It's taken me almost 15 months to put my ducks in a row such that I can really be competitive for a position at an Intl. school. While I have a degree in education, am fully certified with 15 years of teaching experience, I still had to go through the application process with Search Associates. While I wouldn't call it painstaking, it did take some time and energy in that I had to make sure my references were indeed doing what they said they would do in a timely manner. The cost was only $200.00 (very fair in my opinion)and that included a complimentary invitation to my first job fair (which I'll attend in Bangkok in mid Jan. 2009). Personally I like the fact that SA puts teachers a bit through the ringer as this weeds out those who are not serious.
The thought of making baht100,000 or more monthly at an Intl. school in Thailand is outright wacky. Talk about living like a KING! Sure, the app. process with SA was a bit of a pain but in the long run the time, $$, and effort will pay off well.

Bourbon.