Search is broader. Get your stuff filled out, your CV updated, your references lined up, etc.

The peak season for the coming school year has passed, but starting now means you COULD theoretically get something for the coming fall, but more importantly, you are ready to go before the summer break so that you can hit the ground running in the fall. The big benefits of agencies are access to the database and access to the recruiting fairs.

If you look at the Search page, you will see the job fairs they have. The biggest fairs are Bangkok (runs back to back with the ISS BKK fair) and London (runs back to back with the CIS LON fair). However, those are highly competitive fairs, typically for candidates with loads of international and curriculum (IB, etc.) experience. You would be the small fish in a big pond. However, there are a number of other fairs, some of them very Asia-centric, that could work well for you. Your associate would be able to advise you a bit better.

You do have a few things in your favor--potentially the wife's passport, being in music (potential to offer extracurricular lessons, etc. either as an ASP or private instruction for some extra cash) as opposed to the saturated English or elementary markets, and having some other experience. While your international experience is dated and your ESL is not super-useful, it's better than nothing and does demonstrate some versatility. Do you have dependents? Will your wife be able to work?

I would start by getting your ducks in a row, especially with an agency (again, I recommend SA). You can also go the solo route and try just finding and applying to schools or try the other placement and/or vacancy listing sites that are cheaper or free. This might not be a bad way to get a feel of what is out there before paying for the agencies, too.

Know that it is a process and takes time, patience, and a thick skin. Keep those things in mind, aim high, and cast wide. You'll find something that fits you well.

[boatofcar]

Thanks, Thames Pirate! This is definitely something I'm looking at pursuing for the 2017-2018 school year at the earliest. I want to start doing research early though, just to make sure I can find the best job in the best location I can. Is there a place (is it this site for members?) which catalogs the mean salary per country (per tier, I guess?) of international schools?

Thanks for confirming my assumption about SA. I guess as long as I'm paying my fee they would be willing to talk with me about things in general even though I'm not looking to start for a few years, right?

[Thames Pirate]

Well, some associates are more helpful than others, but yes, they should be willing to help you out. Spring is a great time to get signed up and squared away on Search for the 2017-2018 school year--gives you time to get your documents in a row, and you can start researching over the summer. This will help you decide which fair will best suit your needs.

The databases often have salaries, savings expectations, and the like, so you can compare across schools in a region. However, you should know that these are self-reported, so take the listed salaries for the schools with a grain of salt. This site, various forums, published salary tables, and word of mouth can help you establish how accurate that is. Keep in mind cost of living and such that can be a huge factor. Tiers are more informal--while there is some general agreement on what the absolute top schools are, the lines are fuzzy. Salaries should be considered as part of the overall package. $28,000 and a full housing package in India can get you a LOT further than $45,000 in an expensive Japanese city, for example. What about healthcare? So your research should include all of that information.

[rake]

The more important number than salary will be savings potential. Search Associates will generally list how much teachers can save per year along with the salary range. As mentioned before, you also want to consider the value of the total package; if you make 40K per year in the U.S. but have to pay rent/a mortgage and some variety of federal and state taxes, then your 33K tax-free salary with provided housing means you will end up netting more money with a lower salary. While savings potential is self-reported by schools, it should give you a rough idea of how much money you will be able to save per year after living expenses and with some allowances for travel. Your financial mileage will vary depending on your spouse's work plans, your salary, and your family's spending habits, but the number provided on Search will typically give you a more useful estimate of net income than the salary figure alone.

Thames Pirate also forgot about the Search fair in Cambridge, MA. It's the third (and last chronologically) large Search fair, and is more focused on experienced teachers who are looking for their first international position, though experienced international teachers will be there as well. New teachers looking for intern positions will also be in attendance. If you activate your Search account earlier rather than later, this will likely be the fair your associate steers you towards.

[shadowjack]

One other thing - will your spouse qualify for citizenship if you are removed from the US? You might want to get that sorted first. Second thing - does your spouse have a marketable skill? Nursing? A degree of some sort from Thailand that she could use to springboard to a job?

In the long run that will also make a difference to your international career and ability to move around - especially once you add kids into the mix.

shad

[boatofcar]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Shad, my wife has a Business degree from a Thai university, and she had a pretty good job before we moved back to the states. She's working as a waitress now, though, just because she makes more doing that than any entry-level position around where we're living (she made $700 less than I did last year according to her W2.) Good point about citizenship--right now we've read the US is not offering dual-citizenship, and she wants to keep her Thai citizenship in case we move back to Thailand and want to buy land. We don't plan on having kids, so that's not an issue for us.

The biggest decision is just deciding to take the plunge. We have a house (though I'm sure we'd make money if we sold it) and both of us have jobs we currently enjoy. It's just a question of whether we could be earning/saving more teaching abroad, and "getting more" out of life.

The biggest factor in the way for me is that I'm working towards paying off my student loans via the public works forgiveness program. Basically, if I make 10 years of on-time payments while working for a public institution, the rest of my loans would be forgiven.

[PsyGuy]

SA is fine for your resume, just understand that SA is not an executive recruiting agency, they arent head hunters, and they dont find you a job or an appointment. SA associates can be hit or miss some help more than others and some just take your money and ignore you. In general candidates get a nominal amount of assistance, but they arent ignored. If you were a valuable IT ISS would be far more helpful, but your not at that level.

The school profiles with the premium agencies are all self reported, some of them havent been updated in years, and many of them exaggerate their data. The salaries give you two points for salary, they dont publish their entire scale, and if you ask any of them they will all say they are first tier ISs. It doesnt really matter what the points are or what the ranges are what matters is what they will offer you.

By joining SA you get access to their jobs database and fairs. Normally I advise IT candidates this late in the season to use cheaper resources and agencies such as TIE and TES, etc. Generally premium agencies are useful when you have a very broad vacancy search, they are less useful when your very focused on a particular region or only elite tier ISs.

Fairs arent going to be of much help to you, even if you went to BKK your only going to find a handful of Music vacancies and those vacancies grow smaller as the recruiting time line progresses.
When you start job searching using the less expensive jobs databases. You can find out how many ISs offer to interview you at a fair, and you can plan accordingly if you have enough advance interviews lined up.
The rule is you go to the best fair you can get an invite too and these are in order: BKK, LON, BOS (these are the super fairs because their are two fairs by different organization back to back) after that its mostly regional swap fairs or dump fairs. You would likely find yourself more confident at the BOS fair, but there will be fewer upper tier ISs and fewer vacancies. At the BKK fair you will find yourself much less competitive as its closer to master class ITs with lots of cross curriculum experience and IE experience.

In IE music has definite specializations usually choral and instrumental. You need to be comfortable producing at least one recital and working with the theater department on music for their productions.

$40K is going to be hard to find as I assume thats net after taxes, etc. Your probably looking at a floater (a really high third tier IS) or a second tier IS, and many IB ISs are in the second tier and you have no IB experience. What you are likely to find is closer to $30K (high $20s) with an OSH package that might get to to $40K.

Your spouses passport isnt going to help you much and since shes only got a residence card, shes effectively a Tie Citizen, that could create problems for you and an IS in securing her a visa.

Everyone does ASPs, though your ina field where you could highly supplement your income by offering private lessons. You could potentially make more than your IS pays you.

Your prior ESOL teaching has no value in IE. ESOL is generally regarded as poison in IE and its a decade old.

From what Im hearing in your posts your really looking to move into an upper tier IS with all the perks and benefits of an OSH at that level. Your likely to be disappointed at this stage in IE. Your looking at 4-5 years down the path before your going to be in an IS that your going to be happy with.

Only DoDDS schools would allow you to take advantage of the public service 10 year forgiveness plan.

[Thames Pirate]

Actually, the rule is go to the fair that has the most openings you want. If you want Europe, you go to LON, not BKK. If you want something specific, go to that fair. But otherwise, yes, those are the best fairs.

And I disagree about 4-5 years before getting the good schools. Aim high each time, and you'd be surprised at what you find.

[dantespal]

Your information about dual citizenship is wrong. The US does not have any issue with dual citizenship. I have citizenship in Ireland and the US, and i have many friends with dual citizenship. My children have citizenship (and passports) from 3 countries, none of which has an issue with them holding multiple citizenships. This will be increasingly common as barriers to travel continue to decrease while information about formerly exotic destinations becomes commonplace.

A quick trip Google would have given you the citizenship information directly from the State Department and multiple other sources. The law has not changed in the 20+ years since I acquired my second citizenship.

[PsyGuy]

@Thames Pirate

No, actually the rule is you go to the most competitive fair you can get an invite for. We disagree.

@dantespal

While I agree that the US has no issue with dual citizens, most of that accuracy is in citizenship conferred at birth. My interpretation of the LWs post was that it wasnt practical for the spouse to obtain dual citizenship by marriage.

[Walter]

"No, actually the rule is you go to the most competitive fair you can get an invite for. We disagree."

So you say you should go to the SEARCH Fair in Bangkok when you want a job in Europe because the BKK Fair is the most competitive? Duh! If you're lucky there will be ten European schools at the Bangkok Fair, whereas virtually all that are recruiting will attend the London Fair.

[PsyGuy]

@Walter

More fear mongering. No, there will be more than 10 EU ISs, because they want the best candidates and thats the fair with the best candidates, those top tier EU ISs will likely already have filled any vacancies they have at BKK.

[shadowjack]

The citizenship problem with the OP is that she is Thai and Thailand does not allow dual citizenship. Once a Thai, always a Thai I guess.

[Thames Pirate]

@PsyGuy

But on the other thread you said they don't fill their vacancies at the fair anyway . . . .

Sorry, but no. BKK had maybe 15 EU schools while LON had about 50. We got hired at a Tier 1 school that had been at BKK before. Even the elite schools still had numerous openings at LON. Besides, not everyone wants to work at an elite school. But of course, you have once again shown your elitist colors.

Sometimes you are just plain wrong.