Teaching Abroad: The Commitment issue!

Notes from the General Manager, by Diane Jacoutot

 A 56 year old unemployed Austrian man sawed off his left leg just above the ankle this week in order to avoid looking for a job.  Just hours before a meeting to determine if he was fit to look for work, the man decided to take matters into his own.. um... hands and used a power saw to put the matter to rest more permanently.

Most people enjoy going to work, though it’s fair to say that every one of us has days they would rather experience, say , as a Hollywood style video montage rather than in real life.  And one of the things that puts people off teaching abroad is that nagging little devil whispering in your ear “What if you don’t like it? What will you do then, eh?”

Teachanywhere are always warning people about that devil of doubt that almost always appears before any big decision – whether it’s going to University, buying a house, getting married, booking an expensive holiday, starting a new job or indeed, moving to another country.  The fact is almost all the time you do enjoy it especially when you find a job that is well matched to your skills and experience and you have an open mind. Otherwise why would ever growing numbers of teachers  happily do it year after year?

Teaching abroad does require a commitment, and often this commitment is 2 years. Some people find this slightly scary – two years seems a long time. But from a school’s perspective they are investing lots of money and effort in bringing you halfway around the world. They take time away from school to interview you, answer all of your questions, give you an orientation, find you housing, support you while you settle on top of the considerable time and money to get you a work/residency visa (which can often be upwards of £2000 in some parts of the world).  On top of this, because much of the first year is spent really settling into your new school, curriculum and country, you often don’t hit your stride until the second year when it all comes together beautifully like.... well.... a Hollywood video montage.  So 2 years to a school doesn’t seem like a long time at all.

There are a few exceptions to the 2 year rule. These are schools that either are not allowed by law to require 2 year contracts such as some countries in western Europe, or they are in more offbeat locations and so use the lure of the 1 year contract to entice teachers to consider a place they otherwise might overlook. Kuwait and Kazakhstan are two examples of countries that frequently offer 1 year options.

For most teachers this is the ‘fact of life’ of international teaching. It’s reasonable from a school’s perspective to expect a teacher to commit to two years after they have committed a large amount of time and money getting you there. And I do understand that teachers might feel somewhat uncertain about committing 2 years to the great unknown which is gives the less known regions that offer 1 year contracts a leg up.

And to put the little devil of uncertainty on your shoulder to rest, if you really do not enjoy teaching abroad, most schools have a clause in the contract that outlines what happens if you break it. In most cases you don’t get end of contract bonus payments (which I find reasonable because you did not make it to the end of the contract period) and in some cases schools will not pay for your return flight home. In some countries such as the UAE and Qatar you will face a work ban, meaning you cannot work for another school for a certain period of time to prevent job hopping. But in no case will you be held against your will in a job you don’t like. 

So there’s no need to pull out the power saw.