Maybe you are getting ready to graduate or  have recently graduated, have a degree in music education and are ready to begin teaching, but now the challenge of finding a full-time music teaching position begins. If you find yourself in this position you are probably starting to realize that this can be quite a daunting and overwhelming task. You are overwhelmed with where to begin, how to find job postings, applications, portfolios, resumes, and eventually interviews. As we all know interviewing is a challenge itself, but actually finding and applying for jobs can be a long and tiring journey. In this post I will give some resources for finding job postings, tips on filling out applications, and some general tips on the daunting task of job searching.

Where To Begin

1. Know What You Are Looking For- Before your start your searching you need to know what type of job you are looking for. What area or areas of music education do you want to teach. Also, think about what area of the country you want to work in. This helps to narrow your search and keep you focused. 
2. Do Your Research- After deciding on what you are looking for make sure you do your research. Start by researching schools in the areas you would like to work and find schools that seem like a good fit. Also, make sure you research each state you are applying in so that you know their application requirements. If looking out of state be sure to find out the requirements for transferring your teaching certificate. 
3. Have All Your Materials Prepared- Get all of your materials prepared such as cover letters, resumes, portfolios, clearances, and recommendations ready before you start searching. This way as soon as you start to find postings you are ready to mail in your materials. 
4. Be Open Minded Yet Selective- Have an open mind as to where you search, but also be selective. What I mean is don’t apply to every job posting you find even if it is where you are looking. Before you apply make sure it is a job you could see yourself in for at least a few years and the area is right for you. 

Tips On Filling Out Applications

1. Know the Expectations and Requirements- When starting to fill out applications make sure you read the job posting and make sure you know all of the requirements. Each state and often each school district requires different essays, applications and materials. Also, many schools are starting to use online applications and don’t want you to send anything by mail. Finally if you are interested in a school district that hasn’t posted a job yet, check before you send in your materials. Some schools are fine with this, but others only want materials for jobs they have posted. 
2. Allow Time- When filling out applications allow plenty of time as it is a very time consuming process. This is especially true if you are using job search sites such as USReap or PaEducator which require extensive profiles. These take a long time to fill out and need to be done before postings start coming out. I recommend getting this done in the winter or early spring before you start searching. 
3. Have Standard Essays and Applications Prepared- If your state has a standard application or essay get these prepared ahead of time. Also make sure to keep a hard copy of these on your computer so you can print them out for other schools or update the information. 
4. Appearance is Half the Battle- When filling out applications and preparing your packet of materials make sure that everything is neat and organized. Appearance is half of the battle. Since schools get hundreds of applications for one position they often start weeding out the applications by just glancing at them and checking if you followed directions before they even start reading your qualifications. 
5. Find Ways to Stand Out- When sending applications find ways to make yourself stand out. One way to do this is by making a mini-portfolio or brochure about yourself that you can send with every application. Another way to do this is by making an online portfolio and including the web address in your materials. WordPress is a great way to do this for free. Here is mine as an example: www.elizabethheist.com

Resources For Finding Job Openings

There are many easily available resources for job searching. Below are some specific sites and and also some more general ways to find postings. For anything below that is state specific, most states have their own version of the same website.

1. PA Educator- A specific site for PA that many PA schools use to post openings.
2. US Reap- Online job portal for many states. Create a profile once and then use it for any of the states that post jobs.
3. Teaching In PA- Postings for all fields of open jobs in PA. Many others states have sites just like this one.
4. Teacher Catapult- Another site specific to PA, but is a great resource if you are looking for jobs in PA. Also, has great general job searching resources.
5. Teachers- Teachers- An online job portal where you can search for jobs worldwide and also private schools. All you have to do is create a profile, select what types of jobs you are looking for and it will automatically show you related postings.
6. School Spring- Similar to teachers-teachers where you can search any states for postings.
7. Classified Ads- Websites such as Indeed, Craigslist, and Monster have postings for music education jobs.
8. State Education Boards- Most stated school boards update regular job postings such as Pennsylvania School Boards Association
9. State Department of Education- Check out your states department of education website. Most have an online job search portal.
10. State Music Education Associations- Most state music education websites have a job board.
11. NAFME Job List
12. Local School Districts- If you are looking in a certain area check the local school district websites for a list of postings.
13. Local Newspapers
14. Private Schools- A directory that links you to private schools by state.
15. Job Fairs- Attend local job fairs or do a search for job fairs and see which school districts are attending and what subject areas the are looking to hire.
16. Word of Mouth- Sometimes the best way to find openings is by word of mouth. Ask friends, co-workers, professors, private lesson teachers, music stores etc.
17. Professional Learning Networks- In my opinion this is one of the best ways to find postings and also ask about certain areas or job opportunities.

General Job Searching Tips

1. Start Early- Don’t wait until summer to start searching because you will miss out on a lot of opportunities. End of April/beginning of May is when many schools start positing, but you will often find a lot of postings earlier in the year as well. Some schools will even start interviews as early as February or March. 
2. Search Often- While job searching is definitely time consuming I have  found that it is extremely important to get into a routine and do your searches often. Many times schools will only keep a posting up for 1 week. So you want to keep checking back and have everything ready to send in so that you don’t miss a chance at a job because of being unprepared. 
3. Continue Gaining Experience- While you are job searching, continue to gain teaching experience. This could be through student teaching, substitute teaching, a long-term assignment, working at  a summer music camp, or being on a marching band staff. The more experience you have the better your chances are for landing and interview and securing a job. 
4. Have a Backup Plan- We all hope to land that first job right out of college, but unfortunately that doesn’t always happen. Try to have a backup plan in mind in case you don’t land a full-time position right away. If you are planning on subbing if you don’t get a full-time position get your materials in during the summer. It is better to get your materials in early and possible have to tell them you got a full-time job instead of waiting until August. If you wait until then you probably won’t start subbing until at least the end of September. 
5. Don’t Give Up- This is definitely easier said than done, but try to not give up. There is a job out there for you, but sometimes it takes awhile to find. Some of the best educators I know didn’t get a full-time position for a few years. Just keep plugging away and something will eventually come your way!

Related posts:

1. How Evernote Changed the Way I Job Search
2. Hire Me! Tips for Finding Your First Music Teaching Job After Graduation
3. Applications Applications…

As an undergraduate music ed major, I approach teaching probably a little different than some other people.  I teach my students facility on their instrument, but I believe it is just as important (if not more important) that they develop overall independent musicianship.  In other words, I try to teach my students to be good, independent musicians by using/playing their particular instrument.  I choose this approach for a few reasons.  Most importantly, I believe that it is my duty as a music educator to create good musical citizens.  It is critical that people are able to listen to music, evaluate and analyze music, sing melodies in tune, and keep a beat in their bodies.  These skills transcend the playing of any particular instrument, and having them makes for a more fulfilling life.

I try to teach independent musicianship to my private students so that they can carry their musical knowledge into the rest of their musical lives.  When I was in fourth grade, my first instrument was the clarinet.  I played it in school for five years.  I am now in my third year as a tuba major in music school.  If I had only learned the technical aspects of pushing the correct buttons on the clarinet, and nothing else, I would have been out of luck when the time came to learn the tuba. Instead, because I knew scales, reading, theory, how to sing in tune, and how to audiate, I had a much easier time transferring my musical knowledge in a relevant and applicable way.

Another reason I try to ‘make good musical citizens’ out of my students is very related to the previous reasons.  Basically, I want my students to be able to appreciate and enjoy music to the best of their ability.  Too often do we see people experiencing truly beautiful musical moments, but they find those moments incredibly boring or unlistenable because they have not been taught how to appreciate them.  That does not mean I try to brainwash all of my students to enjoy classical music; I don’t.  Instead, I try to work with the student to help them ‘open their ears’, and learn how to listen to more than just the surface of whatever particular piece of music they are listening to.  I don’t care if it’s Mozart, Duke Ellington, or Lady Gaga, I want my students to be able to experience, appreciate, and enjoy the music that they play and listen to.

When you get right down to it, I think that is what it is all about, that is why we do what we do: to teach students how to have a genuine and enjoyable musical experience by using their independent musicianship.  This is what I try to accomplish with my students.

Matt Ercolani is in his third year as an undergraduate music education major at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.  At Rowan University, he is the Vice-President of the Rowan chapter of Collegiate NAfME (National Association for Music Education), and helps lead the most active collegiate chapter in the state.  Mr. Ercolani has taught at music camps across the country, including as a member of the all-volunteer SWAG Team at the 2010 Music-For-All Summer Symposium in Normal, Illinois. Most recently, he was selected for participation in the first-ever TI:ME Leadership Academy at the 2012 TI:ME National Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.  Mr. Ercolani is an active freelance private teacher and musician in the South Jersey area.  His research and teaching interests include early childhood music education and utilizing technology to teach non-traditional music students. You can find more about him at http://mattercolani.wordpress.com.

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1. #MusEdChat Recap- Life Lessons (10-18-10)
2. Benefits of Drum Corps for a Music Education Major (Part 1/2)
3. Don’t Waste Your Electives!

1.) Digital Musical Instruments

Yes, digital instruments are great for experimentation, but they’re next to useless when it comes to actually teaching you how to play an instrument or compose. One need only check out a free website like Virtual Musical Instruments.com to spot the problem. While these digital versions might give you the basic sounds of the instruments they represent, they won’t teach you the tactile skills needed to make that instrument sing. Investing in software applications that use digital musical instruments to teach technique or composition can actually wind up harming your musical progress more than helping it.

2.) Microsoft Kinect

For those interested in music technology, Microsoft Kinect might seem like an obvious investment choice. It’s been used to create plenty of music software applications, but it has one major problem. As noted by Synthotopia, Kinect is prone to musical latency of up to 1/10th of a second. This means that the time between when a note is struck and when it is audible can actually vary by one tenth of a second, thus rendering your performance rhythm off by one second for every ten seconds that are played. This certainly isn’t helpful for practicing true performance. You’re much better off charting your performance the old-fashioned way: record yourself while playing.

3.) Smartphone Audio Editors

The truth of the matter is you won’t be doing much audio editing when you’re on the go. You can’t get the sound quality you need to make nuanced tonal distinctions and decisions from your headphones while sitting in Starbucks, so it’s really not helpful to have an application that will let you edit while on the go. One need only check out a smartphone audio editor like Twisted Wave to see that in addition to lacking the sound quality that budding professional musicians need, it doesn’t offer the editing and mixing possibilities of audio design programs designed for your full-fledged computer. That software that might cost a good bit more (often $50 to $100), but opens a world of sound editing possibilities.

4.) Ear Training Software

You don’t need to spend upwards of $50 on software to learn how to recognize notes by ear. EarMaster 5 might offer musicians the chance to train with a variety of instruments, but you can learn just as much (albeit without the snazzy bells and whistles) if you use a free equivalent like good-ear.com. It offers similar opportunities to train your ear to recognize notes, and eventually play by ear.

5.) Sound Boards, Amplifiers, and Other Big Ticket Items

Yes, you might really feel like a professional musician if you have an amplifier in your basement or a soundboard in the spare bedroom, but this is hardly important if you’re living on a budget. Colleges’ music departments provide the big bells and whistles. You’ll have to book time in the recording studio or check out the amplifier, but you don’t have to buy your own right away. Let the school cover the bill for the expensive equipment. If you should worry about any technology of your own, it should be making sure your computer is the best miniature recording and editing studio it can be.

Technology is making it easier for musicians to compose, edit, and format their work, but that doesn’t mean that all music technology is something students need. Some of it is useless to serious musicians, or just extraneous. Other items are simply too expensive to justify buying yourself, especially if there’s a way to gain access to it for free through your school. Whatever the case, it’s best to do some serious research before handing over hard-earned cash for the latest technology.

Related posts:

1. Music Technology Presentation
2. #MusEdChat Recap – Technology (5/3/2010)
3. Don’t Waste Your Electives!

Just breathe.

Here’s the most important piece of advice I was ever told about college auditions.  Professors WANT you to do well. Professors WANT to see you succeed. Remember they WANT to recruit you. Professors don’t want to go about teaching their freshman the basics, they want to get down and dirty to the hardcore musicianship. If you show in an audition, not necessarily perfection, but raw material, that a professor can easily work with, then you are on the track to acceptance.

Don’t freak out. Just remember these smiling faces are actually excited to meet you! They need freshman and you are potentially one of those freshman!

Think before you play. You’ve probably heard this statement billions of times from your private teacher before. I’m telling you, you’ll probably forget so I’m reminding you once more. Think before you play. Breathe. Relax. Professors understand the stress and want you to play your absolute best. So make sure you make the most out of those 10 minutes and show them confidently that you can play.
Also, be yourself. Don’t choke. They want to see your personality too! Have fun with them.

Smile.. Always remember to smile and walk in with confidence in your music. Let the professors enjoy your song for that short moment you have with them.

I’ll tell you a short story from personal experience. I, myself, have never been a performer. I love playing, but solo performances have never sat right with me. And I’m a bundle of nerves going in to play for people. But trust me when I say that auditions are only as scary as you make them out to be. Go to your happy place. Do any pre-performance rituals you normally do. Wear your lucky shoes or listen to your piece on your iPod on repeat for three hours before hand. And most importantly, stay calm and breathe. Make the most out of the time you have. And enjoy it!

Related posts:

1. Choosing Audition Repertoire
2. College Shopping- School Visits!
3. College Applications: Prioritizing Schools

Suggestion #1: Fill out your applications and have a rough draft of your essays BEFORE school begins.
Accomplishing all of this early will save you hours and hours of headaches when stressed at the beginning of the year with IB and AP classes, marching band seasons (if you’re a band participant) and every other rehearsal that may take up your time. It may be difficult to get that work ethic going before school is in session, but just take the week before and fill out everything you need to. Also, see how many schools of yours accept the CommonApp Application. This saves you a lot of time as well, but don’t get too excited- there are always supplements!

Suggestion #2: Know your limits.
Please know that for simply applying to schools, there is a fee. To send SAT scores there is a fee, which must be paid for each school you wish to send them too. To send ACT scores there is also a fee, which must be paid for each school you wish to send them too. Applying can get pricey so make sure that whoever is laying out the money for applications is okay with the amount of schools you are applying to.

Suggestion #3: Uniqueness- It’s Essay Time
This part you can actually have fun with. You can write about almost anything for the CommonApp, and a lot of the time individual schools with their own applications have fun with the essay portion, and give you a very out-of-the-box topic. Be creative. Think of a completely random experience that you can look back on as if it was a movie scene, and you know you’ll never forget it. Or think of the time that you realized who you truly were. I can’t tell you which experience or person or place to talk about as I have not lived your life. But think of something that no one else can say “Oh, that happened to me too!” Be unique. Be original. And if you have fun writing it, the schools will have fun reading it.

Suggestion #4: Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
The minute school begins, knock on your English teacher’s door and say “Can you read this?!?” Ask for as many opinions as you can find – guidance counselor, teachers, parents and all. Do not be afraid to ask for opinions and don’t be afraid of a little constructive criticism. The school officials and family members are only there to help you. No worries!

The added stress of college applications is not what anyone wants, especially when beginning your senior year of high school. But, it will be much less painful if you get the dirty work done in the summertime. Remember to always be yourself and let that show in everything you write. Let colleges hear your voice and don’t stress!

Related posts:

1. College Applications: Prioritizing Schools
2. Researching Schools: Where Do I Look?
3. College Shopping- School Visits!

Step 1: Take a look at that chart you’ve made. When looking at every school’s audition rep list- Is there an overlap for any of these pieces?
Now, I most likely guarantee that you won’t be playing the same program for every school but if you could possibly find a program that you could play at more than one school, you are in good shape my friend.

Step 2: Take a look at the dates for auditions. Do you think you are going to be able to play this music at the same caliber, three months apart? You must look realistically at the big picture here. If you are a disciplined practicing musician, then I definitely say you’ll be fine but if you know after the first audition you won’t want to pick up the piece again, then maybe it’s not so smart to choose the same program.
Step 3: This is massively important I tell you. Do you like the music? If you don’t like the music, and it shows when you play it, don’t choose it. Times spent trying to make yourself love something you simply are sick and tired of, may not pay off as much as you would think. Make sure you’re excited and eager. Go to YouTube right now and check the pieces out! Find ones that you love.
Step 4: Which pieces that you have narrowed this down to, really show your strengths as a musician? You want to show off what you got in a sense. You want to have a well- balanced offering of pieces and a strong and equal stance on all. These pieces need to help you, not hurt you. So choose wisely! And make sure you like them. Trust me, you don’t want to be stuck drawing hearts on your sheet music to make you play with joy. Have fun with it!

New music, get excited. And break a leg!!!

Related posts:

1. #MusEdChat Recap- Connecting With Repertoire (11-29-10)
2. #MusEdChat Recap – Repertoire (4/26/10)
3. The Big Fat Scary Mean College Audition… (I’m Kidding!)

Coursework

Course Loads and Class Time

Reflecting on my undergraduate experience, I’ll never forget the semester I took 21 hours or the semester when I had 13 classes!  This is a familiar story for many undergraduate music education majors.  In graduate school, course loads are much more reasonable.  Full time graduate students typically take between 9 to 12 hours, which translates into 3 to 5 courses.  I tend to focus more on the number of classes rather than the number of hours since each course will require a lot of work regardless of how many credit hours you will earn.  It’s also important to take into account any time commitments that an assistantship may bring.

Final Thoughts & Things to Consider

• Many schools require proficiency exams in music history, music theory, aural skills, piano, and possibly more.  All I can say about this is good luck!
• Prior to entering a program, get familiar with some of the most common music education journals and read a few articles (hint:  skip the statistics-laden results sections for now).
• Be prepared to do a lot more reading and writing than you have ever done!
• Finally, I think it is imperative that a person goes into graduate work with very specific goals.  For me, the key to establishing my goals was spending a few years outside of the college environment teaching.  This may not be the route for everyone, but it certainly can’t hurt anyone to enter graduate school with some time away from higher education.

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1. Should I or Shouldn’t I? Things to Think About for Graduate School
2. What type of Grad Program is Right for Me?
3. 100 Music Education Majors Tweeting!

Are you finding yourself bombarded by tons of brochures? Junk college mail? E-mails? The amount of information you receive is impossible for even the most organized person to keep track of. But no worries college applicant, you are in luck!!! I have developed a simple and easy way of keeping track of all this overwhelming info. Just follow these steps.

The Process:

1. Open up a Word document, make the page layout in landscape form, and create a table. You want 4 rows, and each college you plan on applying to will have its own column, plus one more column for labels.
2. In the first column, use these labels in order, for each row
   1. “College”
   2. “Audition Dates”
   3. “Possible Degrees”
   4. “Audition Repertoire”
3. Use each column after that to fill in the criteria based on whichever school you are looking at.
4. For “Possible Degrees” you might be wondering why it’s necessary. For those who are unsure which music degree we want to eventually go into, this helps use prioritize which school caters the most to our interests. Also, after visiting schools I found out that for example, the University of North Texas’s music education program is 5 years, which is something I definitely took note of in this section. At UMiami, if you take part in the marching band, all your book expenses are covered, which I also took note of in this section. Since I eventually want to go into ethnomusicology I wrote things like “minor in anthropology” at Ithaca College because it’s good prep for a graduate program and they have a great anthropology program at Ithaca. Or “African Drumming Program” at SUNY Fredonia and “specialized study in ethno” for UNT.
5. For “Audition Repertoire” I simply went to each school’s website for audition repertoire and copy and pasted the requirements into each box. Over the year as I realized what I was going to play, I highlighted the piece in red (you may choose whatever color you desire!).
6. You will soon find the handy dandy use of the first row, the “audition dates.” When trying to book your trips, your flights, your weekends of auditions it gets overwhelming due to the amount of audition dates available for each school, and figuring out what school you will go to when. Having all the available dates on one piece of paper was by far the greatest benefit. It saves all the stress and chaos of having all those music brochures around your dining room table, certain schools getting lost in the sauce and then you realize that you need to adjust everything to work with another school that you might have forgotten about. This is all the good stuff on one piece of paper- all you need is a highlighter, your school calendar and parents help too when deciding when you can travel where! Just highlight the dates you believe will suit you and your family best.

Hint: Go to your top choice schools during their first few audition dates offered. You have a better chance of getting accepted when you show early interest in the school.

So with these steps, you can organize your entire musical collegiate experience!!! It’s as easy as pie. And I must say, I made this chart back in about January of my Junior year (which is way early, so don’t panic applicants, you have time!). I went back countless times to edit it and add things and to find my audition rep. And, I still use it, after all my applications are through and auditions are booked. This chart is beyond helpful and I highly recommend any college applicant to try it out. Make one!

And let me know how you like it! Any questions, feel free to comment! I will always try and help! Suggestions to make the chart even more helpful! Comment! This chart is still a baby, and I am 100% open minded to improvements and additions, so please let me know what you think! Hope this is a helpful start.

Happy prioritizing!

Related posts:

1. Choosing Audition Repertoire
2. College Shopping- School Visits!
3. The Big Fat Scary Mean College Audition… (I’m Kidding!)

In 1998 after my second year of teaching high school band, we were on a backpacking trip though Europe. In a little village outside of Innsbruck, Austria we ran into another American teaching couple and shared classroom stories over a few beers. It turned out that they were teaching at an international school in Narobi, Kenya (http://www.isk.ac.ke/). Their school had over 700 students and offered the American as well as the International Baccalaureate diplomas. They also told us that there were schools like this all over the world. We had no idea.

We did research over the next few years and decided to make our move in the fall of 2003. By that July we were living in Singapore and working at the Singapore American School (SAS); a pre-k through grade 12 campus with 3900 students. I currently run a middle school band program with 230 students grades 6-8. We have five general music teachers that work with the K-5 students, we have band, choir, and orchestra in both the middle and high school as well as AP music theory. There are over 800 students in our performing ensembles taught by thirteen music teachers.

I have made friends with music teachers from all over the world through my involvement in the Association for Music in International Schools – AMIS (http://amis-online.org.uk/ ). Through this organization I have been able to take students on festival trips to Beijing, Shanghai, Manila, Bangkok, Paris, Rabat (Morocco), and Jakarta. I have been invited to guest conduct international music festivals in Beijing, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur.

When I was in university, I would never have dreamed any of this was possible. At this point in our lives, we don’t ever plan to work in the US again…and neither do most of the other teachers I talk to who are currently working abroad. Teaching abroad is that good and I can’t believe that it took us so many years to find out about the international teaching scene. I have been doing my best to tell all of my friends in the US about it and when I was invited to post on this site, I jumped on the chance. I want you to know about it so that you have more options. Teaching abroad is not for everyone but for those that have a sense of adventure, I believe that you must look into it. Below I have provided some information that I hope will be useful for you.

Pros/Cons

This list of pros vs. cons is based on my personal experience and I have only worked at one school. I know many teachers at other schools and  tried to provide  anecdotal evidence from discussions with them.

Pros

Salary: Many international schools pay extraordinarily well but it depends on the school and the region. Schools that are for private will pay a lot less than those that are non profit. The best places to make an exceptional salary are in Asia and the Middle East. Most western European schools have low salaries with very few benefits.  There are a some that pay well, but job openings at those schools do not come available too often. I’ve been told that many schools in South America are for profit so the salaries are low, but then again, the cost of living is also very low.

It’s hard to compare salaries when you know nothing about the cost of living in a foreign city. What you have to look at is the benefit package the school offers. For example, at my school, besides the basic salary, we receive an overseas salary supplement each year (extra money for working overseas), a monthly housing allowance that pays for our condo plus we get that balance back in cash of we don’t use the entire amount, a flight to get you to the school when you sign your contract and one home when you contract ends, flights to the US once a year for each family member, free tuition for your dependents, moving allowance,  and the annual wage supplement- an extra paycheck in December. This seems unreal, but,  international schools are private schools that need to attract clients (students). They best way to do this is to hire great teachers and one of the ways to attract teachers to move overseas is with great hiring packages.

Travel/Culture/Diversity - Working overseas has allowed me and my family to experience so many different cultures. The traveling we have done during holidays to over fifteen countries is something I would never have been able to afford while working in the US.  Secondly, we have over forty different nationalities at my school. I have learned so much from my colleagues and my students about their home countries and cultures. With students and friends I have had the chance to  celebrate Hari Raya Pusa, Deepavali, Hari Raya Hajii, Chinese New Year, Singapore National Day, and The Hungry Ghost Festival. I’ve trekked though the Indian Himalayas chatting with sherpas about their home in Nepal, attended a traditional Indian wedding, built lanterns for a festival in Thailand…  The list goes on and on. Growing up in a small town in Illinois I never dreamed any of this. I am truly a global citizen now because of my choice to work abroad.

School Climate – At many international schools the arts are completely supported and the constant worry of having your program cut is not a concern. For many schools, a quality arts program is a great recruiting tool when it comes to getting parents to enroll their child. The students are usually quite motivated and work very hard. If you think about it, many of the international schools cater to foreign businesses that have their executives overseas. These are highly motivated and successful people and their children tend to be the same.

The parents are usually very active in school and support their children in any way possible. They are also usually well off financially and this has increased benefits for your classroom. For example, at the end of each year I send out an email asking 7th grade parents to consider upgrading their students beginner model instrument to something better. I often see the 8th grade students the next fall with Bach strads and Buffet clarinets.

Private international schools can also be quite financially independent. At my school, I have a substantial budget that allows me to purchase enough rental instruments (the larger ones) to give  every student one to have at school and at home. Also, we are not allowed to fund raise at our school and there really isn’t a need. When I took my students on the trips I listed above, I told the parents the price of the trip, and they wrote a check. No fund raising period! Based on my conversions with other teachers in AMIS many of the schools are similar in this aspect.

Oh and by the way… there is no marching band ( I consider this a “pro”). Marching band is a product of the US and is not widely accepted overseas. Even if you wanted to have one, you can’t have a  summer band camp because everyone has gone back to their home country for the summer. I can only think of one intentional school in all of Asia that has a pep band. Your Friday nights are free to enjoy as you wish.

Cons

Stress on the family- If you are very close to your family, living overseas can be stressful. You will miss everyone’s birthday parties and holiday gatherings or you will have to be a long distance observer through Skype. Again, it depends on the school and where it is located, but if you want to work in Asia making it back home is a long and arduous process. It takes my family 22 hours to get to Chicago from Singapore. The jet lag is awful and lasts a week. Conversely, there is a great school in Monterrey Mexico where many teachers can take a road trip to Texas to do their shopping. Location, location, location.

Transient nature of Teaching Abroad – There are two cons in this category. The first is that most teachers that teach abroad move around often. Should you work overseas for any given period of time, you will have to say goodbye to many of your friends. There are some schools where teachers stay put, but that is not the norm.

Secondly, and this applies mostly to music teachers and coaches, it’s tough to build a program.  Companies can decide at the drop of a hat to move an employee and when that happens, their whole family is relocated too. You may lose your 1st chair violin or best trumpet player over the Christmas break. However, this also means you may gain new students at anytime too. One year when I was thinking I was going to have a weak trumpet section, two new good players moved in over the summer and the section turned out to be one of the strongest.

Retirement/Contracts/Tenure- Many schools abroad do not have any forced retirement savings plan. There are no 401K’s or teacher retirement systems. At our school we are handed a lump sum each month for retirement ( I forgot to mention that above in the salary “pros”) and we have to figure out what to do with it. If you are not good with money…this could defiantly be a “con.” This could also be a “pro” because you are allowed to invest your money however you wish.

Initial contracts at most international schools are given for two years and if you are unhappy at a school and break a contract after a year, you’ll have a hard time getting a job at another international school. While there are thousands of schools around the globe, it’s a tight knit community and all the heads of schools seem to know each other. You’ll be blacklisted. When you complete your initial two year contract, for each year following you will probably be offered one year contracts based on your performance. There is no tenure and there are no government regulations to protect you. You work hard because you may not get invited back if you don’t.

You Might Wear Many Hats – I have the luxury of working at a very large school that has enough students to support separate band choir and orchestra programs. I only teach the middle school bands. Many international schools are small and you may have to wear many hats. I have a colleague in Aberdeen Scotland that is the music teacher at the school. It’s a very small school and he teaches all of  music classes from K through 12. This is not a “con” for him and he loves it. However, you need to be prepared that you might be asked to teach just about any music class.

How to Get Started:

If you are interested in teaching abroad, recruiting for happens very early. We found that out the first year  we started to look for jobs overseas. We began the process in March and by then, most of the positions were already filled -especial the music positions. Many international schools have a December 1st deadline for current employees to notify administration if they are returning the following year. Recruiting fairs happen in January and February. A late one occurs in the summer to fill all the left over positions that couldn’t get filled earlier.

I would start by buying the online guide at the “Joy Jobs” website. We started here and found it incredibly useful. http://www.joyjobs.com/ This is a comprehensive guide to finding positions overseas. Next, sign up for a recruiting fair. Many schools will not accept cold emails and only recruit through the fairs. there are two main recruiting firms. Search Associates http://www.search-associates.com/ and International School Services- http://www.iss.edu/education-careers/for-educators/ host the largest fairs. The University of Northern Iowa also hosts a fair http://www.uni.edu/placement/overseas/ . Be aware that there are fees involved to get invited to the fairs. To get an invite, you will have to submit a CV and letters of recommendation to your chosen recruiting firm.  Please note: many recruiting firms may  tell that they don’t offer invites to a fair unless you have a minimum of three years teaching experience. Don’t let this deter you. This is sometimes overlooked for music teachers because these positions can be hard to fill.

The biggest key to getting hired for a school abroad is to be flexible. If you get invited to a recruiting fair, don’t go with the hopes of getting one specific position or with the idea of working in one  specific country. Schools want to save money and sending administrators overseas to recruiting fairs is expensive. If they can fill the position in advance the will. The job you see posted on sites like TIE Online (you can sign up here- http://www.tieonline.com/ to receive immediate notices when jobs are posted) may be filled before you even get to the recruiting fair. Don’t get stuck on teaching in Europe.

There is also a hierarchy to who will get hired first at an international school. If a school is paying for your housing, wouldn’t it save them more money if two teachers lived in the same house? Teaching couples get hired first before single teachers. You may be more qualified than a competitor for the job you want, but your competitor may be more affordable. Be flexible. If you are single, con your friend into teaching abroad and tell the schools you interview with that you will live in the same house. Just make sure your friend is not another music teacher. Your options will be severely limited if you are looking for two music positions at the same school.

I hope I have provided you with some useful information to help you get  started with your career teaching abroad. By no means is the information above comprehensive. As stated before, this is my experience based on my career overseas and discussions with my colleagues.  Every countries laws are different and every international school is different. Do your research, expand your possibilities, and go to the fairs with an open mind.  You won’t regret it.

Related posts:

1. Applications Applications…
2. Hire Me! Tips for Finding Your First Music Teaching Job After Graduation
3. Researching Schools: Where Do I Look?

Student…

The life of an undergraduate music education major is incredibly busy.  Most students will take on ridiculous course loads filled with all kinds of classes, performances, proficiency requirements, and part-time jobs.  Some of these obstacles seem incredibly important while others seem vaguely relevant.  Somewhere in the midst of all of this, the new graduate has also managed to complete at least a semester of student teaching, and is ready to take on his or her own classroom. The new graduate is deployed into the world with a stack of official university transcripts, a pending teaching certificate/license, letters of recommendation, and an enormous collection of three ring binders containing nearly half a decade’s worth of important handouts.

Teacher…

New graduates should be proud of their accomplishments, confident of their knowledge and skills, and prepared to enter into a classroom as “The Teacher” rather than “The Student.”   It is the last part of this equation that I think is the most important in terms of preparedness.  After all, new graduates have been living the role of a student since kindergarten, and now must adjust to a different routine and lifestyle.  While we are never truly done being students, there is a transition or redefinition that takes place after graduation.  Graduates should not be frightened by this change, but should see this is an overdue rite of passage.  Following are a few of the challenges you will face, along with some helpful tips for easing these transitions:

• Time management: Your daily schedule is going to contain much less down time than when you were a student.  Make the most of your scheduled planning time*.  This is where being a self-starter and creating “to do lists” based on priority will preserve sanity.  Also, remember there comes a time when you have to make yourself stop working and go home.  If you find yourself lacking time to get important things done, rethink how you are doing things and simplify.
• Accountability: You are already familiar with accountability, except when you were a college student, you were only accountable for your own learning.  Now, you are accountable for others’ learning as well.  This might be a good time to revisit that philosophy of music education paper you likely had to write in one of your undergrad classes.
• Time Off: When you were in college, you were spoiled with dubious amounts of time off during the months of December and January.  This will change dramatically; however, adjusting to this is not that hard if you take whatever time you get and relax!  Put the job on hold!  Don’t be that director who never stops working.  It’s unbecoming. Your students deserve a teacher who has spent some time resting.
• Employed: Here is the part you didn’t get to experience as a student teacher.  You are now an employee of the school district, and with that comes certain responsibilities.  This is unfortunately an area where you will have to do quite a bit of discovery learning, as every job comes with different expectations.  People skills and asking questions are key!
• Context: Lastly, what I remember most about this transition was the sudden existence of context for decision making.  Undergraduates spend a lot of time discussing the ins and outs of teaching, but largely this is done in a vacuum where students are not given contextual factors that may place realistic restrictions on decision making.  I think this leads to a lot of “best case scenario” thinking, but rarely does a first year teacher end up in such a position.  Ask lots of questions early and often so that you have sufficient time to wrap your head around the contextual factors of your new position.  While your still in school, spend some time considering challenging “what if” scenarios:…What if I show up and there are no chairs in the room? ….What if I have purchasing needs, but no budget money until December?…What if my predecessor forgot to send off instruments for much-needed repairs?… etc.  Get creative with these ideas and write down multiple solutions.

Student

Returning to the role of full time student while pursuing a graduate degree also has it’s transitional challenges (much easier though!).  Having taught for a few years, you have a better idea of what you don’t know, and continuing your education gives you the chance to remedy that.  In a future post, I will compare the differences between music education at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

*You should have a plan/conference period in your schedule.  If you do not, this is a battle worth choosing.

Related posts:

1. Follow Along with the Student Teacher’s Notebook
2. #MusEdChat Recap- Student Teaching (9-6-10)
3. Session Notes: Adding Value to the Student Teaching Experience