I browse this forum but rarely post, however I wanted to make a comment on something that I feel is overlooked by many colleagues. I don’t believe many colleagues are making sound financial choices based on true comparisons. I am a UK trained teacher, currently teaching in China with no dependents. I will use specific examples below to illustrate my general point, but I believe these same issues apply regardless of where you qualified or currently teach and I would encourage you to investigate and find the correct comparison figures for your own situation. This post became longer than I wanted; If numbers, or the length, make you glaze over, I have highlighted the key statements in bold throughout the post so you could just read those.

To start, lets look at my current financial position. I work in China and earn 46,000 RMB per month (excluding housing, flight and medical allowances) as a subject teacher only. Many on this forum will tell you that this is towards the higher end of the market, although I am aware of a handful of schools that pay more. Post tax, this is 37,000 RMB per month, in my account. I am not an extravagant spender, but I do eat out regularly. My monthly food, utilities and essentials spending probably comes to about 7000 RMB per month. I pay for my travel out of UK funds and would estimate I spend about £10,000 per year on travel. That’s not simply travel around China, or holidays, but also includes going back to see friends & family in my home country and paying for accommodation etc when I am there.

So, all in, this gives 30,000 * 12 = 360,000 RMB = £40,000. Subtract the 10k and this gives an annual savings figure of £30,000 GBP in China. Sounds great? Ok, let’s compare it to teaching in my home country, the UK.

The highest standard point in the UK for a teacher with no responsibilities is £51,048 (outside London). Post tax, this gives a net monthly income of £3023. Now, I’m not going to break down monthly living expenses here, I am just going to assume you spend the entirety of that sum on living. So, is there zero saving potential? Well, this is where I think the usual analysis on this subreddit goes awry… It is hard to reduce the subsequent analysis to a single number, but what I would instead focus on is the range of possible answers we are getting.

Firstly, that tax deduction I made earlier already included 9.9% of pension contributions that UK teachers make from their (pre-tax) salary. At a deduction of £421 per month, this comes to £5,000 per year. Additionally, your employer will contribute 28.68% of your (pre-tax) salary as pension contributions. This would be £14,640. I know many may quibble with this, but the reason you save money as an international teacher is to provide for your retirement, so I think it is reasonable to compare pension savings in this way. Combined, these would give contributions, or savings, of approximately £19,640 per year.

However, this undersells the actual value of the teachers pension scheme in the UK. Pension accrues at 1/57^th of yearly income, so the salary indicated gives a yearly pension of £895. This is government backed, inflation linked and provides additional benefits. I undertook a cursory search and found annuity rates for inflation linked pension pots of 3.5% – 3.8%, which would mean this £895/yr pension benefit would be worth just under £25,000 on the open market. I think that is somewhat underselling the real value of the defined benefit pension scheme, but this is enough to make my point.

Further, the post tax salary included NI deductions of just over £250 per month, or £3,000 per year of ‘savings.’ This ‘buys’ the right to a UK pension, with a value of £12,500 per annum, after 35 years of contributions. This is again inflation linked and government backed. With an annuity rate of 3.8%, which was the highest current market rate I found, it would equate to a pension pot of £330,000, which for 35 years of contributions would require approximately £9400 per year. The present net value needed to build this pension pot, if invested over a working career, would be somewhere between the two values of £3k and £9.4k. Now, state pension analysis is tricky for a whole host of reasons, not least is the fact that NI is not strictly a pension ‘pot,’ plus the government’s own projections indicate the current pension system will run out of cash in the early 2030’s. However, I don’t believe that a civilized society can exist by reneging on its pension promises to previous generations, so I think they will have to exist into the future, even in a modified form (for example, means testing). Its also fair to point out that assets gained from investments would be passed on in the event of your death, whereas not all of accrued pension would be, which would reduce some of the values below.

To summarise, our lower bound of NI + employee + employer contributions comes to £23,000 per annum. The upper bound, considering current open market rates, gives a figure of nearly £35,000 per year. I haven’t even added in the ‘savings’ you would be accruing each year if you owned a house in your home country and were paying off a mortgage, or the possibility to save out of your salary, or the fact that the UK system doesn’t require you to manage any money or take on liability personally. Thus, the savings potential per year of teaching in the UK, even if you were to spend 100% of your post tax salary each month, probably lies in the £30,000 region just from pensions alone.

Why did I make this post?

I saw a post recently discussing salaries in the ME, with many commenting that salaries have not gone up over the last decade or so, or in line with an increasing CoL. Many comments were complaining about salaries without being explicit about the need for why these salaries were ‘low.’ I saw this comment which piqued my interest:

“If you’re making 16k AED with private health insurance, annual flights and accommodation then I’m not sure where you’d get a similar package in the UK.”

16k AED is £3200 per month. My understanding is that the CoL in the ME is higher than China so I’m going to assume one might be reasonably saving £2,000 per month from that salary, or £24,000 per year. As I have shown above, I believe that this is (probably) less real annual savings than a standard teaching post, in any standard UK state school.

My opinion is that a combination of for-profit chain schools and poor working conditions in home countries have driven down salaries of international teachers. However, I wanted to make this thread because I think it is important to counter the general financial illiteracy I see in many colleagues when considering salary offers. I am not saying that teaching internationally can not be a sound financial decision. For example, a person may go abroad to gain experience of teaching high ability students which might be harder to come by in a run of the mill state school which pays dividends later on. One could see genuine reasons as to why the present value of capital would exceed the future value of capital, for example if you wish to build up a house deposit in your twenties. And I think you can argue that teaching internationally offers other advantages beyond the financial; it represents a great opportunity to travel and see the world or immerse yourself in a culture you are interested in. For example, if you loved Latin America, then rather than taking 6 months off to travel there, you can do a contract or two and travel whilst maintaining your career. I knew a married colleague who came to international teaching because he and his wife wanted one of them to raise their children in their early years rather than trust childcare, and they could do this with one of them teaching internationally.

But both the ME and China examples I have used in this thread come from the higher end of the market. Move the monthly numbers down to mid-market values of 12k AED or say 32k RMB gross, and your yearly savings start to look more like £10k-£14k per year. I think that many would consider $15k USD a reasonable amount of savings per year, but it is approximately half of the value you ‘save’ every year without even realising it in the UK. It might be enough; I don’t know the pension contribution rates, the CoL and other factors in your home country. But I think it is important to be aware of what you might be giving up in your home country and make accurate comparisons to make better financial choices for your future.

Standard disclaimer: There are a lot of factors I could not include here for the sake of brevity, although some have been hinted at. You can augment values provided appropriately as personal circumstances will always be unique.

Long time lurker, getting better at commenting-er

EDITS: editing the list as people comment

TL;DR - looking for input on schools listed below (or suggestions for other schools to consider) in regards to their savings potential and whether English is actually the student’s ’ social language, not just the language of instruction.

Long version:

My partner and I have decided that this next hiring season we are either ending up at a “top” school (more on what that means to us in a sec), or we’re returning to our home country. We’ve taught in ‘meh’ locations to work at solid schools and we’ve made ‘meh’ money to live in fun places. We know everything is a trade off. Now we have young kids and want to stay in one spot for at least six years in a good school for them and to pad the retirement fund.

Us: 10+ years in IB schools over 4 continents. Partner teaches elementary and I’m a secondary teacher. We’ve been hired through online interviews and through fairs. (Only bringing this up to highlight that this is not our first rodeo and we know we’re not casting a huge net; we’re OK with striking out and going home).

Our priorities:

1. Savings. Comfortable save at least one of our salaries (we’re low maintenance and don’t do splashy holidays nor travel a ton outside the countries we work in).
2. English as, at least a large minority of, the students’ actual social language, not just the language of instruction.

The first priority is pretty easy to suss out through Search, the spreadsheet on this subreddit, and sites like expatistan and numbeo.

The second is trickier and we’d love some input. From conversations with colleagues, the rumor mill, and posts here I’ve put together a list of schools I “think” might fit the bill. 

Please share any insights or recommend schools not listed.

EU
- American IS of Bucharest
-AIS Budapest
- ⁠American School of Warsaw

South America
- ⁠Nido

China 
- ⁠SAS
- WISS
- SCIS
- ⁠WAB
- ISB
- Shekou IS
- AISG
- Hangzhou IS
- Nanjing IS
- IS Tianjin

Hong Kong
- CIS
- HKIS

Thailand 
- ⁠ISB
- ⁠NIST

Singapore 
- ⁠SAS
- ⁠UWCSEA
- OFS
- Chatsworth
(I feel like there’d be more in Singapore just not a region we currently know a ton about the schools?)

Korea
- ⁠SFS
- SIS

Vietnam
- ⁠UNIS 
- ⁠ISHCMC
- ⁠Saigon South

Malaysia
- ⁠ISKL
- ⁠Alice Smith

Indonesia
- JIS
- BSJ

I’m a middle school ELA teacher at a U.S. public school, and I’m about to start my second year. My plan is to teach one more year and then apply to international schools in Korea, Japan, or Southeast Asia.

My long-term goal is to teach high school. Would having only two years of middle school experience make it difficult to land a high school ELA position at an international school?

Also, with only two years of experience, should I expect to be competitive only for lower-tier schools?

What made you move to this curious world of international teaching adventures?

Hi everyone! I’m preparing my documents to apply for the Thai non-b (Teacher) evisa and wanted to know if a legalized police clearance is required for the evisa application or is it only necessary once I’m already in Thailand and want to get the 1 year extension.

I know I should have applied for my police clearance earlier as it takes time to obtain and legalize, it was silly of me ( still processing at the moment, might take 3 weeks, evisa application might take 2 weeks and the school needs me to report by the second week of August )

Please share your experience if you’ve applied for the Thailand evisa recently, Thank you!

Hi teachers, I realize this sub is mostly devoted to bigger picture issues of being an international school teacher, so I apologize if my question is too mundane.
My school is launching the IGCSE curriculum next year and I’m teaching Global Perspectives and History 0470. The history course has option a (19th c - rise of nation states) and option b (20th c Europe). It seems most schools and teachers go with option B and there is a huge amount of resources online. I would much rather go with option A, however I can’t find many teaching resources…in fact, I can’t find a single textbook (they’re all branded as Option B). I *could* devote a bunch of time developing my own materials - I’m passionate and knowledgeable - but since I’m new to the Cambridge universe my students will likely be better off with ‘approved’ resources that will more directly prepare them for the kind of exam questions they’ll actually see when the time comes.

Thanks for any insight.

I'm curious to hear from any primary/secondary school teachers working as expats in Saudi.

What's the typical housing allowance your school offers, or other schools that you know of?

If you don't mind sharing, could you also mention:

• Whether you took the housing allowance or the school-provided accommodation.
• Whether you're single, a couple, or have children (and roughly how many).

The reason I'm asking is that, unless the Saudi property websites are giving me a completely unrealistic picture, it seems like you can rent really nice 3 or 4 bedroom apartments for surprisingly reasonable prices (under 5K SAR).

If that's actually the case, I'd probably prefer to take a housing allowance and rent my own place rather than accept school accommodation that's usually limited to a two-bedroom apartment.

If I've got the wrong idea about the rental market, please let me know! 😂

Thanks!

I know this is a really broad question. But my husband and I are hoping to move to Japan in August 2027. We have 2 (soon to be 3) babies/toddlers. He's a physics teacher in the UK with 10 years of experience. I'm a novelist so can kind of work anywhere. We're really hoping he could maybe get a job in an international school for a year or two and we can leave London. It feels like the right time for us and we love japan. (We've been many times).

My question is I've read that it's very competitive to get a job in an international school in Japan but since my husband has a lot of experience and teaches a STEM subject hopefully he'll have a competitive edge?

Can any teachers (ideally in similar subjects) tell me about their application experience? How many schools did you have to apply to to get an offer? Did it take several years/tries or did you manage to move in the year you wanted to go?

Also teachers with children (especially more than 2!) what was your experience like? And financially did it still work? (I have a job though novelists mostly don't make a huge amount of money!)

Also, contract lengths. Ideally we'd only stay one or two years. Are there any 1-2 year contracts? I've only seen 2 year contracts. Could we get a 2 year contract with some kind of a break clause? Has anyone heard of that?

EDIT: I'm more interested in hearing about ACTUAL EXPERIENCES that YOU have (or someone you know has) had than naysaying or unfounded opinions about my plan. I'm also not interested in explaining all the reasons we want to go to Japan and how we know that this time is right for us/our family.

Thanks :)

I need apostilles for Kosovo and New York State won't do it. I'm like 90% sure apostilles are valid in all countries a part of the Hague Apostille Convention, which allegedly Kosovo is but NYS doesn't think so. Can you get an apostille for one country and it's valid for all? Has anyone experienced apostille woes before? I'm in it deep rn.

So basically I know a lot of people hate the company but I really want to go abroad and get hands on in teaching English. On top of that they offer you to attain the P G C E and qts whilst working. Is it REALLY bad to work with them or could I just suck up 1/2 years of teaching / getting my qualifications. (I studied English BA and graduated in 2020 and have only tutoring experience since then)

I currently live in London but was looking to leave for the Middle East and I feel like this could be a stepping stone.

Anyone who knows of anyone or works there in 2026 and how they’re finding everything please. Any information I’ll be grateful.

SABIS Network and Gems education (Bahrain, Qatar and UAE)

Hi,

For any British teachers who worked/work/will work in qatar, how long did it take for your school to secure your work entry visa from the day they submitted the application?

Thanks x

I recently had an interview for a teaching position in thailand. Im from the philippines but have moved out since I was 7 to malaysia, china, thailand, and australia. I did my bachelors and graduate diploma in australia and worked there as a teacher. When I had to move back to thailand, i did two interviews for a main teacher job offered at 60k baht per month. But after they found out I was from the Philippines, they said they can only offer me a salary of 18k per month which confused me as my qualification and experience align well with the job role. I asked why and they said I was not a native english speaker and I defended that I spoke english perfectly fine. I’ve been speaking english more than I have spoken tagalog and have adapted a british accent due to my step dad being british. They stated that I looked ethnic and that I didnt look like i was a native english speaker. Thats lowered my self esteem because I think i do fairly well in my line of work but it seemed they didn’t care if I did, but rather just wanted someone to take the job at a lower pay. This has happened twice when they realized my nationality they changed their mind and said that I was better off being a teaching assistant which I really couldn’t take. I love my job and would like to keep working in my field but I hold standards to myself and know the worth of my hardwork. Anyways, sorry for the rant, i just feel lost right now and just really want to work

BASIS Beijing is opening soon and just dropped their latest promotional video "Hello from BASIS Beijing 北京贝赛思正式向大家问好!" on Chinese social media (WeChat, Xiaohongshu, Douyin), showcasing their lineup of leaders and teachers for their opening semester. Within the first 10 seconds there is a mashup of 'vlogs' from the founding team with 16 staff members - 3 are local teachers, 1 is a white woman, and the remaining 12 are white men. The white maleness of it is so in your face, it's actually refreshing to see considering how the blatant racism in private schools in China is usually hidden. This is one of the first staff showcases for a chain school that actually says the quiet part out loud (Chinese parents only like white faces), and literally makes the invisible part of white washed schools oh so visible. The video is a cavalcade of white males, with less than three expat women on next year's roster. Not a person of color in sight. Gotta give the parents what they want. Can't link Chinese social media directly or name names or talk about misogyny in particular leaders, so just copy paste "北京BASIS双语学校" or "北京贝赛思正式向大家问好" into your Chinese facing social media and see for yourself.

Long time lurker here. I've only posted/replied a few times, but I've been seeing a trend I wanted to discuss: "Moving overseas for the wrong reasons". I've seen an influx of posts of people just wanting to "Get out of the USA". This post is for you from a seasoned expat of many years.

After living and working overseas in multiple countries I have learned one lesson that has never changed.

You cannot outrun your problems.

I see a lot of people who believe that moving abroad and becoming an international teacher is going to solve everything. They picture cheap rent, beautiful beaches, exciting travel, and a fresh start.

Sometimes it really is life changing.

But a new country does not create a new you. If you have inner demons, they will follow you. I'm living proof.

If you are lonely in your home country you may still be lonely overseas. If you are struggling with depression, anxiety, or a lack of purpose those things do not disappear when your plane lands. They simply follow you to a different time zone.

Living abroad is incredible, but it is also difficult in ways that people rarely discuss. Culture shock is real. Homesickness is real. Missing birthdays, holidays, weddings, and funerals is real. Building genuine friendships as an adult is hard, especially when the expat community is constantly changing. There are nights when everyone you care about is asleep on the other side of the world and you realize just how far away you really are.

You also have to adapt to a different culture. Things may not work the way they did back home. Simple tasks can become frustrating. Language barriers can leave you feeling isolated. You may have days when you wonder if you made the right decision.

International teaching has been one of the best experiences of my life, and I would absolutely encourage people to do it. Just make sure you are doing it for the right reasons.

Do not move overseas because you are trying to escape your life. Move because you are genuinely excited to experience another culture, grow as a person, and embrace the challenges that come with living abroad.

You cannot outrun your problems. The only way to deal with them is to face them.

After living and working overseas in multiple countries I have learned one lesson that has followed me everywhere.

You cannot outrun your problems.

I see a lot of posts from people who believe that international teaching is an escape hatch. They are burned out. They are lonely. They are tired of politics. They hate their job. They think that if they can just get on a plane and land somewhere in Southeast Asia everything will finally make sense.

It does not work that way.

The first month is intoxicating.

Every meal is an adventure. Every street feels like a movie set. The prices seem unbelievable. You spend your weekends wandering temples or markets. You take hundreds of pictures. You tell everyone back home that you should have done this years ago.

Then Monday arrives.

You still have to wake up for work.

You still have deadlines. You still have difficult students. You still have difficult administrators. You still have bills to pay. You still have moments where you wonder what you are doing with your life.

Only now you are doing it on the other side of the world without ANY support system you've previously known (and depended on).

Culture shock is not just about different food or different customs. It is death by a thousand small frustrations.

The bank cannot help you because nobody speaks English. Your internet stops working. Your apartment has problems that would never pass inspection back home. You spend three hours trying to accomplish something that would have taken fifteen minutes in your own country. Eventually you learn that getting angry accomplishes nothing. The country is not broken. It simply is not your country.

Then comes the loneliness.

This is the part that nobody puts on Instagram.

Christmas morning arrives and you are eating breakfast alone while your family is opening presents twelve time zones away. Your best friend gets married and you watch grainy videos after the ceremony is over. Your parents get older. Your nieces and nephews grow up.

Someone dies.

You cannot just get in your car and be there. You begin to understand the price of living abroad.

Making friends is harder than people think. The expat community can feel like an airport terminal. Wonderful people drift into your life and six months later they have accepted a job in Vietnam. A year after that they are in Qatar. Then Singapore. Then back home. Just when you finally feel like you belong your social circle starts over from scratch.

You also learn that being a foreigner never completely disappears. You might learn the language. You might understand the culture. You might even build a life there.

But there will still be moments when you are reminded that you are a guest in someone else's home. That is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact it can make you more humble. But it is something many people never consider before they leave.

There are practical realities too.

Healthcare can be excellent or it can be frightening depending on where you are and what happens to you.

The cheap apartment you bragged about online suddenly seems less impressive when the power goes out during the hottest week of the year....and stays off for days.

The inexpensive lifestyle loses some of its shine after paying for flights home visas imported groceries or replacing something that is difficult to find locally.

None of this means living overseas is bad. Quite the opposite. Some of the greatest moments of my life happened because I left home.

I have eaten meals I never imagined eating. I have stood in places I never dreamed I would see. I have met people whose kindness permanently changed the way I look at the world.

Living abroad has made me more patient. More adaptable. More grateful. More curious. It stripped away a lot of assumptions I did not even know I had. But it also forced me to confront myself.

When the novelty faded there was nobody left to blame. Not my hometown. Not my country. Not my neighbors.

Just me.

If you are thinking about becoming an international teacher because you genuinely want to experience another culture then go. Throw yourself into it. Learn the language. Eat the street food. Get lost. Make mistakes. Be uncomfortable. Let the experience reshape the way you see the world.

But if you believe that crossing an ocean will fix loneliness depression bitterness or a lack of purpose I would urge you to slow down. Those things fit very easily into a suitcase. Changing countries can change your perspective.

It can change your career. It can even change your life. But it will never save you from yourself.

You can't leave your problems behind. You'll board the plane, arrive at your destination, and they'll be waiting for you at baggage claim.

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Edit: Based on some of the responses, some of you missed the whole fucking point entirely. Hah.

If you left your home country for the right reasons, bravo. More power to you. This post wasn't for you.

However, if you have inner demons (depression, alcoholism, mental health issues, etc) and you think simply skipping the country to go become an international teacher will solve all of your problems, you're wrong. Your problems will follow you wherever you go. That was the point.

I think many of you didn't bother reading it (which makes me question your basic abilities as a teacher), and if you did, you ignored where I made it perfectly clear that there are good reasons for leaving, and bad ones....and this post was for the ones who want to leave for the wrong reasons.

A bit of context, I (23M) have been lurking for quite a long time. I am currently a teacher in the uk for computer science. I have a huge interest in China and I already speak advanced mandarin. I passed HSK 6 last year.

My bachelors was in computer science and after I completed a postgrad qualification in a teacher training course to obtain QTS (qualified teacher status in the uk). I am going into my second year of teaching soon and ideally would like to move to China in the next hiring cycle. As I would meet the minimum of two years teaching, or maybe if I don’t get in the first time maybe the year after.

However one thing keeps sticking out to me. I hear that apparently the market is really bad? But is this just for people who have tefl and English instructors. Will I also struggle?

Furthermore, I’m not sure how much it matters but I am a native speaker of English however I am ethnically Pakistani (born and raised in the uk). Will this also affect my chances? Because I teach a subject that isn’t English I’d assume not. (Also I am a British citizen)

Thank you for taking your time to read this and any insights would be greatly appreciated :)

I know that a few years ago if you registered with a US address, you had the option to take the Praxis at home. However strictly speaking you were only supposed to do it if you were actually physically present in the US. Otherwise, you were supposed to go into an authorized testing center. In my case, the nearest test center is 2 hours away, and they aren't open on weekends or national holidays. Would my scores be invalidated if they discovered I wasn't actually in the US?

Hi, just some short advice needed. What does it mean if you feel sort of intense deep worry about returning to finish your post. As in over thinking worrying not even able to enjoy summer break? Is that a good sign to leave. Also just to add, the year was extremely extremely difficult. Any advices? This is first international stint.

edit: thanks for all the advice very kind and I'm sure it will help many others. teaching has been a very difficult one for me and particularly this environment being a difficult and negative environment doesn't help. my goal is to save and make it out. if I can do that that would be amazing.

Moving to a country in SE Asia from the UK as a teaching couple, no kids, and for the allowance for the minimum shipping allocation are short by $400 USD. This is a tier 2, for-profit school (think Nord Anglia, Cognita, Inspired etc). Is your school cap on shipping underneath the minimum allowance for shipping? I would understand a cap to ensure people don’t bring a ridiculous amount, but I’m already out of pocket even at the minimum of 2 cbm. This has not been my experience previously in a similar school. Is it because I’m coming from the UK rather than being able to use a double allowance with the school I’d be leaving if I was currently international, post/COVID prices, or the war? School being tight? Normal in a for-profit tier 2? HR are not budging so is it worth bringing up with SLT? Would appreciate your thoughts!

Has anyone else had serious delays with the UAE degree equivalency process through VFS Global?

I'm due to start teaching in Abu Dhabi and I'm getting really worried about the timeline.

I submitted my equivalency application over a month ago through VFS (using the link provided by my school), and it's still showing as "In Progress."

The problem is:

I've called, emailed and used the live chat with VFS multiple times with little to no response.

VFS says my UK university isn't responding to their verification request.

I contacted my university yesterday, and they confirmed they haven't received any verification request at all.

I've already completed my MOFA attestation, so the equivalency certificate is the only document I'm waiting for.

My school administrator has told me that VFS is the only provider recognised by the UAE Ministry of Education, but I've seen lots of people on Reddit recommending DataFlow instead.

I'm now considering requesting a chargeback/refund from my bank for the VFS payment and starting the process with DataFlow instead, but I'm worried I'll just waste more time if it isn't accepted.

A few questions for anyone who's been through this recently:

Has anyone experienced the same delays with VFS?

Did it affect your employment, entry visa or ability to start work?

Did your school allow you to begin without the equivalency certificate?

Has anyone successfully used DataFlow instead of VFS for UAE Ministry of Education equivalency?

If you were in my position, would you wait or start again with DataFlow?

Any recent experiences or advice would be hugely appreciated. I'm starting to panic a bit as my start date is getting closer.

Thanks in advance!

Assuming you like your job otherwise. If im only saving 500 usd per month id look for a new job and risk it. For me you should be able to save at least 1500 to 2000. Doesn't mean you always do. But if I like my school and im able to save that much id probably hold at the moment. I know some people have finances sorted and prioritize work life balance.

But for those who dont have that. And need to save for retirement.

Sometimes I feel like im right on the edge of a good deal but the only meaningful upgrade is gonna switch to china. But its uncertain and then you risk losing. But im kinda stuck pay wise and id like to think of future me.

Anyone here who knows about GEMS schools?

Hey everyone is the private tutoring market still alive? What is the market like in GCC countries like Bahrain or Saudi or Qatar per hour? Anyone is welcome for their input even Asia and other countries!

How many hours a week?
Rate and country?
Online or in person?

It's been a long time, but 6 months ago I asked what's the best country to teach in. I really wanted to move to either Norway or Switzerland. As it looks like, my manifestation worked and next week I am moving to Norway for a Grade 2 Homeroom Teacher position! I am sooo excited!

Hey guys, I could really use some advice on a teaching offer in Dubai. 😁

I’ve been offered a teaching role at an established international school in Dubai. I have 7 years of experience, and the offer is AED 13,000/month plus the standard benefits, including separate housing allowance. The school is mid-to-higher tier (not premium, but not low-fee either). I’m trying to understand if this is a fair offer and what room there might be for negotiation.

MAIN QUESTIONS
💵 Salary:
• Does AED 13k/month sound reasonable for 7 years of experience at this type of school?
• Would it be realistic to negotiate something in the range of AED 15k–17k?

🏠Housing Allowance:
• What would you expect as a decent housing allowance for a single teacher in Dubai currently?

👩‍🏫 Market Trends:
• Have many teachers actually left Dubai recently, or do you think many will come back in for the new school year?

🤝 Negotiation:
• Do schools usually stick strictly to salary scales?
• Is there typically room to negotiate salary or housing?

Any advice (especially tips on negotiating) would be really appreciated 🙏