Expert: Debba Robinson - 4/27/2009

Question
My husband is currently in school to earn his bachelor's in early childhood education.  I am returning for certification next year (I already have a bachelor's in another field).  We are interested in teaching overseas, and not picky about where for now.  What can we be doing now to prepare us to find jobs in a couple of years?
Thanks,
Melissa

Answer
Hi, Melissa,

I encourage you to contact some of the hiring agencies, and subscribe to TIE (The International Educator) ... www.tieonline.com.  Some of the agencies I use are:  Search Associates, International Schools Services, University of Northern Iowa, among others.  They are all advertised in TIE.

Since you figure it's probably another few years before you are both certified, I encourage you to start researching parts of the world that interest you.  Find out the living conditions, the schools that are there (searching the internet for international schools in specific countries will glean a lot of useful information), the kinds of openings they have, etc.  Male Elementary teachers and men in Early Childhood are pretty unique and make a good impression ... Math and Science are always hard to fill and with one or both of those you could write your ticket to wherever you wanted to go!

IT is another area that is hard to fill --- knowledge of Mac and PC platforms will go a long way in some schools.  

By reading TIE you should begin to get a sense of the openings that are most needed at any given time.  You will get tips on how to prepare to move into the international school market, too.  These days, getting certified in International Baccalaureate (IB) will be another plus ... and it's not hard to get at all.  Take a few workshops and you are good to go!  I suppose that they will require more and more as the years go on, but that's what I understand it takes at this time.

I look forward to hearing that you have made your way into this exciting world of international education.  Who knows ... we may be sitting across from one another, having an interview, in the very near future!

Good luck!

Debba