Teaching Jobs Overseas For Americans

Teaching jobs overseas for Americans might be the perfect job for you if you really like to teach and have an interest or curiosity about foreign cultures. Your successful job search is not based on cheap places to go on vacation but location is a major concern most likely and should be one of your major concerns. Because there are so many different types of teaching jobs all over the world, surely you can find one that will mesh with your desires and passions. Most teaching jobs are for people that speak English and would find it attractive to teach to students as a second language.

There are a wide variety of qualifications depending on where you might teach and who the employer is. Sometimes a bachelor’s of Education degree is required and other times it is not necessary that your degree be in education at all. Sometimes it is not even necessary that you have a University degree as long as you speak English as your native language. Extensive experience is not necessary in many cases either but can be helpful to secure an attractive job. If your degree has a concentration on instructing English as a second language, your chances are increased exponentially. The pay you can command can also be greatly increased when your degree fits that job.

Martial status or life partner issues sometimes will play a roll in determining the eligibility of a person. In some cases the school will look at a couple as a more stable situation and prefer that, while others will look for primarily single teachers. If both partners are teachers this can be an advantage for the school system as the housing requirements will be less for a couple and in essence they only have to provide one residence for two teachers. Not surprisingly, most school systems no not tolerate dating of the student population and a stable relationship may be looked on as a help in this regard.

Being able to speak the local language is not usually required and it is sometimes preferred that you do not. When my friend was living in Belize as an American it forced her to learn the local language faster since many only spoke Spanish. Likewise, I am sure it will force your students to acclimate to English faster if you don’t speak the local language for them to fall back on. It is looked upon as an advantage that you do not rely on the local language and your students do not usually expect it either. Sometimes you will find there are programs provided by the school to help the teachers in their own interaction but as far as the classes are concerned the local language is usually not required.

A year teaching is the standard assignment for teaching in most foreign schools but there are exceptions to that especially when it is a volunteer job. The volunteer jobs are far more flexible with commitments than are those that are paid.

As with any job the pay depends on several factors and when you ask the question ‘what city should I live in to teach’, pay will be different. The job / contract length, what is required of you in terms of qualifications and where the job is located all make a difference in pay. The latter is primarily due to the cost of living. It would behove you to do some serious research about the cost of living before you accept any teaching job so you have a good idea what you are getting yourself into.

Something that you may be surprised to find out is that certain locations prefer certain English accents. It is generally whatever has become acceptable in the school location. In turn, that is what they want from the teachers that they hire. For instance in Mexico they want American accents but in Europe they mostly want the British accent. It really makes sense as it is what the locals are more accustomed to hearing.

One primary concern that people have about teaching abroad is around getting set up in the new location and the cheapest places where they can stay. It is often the case where the school will either provide the teacher with housing or if not, at least provide them with help in securing the cheapest place to live. Just be very careful that there is a clear understanding (in writing) about what sort of arrangement there is and who is to provide what. There is nothing that can ruin your experience faster than uncomfortable or unsuitable accommodations.

Another thing to be clear about before you make any real commitment is to figure out who (what group) you will be teaching. It could be professionals; it could be housewives, children or other age groups. Each of these groups will take a different focus and skill set so you will want to know what you are getting into.

Because you will be signing a contract in order to get these jobs you will want to be sure and research every aspect of the position and that you understand exactly what you are getting yourself into. Spend an appropriate amount of time researching every aspect of the arrangement and know exactly what it means for you to find international jobs for US citizens and then you will be able to help others along the path to finding teaching jobs overseas for Americans if you want to.

Living In Belize As An American

Some people get really excited about the "Retire Belize" Program (Qualified Retirement Program) when they think about living in Belize as an American but the reality of making that happen is that they have to go through a long drawn out procedure to get this special retired persons visa. It is probably best to get an attorney to handle it for you as it is not a simple matter for even the most patient of Americans living in Belize. We are just not used to things being quite this complicated and drawn out. Nothing in Belize is simple and here are some reasons why that might be the case.

Before I even tell you this, just understand it will be a shock. Things in Belize are not computerized. Just let that sink in for a few minutes. The government is not computerized. The banking system between branches is not computerized. The local law enforcement is not computerized. Rewind back to the 60s and 70s and think about how things were done in America. Everything had to be written by hand or typed. 

Bookkeeping was by hand on ledgers. Records were created in duplicate and everything was filed in a filing cabinet and if you wanted to have the information you had to contact the person or organization that had it and ask for a copy of it or to verify it with a form. The result was that everything was form based and was very slow moving. And if there were not copies when all record were lost of what had transpired then it was just lost. Can you even imagine going back 40 years in time?

This country is very behind in terms of technology and they seem to be perfectly OK with that. This country is the definition of relaxed and laid back. No one gets too excited about anything much. They have a high rate of unemployment and a very high rate of poverty too. They live very simple lives with very small homes often crammed with several people and little furniture. Tiny homes with 5-10 people and one shower and it is OK. Many walk everywhere because they don’t own a car and getting upset is a waste of energy for everyone. Now if you're into all of the modern conveniences and speed of access to everything we enjoy in A,erica than this may not be the place for you. However, these qualities are also what is attracting many retirees to this wonderful, simple little country. It truly is a great way to escape the rate race and live the 'tranquillo' lifestyle. 

One other important thing to ask is, Where is Belize? When you discover that Belize is located right in the middle of Central America you can relax a little. It's easily accessible from numerous U.S. airports, some less than two hours flight time away. So, if you find yourself getting a little island fever it's simple enough to hop on a plane and get your city fix in Houston or Miami. Or you may even want to use your new home as a base to spring board south to discover Panama City or other south American destinations. 

If your thinking about moving to Belize and especially if you haven’t spent much time there, will be a shock but it will be a slow shock. One that may ultimately make living in Belize as an American a frustrating experience if you are not prepared for it. You just need to talk a breath and go with it if you intend to be in Belize for very long. Darling, you’re not in Kansas anymore!

International Jobs for US Citizens

As you know this Blog is all about finding the Best Places to Live in the World. For some that means a great place to spend their retirement years for others it means cutting their cost of living - finding a more affordable way to live so they can enjoy a higher quality of life. I get feedback from people all the time wanting to move and looking for cheap places to live abroad. But they also need to find places where they can still work. My good friend Mel just sent me this handout he had put together for a course he was teaching called, The Best Places to Live Abroad for Americans. He shared this segment of his course and the handout is titled,

International Jobs for US Citizens

Guest post by Mel B

Our world has changed over the last few years as the economy has declined and because the job market has shifted too, overseas jobs for Americans are becoming more and more attractive. These overseas jobs for Americans are sometimes just more attractive and more people are willing to explore the possibility. Although there certainly is an appeal and a certain amount of glamor associated with working internationally, it often fades to some degree when the effort to secure that job is spread out before you. It has become more difficult as the competition has increased as a result of the global economy and the increasing numbers of people willing to work abroad but it is certainly still possible. There are many possibilities that are often available internationally that have domestic equivalents and should make the transition possible. For instance, teaching jobs overseas for Americans are plentiful but there are many others besides. Here are just a few:

• International nursing jobs
• International sales jobs
• Overseas security jobs
• Overseas teaching jobs
• International business jobs
• International finance jobs
• International engineering Jobs
• Non profit jobs
• International marketing jobs
• International accounting jobs
• Overseas construction jobs
• International consulting jobs

It is not unusual for we Americans to believe we can just make application and if we are qualified or the best candidate we will get the job. Unfortunately that is not the reality. There is a lot more to the process and it takes far more effort and persistence to secure a position internationally. Some Americans have never even heard of a CV which is the equivalent of the resume and it can even be different in different countries. Another issue that often needs to be addressed is the very real possibility that the country that you land a job in will likely require you to have a visa and it is not uncommon for a visa to take months to get. The good news is many companies that hire internationally will help with this process but it is another hurdle that has to be overcome in the process. One option that some people overlook is the company they already work for. If you are working for a multinational company right now you may have a good chance of transferring abroad easier than finding employment otherwise. You never know until you ask. When you set out to form a plan you will need to keep in mind several factors besides what we have already discussed. First, you will need s assess your abilities so you can accurately filter the jobs you do in fact find and apply for. Also you will need to identify the companies or the industries where your skill set fits and where you have interest. Overshadowing all of these decisions is to identify the countries where you would like to live. Hopefully you will have been in these countries and actually know first-hand about the customs and the cultures. The cultural differences can also be a blind spot that need to be addressed in order to successfully prepare for all aspects of finding and taking a job in a foreign country. The culture in your target country will have an influence on every aspect of the job like:

1. Interrupting information you gather

2. The job application process

3. The interview

4. Negotiation for salary and benefits

5. On the job relationships

6. Rules of conduct in the workplace

These are just some of the ways that culture can directly effect your success of failure in finding jobs abroad for us citizens and doesn’t even begin to address your experience outside of work that so often are important in building a network of contacts to support your work. Because many Americans do not speak a second language this can have a tremendous effect on which jobs are available to even apply for but there is good news. There are many countries where English is the official language and in turn there will be many more opportunities for employment there. In the following table are listed 54 countries where English is the official language and this should significantely reduce the barriers in finding international employment.

Anguilla	Cayman Islands	Jamaica	Papua New Guinea	Tanzania
Antigua and Barbuda	Dominica	Kenya	Scotland	Tonga
Australia	England	Lesotho	Seychelles	Trinidad and Tobago
Bahamas	Fiji	Liberia	Sierra Leone	Turks and Caicos Islands
Barbados	Gambia	Malawi	Singapore	Uganda
Belize	Ghana	Malta	Solomon Islands	United Kingdom
Bermuda	Gibraltar	Mauritius	South Africa	Vanuatu
Botswana	Grenada	Montserrat	St. Kitts and Nevis	Wales
British Virgin Islands	Guyana	Namibia	St. Lucia	Zambia
Cameroon	Ireland, Northern	New Zealand	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	Zimbabwe
Canada (except Quebec)	Ireland, Republic of	Nigeria	Swaziland

There is a lot to this whole international job search but we hope we are leaving you with a more in lightened approach to the matter and some tools that you can use to ease the process no matter where in the world you choose to make your next home. As one final gift we would like to leave you with is a list of some of the more established web locations where you can do significant research on finding international jobs for Americans.

Antal International

Offices in 24 countries with 50 staffed offices. Opened in 1993 and has successfully placed executive in 75 countries

ART: Atlantic Research Technologies

This firm works worldwide to place US and Canadian workers in upper and middle management . Caters to high-tech, industrial and service sectors.

Barclay Simpson

UK based corporate governance recruitment. Specializes in jobs in Internal auditing, financial crimes, information security, risk, compliance, IT auditing and public sector jobs.

CareerJet

This is a search engine for international employment. One can even browse by county, job type or geographic area.

Embassy Job Search

As the name indicates this site all about Embassy jobs but they are not job listings but there are links to the embassy websites you may show jobs available in countries where you may be interested.

Employerjobs.com

Another job search engine based in the UK with reach outside. Key word search based. It appears that applicants get some additional exposure on the front page with a rotating list of names of people seeking employment.

Eurojobs.com

Pan-European job search engine with great country search that details the results by job type and number of jobs

ExecutivesOnTheWeb.com

UK based career site offering executive job search for senior management jobs across the Middle East, Europe, UK, and Africa. Visitors need to register to apply for jobs but can search jobs without registering.

ExecutiveSurf

Executive search firm based in London with offices in Prague, Warsaw and Milan. On their website candidates can apply for positions they are qualified.

GigaJob

Large website covering many countries, some that are not often covered in the international sites. You will not be able to search the entire database at once but will need to switch from one country to another in your job search.

Goinglobal.com

This is a standout site as it offers more than most for the international job seeker. It has lots of country info as well as tools and links that are useful in putting together your resume/CV as well as your job search and cultural advise.

Hudson

An industry leader in recruitment with international recruiting offices in 20 countries. Many valuable resources for the job seeker offered online.

iAgora.com

This site focuses on the recent college grad that may be looking for opportunities internationally. You can apply for free but there is a paid membership offered.

iHipo.com

Singapore based "iHipo targets young professionals and students with a social network platform for both seekers and employers. Registration is not requred to search but it is to apply for jobs.

International Jobs

Career Services for the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin

This site offers a lot of information for the international job seeker including what to expect when you step outside your home country. It attempts to prepare the uninitiated for the world of international employment and they do a pretty good job.

Jobbind.com

Great search engine for finding jobs in many countries. You will default to your country when you go to the site but you can easily change country to search another. One of the widest array of jobs and countries although some have been in the database for an extended period.

Locanto

This site brings together classified ads from all over the world including job postings. You may find jobs posted here that may not be posted elsewhere.

Monster.com

One of the 'monsters' in the industry this site speaks for itself and its reputation for job listings proceeds your visit.

NES Global

This site specializes in engineering services and specialist staff support solutions to its worldwide client base across the Oil & Gas, Power Generation and in doing so gives it a strong footing with offices in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

OverseasJobs.com

International jobs and overseas assignments are the foundation of this site for expats and professionals alike. You can check out jobs without registering

PlanetRecruit.com

Jobs from all over the world on this site and registration is not necessary. One nice feature of this site is you can only send your resume to the intended receipent and it will not be visable to others.

Renego

A classified search engine that has a database of UK, Spain, India, Poland, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and even the US. Local language is requried on many of the countries internal pages.

SAM Headhunting

This site is a little different than most as it presents the searches it is working at the moment and you can even see the positions they are trying to fill in individual offices. They cover 19 countries.

StepStone

StepStone works primarily within Europe. Just like so many others you select a country from a map or from the dropdown menu and start your search there.

TipTopJob

This site is like many other in that it has an international list of jobs and you do not have to register to look but if you apply it will automatically register you with the details of your CV

Trovit

Covering many countries in Latin America as well as Europe and the US this classified site has a lot to offer even the casual international job seeker.

World Job List

Site offers advise as well as listing spread all over the world. Most are spa and hospitality industry although others are also represented.