Hey all,
Been bouncing ideas around in my head for a while and started to get a bit lost in my own head, so I thought I’d put some stuff down on “paper” and also share and ask for feedback while I’m at it.
Context: 25 years old, graduated from top University in US with Biology BS, did some SAT Tutoring work, also about a year of biology field work ~~(doesn’t seem relevant, I’ll explain in a bit)~~. Also I have a CELTA Pass A (irrelevant). And now I’m at a point where I feel like I ***really*** need to make a long term plan.
Current step: Right now, I’m a couple days away from starting another Biology fieldwork job out of the country. After this contract finishes I plan on getting a Masters Degree in Zoology/Biology.
***The part thats relevant to this sub:***
If after those 2 years getting a Masters I realize that academia/bio isnt for me (or I just dont get accepted for a masters i guess), then my goal is to become a High School Bio teacher. But ideally I’d like to teach at an international school in Japan. And my plan to do so is something like this:
1) Get a credential
2) Start teaching
3) While teaching get an M.Ed
4) Continue teaching for at least 3 consecutive years
5) Apply to International Schools
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Now for the questions:
First off, does this seem… fine? Idk Im a naturally anxious person and often underestimate myself/overestimate requirements and just would like some feedback.
Secondly, do y’all think that the Masters in Zoology could be a bonus that would help me get hired? I can’t see it really as a negative, but theres a chance that its like the CELTA where its just kinda irrelevant for the position.
Thirdly, after doing some research it seems that a vast majority of International Schools in Japan teach with the IB system. So how important would getting IB experience be for getting an international school job? And also for folks living/lived in America, how would one go about getting IB experience?
Fourthly, I guess as a follow up to above, though this might be more of an r/teaching question. Do you think applying to schools in America with IB programs, specifically to get experience to teach overseas would look bad? Like, whats playing out in my head is
A: “Why do you want to work for our school?”
Me: “Because you have an IB Program”
A: “Why do you care about the IB Program?”
Me: “Because my long term goal is to teach IB in an International School”
A: *\*Oh so this person isnt planning to stay here for very long\**
Doesnt look very good right? (Sorry, like I said, naturally anxious person .\_\_.’)
​
Anyway, sorry for the rambling stream of consciousness post, hopefully its not so long that its hard to read. I would really appreciate any feedback or advice, or even criticism, anyone would have to offer.
Cheers in advance!
oh I guess I’m also technically a certified lvl2 Archery Coach, not that I’ve actually coached anyone, not sure if this helps at all. (Actually that certification might have expired, hmm)
5 comments
Look into getting some IB experience.
A: “Why do you care about the IB Program?”
Me: “Because my long term goal is to teach IB in an International School”
Well, first, you need to have better answers. You don’t tell them you plan to go overseas. You say that you feel the IB Program is the ideal educational program to support students academic, social, and emotional characteristics. That from what you see, many IB students have broader views, better critical thinking skills and ability to see beyond their own “child” world-view.
On the side, you should know that the competition for IB positions in schools in Japan is extremely fierce. You have hundreds of people applying for a very very very small number of potential positions. Keep in mind that ahead of any new applicant are people with more experience in IB, more experience with IB in international situations, and people in those positions rarely leave. Admittedly some retire out, or their spouse is a diplomat or expat and they return to home country, but there are 1207 IB schools in the US – but only 64 authorized IB diploma schools in Japan.
Not saying you should not try for it, but I’d advise having a desire to be an IB Biology Teacher as foremost, with the side option of, would be cool to teach in Japan. If it’s more a “I wanna be in Japan so…maybe teach IB Biology?!” I think you will be disappointed.
1. Yes it’s fine.
2. Can’t say for sure since bio isn’t my subject but seems like it will be irrelevant.
3. Important, but not a hard requirement. Even if you don’t find yourself getting IB experience prior to going overseas, you can at least familiarize yourself with the curriculum before you do. Read up on the bio subject guide, get to know all the IB terminology like IA, EE, TOK, CAS, ATL, etc.
4. Not American, but it doesn’t matter. If you’re seriously answering interview questions like that, you’ve got a bigger problem to focus on before everything else lol. Common sense would be to BS your answer with something like;
>A: “Why do you want to work for our school?”
>Me: “Because you have an IB Program”
>A: “Why do you care about the IB Program?”
“Because it is a competitive program that is established and recognized worldwide and I would love to better understand the inquiry learning style first-hand, as I personally believe in its pedagogical usefulness as a learning tool as opposed to traditional teaching methods.
Let me propose an alternate career path: You want to be able to travel, right? Work abroad?
Take your science background. Do a year or two of a master’s in biostatistics and data science. Get a job with a pharmaceutical company. The job market is hot, the pay is good, after a couple of years you can apply for positions overseas. (I have heard of people from Bangladesh and India being hired to work in Europe.) You won’t have to be constrained by state licenses and suffer from the low teaching salaries.
“Graduated from top US school” 🤣 I’ll be honest it really doesn’t matter where you graduated from, as long as your degree isn’t from nowheretobefound University. It also makes you sound a bit arrogant lol.
The most important part is the teaching license. No international school in Japan is going to hire you without that. Oh yea also, you chose one of the most competitive countries in the world to want to work in as an international school teacher. It’s on par with Korea as being notoriously difficult to get a job. So you would need at least about 4-5 years of IB teaching experience to legitimately be considered for a job in Japan. There are literally hundreds of people applying for every single teaching position. What would separate you from the competition? Not the bachelors from a “top US school”, that’s for sure. So with the teaching license and 4-5 years of teaching experience, it’s going to be at least 6 years before you can land a international teaching position in Japan. That’s AFTER you grt your master’s, which I presume will take you atleast 2 years from now.
Meaning, the earliest you can start teaching in an international school in Japan is when you’re 33-34 years old. When you’re that age, who knows what you would want to do?
The way I see it, you have 3 options.
1. Go through with the plan I just outlined and start teaching when you’re 33.
2. Not get into teaching because it’s not that great of a career anyway.
3. Lower your expectations and choose a less competitive market than Japan.
Just my two cents.
Source: I work at an international school in Korea