Any science teacher jobs in oz???

[edonnelly834]

Me and my husband and 2 young children are thinking of emigrating to oz. However from looking at various threads from various forums, jobs seem few and far between?? Has anybody any idea which state(s) would offer the best chance of securing a job? I do not want to up root my family if I cant find work...do not want to do relief work long term. I have a 4 yr B.Ed and have been talking to migration agent and would def achieve points for independent skilled visa. Since I am the principal applicant, the decision for us to move is totally based on me getting a teaching job. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Guest Guest26012]

Hi, have you looked on seek.com? I know some teachers have struggled to find work, only from posts on here. I'm not a teacher so can't help you with question really. I think you just need to research, if you qualify for a visa then that's good.

[Quoll]

High School science is perhaps the most marketable of all teacher skills but, even so, you may find a rural or remote placement easier to pick up than your bog standard Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane scene. I know Petals' son scored a position eventually out in the North West of Victoria and I would imagine if you were to volunteer to go where other teachers don't want to go you stand a better chance - many states have the "hardship points" process whereby you stand a better chance at a plum position if you have done the hard yards. Government schools usually have a link to employment on the state's education website. Private school are more likely to hit seek.com. Basically choose a state and work from there but chances are you won't get anything (govvie anyway) until you are in the country and ready to go.

[Dorset]

Which science do you teach?

[edonnelly834]

Thanks for the replies and sorry I haven't been on in a while but husband had serious fall but on the mend now. I teach A level biology and all 3 sciences to GCSE. I have been on various sites like seek and teachers.net most vacancies are advertised between sept and dec. If i could just find out what state i would have the greatest chance of getting work in and then we could take it from there. We would need to be in oz and be pr before i could apply for a job. Its the uncertainity of me getting a job that is making it hard for us to make the decision to go to oz or not. Part of us wants to just try it, but it would be an expensive mistake if I could not get enough work and we had to go back. Looking at the standard of living costs me and my husband would both need to be working full time. If you know any teachers who have successfully got teaching work lately in oz i would be grateful if you could point me in their direction....thanks

[Quoll]

Some states have a policy to place newbies in hard to fill places and you earn points for when you want a nice plum job in a place that migrants would generally want to live in. If you don't mind living out in the boondocks for a few years then you have a better chance. I wouldn't be banking on a permanent position in a nice place. Science to GCSE might not be quite enough, to A levels would be better.

 

I guess it all depends where you can get a visa for - not sure which states have secondary teachers on the list.

 

Some states have a two step process (well, ACT does and it was similar to NSW) where there is a recruitment round which gives you a score when they come to the placement round where they place existing staff first then fill in the gaps with the newbies.

 

Whatever you do, don't quit your jobs, take career breaks just in case

[Emma132]

At the moment I'm starting to look at various science teaching positions and hoping to move out this year. There do seem to be science vacancies around and not in remote locations either. I've been looking at Queensland.

There seem to be quite a few Head of Science positions advertised here for Queensland:

https://smartjobs.qld.gov.au/jobtools/jncustomsearch.jobsearch?in_organid=14904

I don't know how many people will apply though so it's difficult to tell if there's a demand or not.

You might find the following helpful too:

http://www.smartteachers.co.uk/contact

http://www.teachers.on.net/

http://education.qld.gov.au/hr/recruitment/teaching/current-vacancies.html

 

 

It's worth bearing in mind that the start of the school year is end of January so looking towards the end of the year might give you a more realistic idea of how many jobs there are.

[Quoll]

Part of the problem is that current staff are given preference over new staff and those who have done the hard yards in remote areas will get priority. Also, most positions already have someone sitting in them - sadly, it's not as easy as it sounds!

[Emma132]

It hasn't sounded easy from the start Quoll, it's understandable what you say but also frustrating. I can see me spending hours applying for jobs that are not really vacant. It would be good to have a website with "these jobs are for anyone not having worked in Australia before and from employers who would be willing to consider you when you are not in the country"! ;-)

[edonnelly834]

Thanks Emma132 for websites and Quoll, I hear what you say and have heard this before....when you talk about the sticks....how far out? I have been in OZ about 12 years ago on a working holiday visa so I have some idea of how grim some areas can be but those areas were in and around regional towns all over, I have never been much inland apart from Alice Springs. Would it really be that bad...would those sort of communities be welcoming to foreigners?

[alexandgail]

Can I join in this thread? I'm an experienced Biology/Chem/Science teacher at major crossroads in life and considering (enforced) going it alone to Aus, looking at either Melbourne or Adelaide. I have a secure job in the UK. I would seriously consider moving the move alone if I was pretty confident of getting a job, but the messages seem to be mixed. It would be terrible to have no work, I'm not swimming in money so couldn't be self-sufficient for months on end. My life has been enough of a catastrophe here.

[wolvesaussie]

hi alex we in the same boat as well girlfriend a science teacher with full time steady job trying to decide if we should move. a lot of the time the negative teaching info has (except maths or science) teachers on the end of it. But also see science teachers strugling as.well. im not.sure if put at disadvantage as uk has specialist teachers but uk does not. most jobs are for maths\science teacher in one person

[alexandgail]

Thanks wolvesaussie, its a big decision. We were well on the way to going. House sold and my wife and I had moved into a rental in Oct, (excellent migration expert had is in check) then I'm left suddenly alone before Xmas, still in shock. I have to pay visa fee (£2k) and medical/police checks, and get VIT registration now. As you know permanent teaching jobs in the UK are few and far between. I cant take the risk of moving, alone, from nothing with a job, to nothing without a job! And I have to decide soon. What a mess! Happy Easter btw!

[edonnelly834]

I agree wolvesaussie subjects are grouped together. Alexandgail....we have limited money too, we have 2 babies so have to make the right decision if we went we would rent out our current home as it is in severe negative equity.....if only there was a more definitive answer as to whether we would get work.....seek is another good website for jobs. We were also thinking melbourne/adelaide.....I have a permanent job here in the uk....would you be allowed to take a career break say for 3 years and teach in oz? Is there not a stipulation that during a teaching career break you cannot teach elsewhere??

[edonnelly834]

If I was you alexandgail I would throw caution to the wind and go....sorry to hear about your dilemma btw but now its just you I would go for it.....you have no ties now....

[alexandgail]

thanks for the words of support edonnelly834. I've no idea about anything in life right now. I see you're looking at similar regions to myself. Those were the most appealing of the ones on offer to us. Others being NT and Tasmania, though NSW became available later for Science teachers. Keep the info coming, its good to share. Alex

[wolvesaussie]

my girlfriend asked for a career break from uk teaching job but was turned down as head saod its hard to find good science teachers to fill short term posts such as maternity . if she taught another subject she may have allowed it. I take that as a positive sign jobs would be not too hard to find in the event of return to uk

[Emma132]

Sorry to hear about your position Alexandgail. Hopefully things can only get better for you. As edonnelly says I would just go for it, at least get your visa and then it gives you time to think about what you really want to do. Maybe you should follow that advice too edonnelly?! I think if we're all considering moving when Oz is more expensive to live, there's a poor exchange rate, few jobs etc then we must really want to go!

My husband's job is normally in a city so I'm stuck to working at a school within about 90min drive of where he gets a job (hopefully Brisbane as my sister and family live there). I think it might take ages for him to get a job though so I'm starting to think about applying for a few jobs and see what happens. At the moment we're hoping that one of us will have a job before we go.

 

This is what the Queensland site says about subjects in demand:

http://education.qld.gov.au/hr/recruitment/teaching/current-vacancies.htm

The file that you can scroll down and open has a few science positions that they are struggling to fill. I don't know if there's something similar for NSW etc

Wolvesaussie - as Head of Science at an "outstanding" school it's always amazing how few candidates apply for science teaching posts and also the poor quality of some of the applicants. I can't imagine your girlfriend having a problem if she returned to the UK.

It would be interesting to see how everyone gets on, or not as the case may be!!

[wolvesaussie]

thanks I will pass that on to her. I think her biggest fear is moving not being able to find work so coming back to uk and.still not finding working losing say two years or working life. I think its hard for teachers with all these windows to resign and recruit. if u miss one window u may need to wait six months for the next

[dmjg]

Schools start in jan so getting anything now will be hard or almost impossible. I applied from the uk to cover a maternity leave when we came over mid 2009. I got that (Maths/Sci) and applied at that school and one other for a job the following year. I was offered both. I went for a private school job on the peninsula last year and was offered that as well. So if you are good at your job then you will find work.

 

Be prepared for a few things though:

 

Aussie teachers are expected to teach two disciplines. Maths/Sci, eng/soce, pe/health etc. even though your allotment can be made up of anything! The principal how the power to direct what you will teach. So you may find a yr 7 Maths class or IT class or health class slotted in amongst your normal allotment. Some will discuss this with you first, others won't. so be prepared to walk in saying "yes I can teach that too and here is my experience"

 

Key Selection Criteria are asked for in all applications. Answer fully with examples or evidence for each. This can take a few pages.

 

You will not be asked to teach a class as part of the interview process. It will be two or three senior staff and that's it. One or both or all may not even teach your discipline. Be prepared to ask for a tour if you want one. It won't generally be offered.

 

Your previous experience will be counted in relation to pay. All your uk schools will have to write a letter stating specific start and finish dates, sick days etc to help you qualify. If ANYTHING is missing you will have to go back to the uk school and ask them to write it again. This process can take anything from 3 week to 4 months (or more), you will only be paid a graduate wage until then. But will be back paid when it all goes through.

 

Im in my 4th year here and still am not teaching VCE (A level equiv) so you may not get senior classes immediately. But that does mean less marking so ho hum.

 

You will only be offered a 12 month contract to start with. After that year you will have to reapply for your job. If another(better) applicant comes along you can be out on your ear. After 2 years in a state school you are supposed to be put on as permanent, but that can be got around by claiming your job is being held open for parenting leave staff.(jobs must be kept available for women for upto 7 years after children appear. she gets to say yes I'm back, or maybe next year; every year for 7 years!) So expect to be on contracts for a few years. Not nice as the major breadwinner.

 

As a permanent staff member, I now refuse to accept another job unless it is permanent to start with. Exceptional applicants can push for that at interview anyway as it is upto principals discression. I know that sounds contradictory, but that's the way it is!

 

There is a lot less paperwork as a general teacher so in that way is more enjoyable than teaching in the uk. No fft targets. No sats, just NAPLAN (Maths & English), no tla submissions, no ofsted etc.

 

Good luck.

[Quoll]

Thanks Emma132 for websites and Quoll, I hear what you say and have heard this before....when you talk about the sticks....how far out? I have been in OZ about 12 years ago on a working holiday visa so I have some idea of how grim some areas can be but those areas were in and around regional towns all over, I have never been much inland apart from Alice Springs. Would it really be that bad...would those sort of communities be welcoming to foreigners?

 

You probably wouldn't get the worst of the worst, there are country towns which are just that, country towns, but think 5-8 hours away from the big cities. Welcoming to foreigners? Who knows? Some of them might be just glad to get someone who knows their alphabet and is prepared to stand in front of a class of 20-30 kids every day. The further away you are prepared to go to smaller communities the better your chances probably. I doubt that many places would be the kind of place that a new migrant would think of as an Aussie paradise. They do talk about the upcoming drought of teachers in Aus but they've been expecting it for a decade or more now and it still doesn't seem to have happened. The GFC saw a lot of Aussie trained teachers who had found that the non teaching world gave them better opportunities eventually return to the classroom and a recession proof career. I saw somewhere a reference to, I think, the Age a couple of weeks ago that Australia was churning out teachers (it has the lowest uni entrance score requirements) at a vast rate, many of which will never get to set foot in a classroom!

 

Really, if you have a permanent teaching job and teaching is your passion, don't chuck it in!

[Emma132]

DMJG, it's good to hear from someone from the UK that's teaching Science in Australia, that's helpful information.

Thanks for the info too Quoll, at least with lots of teachers it should mean that there's good quality teaching.

Thanks both for spending the time to share.

[milliem]

hey there

 

Just putting my experience in for QLD.

 

I am a science teacher, teaching Science, maths and media at senior level and maths at middle level in a private secondary school. There were hardly any jobs advertised [only 3 state wide] when i arrived. I have been in Oz only 5 months. I am pretty sure it was a case of right place right time for me. My timetable is a mish-mash of whatever they were short of for the year I think. The draw back of the senior subjects is the relentless levels of assessments and marking. One bonus is that it is a full time permanent contract assuming all goes well in the probation period. They have asked me if i would prefer less maths more science next year so I said definitely.

 

good luck with the hunt. Once you are registered to teach in the state you want to go to, you can apply for jobs before you leave the UK if this would give you more peace of mind.

 

Millie x

[edonnelly834]

Just wondering did u make the move? I put the whole idea on the back burner for a while, was getting negative vibes re work, but we are looking into it again!

[Petals]

This thread is old and I think you need to start a new one if you want up to date information about any subject. Just check the date the thread was posted and the date of the last update. A lot of people come for a little while and then disappear once they are settled.