It wasn’t until my seventh year of teaching that I realised that moving abroad and teaching internationally was a very real option. A member of my department did it, and so I quickly followed her on hearing about how great it was. I loved being in education in the UK, but I did find that I was exhausted and I was starting to lose my love for my subject. I didn’t do much research for my first job, I moved to a country where friends were so I suppose I really didn’t need to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are the benefits for me?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Where to find jobs:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I have found jobs using TES <\/a>and Search Associates,<\/a> I fully recommend both of them. Job openings begin to appear towards the end of October, which is obviously much earlier than the UK. If you’re registered with Search, you’ll be able to attend one of their fairs. Schrole<\/a> is also another option which is increasing in popularity as well as The International Educator<\/a> (TIE) – which is also the home to some great blog posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TES hosts a lot more British-based jobs whilst Search seems to be more international. Whilst both will do their best to ensure that the schools advertising are good, there will be some rotten eggs that fall through the cracks, so you should do a little research on the school before accepting a job offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of the best schools will require a minimum number of years of experience to take a teaching role. Some may also hire you as a trainee and help put you through an iPGCE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schools have unofficial ‘Tiers’, which are on the whole almost completely made up, with a heavy weighting on the package that the school offers. The type of teacher you are will determine which one you might want to aim for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Selecting a school<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You are moving your life for a two (maybe three) year contract and so, you want to make sure that the school is as best a fit for you as possible. The first thing I would say is that you need to make sure the school is accredited, popular ones include CIS, WASC, NEASC; you should find this on their website. I will warn you, accreditation does not stop the school operating poorly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ll often hear that there is a significant difference between for-profit and not-for-profit schools, whilst this is a handy rule-of-thumb, it isn’t always the case. In fact, my best and worst experiences both occurred at not-for-profit schools. There are some excellent for-profit schools that exist, such as many of the well-known British satellite schools of Dulwich or Harrow. On the whole, aside from the exceptions, I might personally avoid most, not all, for-profit schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all schools are great. The quality of a school as a workplace is largely determined by the board and the leadership team. Some schools have the badge of a non-profit, but operate in a corporate business manner and care little about the quality of the educational provision. These same places might proclaim high standards and talk a good game, but you’ll find on arrival that this is just lofty rhetoric and these standards are in the bathroom of the Titanic; which is why you should research the school. Teaching loads also differ quite a lot by school, British schools seemingly being on the higher side, especially British for-profit schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Researching schools:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is becoming more common to use LinkedIn<\/a> to get information about schools (and get jobs!). I personally haven’t done this, but freely give information on my experience of previous schools. A school is taking references from your previous employers, you might want to do similar. Their previous employees are likely to give you a more candid response than those still in employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go to LinkedIn<\/a>, find the school using the search function. Their page may or may not allow you to select people, sometimes you’ll to select the “About<\/strong>‘ tab and scroll down to ‘Company size<\/strong>‘ to then select the ‘associated members<\/strong>‘ (these are their current employees).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, select ‘All Filters’ and scroll to ‘Past company’<\/strong>, select the school in this section and unselect it in the ‘Current company’ section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Et voil\u00e0, you have a list of past employees. Send them a nice message saying you’re thinking of working for the school and wondered if they would mind providing you with some information about their experience there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two places that I subscribe to when looking for a job. I wouldn’t accept a job at a school without checking both of these. They are International Schools Review<\/a> (ISR) and International Schools Community<\/a>, both are anonymous review and information sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n International Schools Community<\/a> has some good information snippets from people that have previously or currently work at a school, there are reviews and basic questions about schools are answered here. You can also compare schools that you’re interested in, as well as read the blogs which are posted. You may even find it useful for finding a job as there are a small number of jobs posted on here too. IS Community often reaches out via LinkedIn to see if you’d like to become a ‘Mayor’ for your school too. It’s a very low time investment, keeping your school up-to-date, and you get the premium subscription for free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ISR<\/a> is an interesting one. If people do have a bad (or hopefully good) experience of a school, ISR is usually the place it gets written about. It would be nice if people wrote more positive reviews on there. You’ll notice that this is where people often go when they are angry and so you’ll need to read reviews critically. I know, and have worked with some amazing leaders (usually strong women) who have had savage things written about them which reads as nothing more than character assassination; try to read between the lines of what is written. If several different<\/strong> people have written similar things, it’s probably a school to avoid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, don’t believe everything that is written on it; I was introduced to ISR during my first post and was petrified after reading about the school on there. I spoke to the head of secondary anyway and he couldn’t have been more supportive and helpful, he was the furthest thing away from what was written about the school. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you do have a terrible time at a school, know that time usually tells the truth about a place\/people and word spreads. I tend to lean towards speaking the truth openly and letting karma do its thing; I have many friends that fear this approach. If you really want to write something this is the advice I’ve given to other people:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You also might find that a quick search on Facebook will uncover various groups, many of them can be very helpful. Some that you could find informative are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many more, I’m sure. You’ll also find that there are lots which will help you with a change in curriculum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cost of living:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thing you might want to consider with the schools you\u2019re looking at is the cost of living. The links below might help you with some of that decision making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What to bring:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now this depends where in the world you’re headed. Some places are more family-friendly than others, some are much harder as a single female, some may not be ideal for same-sex couples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Schools will assist you with any required paperwork, banking, mobile number, etc. and many will cover your flights; by arranging, reimbursing or giving you a cash allowance for it. Your package will most definitely have medical insurance and most places will provide housing or a living allowance of some kind. If your school isn’t helping with all of this stuff, that’s a major red red<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t assume that your everyday basics are easy to get ahold of. Your school should put you in touch with some kind of social contact who you’ll be able to ask questions to; if they don’t, ask them to!<\/p>\n\n\n\n There used to be countries that were more of a ‘hardship’ than others. These were places where, amongst other things, it was difficult to get products from home and the things we might consider everyday essentials. This has gotten much much better over recent years and you’ll find that lots of places are stocking products which are aimed at expats. When I arrived in Manila (2017) it was almost impossible to live a vegan lifestyle, today it’s far easier. Getting things delivered from the UK and US could also be quite difficult, ask your social contact about these things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I like a specific deodorant which has not been available in the countries I’ve worked. I usually buy lots from Boots when I’m in the UK. Tampons are not as easily available in many places in SE Asia; if these are your preference, you might want to bring enough for a short while until you find somewhere which stocks them reliably. If you take regular medication, I’d advise checking that it’s something covered by your medical, and also something available in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re moving to SE Asia and you need larger sizes in clothing or shoes, you might find purchasing these things a little more difficult. I’ve struggled with the arm length in a few stores and I’ve a normal arm length for my height (5’7″) and if you wear larger than a C-cup <\/strong>bra, you might struggle to find places to purchase these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n General question boards such as Reddit and Quora may also be a place to reach out and ask questions about countries you would like to potentially move to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Community:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This can be really difficult and will depend on your school and the country. Some places you’ll mostly be friends with people you work with and there will be a strong sense of community; other places, there won’t and you’ll build your network outside of school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Both British schools I worked in organised my flights out with my new colleagues, I was lucky that these people have become really good friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s much more difficult to make friends as an adult, as a sometimes socially awkward person I actually really hate starting at a new school. Sports teams are a great way to meet people outside of work as are places like MeetUp<\/a> and InterNations<\/a>. You may find groups on Facebook and WhatsApp too, probably once you arrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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