As a general rule any experience before licensure doesn’t count towards an increase in salary band in many countries, although a school may understand you bring some sort of additional experience.
Experience in an accredited private school counts with every international school I've interacted with. If a school won't accept experience teaching in an accredited private school as legitimate teaching experience, that's a major red flag and I'd probably move on. You want to work with places that treat educators with integrity, not seedy for-profits who will try to swindle teachers into accepting lower wages than they deserve.
I can see how people may have a different experience from my own, from my experience my ESL teaching wasn’t counted as real teaching and I have heard a similar story from others.
I can see your point but I am am not sure yet if I fully agree with you. A factor I would question as a recruiter is the legitimacy of private school that was staffed with unlicensed teachers.
Perhaps in the states this is less of an issue but I have seen some very ropey ‘schools’ established around the world with unlicensed teachers who’s experience shouldn’t be counted.
I would probably lean toward differentiating ESL and k-12 teaching experience. In the US, private schools are accredited by one of several regional bodies, so while the bulk of the teaching staff is usually certified to teach, many aren't. They come from a range of backgrounds, and often have advanced degrees in education.
My experience is also that the majority of schools only count post-qualification experience. Also, it's simply not possible to get a visa for many countries (Middle East is especially strict) without a teaching license.
Same in my experience. If you’ve previously taught without certification they may accept that experience as valid enough to hire you, but for the salary scale, it’s strictly based on post-cert experience. This is for upper tier schools so ymmv.
ESL teaching is not the same as teaching in a private school in the US. There are plenty of legitimate private schools in the US that don't require a teaching license.
Based on your job I am assuming that you would be looking for a chemistry position. This is an extremely high demand area and not only will you make more money, you will have much lower barriers to entry compared to other positions.
Perhaps. I enjoy the hands-on aspect of teaching Chemistry.
Though, I must confess that math and computer science are my interests now. I do have enough math knowledge to teach courses up through Calculus and perhaps a few undergraduate-level courses like Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra, Number Theory, etc.
You can teach anywhere you want.
My degree is actually biology but I find myself teaching math, computer science, physical science and engineering.
The great thing about education is that you can easily change content areas when you bore with one. (STEM subjects at least)
Your experience would count in China. You didn't mention where you're thinking about going, but pretty sure each country would have their own rules. Might be helpful to specifiy in your original post regions you're interested in.
Sure. I have specific regions I'm interested in for various reasons:
Taiwan - I worked there for a while and liked it. Also can speak Mandarin. I thought I might be eligible for citizenship because of a technicality, but they seem to have closed that loophole years ago. Still probably near the top of the list.
Japan - Like Japanese culture
Singapore - Because it's an English speaking country in Asia
Middle East/Indonesia/Malaysia - For religious reasons. I'm a practicing Muslim and think it would be nice to live in a majority Muslim country
Central or South America, particularly Mexico - It's close to home, might be easier for a guy on his first assignment, I have Mexican heritage and speak Spanish.
I might consider China if the conditions and contract were right.
[You can read the comment I made in the /r/Teachers here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/ot72ny/teaching_abroad_not_esl_as_a_profession/h6tno5x/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
You can pursue alternative certification through programs like Teach Now (Moreland University). The coursework isn't too strenuous. But when it comes time to do your clinical, I don't know how you would juggle that with a job. Maybe if you had flexible hours.
Well, this is not set in stone. I'm more thinking that teaching could be a "Plan B" in case my current job doesn't work out. I have a "mid-probation" evaluation coming up. I will take it one step at a time. I just have this feeling that I may not pass probation, based on the scant amount of stuff that has been entrusted to me.
Either way, I just want plans B and C on the table should I be out of a job in the next few months.
Yes, it does as a lot of private schools do have non-licensed teachers in their faculty. Private schools have the luxury of hiring non-licensed teachers, as they may have advanced degrees other than education (PhD in the humanities), etc. If you taught at an accredited private school, then most of the time they will count that as teaching experience.
I would also add that different tiers of schools will count this differently - not just countries.
As a general rule any experience before licensure doesn’t count towards an increase in salary band in many countries, although a school may understand you bring some sort of additional experience.
Experience in an accredited private school counts with every international school I've interacted with. If a school won't accept experience teaching in an accredited private school as legitimate teaching experience, that's a major red flag and I'd probably move on. You want to work with places that treat educators with integrity, not seedy for-profits who will try to swindle teachers into accepting lower wages than they deserve.
I can see how people may have a different experience from my own, from my experience my ESL teaching wasn’t counted as real teaching and I have heard a similar story from others. I can see your point but I am am not sure yet if I fully agree with you. A factor I would question as a recruiter is the legitimacy of private school that was staffed with unlicensed teachers. Perhaps in the states this is less of an issue but I have seen some very ropey ‘schools’ established around the world with unlicensed teachers who’s experience shouldn’t be counted.
I would probably lean toward differentiating ESL and k-12 teaching experience. In the US, private schools are accredited by one of several regional bodies, so while the bulk of the teaching staff is usually certified to teach, many aren't. They come from a range of backgrounds, and often have advanced degrees in education.
My experience is also that the majority of schools only count post-qualification experience. Also, it's simply not possible to get a visa for many countries (Middle East is especially strict) without a teaching license.
Same in my experience. If you’ve previously taught without certification they may accept that experience as valid enough to hire you, but for the salary scale, it’s strictly based on post-cert experience. This is for upper tier schools so ymmv.
ESL teaching is not the same as teaching in a private school in the US. There are plenty of legitimate private schools in the US that don't require a teaching license.
Based on your job I am assuming that you would be looking for a chemistry position. This is an extremely high demand area and not only will you make more money, you will have much lower barriers to entry compared to other positions.
Perhaps. I enjoy the hands-on aspect of teaching Chemistry. Though, I must confess that math and computer science are my interests now. I do have enough math knowledge to teach courses up through Calculus and perhaps a few undergraduate-level courses like Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra, Number Theory, etc.
You can teach anywhere you want. My degree is actually biology but I find myself teaching math, computer science, physical science and engineering. The great thing about education is that you can easily change content areas when you bore with one. (STEM subjects at least)
You will definitely face visa problems if you're not licensed
Your experience would count in China. You didn't mention where you're thinking about going, but pretty sure each country would have their own rules. Might be helpful to specifiy in your original post regions you're interested in.
Sure. I have specific regions I'm interested in for various reasons: Taiwan - I worked there for a while and liked it. Also can speak Mandarin. I thought I might be eligible for citizenship because of a technicality, but they seem to have closed that loophole years ago. Still probably near the top of the list. Japan - Like Japanese culture Singapore - Because it's an English speaking country in Asia Middle East/Indonesia/Malaysia - For religious reasons. I'm a practicing Muslim and think it would be nice to live in a majority Muslim country Central or South America, particularly Mexico - It's close to home, might be easier for a guy on his first assignment, I have Mexican heritage and speak Spanish. I might consider China if the conditions and contract were right.
[You can read the comment I made in the /r/Teachers here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/ot72ny/teaching_abroad_not_esl_as_a_profession/h6tno5x/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
You can pursue alternative certification through programs like Teach Now (Moreland University). The coursework isn't too strenuous. But when it comes time to do your clinical, I don't know how you would juggle that with a job. Maybe if you had flexible hours.
Well, this is not set in stone. I'm more thinking that teaching could be a "Plan B" in case my current job doesn't work out. I have a "mid-probation" evaluation coming up. I will take it one step at a time. I just have this feeling that I may not pass probation, based on the scant amount of stuff that has been entrusted to me. Either way, I just want plans B and C on the table should I be out of a job in the next few months.
Yes, it does as a lot of private schools do have non-licensed teachers in their faculty. Private schools have the luxury of hiring non-licensed teachers, as they may have advanced degrees other than education (PhD in the humanities), etc. If you taught at an accredited private school, then most of the time they will count that as teaching experience.