Thinking About Working Abroad? What Educators Should Know Before Making the Move

September 6, 2026

by Marsha Global Perspectives

An international opportunity can transform your career—and your life. But the right move begins long before you board the plane.

I still remember what it meant to leave the familiarity of the UK and step into a new professional life in the United Arab Emirates.

I had experience.

I had qualifications.

I had held leadership responsibilities.

But none of those things could completely prepare me for what happens when you take your career and place it inside an entirely different country, culture and education system.

You quickly discover that working internationally isn’t simply about getting a job overseas.

You are moving a life.

And there is a difference.

For me, that move eventually became one of the most defining decisions of my career. What began as an international education opportunity grew into more than a decade of experiences across education reform, curriculum leadership, school leadership, professional development, EdTech, artificial intelligence, digital innovation, recruitment, entrepreneurship and media.

But international careers aren’t automatically successful simply because they’re international.

I’ve spent years on both sides of the process, as an educator who moved abroad and as a leader who later interviewed, recruited, recommended, supported and developed educators for international opportunities.

So when someone tells me, “I’m thinking about teaching abroad,” I don’t start by asking where they want to go.

I start with a different question:

Why?

Know Why You Want to Go

This sounds simple, but it matters.

Are you looking for professional growth? Financial opportunity? A leadership position? International experience? A different lifestyle? Adventure? A chance to expose your family to another culture?

Or are you simply unhappy where you are and hoping another country will fix it?

There is no perfect answer, but you need an honest one.

Because once the excitement of the flight, new apartment and unfamiliar skyline wears off, you still have to build a life there.

When I moved internationally, I didn’t simply encounter a new workplace.

I encountered new expectations, new customs, new systems and people from cultures very different from my own.

That became one of the greatest gifts of the experience.

But it required adaptability.

Your Qualifications Get You Considered. Your Adaptability Helps You Succeed.

I’ve worked in education systems influenced by Jamaican, British, American and UAE approaches. I’ve worked with government education reform, vocational education, international schools, private schools, EdTech organizations and school inspection.

One lesson became very clear:

Being an excellent educator in one system doesn’t automatically mean you understand another.

Curriculum changes. Terminology changes. Leadership structures change. Expectations around parents, students and communication can change. Even what people mean when they say “good teaching” may be expressed differently.

The strongest international educators I’ve encountered don’t walk into another country determined to show everyone how things were done “back home.”

They bring their expertise, but they also bring curiosity.

They observe. They ask questions. They learn. And then they adapt.

That isn’t compromising your professional standards.

That’s cultural intelligence.

Research the School, Not Just the Country

This is one of the biggest mistakes I see prospective international educators make.

They research Dubai. Or Abu Dhabi. Or whichever destination has caught their attention.

They look at apartments, beaches, restaurants, weather and social media videos.

All useful.

But then I ask:

What do you know about the school?

Silence.

Your experience abroad will be heavily influenced by the organization employing you.

Before accepting an international education position, understand the school’s curriculum, leadership structure, accreditation, student population, expectations, professional culture and reputation.

And read your contract.

Then read it again.

Understand your salary, allowances, accommodation arrangements, insurance, flights, probation period, working hours, notice requirements and other benefits.

Don’t be so excited about being offered an international position that you stop asking questions.

An offer is also your opportunity to evaluate the employer.

Understand the Difference Between Salary and Package

When educators compare international opportunities, salary often receives all the attention.

But salary is only one number.

The total package matters.

Depending on the country and employer, an international education package may involve housing or a housing allowance, health insurance, annual flights, relocation assistance, tuition benefits for children and other provisions.

Two jobs with similar salaries can create completely different lifestyles once those other factors are considered.

This is especially important for educators relocating with spouses or children.

The question isn’t simply: “How much will I earn?”

Ask: “What will my life realistically cost, and what does the entire package provide?”

That is a much smarter comparison.

Your Family Is Part of the Decision

If you’re moving alone, you have one set of considerations.

If you’re relocating a spouse and children, you have another.

Where will your children attend school? Is tuition covered? Can your spouse work? What will housing look like? What type of community will you live in? How far is your home from your workplace? What support system will you have?

An international opportunity that looks wonderful professionally may not be the right opportunity for your family.

And that’s okay.

The goal isn’t simply to get abroad.

The goal is to create an international experience that works for the life you’re actually living.

Cultural Intelligence Matters More Than You Think

Living internationally taught me something that cannot be fully learned in a training session.

You can be highly qualified and still struggle if you aren’t culturally aware.

During my years in the UAE, I worked alongside people from countless nationalities, cultures and professional backgrounds.

You learn quickly that communication isn’t universal.

Neither are assumptions about hierarchy, time, relationships, feedback, dress, religion, family or workplace etiquette.

I eventually worked in environments ranging from government education reform and large schools to technology companies and highly prestigious educational settings.

In every one of them, relationships mattered.

Respect mattered.

Discretion mattered.

Listening mattered.

Technical competence may get you through the door. Cultural intelligence helps you stay in the room.

Your International Career May Become Bigger Than the Job You Accepted

This was certainly true for me.

I went abroad as an educator.

But the UAE became the environment where my career expanded dramatically.

I became an Education Advisor. A Curriculum Manager with responsibility across multiple schools. A Leadership and Training Specialist. An Academic Vice Principal. An EdTech product and implementation leader. An Assistant Principal responsible for digital innovation. Head of Computer Science. A teacher of Robotics, Coding and Digital Design. A school inspector.

I worked in artificial intelligence.

I recruited and developed professionals.

I became an entrepreneur.

I founded a magazine.

I interviewed people from around the world.

I built relationships that crossed education, technology, business, media and community.

None of that was on the original flight itinerary.

And that may be the greatest lesson international work taught me:

Don’t only look at the job. Look at what the environment might allow you to become.

Build Relationships Before You Need Them

If you know anything about my story, you know I believe deeply in relationships.

Some of the opportunities I’ve experienced—and some I’ve been able to create for others—began with a conversation.

International communities can be surprisingly interconnected.

The teacher you meet today may become a principal.

The colleague sitting beside you at a conference may eventually run an organization.

The person you help without expecting anything in return may remember you years later when an opportunity appears.

Network, yes.

But don’t network simply to collect contacts.

Build relationships.

There’s a difference.

Don’t Wait Until You’re Desperate to Prepare

If international teaching is something you’re considering, start preparing before recruitment season.

Update your CV.

Know your accomplishments.

Gather your certifications.

Think carefully about your references.

Understand what international employers are looking for.

Strengthen your interview skills.

Research curricula you may encounter.

Make your LinkedIn profile reflect the professional you actually are.

And perhaps most importantly, learn how to tell your professional story.

A list of duties tells an employer what you were supposed to do.

Your accomplishments tell them what happened because you were there.

That’s what makes you memorable.

And Be Prepared for the Unexpected

International life will challenge you.

There will be moments when you miss home.

Moments when you don’t understand why something works the way it does.

Moments when you question your decision.

There will also be experiences you could never have planned.

For me, there were professional opportunities I never imagined, people I never expected to meet, rooms I never thought I would enter and friendships that crossed continents.

The experience changed how I see the world.

It also changed how I see myself.

That’s why, when educators ask me whether they should work internationally, I don’t automatically say yes.

Instead, I tell them:

Make sure you’re ready for more than a job.

Because if you choose wisely, remain open and genuinely immerse yourself in the experience, working abroad can change far more than your résumé.

It can change the trajectory of your life.

Before You Say Yes

If an international opportunity lands in your inbox tomorrow, don’t make the decision based solely on excitement—or fear.

Ask yourself:

• Why do I want this?
• Is this the right school and role for me?
• Do I understand the complete compensation package?
• What will this mean for my family?
• Am I prepared to adapt culturally?
• Does this opportunity move me toward the life and career I want?

And then ask one final question:

What could this opportunity make possible?

Because sometimes the job you’re considering isn’t the destination.

It’s the doorway.

I know.

I walked through one more than a decade ago—and it changed almost everything that came afterward.

Marsha Kelly

Founder, Spencer Next

Life Organized. Talent Connected. What’s Next, Handled.

From Jamaica to the UK, UAE and USA: The Journey That Built Spencer Next

September 4, 2026

by Marsha Global Perspectives Leadership & Life

A global career wasn’t the plan. Becoming someone who could connect people, possibilities and solutions was the result.

Jamaican-born. British-educated. British citizen. Globally experienced.

If you had told the young Jamaican girl I once was that her life would eventually stretch across continents-through classrooms in London, education reform in Abu Dhabi, artificial intelligence and technology, entrepreneurship, media, global events and eventually the United States. I don’t know that she would have believed you.

I certainly didn’t have it mapped out.

There was no carefully designed plan titled Jamaica to England to the UAE to the USA.

There was simply an ambition to learn, to grow and to make something meaningful of every opportunity placed in front of me.

Looking back now, however, I can see the thread connecting it all.

People.

My career has always been about people-teaching them, developing them, leading them, listening to them, telling their stories, connecting them and sometimes helping them see possibilities for themselves that they hadn’t yet considered.

Long before Spencer Next had a name, I was already doing the work that would eventually inspire it.

The Jamaican Beginning

I am Jamaican-born, British-educated and a British citizen, and these parts of my identity have profoundly influenced the woman I became.

Jamaica gave me my roots.

It gave me an appreciation for community, resilience, resourcefulness, hard work and the importance of relationships. It was also where my formal journey into education began.

Then came Britain.

Moving to London didn’t mean leaving Jamaica behind. Quite the opposite.

I carried it with me.

My accent might have evolved. My world certainly expanded. But the values remained.

I continued my education in London, earning my degree in Mathematics and Science Education from the Institute of Education and later completing postgraduate studies, including a Master’s in Inclusive Education.

And then I entered the classroom.

I thought I was becoming a teacher.

What I didn’t realize was that I was beginning a journey into leadership.

London: Finding the Leader in Me

For eight years, Park View School in Tottenham was an important professional home.

I taught Mathematics.

Then I began taking responsibility for Assessment for Learning.

Then whole-school initiatives.

Then teacher development.

Eventually, I became Head of Learning and Assistant Principal.

Each opportunity seemed to begin with the same thought:

There has to be a better way to do this.

I wanted to improve things-not just for the students sitting in front of me, but for teachers, departments and ultimately the entire school.

I led professional development, supported new teachers, worked on curriculum and assessment policies, observed teaching, helped develop school-wide approaches to learning and built connections with the wider community.

Leadership isn’t really about being in charge. It’s about making things better because you were there.

I could have stayed in Britain. I had built a career. I understood the system. I had credibility.

But sometimes growth asks you to leave the place where you’ve become comfortable.

And for me, that next place was Abu Dhabi.

One Move Changed Everything

In 2010, I moved to the United Arab Emirates.

I couldn’t have known then just how much that decision would change my life.

The UAE became the place where my professional world exploded-in the best possible way.

I began as an Education Advisor with Nord Anglia Education, supporting school leaders and teachers as part of Abu Dhabi’s education reform work.

Then the responsibilities became bigger.

I became Curriculum Manager for Mathematics, with responsibility spanning 12 schools across the UAE and Bahrain. I worked on curriculum, system-wide assessments, professional development, recruitment and partnerships with higher education and industry.

Next came leadership coaching and training.

Then Academic Vice Principal, helping lead a large Grade 6-12 girls’ school in Abu Dhabi.

I was no longer simply thinking about what happened inside one classroom.

I was thinking about systems. People. Culture. Performance. Change. And leadership.

But another part of my professional identity was developing at the same time.

Technology.

Then Education Met Technology

I’ve always been fascinated by what happens when technology stops being a gadget and starts solving a real problem.

That curiosity eventually took me into the EdTech world.

At saal.ai, I worked in product implementation, curriculum, training and development for an artificial intelligence product. I worked alongside product and engineering teams, led curriculum development, managed education teams, trained school leaders and educators, supported implementation and recruited talent.

It was a completely different environment from traditional school leadership.

And I loved that.

It required me to translate between two worlds-education and technology.

Then another opportunity brought those worlds together.

At The Sheikh Zayed Private Academy for Girls in Abu Dhabi, I became Assistant Principal, Head of Computer Science, and taught Robotics, Coding and Digital Design.

One of the privileges of that role was teaching 12th-grade coding to grandchildren of the Ruler of Abu Dhabi.

But the role wasn’t only about teaching technology.

I was responsible for helping shape the school’s digital and innovation strategy-supporting teachers, developing systems, introducing technologies and building a culture in which digital learning became part of how the institution operated.

During that period, I led the institution to achieve Apple Distinguished School status for the first time.

We also became the first NAACE-certified school in the region, and I was a 2021 GESS nominee for Best Use of Technology.

Those achievements mattered.

But what mattered even more was seeing what happens when people stop being intimidated by change and begin seeing what is possible.

That lesson would stay with me.

But I Was Never Only an Educator

This is where my story becomes harder to fit neatly into a resume.

Because while I was building a career in education and technology, another Marsha was emerging.

The entrepreneur. The interviewer. The storyteller. The connector.

I founded Out and About Magazine, a UAE-based audiovisual lifestyle and culture publication built around something I have always found fascinating: real people and their stories.

I wanted to celebrate people’s passions, experiences, businesses and journeys.

And that opened another world.

I met entrepreneurs, executives, creatives, educators and community leaders. I attended events. I interviewed fascinating people. I developed partnerships. I entered rooms that had absolutely nothing to do with Mathematics-and discovered that many of the skills I’d developed as an educator translated beautifully.

Listen. Ask the right questions. Make people comfortable. Communicate. Recognize potential. Connect the dots.

One LinkedIn colleague described me as a dynamic leader whose focus and dedication were unmatched.

Another called me visionary with entrepreneurial prowess.

Someone who worked under my leadership described me as warm, genuine and one step ahead, dealing with confusion before it became chaos.

And perhaps one of the recommendations that means the most came from a former direct report who described me as a kind and selfless leader, someone who stood by her team and shared wisdom in a way that stayed with people.

Those words mean something to me because titles tell you what someone was responsible for.

People tell you what it felt like to work with them.

And I want Spencer Next to carry that same feeling.

I Started Noticing Something

Over the years, something interesting kept happening.

People called me.

Not always because of my official job.

Sometimes someone needed a candidate. Someone else needed career advice. A teacher wanted to work internationally. A company needed the right person. Someone needed an introduction. Someone was preparing for an interview. Someone had a problem and simply didn’t know who to call.

And very often, I knew somebody.

Or I knew how to find somebody.

Or I knew how to help them work through it.

I began recommending people for opportunities.

And they were getting hired.

Across education. EdTech. Healthcare. Skilled trades. Across different countries.

I didn’t have a recruitment company. I wasn’t advertising career services.

I was simply doing what came naturally to me: connecting people with possibilities.

Eventually I realized that wasn’t incidental to my career.

It was one of my greatest strengths.

And Then America Asked Me to Reinvent Myself Again

After more than a decade of building a life and career in the UAE, another chapter began.

The United States.

There is something humbling about arriving in a new country with decades of experience.

You know what you’ve accomplished. But the new environment doesn’t necessarily know you yet.

So you build again.

Today, my work in Georgia has brought me back into American education and the classroom.

On paper, someone might look at a career that went from Assistant Principal, curriculum leader, EdTech executive and school inspector back to classroom teaching and ask: Why?

I see it differently.

Life isn’t LinkedIn.

Careers don’t always move upward in a perfectly straight line.

Sometimes they move sideways. Sometimes life changes. Sometimes family changes. Sometimes priorities change. Sometimes you return to familiar ground while you’re figuring out what the next chapter is asking of you.

But here’s what I discovered:

You never return empty-handed.

I didn’t leave my leadership in Abu Dhabi. I didn’t leave my technology experience. I didn’t leave the network. I didn’t leave the entrepreneurship. I didn’t leave the media experience. I didn’t leave the relationships. I didn’t leave Jamaica. I didn’t leave Britain.

I brought all of it with me.

And eventually, those seemingly unrelated pieces began arranging themselves into something new.

Spencer Next Was Hiding in Plain Sight

For years, I thought I had several different careers.

Education. Leadership. Technology. EdTech. Recruitment. Media. Entrepreneurship. Networking. Community.

But I finally realized they weren’t different careers at all.

They were different expressions of the same ability:

Understand what people need and connect them with what comes next.

That’s Spencer Next.

It isn’t a business idea I pulled from a textbook.

It is the culmination of a life lived across countries, industries, cultures and communities.

When a professional needs help figuring out the next career move-that’s Spencer Next.

When a school needs the right talent-that’s Spencer Next.

When an organization needs education or technology expertise-that’s Spencer Next.

When a busy individual or family needs a trusted person to make life easier-that’s Spencer Next.

And when someone simply needs a connection to the right person, resource or opportunity…

Very often, that is where I am at my best.

What Four Countries Taught Me

My journey has taught me that your starting point doesn’t determine your destination.

Jamaica gave me my foundation.

Britain educated me and gave me the opportunity to develop as a teacher and leader.

The UAE taught me to think globally, lead across cultures, embrace technology, build businesses and create relationships far beyond my original professional circle.

America is teaching me something different: how to bring everything together.

I’ve also learned that reinvention isn’t the same as starting again.

Starting again suggests that everything before it has disappeared.

It hasn’t.

Every classroom mattered. Every difficult leadership conversation mattered. Every flight. Every meeting. Every person who trusted me. Every interview. Every event. Every opportunity that worked-and probably every one that didn’t.

They all became part of what I carry into the next room.

And So, What’s Next?

For perhaps the first time in my career, I’m not trying to choose between all the different parts of who I am.

I’m bringing them together.

I am an educator. A leader. A technologist. An entrepreneur. A recruiter. A storyteller. A connector.

A Jamaican-born British citizen whose education and early career were shaped in London, whose professional journey was transformed by the UAE, and whose next chapter is now unfolding in America.

But perhaps the simplest description is this:

I help people move forward.

That’s what I’ve been doing all along.

I just finally gave it a name.

Spencer Next.

And after a journey spanning Jamaica, the UK, the UAE and the USA, I have learned never to be afraid of the question:

What’s next?

Because sometimes, the next chapter is the one that finally explains all the chapters that came before.