Updated: May 2023

Teaching is a noble profession all over the world. Whether you are looking for a way to continue traveling, are teaching somewhere else in the world and want to relocate, looking to fill your gap year while making money, are tired of your current situation and want to move, or have just retired and want financial support in your new country, you have come to the right place.

I present you with

A Guide To Start Teaching Abroad

Specific locations will not follow the exact order I present here. I will show you what I mean later.

Done all this? Schedule a Consultation with me on Fivver to discuss anything related to teaching abroad.

Where To Start?

When considering teaching abroad you need to ask yourself a few questions.

What am I trying to get out of this?

• Trying to further your career?
• Continue teaching in a cheaper location/ more money?
• Planning to slack off for the next year and still have spending money?
• Looking for spending money in retirement?
• Trying to see the world?
• Are you altruistic and just want to help the world’s children?

What ages do you want to teach?

• Children, teens, adults, college students, executives

Where do you want to go?

• You do not need to have a set location at this point. Especially if you don’t know the details of the countries you want to move to. Even if you think you know where you want to go, I would say hold off on making concrete plans until you know enough about your location to make an educated decision.

 Education

• Some countries, especially those with the highest salaries and usually the overall better schools, are going to require you to have a valid teaching license from your home country. 
• If you already hold a Bachelor’s Degree (in any subject) you are in luck! Having a Bachelor’s Degree or better will help secure your chances at a very good salary. If the Bachelor’s is in Education or something related, even better.
• Many countries are okay with just a TEFL, TESL, TESOL, CELTA, or DELTA but note you will be paid less than the other teachers because this isn’t the highest level of certification. I had no problem using this certification with my bachelor’s degree in Thailand, Kuwait, and Egypt.
• If you do not hold anything more than a high school diploma don’t fret. There are plenty of countries out there that only require English as your first language and could care less about the degrees you possess as long as you speak clearly.

Continuing Education 

• Depending on how long you plan to teach there are two options for continuing your education. If you plan to teach long-term you may want to invest in your licensed teacher certification as this will allow you access to the highest-paying jobs and the ability to work in more countries. If you are unsure how long you want to be abroad you could choose the TEFL because it’s a faster program and it is significantly cheaper but it does limit you in a few ways. 
• Licensed Teacher Certification
  • I got my licensed teacher certification nearly 5 years AFTER I started teaching abroad. I used the program Teacher Ready. It is run by the University of West Florida and is accredited through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). The majority of the work is done online but because they are based out of Florida the tests need to be taken there unless you get an exemption. While this is a much more expensive route you would be able to recoup those costs within about a year of teaching with a higher salary. 

• TEFL, TESL, TESOL, CELTA, or DELTA
  • There are literally 100s of courses out there being offered everywhere around the globe. If you are serious about this you need to do some research on which course is right for you. Start trying to decide whether you would prefer online or in an actual classroom. I took an 11 Week online course through The International TEFL Academy. The International TEFL Academy also has courses around the globe. If you wanted to move to Ecuador, you can take the course there and begin working directly after you finish. The way you choose to take the course is totally up to you.

Choosing A Location

• There may be many factors involved in choosing where to go. Timing is literally everything. Read my article about Moving Abroad which may help you narrow down your destinations. 

Create A CV

• Although similar to a resume the things that are on this CV are rather foreign to most Americans. The information included is, for the most part, illegal to ask during the hiring process in the United States. Making sure you select a professional photo and highlighting your accomplishments is key. 

Getting Your Documents

• Our certificates took a few weeks to come in the mail as they came from England.
• Make sure to have enough time between finishing the course and leaving your destination. The last thing you want is to leave and not have received your certificate yet. 
• Other documents may include but are not limited to passports, visas, college transcripts, transcripts for your children, college diplomas, marriage certificate, birth certificates for you and your children, vaccination cards, and insurance cards. Every country is different and for Thailand, we needed original copies of everything. That includes our gigantic diplomas from University.
• Also, make sure the spelling on EVERYTHING matches your passport EXACTLY! This will save you so many headaches later.

Getting A Job

As I said before some locations require you to get a job prior to arrival. For example, Kuwait. This has more to do with your visa than the job itself. The visa process for Kuwait is lengthy and requires paperwork from your school prior to your arrival in the country. While there are illegal ways to work for a company prior to getting the proper paperwork, that is a risk I would not advise.

I would argue that finding a teaching job in SE Asia is probably (for the moment) the easiest place in the world to find a job. Many people find great comfort in being able to land in a city where they don’t need to pay for a visa on arrival and can just walk around to schools in the area they want to live in and ask them if they are hiring. It’s that simple IF you have the right look.

Finding a job in Thailand was quite easy for my ex-husband because he is racially ambiguous. No one can really tell what his nationality is and he can fit in really well in just about every location. Once we started our actual job search he had multiple job offers within 3days and started working on day 4. I, on the other hand, did not have it so easy. Being Black doesn’t exactly put me at the top of anyone’s callback list. Actually, it probably put me at the bottom since no one called me back or even bothered to actually interview me once I showed up.

What I did

After a few weeks of applying and attempted interviews, I had had enough and decided to go to an agency. After they told me they would have to pay me less for being Black, I had a job! Moving abroad quickly opens your eyes to the privileges of your own home country.

There are both positives and negatives to working for an agency

I would say my experience was mostly positive. I was secure in the fact that if things didn’t work out with the school I was placed in I could just show up the next day and be put in a different school. Also, I never had to worry about getting paid on time due to the school being short on funds, which happens so much more than you think. The agency paid you whether they received money from the school or not.

The downside of working for an agency is that you get paid less than someone who works directly for the school. This is because the agency takes a cut from your salary, also known as a finders fee. Another negative to working for an agency rather than a school was the visa situation. When you work directly for a school you can negotiate to have visas paid for as part of your salary. My agency did not cover that and it really did add up to a lot of money. 

Apply For Jobs

There are a million good websites that have job postings if you are uncomfortable with not having a job prior to moving. The following sites are not endorsements in any way but since I have had success in using them I figured I would share. The $ sign below indicates there is a cost associated with using the website.

• AMISA – $
• ISS – $
• Search Associates – $
• TIE – $
• TeachAway
• TeachingNomad
• TeachAnywhere
• TIC
• Teacher Horizons
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

Teaching jobs in Thailand:

• Ajarn
• TeachingThailand

Interviewing

• Again paying attention to the hiring season is a big factor here. Most countries only hire at the beginning of the school year and at the half term. For schools following a more western calendar highering for the next school year is mostly October to early December. Applying for a job outside of the hiring season could result in your application being ignored. Some countries do hire all year round (usually due to a high turnover rate) therefore, you could get lucky and end up in a country like that.
• If your goal is to get a job before touching down in your new country, the interview will usually be done over Skype or some other video conference app. Our interviews for Kuwait were done via Skype. Just because the interview is not done in person does not mean it’s not professional. We dressed the part from the waist up. Lol 
• Always be wary of suspicious behavior or being accepted too quickly. If it seems like it’s too good to be true it probably is. Call me old fashion but I am still cautious about sending all of my sensitive documents a world away and hoping for the best.
• You will be offered the job on the spot, In Thailand, if your interview went well. You can assume that if they didn’t give you an answer, it is a no. Just move on to the next one.

Deciding On A School

There are so many factors to consider when choosing a school. Make sure you ask as many questions as possible in the interview so you can get a gage of exactly what you are getting. If you are already in the location and interviewing at the school ask to see an actual class/classroom. I am sure that you will receive multiple offers because you’re amazing. It’s easier to narrow down your choices if you know what you want out of a school.

Things to consider

Background Checks & Medical Certificates

• It is likely that you will need to bring a background check. This sounds like a lot but if you think about it there is no way for this country to verify who you are. American Citizens’ background checks need to come from the FBI. Non-American Citizens’ background checks usually come from the local police. When I originally moved abroad I used Accurate Biometrics to obtain my background check. The last few times I used Print Scan. You will go somewhere locally, usually, a UPS, to get your fingerprints taken. Select the online option. The results are usually in your inbox before you reach home. I feel like this is obvious but I am going to say it anyway. If you have something criminal on your background check, no matter what it is, it is likely that no company in this new country will hire you.
• You may be required to get a series of vaccinations depending on where you are from. Some countries also require medical testing for their different visa types and may require a medical certificate from your home country. Getting a work visa in Thailand, Kuwait, and Egypt required STD testing for HIV, Hepatitis B & C, and Syphilis. Kuwait also required testing for Malaria, Filariasis, and a chest x-ray for Tuberculosis. In Mauritania, I need the COVID19 Vaccine.

Move to Your New Location

• If you already have a job great! Your school should handle everything from this point out.
• If you don’t have a job yet that’s okay. Some people might consider it necessary to get a job before relocating and that may be true for some locations but hear me out. I never thought I would be one of those people who would just throw caution to the wind and just go. But I did. Twice! I moved to Thailand and Dominican Republic with literally nothing. Nowhere to live and no jobs and I honestly wouldn’t change that experience for the world.
• South East Asia is a great location to just “show up” and decide you want to teach. If you are already in your location you will get a much better grasp of the location and be able to speak to people in person. Not everything is as peachy as it seems over the internet. You will also be able to get a better feel for what part of the city you want to be in. If you are making these decisions from a world away there is no way to truly tell if you will like the school or neighborhood.

And as a result of following every single step, I am certain that you HAVE A JOB!

Still, Feeling Unsure? Have More Questions?

Schedule a consultation with me and we can discuss anything related to teaching abroad.

If you have any more tips you think I might have forgotten please leave them in the comments.

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