International High School Teacher

[bdolle]

Hey guys,

I'm from the US and 28 years young. Was riding a motorcycle through Bali and met a guy from the UK who told me he teaches math at the international high school in Bali, but taught in other Asian countries as well. Work for 9 months, vacation for 3 months and get to live abroad. Sounds fun to me. I have already lived in China for 5 years and I like living abroad.

I decided a few years ago to get a bachelor's degree in Physics and just moved back to the US 4 months ago to begin (got straight A's in my first term). After hearing about international school teaching I made a plan to get my bachelors in physics, teach physics at an international high school (hopefully in South America) for 3 years, then come back to the US to continue my physics path (masters, PhD, job, etc.).

Just wondering if anyone has an information about international high school requirements about teaching certificates and what not. Also, many job listings I saw ask for 2-5 years experience teachings physics. Is this strictly mandatory or just encouraged?

Also any stories or experiences relating to teaching science or math abroad would be appreciated.

 

[micromass]

The main danger here is that you'll take a break between undergrad and grad. This proves to be quite disastrous to many people. Some get through it ok, though. But being away for 3 years can be quite detrimental if you don't keep yourself on top of the material. Furthermore, if you ever need recommendation letters, a professor might not remember you very well after 3 years, so that might result in not so good letters.

 

[bdolle]

The main danger here is that you'll take a break between undergrad and grad. This proves to be quite disastrous to many people. Some get through it ok, though. But being away for 3 years can be quite detrimental if you don't keep yourself on top of the material. Furthermore, if you ever need recommendation letters, a professor might not remember you very well after 3 years, so that might result in not so good letters.

Thanks for the response micromass. My path is so uncertain at the moment that I don't know if I want to continue in physics or not after teaching abroad, just kind of a tentative plan. Not too worried about the future, plus I don't want to not follow my dream because I'm scared the letters won't be good or my physics skills may be rusty. As we all know, one who really wants to succeed will find a way. One who sort of wants to succeed has a much less chance. But I will definitely take your words into consideration.

Do you have any info specifically relating to teaching abroad? If so it would be appreciated!