Interested in teaching abroad but worried about being so far away?

Teaching abroad is a fantastic opportunity to explore the world, teach well-behaved students and earn a generous and often tax-free salary. But it is not all a bed of roses, there are some drawbacks. One major drawback is being so far away from family if something goes wrong. However, this concern should not stop you from moving your teaching career abroad. There are some steps you can take to manage the distance.

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, you can manage the distance by choosing where to work. By this, I mean you should look into cities where you can get to and from on direct flights that are scheduled at least several days each week. You can use any internet travel website to find this information, I usually use Expedia.com. With direct flights you will get home more quickly and not have to worry about making connecting flights. If you cannot get a direct flight to the city/town where your family is located, make sure you can get a direct flight to a city in your home country that has regular connecting flights to your hometown or ultimate destination.

With so many planes flying every day to destinations all over the world, moving your teaching career abroad should not cause you anymore concern than moving your career across the country. You can get back home in a matter of hours, depending on where you choose to work.

Non-Teaching Partner/Spouse

Teaching abroad can be a great experience for you if you're the one teaching, but it can be a bit less fantastic if you are a non-teaching spouse or partner unable to find a job in your new location.

Sometimes it is possible for an international school to employ a partner or spouse with no teaching qualifications when the host country's employment laws allow this. However, some countries require teachers to have a teaching qualification as well as a degree, and other countries require all foreign employees at an international school be teachers. The rules change from country to country.

It is also possible for non-teaching partners and spouses to secure employment outside the international school. If you and your partner/spouse are considering this option, it is important to confirm how the working visa situation works in your new host country... before you enter that country! If you end up on a non-working dependent visa it can be very difficult to convert it to a working visa later.

Teaching Abroad with a non-Teaching Partner/Spouse

Can you make money teaching abroad???

I've been teaching abroad for 11 years, and one of the questions other teachers are always asking me is... are you making any money??

My answer is always that it depends on where in the world I choose to go and teach.

For the last 3 years I've been in Asia, one of the best paying regions worldwide. And today I realised that since the summer I'd let my pay build up in my bank account a wee bit.

When I checked the exchange rate online I realised I had over $15 000 sitting in my account... much more than I had thought, so I'm wiring a lump sum home tonight.

So, can you make money teaching abroad?? Yeah, and if saving money is a priority for you, Asia is where you want to be!!!

How can I get a Police Clearance Certificate?

Information for NZ, Australia, the UK and the USA

In NZ you can get a copy of your Criminal Record from the Ministry of Justice by contacting the Privacy Unit of the Ministry of Justice in Wellington.

In the USA you can get a ‘Criminal Record Check’ from the local police. This will only cover the state in which you live, so if you’ve lived in a number of different states in recent time, then you should apply to the local police in those states as well.

In the UK you can apply for a ‘Subject Access – Conviction History,” which is a record of any convictions you have, from your local police station. This is the document that you can obtain yourself under the privacy laws. Your other option, if you are currently employed, is to ask your employer to request a Criminal Records Bureau check, which involves a more rigorous search of your record.

In Australia the Australian Federal Police in Canberra can issue a ‘National Police Clearance Certificate’ which covers all states and territories except Queensland. If you live in Queensland you’ll need to contact the Queensland Police Service directly.

Teach Overseas and Never Have To Supplement your Teaching Salary Ever Again!

For 8 of the last 10 years I've been doing supplementary work to boost my salary so that I could afford to have a good lifestyle. I even took on extra work whilst I was teaching overseas, but that was all before I started teaching at an international school...

Learn ways to supplement your teaching income at 5 Ways for Teachers to Make Extra Money, or secure a job at an international school and never have to take on extra work again!

My Guide will show you the quickest and easiest way to find your own international school teaching job (and it's possible to work in a place where you don't have to pay TAX, too!)

Don't work your butt off to make enough money to live on, you can work in a low-stress teaching position and make more than enough money to live on when you teach overseas.

Teaching Couple?

Many teaching couples don't teach in the same school for personal reasons. If you're a teaching couple who would like to move your teaching careers overseas, then don't be put off by the thought of having to teach in the same school as your partner.

If you teach different levels, for example one of you is elementary trained and one high school, then you have very little to worry about as most international schools run the two levels separately (even when they share a campus).

Many international schools are so large that they have more than one school. Check out the Singapore American School which has more than 3700 students spread over 4 schools situated on one huge campus.

Finally if you are a teaching couple who want to teach overseas, then move to a city that has a number of international schools. If you choose to attend an international teacher recruitment fair, this strategy would be easier to put into practice because of the number of schools represented.

Teaching Overseas as a Teaching Couple

A Quick and Dirty Guide To International Schools For Teachers Seeking Overseas Employment #3

Military Schools

A US Department of Defense school is a school that is attached to a military base abroad. The Department of Defense is responsible for providing education for school aged dependents of all military and civilian employees who are required to live abroad in order to carry out their jobs.

There are over 100 US Department of Defense schools in Europe, and at when I was researching this post there are 210 schools located around the world in 12 countries. The children of military personnel can also be found in American schools abroad in countries where there is no Department of Defense school available.

The British Equivalent is Service Children’s Education (SCE) Schools which number only 27 schools world wide with the majority of them situated in Cyprus and Germany. SCE schools are designed to give the students the same kind of education they would receive if living in the UK and attending school there. So teachers in these schools will be governed by the National Curriculum and examination boards of the UK.

The good, the bad and the ugly of taking on a teaching job abroad in a Military School…

The Good, well it's easy to evaluate the package being offered because you will be employed on a contract similar to one offered to teachers from either the US or the UK, it's a national job so you'll get a national contract. And you're salary is going to be pegged to a value in either US dollars or Sterling. If you are working for the SCE you will be employed on a British teaching contract, with a few extras.

The Bad is that you're going to have to pay TAX! You will have to pay national taxes. One of the benefits that comes with teaching at an international school is that you can pay less tax or work in a tax free environment. When you work for a overseas military school you will be employed ‘in’ the country whose military the school serves.

The Ugly is that you're going to miss out of the best things about teaching overseas. You’ll be teaching American or British students the relevant curriculum. You will miss out on experiencing a true multi-cultural classroom and all the benefits of teaching international children.

Teaching Overseas

A Quick and Dirty Guide To International Schools For Teachers Seeking Overseas Employment #2

English Speaking ‘International’ Schools

Some schools do not do a very good job of being an international school, rather they should be called English Speaking Schools. In fact, many schools springing up in the Middle East do call themselves just that because most of the students are local, for example the Dubai English Speaking School.

The majority of the student body at an international school should hold passports from outside the school’s host country. If the majority of the student body is local to the host country, then surely that negates it being an ‘international’ school?

Many international schools put a limit on the proportion of students that can come from the host country. These schools often have a waiting list for local students because wealthy local parents want their children to have a superior education.

The good, the bad and the ugly of teaching overseas at an English Speaking ‘International’ School…

The Good is that, as with privately owned and operated international schools, there are a lot of them around, all looking for teachers who want to teach overseas.

The Bad is that instead of enjoying a multi-cultural classroom with students that are enthusiastic and all have different experiences to bring to class discussions. You will probably be teaching wealthy children who possibly have no concept of what it is like to have to do things like chores and who may not have any concept of the real world.

The Ugly is that you will be teaching a class full of students who will share a common language that you don’t understand, mono-lingual classes being taught subject specific content in a language that isn’t their own can be a real struggle. You are not going moving your teaching career overseas to work harder than you do at home!

Teaching Overseas

A Quick and Dirty Guide To International Schools For Teachers Seeking Overseas Employment #1

Private International Schools

Private international schools are essentially businesses with directors who are focussed on making a profit. There is a considerable amount of money to be made in providing private education in areas where the supply is less than demanded. This is the Economic law of supply and demand. For teachers wanting to teach overseas, private international schools can be a mixed bag of good and bad features.

Many wealthy parents are demanding English language education for their children, and that has lead to the propagation of international schools. This is a particular feature of the Middle East and Asia, where new schools are starting up each year. The year I was looking for my current position teaching abroad there were a total of 5 new schools starting up in Dubai.

The good, the bad and the ugly of teaching overseas at private international schools…

The Good is that they are plentiful. There are a large number of private international schools for teachers to choose from.

The Bad is that while it is possible to balance good educational practice with the desire to make substantial profits, it is unlikely that in a knock down fight between the two that the goal of educating the students well will win. Teaching overseas should not involve you being required to ignore or go against your teaching philosophy.

The Ugly is that you know when a school’s continued survival, and consequently profit making potential, is dependent upon tuition money from students, how likely do you think it is that the school will expel students that are negatively affecting the learning of others?

Teaching Overseas

Want a Private Education for your Children but You Cannot Afford It?

You need to teach overseas! Pick a country, any country, and there will be at least one international school there. International Schools offer private education for expatriate’s children worldwide. And, while most of the parents have to pay school fees, one of the conditions nearly always included in the contracts of international teachers is free education for the teachers’ children.

Did you know that there are over 4000 international schools worldwide, all requiring teachers to staff them, many of them offering excellent quality private education.

Picking a school that suits both your children’s needs and yours can be challenging, but it is possible. In a recent interview I conducted with international teachers, Maggie Hos-McGrane, an international teacher of 19 years experience said that after she had completed her research she’d found only 30 of the more than 4000 international schools suited both her and her children. If you have children, here are some things you should consider when applying for teaching posts abroad in international schools.

Is the school out to make a profit?
There are a number of different kinds of international schools to choose from, some are run by a board and are not designed to make a profit, and others are run by an individual or company in order to make a profit. Some are supported by companies or embassies, the list goes on...

As a teacher you will be concerned that the school’s educational philosophy matches your own. As a parent you want to insure that your children’s education is the priority of the school, rather than the amount of money spent on educational materials and the effect that will have on the school’s owner’s profit.

There are some directors or owners of international schools that may be more interested in the financial benefits of running a school than the education benefits to the students. Be aware, both as a prospective employee and as a parent.

Is the school accredited, or a member of an appropriate association?
International schools can become accredited by an organization that sets educational and operational standards for international education institutions. One such organization is the Council of International Schools (CIS). In order for an international school to become accredited by CIS, they must go through a rigorous appraisal process which looks at the staff and management, the facilities and, the quality of teaching and learning in the school.

If an international school is accredited, then you can be confident that the quality of education provided by the school is high. Most schools that are accredited by an organization like CIS advertise their status on their webpage, brochures and stationery. Keep an eye out for logos and such. These will let you know which organisations have a relationship with the school.

Other organizations that offer accreditation for international schools are NEASC, COBISEC, ISCIS and the Association of Christian Schools International, to name a few.

How many students are in the school?
This is particularly of concern for parents of high school aged children as the number of students in a school may affect the number of subject choices offered at higher levels. For example, if there are only 30 students in the graduating class, then the school will have to limit the number of subjects being offered to make it cost effective. For example, a small school may not have the numbers of students to run both business studies and economics. Or may not have the numbers to run maths higher, maths standard and maths studies. This can often affect profit and non-profit making schools alike.

Additionally, the number of students in the school can affect the number and type of extra curricular activities offered, and therefore your child’s opportunities to experience team sports and other activities that are usually run after school.

When a school has a large number of students, this can also mean that the school is more likely to have a well-stocked library, well equipped laboratories, up-to-date computer equipment and outdoor activity areas. This is usually true of larger schools simply because there is a larger pot of money to fund these facilities from.

On the other hand a school that has thousands of students, while usually offering a wide variety of subjects and activities for students, can often be an anonymous place for children. It is up to you to decide what a good balance is for you and your family.

Which curricula does the school subscribe to?
There are international schools abroad that offer what is essentially a national curriculum. In fact, in the case of many British schools abroad, it’s even called the National Curriculum.

You can find international schools that are running the national curriculum from America, Britian, Australia, Canada, France (usually taught in French), and so on. Securing a teaching contract in an international school that offers the national curriculum that you and your children are used to will help ease the transition. However, you are not limited by the curricula that you have taught in the past, international schools are generally looking for good teachers and realize that we can adapt and teach any curriculum.

When you are looking for a good school for your children, you may run up against some curricula that you haven’t come across before. For example, there is the school wide system offered by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). The IBO offers the Primary Years Programme up to Year 6, the Middle Years Programme from Years 7 to 11, and the Diploma Years Programme for Years 12 and 13.

Which examinations will your children be working towards?
There are a number of examinations available for international school students, and you will need to understand the options before making any decisions about accepting an employment contract.

I mentioned the IBO previously as being a school wide programme. However many schools adopt bits and pieces of the programme. You may find that an international school offers the Diploma for the upper two years but offers the British IGCSE for Years 10 and 11. IGCSE is an examination based qualification, and the IBO Middle Years Programme has no formal examination assessment, students get a certificate and a record of achievement. Some international schools have a mix and match attitude to the curricula offered.

International schools that run national curricula tend to prepare students for the related national exams. American schools overseas run a mixture of state curricula and AP courses.

I am primarily concerned with helping teachers get teaching jobs in international schools. Here I have listed just a few of the factors you’ll need to consider if you are interested to get a private education for your children by teaching overseas. While I don’t have any children of my own, many of my colleagues do, and they believe that the education their children are receiving abroad is better than what they could get back home, wherever home may be.

You can find out more about the benefits to teaching overseas and the pitfalls that await the unknowing newcomer by listening to Overseas Teachers Talk, a collection of interviews with experienced international educators.

7 teachers = 50+ years experience and every corner of the globe.

Teaching Overseas

EARCOS - East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools

EARCOS is all about collaboration and professional development for the international teaching community.

Every year they run a conference which is heavily attended by teaching professionals in the region. This year it's being held in Bangkok and the entire teaching staff from my school is going, including all the teaching assistants from the Elementary School! That's nearly 180 people.

Needless to say the school will be closed for two days so that we can attend the conference. I'm looking forward to a number of the presentations. To see what professional development is available in the Asian region for international school teachers check out the EARCOS website.

Something Peculiar about this Time of Year at an International School...

I feel like a vulture picking over the bones of my colleagues.

Pretty raw picture, I know, and it's not stopping me from buying up all of my colleagues stuff!

This is the time of year when teachers who are moving onto a new international school are looking at selling off the stuff they don't want to take with them. I have managed to score a new rattan bookshelf. I'm really quite excited as I was thinking of going and buying a new one... but one of my colleagues is selling one! Cheap too!

Last year I treated myself to a water cooler which I love! I used to keep a water jug in the fridge, but when you're living in 34 degrees C, I tell you a water cooler is a must.

When you've secured your teaching contract overseas, you might want to ask to have your email address put on the school circulation list. Then you can see if there is anything the leaving teachers are selling that might suit you. The year I came here, I was sent this kind of information and could have furnished a whole apartment out of the stuff being sold.

You might not be into second-hand stuff, I'm a little wary of it myself, but some of the stuff being sold is of great quality! And only used for 2 or 3 years!

Teaching Overseas

From the Horse's Mouth, to use a cliche

I recently interviewed an experienced recruiter from a leading international school, here's just one piece of advice from him...

When you read vacancy advertisements for international teaching posts. Don't assume that you won't get the job just because they're asking for applicants with a Master's Degree and you don't have one.

'Nothing ventured, nothing gained' is the response I got when I asked about this in the interview. Regardless of whether you exactly match what the school is asking for, you should submit your application pack.

International schools are looking for great teachers, and that doesn't always mean years spent getting academic qualifications!

You can check out this interview and 7 more in Overseas Teachers Talk - an Interview Series with International Teachers.

Teaching in a Muslim country.

There are over 4000 international schools worldwide. Many of them are located in countries where the official religion is Muslim. In light of recent events, this may put some teachers off from applying for teachng positions in these countries. I hope this article will shed some light on what your life would be like living in a Muslim country.

You would probably be expected to follow the Arab calendar for holy days and holidays. The people I know who have taught in Muslim countries have worked 5 days a week, but the weekend was always either Thursday and Friday or Friday and Saturday. Additionally schools are usually shut for a short holiday to celebrate Ramadan.

Depending on how strictly a country follows the teaching of the Koran, families where the main income earner is a female may not be able to find teaching positions. This is because some Muslim countries have work permit regulations that preclude women from being ‘head of the household’. In these countries, teaching couples are welcomed.

In most countries men and women will be expected to dress modestly. For women, this may mean wearing a head covering, or it may simply mean being covered from shoulder to knee.

You may be expected to live in a compound. This will mean that you and your family will live in a gated community with other expatriate families. This can often work out very well for families as there will be other children to play with and the very nature of a gated community should afford parents some piece of mind with regards to a child’s safety.

Teaching in a Muslim country is a personal choice. You should ensure that you know what cultural differences you will experience before you sign a contract. One source for researching culture shock and the differences between what you're used to and what you can expect in a new country are the Culture Shock! Guides.

It's a small world! Surrounded by flying objects!

This afternoon I am busy putting together study notes on communication technology for my senior students.

It suddenly occurred to me that there are loads of little (or not so little) satellites in geosynchronous orbit around the world with the job of making it possible for me to use international direct dial (IDD) to phone home.

I phone home a lot!

Since I've been teaching abroad I've noticed a lot of changes in communication technology. When I first started 10 years ago, I didn't know anything about email. I wrote and sent postcards (real ones, not electronic!) and letters. Then I moved onto sending my parents faxes. I am so impatient I couldn't wait for 3 weeks for the letters to get home to NZ.

In my recent interview series, Overseas Teacher Talk, quite a number of the international teachers I interviewed mentioned that a drawback to living overseas is the distance you are from your family. But with all the options for communication there are around today, you can be as close or as far as you like! I probably talk to my family more when I'm living abroad than I did when I was living in NZ. And I make a real effort to stay in touch with my friends too.

I love email, but when I travel, I still send postcards.

Do you know what you're doing this summer vacation?

I know it's only February, but I am nearly finished planning my summer vacation. Why? Because I'm in the middle of an overseas teaching contract where annual flights are included in the employment benefits. This means, sorting my flights out as early as possible so that I can get the maximum travel I can for my flight allowance.

I am off to Romania to hang out with a couple of American teachers I met when we were all working just outside of London, England. One of them is teaching at an international school in Bucharest. As I didn't make it out to see her when she was in the United Arab Emirates, I thought I'd make an effort to get out to see her this year.

And one of the best things about this vacation is that my flight allowance from my school will get me all the way to Europe and I will just need to buy some internal flights once we know for sure where we are going. We are thinking maybe somewhere along the coast of the Adriatic.

And we'll be spending some time in Romania, so I can check it out as a possible teaching destination in the future...

5 Things I Love About Living in Thailand

What do you love about the place where you live? Here are 5 things about living in Thailand that I love. I couldn’t possibly choose which of these would make it as my number one favourite thing, but these are definitely the top 5!

I love having a pool
I went down to the pool in my apartment building today after work and swam for a while. When I got back to my apartment, it struck me that having my own pool (okay, I do share it with the other people in my building but I am usually in it by myself) is one of the things I love about living here in Thailand.

It is hot enough here in Bangkok that I can swim all year round. I am sure I’ll get to the stage that I feel it is too cold for that one month of the year when the temperature sits at around 23C (73F), but I have not acclimatised to that point yet. The cool season is just ending right now, so the temperature is soaring again, and the humidity rising.

The pool in my building is maintained by the building manager’s staff and cleaned every morning. I can decide to go down there anytime and sunbathe (not that I do this much, I’m a Kiwi and as such, I am well aware of the damage this can do to my skin), swim lengths or read a book in the shade.

I love Thai food
Thai food can be rather spicy, but has a balance of many flavours. Every meal is a gastronomic feast for your taste buds. The seafood is always extremely fresh and I love it when it is prepared in tasty curries or soups.

The first meal I learnt to order was Phat Thai Jay, a traditional noodle dish that is a staple on most menus. I order it ‘Jay’ which means vegetable. This is not a spicy dish, but it is full of peanuts, so it’s no good for people with a nut allergy.

But Phat Thai Jay isn’t my favourite Thai dish. That’s reserved for Gang Kiew Wan Jay, Sweet Green Vegetable Curry. I would eat this everyday, and have had guests come and stay with me who did! This curry is not spicy by Thai standards, but sometimes it nearly takes my head off.

I love Thai food so much that I went to a Thai cooking school when some friends came to visit last year. You can find Thai cookery schools all over the country, wherever you are likely to find tourists. The courses are inexpensive and available in a number of languages. Usually you cook your own portion of the food, then you sit around with your classmates and eat it. This week when I was on vacation in Chiang Mai I did a second cooking course and learnt how to make Phat Thai Jay!

Last month I went to a restaurant called Bangkok Seaview. We had to drive for an hour in a taxi, then take a longtail boat for another 20 minutes to get out to this restaurant. The seafood was rather fresh, as the restaurant is built on piers out in the middle of the sea, I imagine they just catch the fish over the side!! The restaurant was full of Thai people, which is always a good sign, in my opinion, and the menu was written in Thai. We had to order from the 8 dishes that they of which they had printed photographs in the menu. The food was superb, the view was spectacular and if you're an enthusiastic ornithologist, the birdlife was abundant.

I love bargaining
When you buy something at a market in Thailand, you get to bargain the price down. To me, this isn’t just about the money. I love bargaining. I consider it a challenge to get the vendor to come down on his/her asking price. Often in the past I have paid the vendor their original asking price, if it was a reasonable one. I just enjoy the experience of bargaining.

I find it especially rewarding if I can do it in the language of the vendor. Here in Thailand learning to say the numbers in Thai was a priority for me. I can now bargain quite successfully in Thai. When friends come to visit they usually tell me what they want to pay for something and get me to do the bargaining for them, they like the price I get for them and I have some fun with the vendors.

I remember being at a night market looking at some cushion covers that I wanted for my mother. It took me about 15 minutes to bargain the vendor down to my price, she was great fun. She made no allowance for the fact that I didn’t speak very much Thai, I had to guess what she was talking about from her body language. When we had settled on the price, I paid her the original asking price. It was well worth it for the entertainment she’d given me.

On another occasion I went to the floating market with some friends. The driver we'd hired came on the boat with us and said he'd let us know if the price we'd been quoted was a good one or not. His code words were 'it's up to you,' which is what he'd say if he thought the price was too high. So, armed with the knowledge that our driver would prevent us from paying too much for our purchases, we went on a mini shopping spree. Only, each time I asked, 'what do you think?' he'd tell me to buy it and maybe go into bargaining for a living. I had a great day!!!

I love Thai people
The Thai people that I’ve met here are happy and contented. The Thai people are gentle and friendly and kind. The culture here is to ‘keep a cool heart’, which means don’t get angry. When you get angry in Thailand, you lose the respect of Thai people. I am a calmer person here in Thailand and could count on one hand the number of times I’ve been angry in the 18 months I’ve lived here.

Even when I haven’t been able to communicate well with people here, they have, without fail, smiled and helped me.

This has a knock-on effect into my professional life. The children I teach are polite, respectful and cheerful. I really get a kick out of walking into school of a morning to be greeted by smiling children left and right on the way to my classroom. Teaching at an international school is how I support my lifestyle in Thailand, and it’s a lot easier than the teaching I’ve done in state schools in the UK and NZ.

And not all the children greeting me in the mornings are Thai, so there’s a knock-on effect on other expatriates and their children too. The children here are well disciplined but have loads of personality and charm. They are a pleasure to teach.

I love being female

Thailand is a great country in which to be a girl! Thailand is abound with shops to get foot massages, full body massages, manicures and pedicures, facials and everything else you can think of.

I have one colleague who always has immaculate hair because she gets it washed and blow-dried a couple of times a week!

Last weekend I got all dressed up in a ball gown and went to the NZ Society Ball. In May I might go to the British Embassy Ball. If you like going out, dancing, eating great food and wearing posh frocks, then Bangkok is the place!

All in all, I’m happy here in Thailand. Happy with my teaching job, happy with my apartment and happy with the experiences I’m having while I live here. If you’re considering moving abroad, you should definitely consider coming here.

One concern for teachers moving overseas is...

Teachers who are looking to move overseas may be concerned about pension contributions. There are a number of solutions, and the solution will depend on your personal situation.

One thing that you can consider is an overseas teacher pension. They are available through a number of companies and most international schools will have a contact with one or two.

One specialised service for international educators is SCI Group Ltd. They offer solutions that are specifically tailored to teachers working abroad. Their website is easy to navigate, and they will provide you with a personal contact to discuss your situation with.

My plan over the next few weeks is to find out about overseas teacher pensions. I'll let you know what options there are when my research is complete!

Decreasing Pool of Quality Applicants

In my last post I suggested teachers thinking of moving to the UK to teach reconsider and actually apply for teaching positions in international schools.

Between writing that post and this one I've learnt something very relevant about the international school sector. The number of international schools is increasing and the number of good quality teaching applicants for the teaching vacancies is decreasing.

The principal of my school has recently returned from the Search Job Fair in London. He made the comment that whilst he was able to find good candidates for the vacancies he needed to fill, he didn't have as much choice between good applicants as he'd had in previous years.

Conclusion - there is an opening in the international school sector for experienced, good quality educators.

Additionally, I picked up a newsletter published by the University of Bath in which there was an article about this very same topic! There is a teacher recruitment crisis looming for international schools.

Conclusion - now is the time for you to apply for teaching positions overseas.

The key to being successful in finding a teaching job abroad is in the preparation. Buy my book!!! And you will have a step-by-step guide to the recruitment process.

Did you know there are currently over 4000 international schools operating worldwide? I knew the number was big, I didn't realise it was quite so large. Last year alone (that's 2006) over 600 NEW international schools opened for business. Every one of those new schools will have to employ a teaching staff.

Will you be one of the professional educators who launch themselves into international teaching careers this year?

Source: ISC Research Limited

How old is too old?

And on the other side of the coin, how young is too young? I'm talking about teaching abroad, of course.

I received an email from a lovely lady called Marlene who is very keen to move her teaching career abroad, but is concerned that, at 57, she is too old!

Here is an excerpt from my book, The Complete Guide to Securing a Job at an International School that deals with just this topic:

"Age (at both ends of the scale)
Age might be an issue in some countries because of visa requirements, but usually more mature people are attractive to international schools because they are believed to be stable.

On the other hand, many schools operate a salary scale that makes less experienced (which frequently means younger) teacher financially attractive to schools.

If you are used to being on the top of the pay scale, you might want to ask if the salary step you start on is capped. I have heard that some schools require all new teachers to the school to start on the same salary step, regardless of years of experience."

As I told Marlene, there are some schools that will not offer you a new full-time teaching contract after you turn 60, and there are some that will. Also, there are some countries which will not grant you a new working visa after you pass the age of 60. However, for every country or school that won't you will find a school or country that will.

If you are approaching 60, don't let this information put you off teaching abroad. Even if the country you desire working in the most is one that has the over 60 rule, you can certainly pack a number of unforgettable experiences into the years before you reach the big 6-0.

Mature teachers have a lot to offer schools and many recruiters recognise this fact.