Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

usartteacher
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Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:45 pm

Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

Post by usartteacher »

Hi,
After nearly a decade in the corporate world working as an illustrator, graphic designer and photo editor, I decided to make a career change, get certified as a teacher and become an art teacher. I'm currently finishing up the last leg of my student teaching and will be certified in the US the end of the year. I speak three languages and have worked in Europe and Asia for 6 years so have international experience under my belt. I also have some teaching experience as I got TEFL certified during college and taught in Tokyo/Italy.

I just began my job search, as I learned that Oct-Feb is the main recruitment season for International Schools. I'm in the process of registering with the DOD, Search and ISS. I plan to attend at least one fair - most likely Search's Cambridge fair. I had a few questions for those who have IS teaching experience.

1) Given my significant professional experience related to my subject area (Art), my international experience and my ESL teaching experience, are the IS schools still going to consider me as a brand new teacher or will I have some advantage over those who are first time teachers, or right out of school? Besides student teaching, I've never taught in a primary or secondary school.

2) I'm American but have lived in Western Europe and it's a region that's high on my list for IS work. I realize I need to be open and flexible but I was wondering if European schools sponsor visas for teachers who are non-EU nationals. I expect it's very rare of highly unlikely. Have any American teachers had experience with Visas for IS schools in the EU?

3) Do you think it's necessary to attend a third smaller conference (like UNI) if I go to Search's Boston fair and ISS' new york fair? I hear UNI is good for first time teachers - Will I have more luck at the UNI instead of the ISS fair?

4) I don't hear a lot about Art teachers in IS schools. In your experience, is the market more or less competitive for art teachers compared to other subject areas? How many art openings do you actually see at recruitment fairs?

5) For any art teachers on this forum, how has your experience been landing jobs and teaching in IS schools? or the DOD schools?

Thanks!
wrldtrvlr123
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Location: Japan

Re: Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

Post by wrldtrvlr123 »

My two cents FWIW. Opinions will vary.

1) Given my significant professional experience related to my subject area (Art), my international experience and my ESL teaching experience, are the IS schools still going to consider me as a brand new teacher or will I have some advantage over those who are first time teachers, or right out of school? Besides student teaching, I've never taught in a primary or secondary school.

Basically, you are a brand new teacher since you will be applying for positions where you have no experience doing that exact job. That being said, all of the other experiences/factors are a definite plus over candidates without those types of experiences and may carry weight with some schools/admin. You may have some problems applying to schools in countries where they have a minimum experience requirement for work permits/visas.

2) I'm American but have lived in Western Europe and it's a region that's high on my list for IS work. I realize I need to be open and flexible but I was wondering if European schools sponsor visas for teachers who are non-EU nationals. I expect it's very rare of highly unlikely. Have any American teachers had experience with Visas for IS schools in the EU?

It's easier to get into WE with an EU passport but it's far from rare. Some posters are teaching in WE/have taught there recently and may post there experiences.

3) Do you think it's necessary to attend a third smaller conference (like UNI) if I go to Search's Boston fair and ISS' new york fair? I hear UNI is good for first time teachers - Will I have more luck at the UNI instead of the ISS fair?

No experience with any fair besides Search, which I would recommend. Again, you may have a problem with Search as they generally want certification + 2 years experience. Then again, they like money so they may make an exception given the other factors previously mentioned.

4) I don't hear a lot about Art teachers in IS schools. In your experience, is the market more or less competitive for art teachers compared to other subject areas? How many art openings do you actually see at recruitment fairs?

I would generally say it's more competitive. There are fewer qualified candidates but there are also much fewer jobs than with many others positions. In some/many schools there will be only one Art teacher or at most, one per division (Upper/ Lower). You would be better off if you were open to teaching/able to teach another subject or even general elementary.

5) For any art teachers on this forum, how has your experience been landing jobs and teaching in IS schools? or the DOD schools?

I'm a SPED teacher who has taught in int'l schools and now with DoDEA. Niche positions are always going to be harder to get into and will require a bit of patience and/or luck.
usartteacher
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:45 pm

Re: Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

Post by usartteacher »

Thank you for your responses - very helpful in setting expectations.
PsyGuy
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Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

You can apply for DODEA but regardless the affirming period is in the spring and you wont be considered for the next recruitment cycle (not in art anyway) until 2018 for positions in the fall.

1) You are an intern class It which is a noob. You might be able to negotiate a step or two on the salary scale for your professional experience but your ESOL experience and expat experience isnt worth anything in IE.
ISs care about your ability to transfer knowledge and skills, your personal ability means very little. There are lots of really bright professionals who cant teach themselves out of a box. If you worked for Disney or Pixer than thats different and theres some marketability there.

2) Yes there are ISs that sponsor and will support a visa for the WE, but there are also a lot of lower tier ISs that will require an EU passport or working papers.

3) ISS and SA are overkill, and your not likely to be happy with the experience from ISS. The NY fair isnt worth anything its a dump fair. BOS is the fair for you but if WE is really your priority you would be better off going to the LON fair and the COIS fair. You lack the requisite 2 years experience but you can register as an intern with SA which gets you to the BOS fair and the jobs database.

UNI is fine if your going for lower tier ISs in Asia or the LCSA, its after the peak recruiting season though and its brutally cold and bleak in Iowa that time of year. You will have likely more offers, but they arent likely to be offers you will want.

4) Most fields move in cycles, but art isnt in high need. Its much better though in DE where you could be waiting a decade for a DE art vacancy to open. Art ITs/DTs tend to stay put.

5) Teaching art varies a great deal, in some IS you will have a full studio, kiln, etc. In some art ISs you may be teaching art ona cart and the cart has paper and colored pencils. there are four types of art programs: 1) 2D programs that are essentially drawing and painting. 2) Craft programs that are things like making paper, etc. 3) 3D programs mostly ceramics, but you do find some silica bronze and other mediums. 4) DT or Design technology programs.

For DOEA you will never find a CONUS single subject Art vacancy.
usartteacher
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Re: Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

Post by usartteacher »

Thanks @PsyGuy -
Since I'm new to the IS world- what does CONUS and LCSA stand for?
What does an intern class mean? When I was registering for Search, I saw "Intern" and thought it was someone who wasn't certified to teach.

To the general form - How has your experience been with AASSA? I'm also interested in South American posts
PsyGuy
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Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@usartteacher

CONUS = Continental United States, DODEA term for OSH (Over Seas Hire).
LCSA = Latin, Central and South America

An Intern Class IT is a candidate that is fully credentialed (certified) but lacks the two years post credentialing experience in a K12/KS DS/IS (Domestic School/International School).

AASSA is equivalent to UNI, except its very early in the recruiting cycle. The plan is for them to recruit you before you participate in other REs (fairs) and know how marketable you are.
ad82
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Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2017 1:21 pm

Re: Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

Post by ad82 »

US art teacher that’s taught abroad and in the US for several years here. I can only speak from my experience so I don’t know how universal and/or applicable this is to your situation, but here are my two cents on your questions –

1.) I think the schools will still consider you a brand new teacher and treat you as such. I will say the schools that I’ve worked at abroad were interested in my professional experience in the art world and valued that I was a working artist/freelancer in addition to being a teacher. I would maybe even go as far as saying it’s expected, but that’s only from my experience. If you're able to connect your professional experience to your teaching/classroom practice, I would say it could be an advantage over someone fresh out of school, but more of a "this person is interesting..." thing. You still lack of two years teaching experience that many schools consider a minimum requirement and you're competing against those who have been doing this overseas for a long time. Teaching experience (particularly overseas teaching experience) is more valuable than anything else in this field I've found.

2.) I don’t have any personal experience with this, but from what I understand it’s very difficult for an American to get a job in a WE international school. The school would sponsor your visa if they brought you on, but given your level of experience I wouldn’t count on landing a job there. I’m sure it’s within the realm of possibilities, but not enough to pin your hopes on. Certainly keep your eyes open.

3.) I’ve only used Search, and the only time I attended one of their fairs was back on I was first starting out on international circuit back in 2010. I was able to land my other positions via Skype before the fairs. I was able to walk out of the fair with two job offers, and that was with just three years teaching experience in the US under my belt. From where I stand I think one fair is fine, but I’m sure more seasoned international school teachers will be able to give you a better answer.

4.) What’s nice about being an art teacher overseas is that every school (well I can’t say every, but all the schools I’ve come across) requires an art teacher – most of time several depending on the size of the school. It’s not like the States where you have in many places one art teacher that has to float between buildings or schools with no art teacher at all. There’s a decent market for us abroad. It’s also competitive, but I would say not as much as in the States, although there’s a shortage of qualified art teachers where I’m teaching in the US right now. The last fair I went to had maybe 10 openings and I only met one other art teacher there. If you want a job, you can find one. It most likely won’t be where you were planning on going, but generally you have to cut your teeth at one of the lesser schools is less than desirable locations to get your international/IB experience and move up from there.

5.) I've never had a problem landing something at an international school when I was overseas. It's a pretty straightforward process. Make sure you have a portfolio website with examples of student work, your own work, etc. Most heads won't look at it unless they're really serious about you, and the fact that you have one will put you a bit a head of the pack. I enjoyed my time overseas, but coming from an American art education perspective be prepared for a bit of a shock. Teaching styles and approaches are VERY different in international curriculums, such as IB, than what happens in the States. It took me a couple of years to get fully used to and good at teaching at those schools. Be prepared for a hefty learning curve. It's totally worth it, though. Students are fantastic for the most part, school admin shows interest in what you do and desire a strong arts program (unlike the States where they see you as a non-tested subject therefore you don't matter). It's also a great experience for you as an artist as well being around different visual stimuli, cultures, travel, etc. If you get the opportunity definitely take advantage of it. It's a good life.

I hope that helps you out a bit. As I said before this is all based on my experience which is a small piece of the pie. I'm sure the more seasoned international teachers on here will have a lot to add. If you have any more art teacher related questions feel free to shoot me a PM or whatever system they have on here.
PsyGuy
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Discussion

Post by PsyGuy »

ITs in art tend to get a lot more respect and value than they do in DE, however there are still ISs that just see the arts as a necessary expense. Even in IB the arts is an option, students can choose to take a second course from another subject area and forgo the arts completely, they cant do that in any other subject area. Art in an IB DIP program is closer to what you would find in a Uni art dept. than in what you see in most DSs.
While there are ISs with really amazing dedicated studios there are also art ITs that do art on a cart.

In IE there are three components to an ITs resume what you can teach (degrees, credentials, etc) and what you have taught (experiences, scores) and special skills of the three experience reigns supreme.

Art is one of those fields that really benefits from having a portfolio. Youre problem is that recruiters value student work more than personal pieces, and you dont really have any unless you can get some from doing your field work.
usartteacher
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Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:45 pm

Re: Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

Post by usartteacher »

@ad82
Super helpful and encouraging. I'm really concerned about being able to land a decent IS job.
If all else fails, I'll know by feb/March if I have a job, and can start looking domestically if nothing comes through internationally. Have you had any luck reaching out to schools proactively (not waiting for a job opening)?

@psyguy, thank you too for your feedback.
ad82
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Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2017 1:21 pm

Re: Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

Post by ad82 »

@usartteacher
I personally haven't reached out to schools without them posting a job I was qualified for so I can't tell you from experience if it's worth your time or not. I don't see how it could hurt, though. Sorry I couldn't give you a better answer. Let me know if I can answer anything else for you.
shadowjack
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Re: Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

Post by shadowjack »

usartteacher

just to let you know that some art jobs have already closed on Search. Sooner is always better when it comes to registering. Being done your registration by the end of August gives you notice of those early job postings that close tout
suite!
usartteacher
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Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:45 pm

Re: Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

Post by usartteacher »

Just registered for Search and starting the application processes. It's amazing how involved and different each school application is. I thought that since the process of registering with Search was so involved, it would be fairly simple to start applying.
PsyGuy
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Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@usartteacher

Cold applications are generally a waste of time.

Thats how it use to be premium agencies gave you a lot of convenience in application efforts. Recently, thee has been a substantial increase in the growth of ISs requiring and using their own management application systems.
vandsmith
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Re: Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

Post by vandsmith »

usartteacher wrote:
> Just registered for Search and starting the application processes. It's
> amazing how involved and different each school application is. I thought
> that since the process of registering with Search was so involved, it would
> be fairly simple to start applying.



we thought that too when we started with search...oh how convenient, everything is here - our parent references, admin, leadership, degrees and certs, etc... but then some schools essentially have you do it all over again through schrole or even their own internal system...i remember i think it was SAS (singapore) that had their own gigantic application process. redonkulous.

good luck!

v.
GLOBAL_TEACHER
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Re: Art teacher/ career changer starting the IS job search

Post by GLOBAL_TEACHER »

You need actual teaching experience to stand any chance at all. My advice is to get into a third tier school and do 3-4 years of MYP or DP Vis Arts teaching, and then you can try getting into good schools. I have taught Vis Arts for 15 years and still cannot always get what I want.
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