Career Strategy and Planning - International Schools

[Carl]

Hello all,

I'm a new teacher and am going to graduate with my teaching qualification in July this year. I will be qualified to teach 7-12 Visual Arts, Visual Design, Ceramics and Photography. I'm single with no dependants.

What would be the best career strategy focused on eventually attaining a top tier international job?

From reading the forum, I gather there is a consensus that new teachers are preferred to have local experience before going international and that top schools want teachers to have IB experience. I've also read that schools don't want to see on your resume that you have changed jobs every year and that you are non-committal.

Therefore would the most efficient strategy be;

2 years local experience, then;

3 years at an international tier 2/3 non-IB school, then;

3 years at an international tier 2 IB school, then;

a shot at the tier 1 (and elite/premier) IB schools?

Is 8 years total experience sufficient to be considered for the tier 1 jobs?

Is it possible to be a candidate with less than 8 years experience?

I'm looking for the most direct route to access the better/more desired schools in the IT jobs market.

One of the problems of even attaining the 2 years full-time local experience initially is that full-time positions, or full-time contracts in many of our home countries such as Australia (where I'm from), Canada, New Zealand, Ireland are in short supply and hard to get. I'm considering to go to the U.K. to get an initial 2 years full-time teaching experience as there seems to be many more full-time jobs available there than here in AUS.

Can any experienced teachers chime in on their thoughts and advice?

Cheers

[shadowjack]

UK would be a good and challenging place to get your first two years experience, plus get QTS :-)

As to international, keep in mind that tiers are relative and opinionated. What is a tier 1 school in one country might be a mid-tier 2 school in another country - or city in the same country! My advice would be as you go overseas, try to get to an IB school and get training. That opens up more doors for you.

As to getting into a "tier 1", that all depends on which school, what openings, who you know, what your references are like, etc. There are GREAT teachers who never get a sniff at a tier 1 for whatever reason - and other great teachers who have no interest in working at a tier 1, for whatever reason.

But your plan, on the surface, looks like a good starting point.

HINT - to make yourself more employable, if you marry, marry a teacher, preferably a physics/chemistry teacher with IB experience! LOL

Shad

[Carl]

Thanks for the reply Shadowjack,

I guess asking about "tiers" can be problematic when there is no established consensus on which schools are which tiers. This is especially true when different people affix different "lifestyle" value to different locations i.e. Europe (seen as desirable), Middle East (seen as challenging).

Being more specific on where I'm targeting, I would say I would be talking about top Asian schools in places such as Jakarta, Bangkok, HK, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea etc.

Targeting IB schools from the get go is good advice, thanks. When I go international I will try to get the IB experience and training ASAP.

It looks like it is difficult to predict an employment outcome 5-10 years down the track. As manufacturing an outcome is subject to many different variables.

Haha yeah, In a perfect world I would be married to a physics/chemistry/maths teacher but yeah, that would be even harder to predict/plan.

Cheers

C

[shadowjack]

It is difficult to predict employment outcomes every year you decide to move on from a school! Once you give notice you are in effect rendering yourself unemployed: unless, of course, you have an agreement with your school that they will wait on your job search (which usually isn't going to happen, because schools want to hire the best candidates for the job, meaning waiting for you lessens the chance of that happening).

At every fair, the candidates lounge on the last day is a horrible place to be as teachers who did not land positions are trying to lock in something - while others crack under the stress. I have known teachers I consider very strong to go to fairs and return with nothing, which shocked me. What I learned, though, was always have a plan B just in case. Another fair to go to, other schools you have contacted not at the fair you attended, something that gives you opportunities to look forward to.

Just my two cents.

shad

[Carl]

Thanks shadowjack,

I will be excited to go to an international job fair once I feel I have a shot of landing a job. Yeah, having a plan B sounds like the best approach.

Cheers

[sciteach]

Career planning is always an interesting one. As you are starting you career, the best suggestion I can make is to try and get two years solid experience at 1 local school if possible.

Your also in an interesting subject as there are not that many art teachers out there, but there are also not that many jobs out there either.

Do note that job fairs can be useful but for subjects such as yours it really depends on the year. For example, one year I could get interviews but no school was that interested in me - but a job fair the following year I was getting interviews from schools which were not even considering me in the previous year. It just depends on how many jobs there are that year for that particular subject.

Getting some IB experience is key here - specifically for DP or Grade 11/12. AP is also another option but I don't know that American system that well.

It's also common for teachers to do their penance for 2/3 years and then have a crack at what is considered a really good school. Do note that I strongly believe that it's more about trying to find the right school for you than going for a Tier 1 school - but that's just my opinion.

Good luck

[Overhere]

Don't shortchange yourself, people get hired all the time with varying levels of experience. There is no set plan that is followed by all international teachers. Sure you can set yourself up to be more attractive but there is no reason why you shouldn't aim for the best while at the same time preparing for another experience, though not the worst!

[PsyGuy]

8 years is slightly longer than needed. The typical pathway is 6 years based on the rule that you can move up one tier or over to a more desirable region every contract term, which is typically 2 years each. A significant number of ITs take longer and a few take a shorter period of time. Most ITs are already IN a tier one school by their 8th year.

2 years of domestic experience is the standard bar to entry into IT. Premium agencies wont take you as an IT (SA will take you as an intern), but there are plenty of bottom third tier schools that will take you without experience, however that experience is unlikely to help you. The reference is unlilly to be respected (attesting to little more than you can put up with an aversive work environment) and it wont likely give you any real experience with any particular curriculum (bottom tier ISs tend towards a curriculum of whatever the ITs want to teach, as an Art teacher in such an IS you will pretty much be given a room and a cart and left to do what you want). ISs are not typically staffed or resources to provide the mentoring relationship and resources for an inexperienced teacher. Tuition paying parents are not paying for some noob to make their bones. The bottom tier schools can do this because they dont provide mentoring or resources (its sink or swim) and the parents just assume anyone who is white and has a degree is qualified.

There is no reason or bar to getting IB experience as soon as possible. You dont have to be at a non-IB IS to get into an IB IS and it doesnt help you either. ISs want IB experience, and IE experience doesnt open that door. Most ITs get IB experience at a lower tier IS or domestically. Finding an IB school domestically can and usually is a lot easier than finding one in IE.
IB ISs fill the gap between third tier schools and 1st tier schools. Many of the top tier/elite ISs are NC (National Curriculum) schools either British or American and while they can offer DIP the majority of the schools curriculum is based on the NC. IB ISs give you an appointment while marketing yourself to top tier schools.

A typical IT contract is 2 years not 3. Historically contract have been two years because at the time there were real issues and shortages in educators, and long contracts were not marketable. ISs would like the longest investment time in an IT as possible. It reduces their costs both in an OSH compensation package and in institutional resources, efficiency and effectiveness. Admins want you to stay 3 years selling the idea that a longer time in an IS will show "commitment" which is just not true. 3 years shows no more commitment than 2 years, what matters is fulfilling your contract obligation.

The most direct route is a domestic school thats part of a family of NC schools (such as Nord Angelica in the British system) or a prestigious domestic school. Absent that a domestic IB school gets you into IB sooner.

As you have identified you could be waiting years to get a full time Art position if ever. Applying for domestic schools in the UK still makes you an IT, just without the typical OSH package. You really need to be applying to every art position you can including ISs, with the goal of building your teaching experience somewhere.

You will be eligible for QTS in England upon successful completion of your licensing requirements in AUS, there is no reason to complete induction in the UK to earn QTS.

Tiers are subjective that doesnt mean they arent real. As a profession we generally agree on the top and bottom tier ISs, it is the middle and the margins the profession disagrees with, while what experience at a certain tier should be is also an issue of dissent. There is a significant amount of consensus and agreement on the tier status of top schools. JIS (regardless of the current situation) is still the tier one/elite IS in Indonesia for example.
Tier status is only valid within a region, it does not cross borders. You cant compare a tier 1 school in Germany to a tier 1 school in China, it recognizes that there are different factors, variables, and expectations in those regions, it doesnt invalidate the meaning of tier status to the ISs in their respective regions.

Not all advance notices of vacating an appointment are binding nor are they always intractable.

I do agree that the teacher lounge can be a very depressing day on the last day. The "best" candidates are already done and enjoying their mini holiday or they left early, and the atmosphere stinks of desperation and sorrow.
You need to explore all options and avenues in a vacancy search, and any exhaustive vacancy search in a specific region will require a lot of manual searching using local resources.

I would advise pursuing experience and training with Design Technology as many Art positions are dual cert positions with Design Technology that Studio art by itself is not sufficient. You dont need a certification or credits in it but experience and being able to discuss it intelligently will increase your marketability.

There is really nothing to study for AP in Art, its a 3 section portfolio assessment compared to a conventional examination. There is a training workshop but aside from the syllabus students submit a digital portfolio for evaluation to the AP board. Most students that pursue this as an AP course do very well.

Marrying a math science teacher would be strong advice but even better would be marrying an administrator. They can then appoint you to a position, even if not part of the hiring package and contract.

[Smurf]

Carl wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I'm a new teacher and am going to graduate with my teaching qualification
> in July this year. I will be qualified to teach 7-12 Visual Arts, Visual
> Design, Ceramics and Photography. I'm single with no dependants.
>
> What would be the best career strategy focused on eventually attaining a
> top tier international job?
>
> From reading the forum, I gather there is a consensus that new teachers are
> preferred to have local experience before going international and that top
> schools want teachers to have IB experience. I've also read that schools
> don't want to see on your resume that you have changed jobs every year and
> that you are non-committal.
>
> Therefore would the most efficient strategy be;
>
> 2 years local experience, then;
>
> 3 years at an international tier 2/3 non-IB school, then;
>
> 3 years at an international tier 2 IB school, then;
>
> a shot at the tier 1 (and elite/premier) IB schools?
>
> Is 8 years total experience sufficient to be considered for the tier 1
> jobs?
>
> Is it possible to be a candidate with less than 8 years experience?
>
> I'm looking for the most direct route to access the better/more desired
> schools in the IT jobs market.
>
> One of the problems of even attaining the 2 years full-time local
> experience initially is that full-time positions, or full-time contracts in
> many of our home countries such as Australia (where I'm from), Canada, New
> Zealand, Ireland are in short supply and hard to get. I'm considering to go
> to the U.K. to get an initial 2 years full-time teaching experience as
> there seems to be many more full-time jobs available there than here in
> AUS.
>
> Can any experienced teachers chime in on their thoughts and advice?
>
> Cheers

I think any new teachers career path should begin with focusing on making yourself the best possible teacher you can be - the first couple of years are formative of what kind of teacher you will be throughout your career. Wherever you end up taking your first post, throw yourself into it and focus on developing yourself and your skill set to make yourself an exceptional candidate. If you go into the post thinking of the position as only a stepping stone, you might not be applying as an exceptional candidate a few years down the line.

If you end up in the UK, I'd advise looking at high performing state schools in challenging areas of London. Be prepared to work very long days and have to tick a lot of government boxes. Having worked at one school, the quality of learning and teaching was exceptional - in my opinion, way better than the elite tier school I'm now at in my 6th year. The other benefit of these schools is that there are always opportunities to take on additional responsibilities/promotions that help make you an exceptional candidate.

A close friend without IB experience has just been offered a DP english position at a very desirable elite tier school after 3 years of teaching in such a school. This is despite there supposedly being a glut of English teachers and not as many jobs.

Don't sell yourself short, focus on being an exceptional teacher that offers lots (inside and outside the classroom) then the rest will fall into place.

Best of luck!!

[Carl]

> Sciteach; 2 solid years experience in one school is good advice, thanks. Yeah with Art it looks like it can be variable depending on the year, and that there is an element of luck involved depending on how many openings are available.

> Psyguy; It's interesting to note that a lot of the top tier use NC, this is something to consider when I'm targeting specific schools later on. It seems like there is a consensus on aiming for IB experience ASAP and domestically if possible initially. I'll prioritise this in my job search. Your note on DT experience is useful, I will also consider this as a factor in my job search and strategy. The curriculum for AP art is interesting, other people I've spoken to have talked about AP experience being important for a lot of the ISs.

>Smurf; Thanks for the advice about London, this could very well be the route that I take in my initial few years of teaching.

Thanks for the responses everyone. Your ideas have helped clarify priorities with my career strategy/plan moving forward.