The International Schools Review Forum

Currently earning around Aud 80k teaching in a state high school. PGCE+3 years experience. Where shall I focus on if I want to save most. .. (not teaching couple, 1 child 5 years old)

China, Saudi, and Qatar

Oil schools in out of the way locations.

The highest pay does not always mean best savings potential.

It also highly depends on what you teach. If you an elementary, humanities or English teacher trying to get a job at Kaust or Aramco (you don't have the correct passport if your speaking in AUD) then you have almost no chance. Having one child and potentially no international experience without IB/AP/A-Level experience makes it difficult. This is because if your child or you gets sick - who looks after your child?

Another thing to consider is your childs education. If your child is a daughter - it might make it difficult in a middle eastern country. The same is also true for children in asia where the majority of students are locals. For example - China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand etc where your child has a high chance of being shunned for not speaking the same language. I've seen this countless times and unfortunately it's now the local international schools which have the jobs and can often pay the most.

HINT - many schools who pay the most do so for a reason. It's either a hardship post or difficult teaching situation. Others in the forum will know more

Thanks guys.
I just did a quick search and found according to my current qualifications actually it's not so easy to get anything more than what I'm paid now if we go overseas...I have a house(mortgage) and 1 child 5 years old(so definitely need 100% tuition waive in the IS I will be teaching), and it probably will take some time for my wife to get a job locally. So economically we need something close to AUD 100k. We prefer to work overseas for several years save some money to pay off the mortgage and my daughter can have some diverse culture recognition. I teach Chinese(LOTE in Aus high school) and ESL.

sunflower1982711 wrote:
> Thanks guys.
> I just did a quick search and found according to my current qualifications
> actually it's not so easy to get anything more than what I'm paid now if we
> go overseas...I have a house(mortgage) and 1 child 5 years old(so
> definitely need 100% tuition waive in the IS I will be teaching), and it
> probably will take some time for my wife to get a job locally. So
> economically we need something close to AUD 100k. We prefer to work
> overseas for several years save some money to pay off the mortgage and my
> daughter can have some diverse culture recognition. I teach Chinese(LOTE in
> Aus high school) and ESL.

It's more useful if you tell us how much you need to SAVE per year (in USD preferably).
What you will earn is less relevant since cost of living varies hugely - while earning 80,000 USD would be really really great in Laos, the same salary in Switzerland would barely let you save anything with a trailing spouse and kid.

expect to save USD 40000/year...

Others might disagree - but I'm going to be as honest and direct as possible.

There is no chance that a family of 3 with one person working will be saving $40,000 USD a year with no international experience along with teaching Chinese/EAL.

Chinese might be an in demand language in Australia - but most of the jobs are in asia and are taught by people who live locally. It's way cheaper to hire them and the better schools look for people who have IB experience.

Over 50% of international schools probably pay less than or around 40k a year which puts your wishes into the top 0.1%. This means they attract the best and most experienced people - or they are in an oil rich location such as Nigeria which is not safe.

The Australian dollar has also been acting as a yoyo which significantly changes savings potential. I've seen my wages in the same country change by 40% more or less over a 3 year period due to currency fluctuations. Most countries pay in local currency which adds two layers of flux.

My suggestion - try and choose a solid school in the ME where you might be able to save $20,000 a year and move up from there. It will give you a chance to get IB or AP experience as well. China is often seen as a cash cow for some - but what you teach would make it difficult plus never underestimate political problems between countries.

It is possible that your aspirations are unrealistic. But it’s truly a complex question you’re asking.
One important point for starters: you seem, though I could have misread, to be discounting the ways in which overseas packages are typically worth far more than packages back home. Once tax and rent/mortgage are no longer paid by you, the usable worth of your salary skyrockets. So you could be on exactly the same salary as back home, yet be able to save masses more.
On another level, are you likely to put all that extra money into savings? Some of us do, but in my experience, the majority ratchet up their lifestyle expenses, often to the point that savings seems impossible. Assess yourself rigorously before concluding that a higher salary would automatically mean that much more in savings. Or maybe the extra nights out, champagne brunches, newer bigger car and annual holidays will be worth more to you than savings. It’s a fun life.
40,000 annual savings does seem a lot to expect with a single earner and a family to support. It would mean landing a high-paying job (against all the competition out there, and there is a lot of competition for high paying jobs) and then resisting the urge to indulge in those brunches and holidays.

sunflower1982711 wrote:
> earning Aud 80k teaching in a state high school.

That works out as about US$57k. How much is it in US$ once you take off taxes and accommodation costs ?

At a wild guess - after using an Aussie tax calculator - after tax it's about US$46000, which if you then take off $1000 per month for accommodation and extra taxes you often won't pay as an expat teacher, leaves you with about US$34000 net. Australia can also be quite an expensive country to live in.

So my guess is that you could find a job at an international school that would give you a higher disposable income. US$40,000 savings per year, however, is a big ask. Good luck !

Yeah I have to say I agree with you guys... As I said, after a quick research I don't feel it is very realistic according to my current qualifications... Currently we are saving around USD 40000/year(paying mortgage and wife works part-time). Just considering if there's anything better...

If you’re big savers (sounds like you are) and your wife works too, this goal becomes very achievable. All you need now is a decent school salary with tuition and housing paid.

There is one way you could quite easily reach USD40k annual savings. If you are willing to rent out your home whilst abroad this could cover half or more of your savings target. Dependant of course on the rental value of your home.

I've not seen that many jobs for Chinese teachers in international schools and in previous schools the teachers have been local hires rather than expats. I'm no expert on this but I'm not sure there'd be that many jobs. Are you able to also teach Chinese Literature? Obviously, places like China, Taiwan, HK and Singapore would have the most demand for Chinese teachers but I presume they would be locally-qualified teachers or spouses of expats already living there, I've only heard of teachers living locally being hired to teach Chinese, but others would know better than me. I remember seeing a few adverts for Chinese teachers but they seemed to want the ability to teach Chinese nationals as well. I'm not sure if the LOTE you mention would cover that. EAL might have more positions available and, as others have said, the usual regions to aim for if it's money and savings that you're after is China and the ME.

Perhaps someone else with more knowledge than me can give you advice on your subject area.

They can get native Chinese teachers for about 10% of your current salary, so I doubt you'll have much success.