The International Schools Review Forum

Hi everyone- I'm new to the forum and I'm seeking advice on how realistic it is that my husband will be able to secure an international school job for the upcoming school year. It is far more complex and competitive than we had imagined and I realize we are late to the game. Our situation is as follows:

My husband is a Canadian middle school English/Language Arts teacher with 18 years experience in the public school system. He will complete his Master's in Literacy Ed this spring. I am a speech-language pathologist with 10 years experience working in schools. We are looking for a job for him primarily, as I am hoping to secure private clients and/or work online via telepractice with a Canadian company, although I'd be open to working in schools. I have health issues so can only work part-time. Neither of us have any IT experience. We have no children but do have a dog and a cat that we would take with us. We want to move somewhere with decent weather, as we are quite tired of the cold winters. We are pretty open to moving anywhere expect a city too huge and/or polluted (or cold!).

My husband joined Search and Tieonline and has heard nothing back from any of the schools he applied to, which really isn't that many since there aren't that many positions left for which he is qualified. He just joined a month ago.

I'm not sure if lack of overseas experience, age (he's 43), or having a non-teaching spouse is the problem- I'm guessing it is a combination of all 3. Or maybe we are just too late to the game? How do most people get their start?

We're starting to feel hopeless. Should we just try for next year? Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

To be fully truthful, your husband is teaching in an area where there is too many teachers trying to get positions.

Ironically - you are the one which is probably most in demand.

I've got a friend that used to do some work for one of my previous international schools who was a Speech pathologist such as yourself. In the end - she ended up being asked to work at the school full time with all of the benefits that comes with it (apartment paid for, kids schooling paid for etc).

My suggestion is to email your husbands associate and see if you can be added onto Search Associates.

You would not be applying for teaching positions but specialist positions. One potential major advantage is that some schools look for people such as yourself and will fill positions such as your husbands for a teaching couple position.

It is a bit late in the game, but I also agree with Sciteach's advice. Even if you tell schools that you would only be willing to work part-time, your specialism could be the draw card that gives your husband a slight edge given that English/Language Arts is not an "in demand" subject.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I took your advice and did inquire about 1 of the 2 SLP on Search. I know my specialty is in demand but unfortunately, I'm trying to work less, not more. But you're right, it may be a card we need to play.

Any other advice is welcome. Thanks again.

i agree with the others, pick a city and see if they have any special needs consultancy programs in the city that go into schools. he could easily get into schools as well but he's also in a saturated field. maybe he could look into literacy specialist or admin?

it really depends on where you're willing to go. i know the middle east is not an option for a lot of people right now, but there are certainly many schools looking. same goes for southeast asia.

good luck!

v.

Thanks for your reply. We have decided to explore ME options. One school in particular teaches the curriculum from our province in Canada and is hiring so we have a much better chance to get a position there. The school is in Abu Dhabi, which looks appealing although I am concerned about the heat. Maybe I'd get used to it? I'll update when we hear back.

Thanks for the info!

There are also quite a few 'Canadian International' schools in China including in HK that you might want to check out. ME or Egypt are good options. Good luck.

Abu Dhabi is dry heat. When we lived in Egypt we didn't turn the aircon on until it got past 35 degrees, because there is zero humidity. That said, I doubt if the school you are refering to would hire a speech pathologist. The only school I can think of using that curriculum that might hire for that position would be in Macao. Even then, I doubt it. After that, you are looking at other province curriculums in schools in Hong Kong and Singapore. If you want him to take the lead and he's struggling because he's in a non-demand subject, then do what over_here said and look at other Canadian schools (there are many). None of the 'offshore' schools are tier 1, but that doesn't mean they aren't decent places to work and the money can be surprisingly good at some of them.

http://www.cicic.ca/982/Perform-an-adva ... da?search=

Chances are good. Married couple, no dependents. You can work from home so they don't need to worry about you. Don't mention the illness!