Money and sex. Culturally, we don’t talk about either. Some would say that’s OK. Keep our bedrooms closed and our finances locked. But wouldn’t you like to see how you stack up…financially speaking, that is?
As an international teacher, you aren’t likely contributing to a defined benefit pension. If you’re American, you aren’t contributing to Social Security, either. Whether the older person within you eventually sinks or swims depends on what you’re doing now.
How much are you investing? Do you have revenue-generating real estate? How much money do you have, so far?
My friend Dr. Jeff Devens and I created an anonymous survey for international teachers. Please take two minutes to access the survey here.
So far, the results are eye-opening, and we’re planning to share them with you once we’ve broadened the database.
We’ll soon know, for example, what percentage of teachers have student loan debt. We’ll have the breakdown by age.
We’ll know how much the typical 30-year-old teacher is saving and how much money they have for retirement. We’ll have figures for teachers within every age bracket.
After speaking at more than 90 international schools, I’ve learned that individual results will differ wildly. You might expect that, depending on how much the teachers earn. But there’s much more to it.
For example, I have friends I’ll call Bob and Margaret. They taught for 25 years at one of the highest-paid international schools in the world. When they “aged out” they were forced to retire.
Bob and Margaret earned great salaries. While working, they didn’t have to pay for housing. They received enough “home leave” allowance to fly home twice a year.
Today, they collect Social Security payments. But it’s a fraction of what they would have earned if they had stayed in the United States. They have a small investment portfolio. But they don’t earn much from that.
Bob and Margaret are almost broke.
Other friends of mine worked at a school that didn’t pay as well. Like Bob and Margaret, they raised two children and helped them pay for college. Like Bob and Margaret, they traveled and enjoyed dining out. They also laughed and smiled with the same ease as Bob and Margaret.
But similarities end there. This second couple, also in their late 60s, has almost two million dollars.
No matter what school you work at, I’ve learned that there’s a huge chasm between how much money your colleagues have. Some are doing well. Others are living underwater.
You might not notice their lifestyle differences. It can be really subtle. For example, in my book, Balance, I mentioned that my wife and I enjoyed weekly massages for 12 years.
We don’t regret that expense. But those massages cost our retirement portfolio about $750,000. Small costs, if they are invested instead of spent, can add up to huge amounts.
Now what if somebody had a weekly massage and twice-daily coffees at Starbucks? That might not sound like such a big deal. And it isn’t. But over a working career, such small decisions would cost them more than $1 million…if that money were invested, instead. That’s why two teachers can have vastly different wealth, even if they spent a career at the same school.
No, you don’t have to live like a pauper. And yes, you could enjoy massages, weekly restaurant meals and Starbucks every day. But when we do, we should cut back on other things.
Once again, our anonymous survey is live, and can be accessed here.
You’ll soon be able to see how you stack up.
But more importantly, this data will provide a framework for discussion.
We can help each other, cheer each other on, and support our quests for financial wellness.
Thank you, in advance, for completing the survey.
We look forward to sharing the results.
Andrew Hallam is the international bestseller of Millionaire Teacher, Millionaire Expat and Balance.
11 MORE Member-Submitted Comments Related to Single International School Teachers
With the hiring season upon us, there is a divide among us international school teachers. Will the international school you are interviewing with prefer to hire a teaching couple or a single teacher?
I guess it could seem like the international school is being a bit discriminatory when they state their preference (sometimes in the job description vacancy itself). Still, there might be several factors that come into play in their decision to be explicit in what they are looking for. (Here is a link to our first blog article about this topic, by the way.)
Sometimes hiring a single teacher can be more expensive than hiring a teaching couple. We all know schools love saving money! Money aside though, the administration at international schools also knows the lifestyle that prospective teachers are signing up for. The setup could be good for both singles and teaching couples, but the city and country where the school is located could also lend itself better to a single person OR a teaching couple.
It is hard to guess which type of teacher would be better for which setup, but the administration can see patterns developing amongst their staff. For example, are the single teachers or the teaching couples staying longer (or shorter) at the school? Are single teachers finding it difficult to save money there? Are single teachers able to easily meet up with other expats or locals in the city for a date?
The fact is, though, that single teachers get hired all the time during each recruitment season. If you are a quality teacher with a good resume and references (plus luck and timing), the school will consider hiring you. However, it might be good to know which international schools have a good record of hiring single teachers.
Additionally, if a school gives an offer of employment to a single teacher, what are the exact details about the benefits the school is offering you specifically? What is the lifestyle like for single teachers who live in different cities around the world?
So many factors and things to consider!
Luckily, ISC was designed to help international school-teaching couples and single teachers find the information they seek. Using the Comment Search feature (premium membership needed), we found 373 comments that had the keyword “Single teacher” in them. Here are 11 of them:
Singapore
“Housing allowance has increased and now includes allowances for single teachers, married teachers, and single-hired teachers with families.” – Chatsworth International School (69 total comments)
Zambia
“AISL still tries to hire early in the process to get the best teachers in front of students. According to fit, priority goes to teaching couples but there is a variety of couples, single teachers, local & international hires employed each year usually through Search Associates.” – American International School of Lusaka (106 total comments)
Spain
“There is no housing allowance. An average flat in the city will go from 700€ to 1000€, 1-2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. For single teachers who only rely on their salary can be tricky to make it to the end of the month.” – Benjamin Franklin International School (125 total comments)
Morocco
“There are no age restrictions. The school hires single teachers, single teachers with dependents, and married teachers with dependents. They offer free tuition for 2 children. They look for teachers with prior international experience, but there are exceptions.” – American School of Marrakesh (52 total comments)
South Korea
“The School tries to hire across a broad spectrum – teachers here span the decades and have varied experience around the world. Many are teaching couples with young families or grown-up children. There are also many young single teachers here and they have a strong network. All dependent children have a free school place.” – North London Collegiate School (Jeju) (49 total comments)
Oman
“It is not true anymore that they avoid single teachers. There are many on campus. Oman in general can be hard for single people. They are trying to hire people with IB experience. Women cannot sponsor their husband’s visa, so the trailing spouses get a long-term visitor visa (I believe).” – Al Batinah International School (112 total comments)
Vietnam
“The school hires single teachers and teaching couples with or without dependents (spouse, children) from different parts of the world (America, Europe, Asia, Africa).” – International School Saigon Pearl (217 total comments)
Zambia
“Overseas hire faculty are provided with housing relative to their household size on a purpose-built compound with many amenities. A single teacher is allocated a two-bedroom apartment, a teaching couple is allocated a three-bedroom apartment, and a family a four-bed villa. Electricity and water are covered by the school. All teachers live on a purpose-built, modern compound in proximity to the school.” – American School of Doha (65 total comments)
Indonesia
“We prefer to hire teachers with relevant IB experience. As a small school, it is not easy to “learn the ropes” from others – there is one class per grade level in primary, and one teacher p/subject in secondary. We hire single teachers, teaching couples, and teachers with families – there is no preference. However, it should be noted Bandung is not a city known for its nightlife or social scene.” – Bandung Independent School (134 total comments)
Azerbaijan
“School hires families and single teachers. They go through Search Associates. They interview via Skype. Our first interview was with HOD and Principal, second interview – with the Director. Experience with IB program is a benefit as well as teaching in other international schools.” – International School of Azerbaijan (80 total comments)
Germany
“The school tends to have only teachers coming from English-speaking countries so there is one big dominant culture. They tend to employ single teachers too…” – Metropolitan School Frankfurt (103 total comments)
If you know what the single-teacher situation is like at your international school, submit your comments here!