Photo: Fantaz
In no way are educators limited to teaching English while abroad.
While I worked with local NGOs and universities in Pakistan, my husband Duarte took a two-year contract as a Physics teacher in an international high school. By connecting with other foreign teachers in the school, we quickly learned that making a career out of international teaching would be an ideal way for us to sustain long-term travel and life abroad.
International vs. National Schools
There are scores of schools that claim to be “international” in name, but what teachers often call a “true international school” is a school that enrolls students from a variety of countries. These schools tend to be located in major cities, diplomatic capitals and international financial centers. Students include ambassadors’ kids, expat kids, teachers’ kids and local children whose parents can foot the bill.
Other schools may be internationally accredited but enroll primarily local students. Teachers refer to this type of school as a “national” school, although both types hire foreign teachers. Some national schools hire only foreign-qualified staff; others hire most teachers locally but employ foreigners for certain subjects like English. The ratio of foreign to local faculty at schools can vary widely even within the same country or city.
School Curriculum
When Duarte and I first moved abroad, we had no idea what O-Levels and A-Levels were. Since he was teaching in a school that offered both the British system and the American system, he had to learn how to teach two different curriculums.
Photo: Steve & Jemma Copley
International schools usually belong to one of the following systems: British (IGCSE/GCSE), American (often offering AP classes), or International Baccalaureate (IB).
Teacher Qualifications
There are schools that will hire teachers without formal qualifications, but to be a competitive candidate you need at least two of the following: a Bachelor’s degree, a valid teaching license in the subject you plan to teach, and two years experience.
In the U.S., each state has its own process for teacher licensure. Many undergraduate education programs provide routes to state certification, but you can also find post-baccalaureate programs aimed at career changers.
The majority of these programs require a one-semester student teaching practicum, a series of education courses based on classroom observation, and a set of exams.
Massachusetts is one state that offers a five-year preliminary license without requiring student teaching or the completion of special course work. You can apply for this license by passing two exams: MTEL communication & literacy and MTEL content area. For either elementary or secondary teachers it costs about $230 for the exams and $100 for a one-subject license. Your license is valid for five years of employment in Massachusetts, so if you never teach in Massachusetts it can remain valid for your entire international teaching career.
Job Searching
Most schools offer two-year renewable contracts, although some offer one-year contracts or require a three-year commitment from new hires. Prime hiring season is from January through April, although hiring is done all the way through August for the upcoming school year.
A lot of hiring is done at international job fairs organized by school placement organizations. At job fairs, dozens of school administrators and hundreds of teacher candidates converge in a major city for the purpose of lining up jobs.
The biggest job fairs are run by Search Associates, International Schools Services (ISS) and University of Northern Iowa (UNI). To attend a Search or ISS fair you need to apply and become a member.
Before the fair, candidates are given a list of schools that will be represented and current job openings. Larger companies like Search and ISS have online databases with detailed information about each school and salary package. The best way to prepare is to research every school, city and country that you might be interested in.
Once at the fair you will sign up for interviews with different school administrators. Between interviews you can go to school information sessions or network with other teachers.
Photo: Bridget Christian
Factors to Consider
Attending a job fair can be expensive, especially if you need to factor in travel and hotel costs. It is worth contacting schools ahead of fair season, in November and December, to see if you can interview via Skype.
Not all schools, even those listed by placement companies, are legit. Before applying for a teaching position, read what other teachers have said about it on International Schools Review (ISR). It costs $29 per year to be a member of ISR, but this will put you in direct contact with other international teachers and expat parents. Reviews posted on schools and directors are anonymous, so be aware that some feedback may simply be venting by teachers or propaganda by school administrators.
When you compare salary packages, compare the cost of living and the local tax rate as well. Annual salaries range from about $15,000 through $70,000, but you can live much better on $20,000 in India than you can on $40,000 in Switzerland.
European schools tend not to offer housing or utilities as part of the salary package, although many other schools around the world do. Benefits to look for include round-trip airfare, medical insurance, life insurance, free tuition for school-age children, daycare for younger children, moving allowance, professional development training, transportation allowance and retirement funds.
Final Tips
Look at the number of contract days and the number of teacher-pupil contact days required per year before applying. An average number of contract days is 180-190; this is the number of days per year teachers are expected to work. An average number of contact days is 170-180; this is the number of days you will be expected to teach. A few days more or less aren’t anything to raise concern, but I was once looking at a job in a new international school that required 250 contact days. Yeah, no thanks. I’d like to keep my summer vacations and my sanity. A side note said that teachers would be required to arrive early in order to create the school curriculum from scratch.
The teaching culture of a given school can vary markedly. Some schools are isolated; some are set in urban centers. Some cater to a young-single crowd of teachers while others prefer hiring couples or pensioners.
For Duarte and I, international teaching is a combination of career flexibility and stability. Once a contract is completed, we can choose to stay or move on to another destination. Currently we’re back in the U.S. pursuing further education, but we’re psyched to find out what opportunities the next international job fair will bring about!
Community Connection
Interested in some other travel job ideas? Check out 20 Ideal Day or Seasonal Jobs for Travel Writers .
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28 Comments... join the discussion!
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Heather- It’s great to see so many options besides language teaching. Thanks for this comprehensive article.
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Great information. Thanks for writing this! It’s nice to find out I’m more qualified than I thought.
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Great information, Heather! Thanks for sharing. Although a lot of places that I inquired at for the certification programs said that most countries usually don’t want English teachers with an Indian passport, even if they’re living somewhere else.
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Sej, in many schools there is a preference for North American teachers, although it depends on the administration and the country’s visa regulations. There are many Indian teachers working in Dubai and the Gulf area. If you can get a teaching certification from the US, UK, Canada or Australia it will greatly enhance your chances. There are also a number of international schools within India that hire local teachers in addition to foreign teachers.
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nice article Heather. I hadn’t even considered interviewing via skype before so thanks for the tip!
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Teaching abroad is a great way to see the world and still sustain yourself financially. Especially given the current state of the job market, this is an amazing opportunity for recent college grads who might otherwise be stuck in their hometowns waiting tables for minimum wage. I know a lot of people who have taught abroad (many who have yet to return to the states!) who count this as the single most influential and wonderful experience of their young lives. Thanks for shedding light on such a great topic.
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Hey Jessica! The international teaching circuit can be hard to break into for college grads without teaching certification or experience, although one job fair that favors newly qualified teachers (without experience) is the UNI fair. Search and ISS fairs will be tougher for those without both a valid certification AND at least two years of experience. Married teaching couples (where both spouses teach) tend to be the most competitive candidates. For college grads without teaching license or experience, teaching English at a language school or doing something like the JET program would be a more viable option.
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Your article is the best I’ve seen–a very practical, efficient presentation.
I’ve been an attorney, mostly in litigation, for the past 28 years. I also have a M.A in political science. It’s time to move on now to develop new and different challenges. What are your observations about my pursuit of teaching given my background. I’m fearful that it may be perceived negatively.
Many thanks.
Layne
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Hi Layne,
Your background would work well with Political Science, History or even English. In order to get some background on teaching methods and strategies, you may want to consider going for a second master’s degree in education or an MAT in the subject you want to teach. I actually had a classmate (in my MA English program) who was a former attorney that made the leap to teaching. She didn’t seem to face any problems, although she said almost everyone found her career background something to remember!
What matters most is your ability to teach and your teaching experience. Like anyone starting an international teaching career, you will likely have to be more flexible when looking for contracts in the first few years. The most competitive candidates are single teachers with no dependents and married teaching couples.
Hope this helps!
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Is there a recruiting agency that specializes in assisting candidates find teaching opportunities overseas? I have 3 degrees: BA in English, M.Ed., and MBA. I am not licensed; however, I have been teaching GED in the local public school systems for adults, youth, and ESL students for 6 years now. Virginia does not require a license to teach this. Also, I have taught a business class in a public high school for 2 years. Along with this experience, I am contracted with a local university to teach a basic computer class to adults. I submitted my CV and believe I am well qualified. However, I have received a rejection letter. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Hey Tessa,
Search Associates would be an option for you if you want to work with a recruiting agency, although what you get with membership is access to databases and job fairs. Neither Search nor ISS do the groundwork for you as far as applying to schools or researching them. They simply make the information available to you. There are a lot of specific tips on the Search website as well as on International Schools Review.
That said, getting a license would definitely make you a more competitive candidate for international school jobs.
Heather
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Thanks for the very valuable info! I have always wanted to teach internationally, have certificaction, master’s, and 20+ years of experience. However, I’m more interested in a summer opportunity than an academic year (any time between late May and late August). Do you know of websites or agencies that have summer positions?
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Hi Twen,
I don’t know any recruitment organizations that specialize in summer opportunities, although you look into summer study abroad programs (like Semester at Sea) that don’t use their own faculty and teach the level/subject that you have experience in, that would probably be a good place to start.
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Great tips Heather. I’d like to add that attending a job fair is not required. I have found teaching positions in Bolivia, Egypt and, starting this Fall, Romania, without attending a single job fair. The International Educator website, for 40 dollars a year, compiles openings from hundreds of schools worldwide. I contact them directly in early January and interview via phone or Skype. I have a created a Professional Portfolio website and a package that includes degrees, certification, diplomas and even videos to apply. This approach is time consuming preparing my credential, researching and following up. Finally, many international schools require a personal interview to offer a contract, but for those starting their international teaching career or those without the budget to attend a job fair, it is a strategy to consider. Best of all luck to all in their search! Mario
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Thanks for adding to the conversation Maria! My first international school job was without attending a job fair as well. It seems like a lot of schools are switching to using databases like TIE (or Search or ISS) paired with Skype interviews.
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Just curious, were international employees concerned with what you did during college (GPA, extra-curriculars, internships) or more concerned with teaching degrees? Would you need to send a transcript to an international school or would they check your state for your certificate?
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Hey Rachael,
Different schools have different requirements (and different countries have different visa restrictions). For some job applications I was requested to scan copies of my transcripts, degree and teaching license and upload them to a database or send them by email. Before I had my teaching license, I could not get interviews with several schools I was interested in. It really depends on what the administrators are looking for. A high GPA, lots of extra-curricular involvement, part-time jobs that involve working with students would all be a plus, but I don’t think they are as important as teaching experience.
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Hi Heather,
What a great summary! Thank you!
I had some questions I hope you might be able to answer. I am considering teaching & unlike most of the people here i do not have multiple degrees or experience..(i worked for 7 years in fashion and a BS in mass communications.) i was thinking about doing a program that starts next month and ends at the end of October. The program is here in the US and is 140 hours (10 of that teaching). I currently am unemployed, single- I would like to move asap. i think i would be more interested in teaching adults..1. Is it a better idea for me to be certified in the US or is another country better?
It seems if you were there it might be easier- as in they could quickly connect you? thoughts?2. I know that there are big recruiting times but I am wondering about availibliy during the time of year when I would be out of a program? Are there more opportunities for language schools? I really don’t want to wait for job fair in Feb for a job in September of next year.
3. In terms of experience I was thinking that the quickest thing I might be able to do is substitute teach in the US from August thru October/Nov/Dec..would that even be helpful or matter at all?
4.I checked out the job fair and that Jet program- (are there any other sites/programs for the in experienced) I am not particularly keen about Japan..
i have been looking at Daves ESL Cafe..5. My last question is regarding the chart of the most popular cities on this website (for teaching) the list was from 2008. I am wondering if due to my lack of experience that i will be limited to Asia?
Thank you!!!
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Hi Ruth! Glad the article was helpful. I’m not exactly sure what your 140 hour program will entail (is it an Education program?) so I may not be able to answer all your questions, but hopefully this will help.
1) If you live in the US, it will probably be easier for you get your teaching certification in the US, although this depends whether you want a teaching license (which holds more weight and is granted by the state you complete your requirements in) or a basic TEFL certification (which doesn’t hold much weight in international schools but is good for language schools). If you want a teaching license/certificate rather than just a TEFL certificate, you’re better off getting it in the US, Canada, UK, Australia or South Africa as these certifications tend to be accepted all over the world.
2) For international schools, it would be difficult to find a job outside of regular academic calendars (ie starting in Aug/September or possibly in January) unless a school has an emergency situation like a teacher getting injured or walking out on the job. I tend to avoid schools that are still trying to find teachers in October because it means other teachers aren’t lining up to work there, and it’s probably for good reason. If you want language schools or to teach ESL with an international business, schedules can be more flexible.
3) For international schools (especially the competitive ones) subbing won’t hold as much weight as full-time teaching because there are so many things that a substitute (unless you get a long-term sub job for someone’s maternity leave) doesn’t do: lesson planning, working with curriculum, dealing with parents, contributing to after-school activities, etc. Also, if you want to teach ESL, subbing doesn’t really relate unless you’re subbing in an ESL classroom where you’re actually teaching and interacting with the students (not just watching over them), so I don’t think it would be that helpful.
4) Dave’s ESL Cafe is a good place to start for ESL jobs. You can also check out TEFLjobs.net. I’m pretty sure the JET deadline has already passed for next year’s program.
5) ESL teachers and international school teachers (although it looks like you’re going more for the ESL route) can find jobs all over the world, although there are lots of opportunities for less experienced teachers in Asia. It would be hard to get a good ESL job in the Middle East without experience. It all really depends on what job leads you find that fit with your schedule. You can check out Matador’s Teaching ESL Focus Page to learn more!
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Hi Heather,
Greetings of peace! I am a job seeker for English teaching in any primary school abroad particularly in ASIA…I am a BEED- English graduate with some units in MAED- Reading, Mindanao State University (main campus), Marawi City, Philippines. I am also a PRC Licensed teacher with 7 years teaching experience in different private schools in our place.
I just hope your one of those who could help me find a job that fits to my quaifications…. dreaming to be one of those successful international teachers working with… in good faith/fate.
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Hi Baicon,
I’m currently in the US for grad school and not job searching myself, so I don’t have any leads to give you. This is really the tail end of the hiring season if you wanted to start a new job in August (most hiring is done Jan through May, the more competitive positions go earlier), but you may be able to find something if you apply to Search or ISS and access school information through the databases. You can also try the TIE database. I’m pretty sure almost all the big hiring fairs are done with for this season, so you should try searching for schools in specific locations and contacting the administrators directly to see if they are still hiring.
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Good Morning!
Thank you for writing this article, it was very informative. Currently, I am trying to make a transition into teaching. I have been a stay-at-home mom for the past couple of years and now it is time for me to enter back into the workforce. Teaching is my passion and I am excited to pursue this next chapter of my life. I have my degree, but I do not have my teaching license. So, hopefully I can start that soon. My parents retired in Costa Rica and I am hoping to find a job there. Without experience, is that a long shot? Also, do you know which state is the quickest to obtain a license ? I know you mentioned Massachusetts, but it is a five-year preliminary license. I have the next few months to take classes, but it would be difficult for me to do an unpaid internship (in Texas it is 14 weeks), especially because I have two small children I need to support.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time and I hope you have a GREAT day!
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Hi Sarah! The quickest I know of is Massachusetts. I don’t know any other state where you can get any kind of license without doing a full semester of student teaching. With the MA preliminary license, it will never expire if you don’t teach for 5 years in Massachusetts. I discussed the license options with my associate from Search Associates and he said he didn’t think international school administrators would see much difference between a preliminary and an initial, as long as I had a valid license for the age/subject I wanted to teach.
The best fair for less experienced teachers to attend is probably the UNI fair, which you can read more about here: Three Job Fairs, Three Jobs: An International Teacher Hiring Saga. I believe some schools from Costa Rica send reps to UNI, but it’s best to find the schools you are interested in (via Google or joining Search Associates, although you’ll need a license or 2 years experience to join) and then contact them directly. Hiring season starts in mid December for the following academic year.
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Hi Heather!
This article has been most helpful, thanks!
So here is the situation, my boyfriend and I are looking at taking on this adventure together. He is an English and Social Studies teacher currently here in CO and he is working with ISS right now in the app process. I do not have teaching experience though I am working on my masters in school counseling but we wanted to leave before I would be finished with this program. Do you have any recommendations of a company that he could work at an International or IB school and i would have the opportunity to find a paid position as well? ISS can’t seem to help us with me finding a position even teaching at a language school. We are hoping to take off next summer for a next school year start. Any info or advice would be awesome! thanks
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Hi Jen,
ISS only places in international schools (honestly they just provide the platform for candidates to meet with administrators), and with most schools looking for counselors you would probably need to have completed your degree and certification. I know school counseling requirements differ by state, is there any way for you to get your licensure without completing the degree? A license is often what you need to get visas and decent paying jobs.I’d suggest waiting until you know where your boyfriend will be teaching and then trying to figure out what you can do while in country. Once you have a one country focus, it will be easier to look for ESL jobs (although you will want to have at least a TEFL certificate to be competitive unless you’re going somewhere that competition is very slim) that can provide a work visa for you. If you can’t find anything before going, wait til you get in country to look for tutoring positions with local schoolchildren.
I’m not sure how long you have left for your degree, but I would suggest waiting to go overseas until you have it. That way you can apply through Search or ISS and get a full-time position with benefits as a school counselor.
Hope this helps,
Heather
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