Going home after teaching abroad - will you get a job???

A friend of mine who has been teaching abroad for several years now is always talking about going home... Not because she doesn't like teaching overseas, it's more like, she wants to psych herself up for it, because she thinks the time will eventually come.

This week she sent me a link to an article in the New York Times called With Turnover High, Schools Fight for Teachers. This is great news for her, if she ever takes the plunge and returns home.

The article talks about US schools having difficulty offering recruitment and retention bonuses to teachers in an attempt to hire them for positions in low-achieving schools. Some of these bonuses are LARGE! One teacher received a recruitment bonus of $10 000 from one school.

Now, I have my own opinion on whether recruitment bonuses are a good thing for education, but I can't argue that it's a great idea for teachers!

If you're worried about giving up your current teaching job to take a position overseas, don't be! In the UK, the US and in NZ, the education authority will often PAY YOU to go home, as well as give you a job!

Check out the New York Times article, maybe the US will soon be opening up and allowing Overseas Trained Teachers (OTT) to teach there...

Knowing When to Phone Home When Teaching Overseas

My parents will tell you that there's been a number of occasions when I've phoned them at unreasonable hours, usually in the dead of night.

I've found the easiest way to find out the time in another country. Check this out!

Time Zone Check is the ultimate website for checking when to phone someone abroad.

• It's graphical and the selected location moves as you draw your mouse across the map
• It shows YOUR time zone in the top left hand corner, so you can judge the time difference
• It accounts for daylight savings

This is seriously the best site I've found for this, go take a look!

Teaching Overseas - How much will it cost?

Something that's always on my mind when I'm moving to a new teaching job abroad is... Will I make enough money?

One of the best ways to judge that is figuring out how much it's going to cost you to live there, and I've found this handy little tool to help you with that!

Now, the International City Cost Guide is aimed at TEFL teachers, but it'll work just the same for you.

You can find it at TEFL.com and although you'll have to sign in and get a password to use it, it's well worth the effort.

Knowing how much it's going to cost you to live overseas can help you to assess the quality of the package that's being offered.

"The best international schools around the world"

Recently a UK newspaper published a story called "The best international schools around the world" which included a list of schools abroad that were recommended by 'word of mouth'.

While this may not be a list that many international teachers would agree with, it's a starting point to see what schools are available for parents, and makes interesting for teachers who are looking to teach overseas.

Check out the article on the Guardian website:

The best international schools around the world

Proof! Starting your international teaching career in the UK works!

I recently interviewed an American teacher who launched her career in international schools after a year spent teaching the British National Curriculum at a grammar school just west of London.


Since then Junie has gone on to teach in 3 international schools in 2 countries that offered the UK curriculum. She has now spent more time teaching the British curriculum than the American one she originally trained for!

Hear all about teaching overseas from experienced teachers who are doing it right now!

Start Your International Teaching Career in the United Kingdom

Currently there is a shortage of experienced teachers to fill key jobs in the United Kingdom. This could be your opportunity to springboard your teaching career into the international school sector.

If you are looking at getting yourself a teaching job abroad at an international school but have not yet been able to land a contract, you could sneak your way in through the back door.

In nearly every country in the world you can find an international school that offers the British National Curriculum. All of these schools are looking for teachers with recent experience teaching in the UK.

With recent experience teaching the British examination courses for GCSE (Grade 9) and A-Levels (Grade 12), you will have a resume that recruiters for British schools will be very interested in and they will be lining up to interview you. The same follows for elementary school teachers who are familiar with the key stages set out in the UK National Curriculum.

Search Associates, one of the largest recruitment organisations dealing with international schools even has a separate branch that specialises in placing teachers with UK experience in British International schools.