College drop out, teaching abroad still an option?

the deftone

Ok so heres the short version of my story. Im 27yr old male, soon to be 28. Got into trinity last year to study nursing no less, after one year I realised that it really wasnt for me (you have no idea what nurses go through, or at least I didnt)

So now im at a crossroads, im unemployed, no degree. I was wondering if you guys could tell me, is there any hope of teaching English abroad? Or would I find it hard without the degree? Also hope to make some money doing this.

What you think guys? Any info would be great.

Cheers

Choccie Lover

the deftone wrote: »

Ok so heres the short version of my story. Im 27yr old male, soon to be 28. Got into trinity last year to study nursing no less, after one year I realised that it really wasnt for me (you have no idea what nurses go through, or at least I didnt)

So now im at a crossroads, im unemployed, no degree. I was wondering if you guys could tell me, is there any hope of teaching English abroad? Or would I find it hard without the degree? Also hope to make some money doing this.

What you think guys? Any info would be great.

Cheers

Hiya,

It would be a lot more difficult for you without a degree, but not necessarily impossible.

For most Asian countries, the degree is necessary for visa purposes rather than an actual job requirement.

For schools in the UK and Ireland, the degree is a requirement to actually teach in the school.

For European jobs, more often than not, the school will require that you have a degree, but with a bit of research you can find places that might not require one. If you look at the website www.tefl.com (the most popular jobsite for international TEFL jobs), and go to the 'qualifications' section of each particular job, you can see what the schools require. Then, you can see what you are up against.

I don't know much about the South American market, but I've heard of people getting jobs over there without a degree. All hearsay though, I don't know anyone personally. Perhaps, it's something to look into.

The jobs where you can actually make good money are in Asia, so that would be most likely closed to you. I've heard of people making a good living in the Czech Republic and Poland though. Perhaps, you could come across individual schools where you don't need a degree.

If you were really serious about pursuing it, despite all the obstacles, you really would have to get a CELTA certificate which would come at a cost. I have heard of people getting social welfare assistance to do it, but not sure if that's still an option with all the recent cuts.

Also, you should have a think about whether it is something you really would like to do. For teaching in Europe, students have high expectations and expect teachers to know their stuff. You should think about what your language awareness is like. Grammar knowledge? Parts of speech? Etc..........Of course, these are all things that teachers can (and do) learn on the job, but you just need to be aware of the expectations of employers/students etc....

Anyway, good luck with it!

the deftone

Thanks so much for your reply, it was really helpful. I have a friend who teaches in spain at the moment, thinks he can get me into a job. Im really considering it now. Not sure what to expect. Also not even sure if this kind of work pays well? Am I wondering down a rabbit hole here or will my experience gained be able to help me find better jobs in the future? At this age I dont want to be wasting much time on something that wont go anywhere

Choccie Lover

the deftone wrote: »

Thanks so much for your reply, it was really helpful. I have a friend who teaches in spain at the moment, thinks he can get me into a job. Im really considering it now. Not sure what to expect. Also not even sure if this kind of work pays well? Am I wondering down a rabbit hole here or will my experience gained be able to help me find better jobs in the future? At this age I dont want to be wasting much time on something that wont go anywhere

I don't imagine you would be earning much in Spain. Monthly salaries generally seem to be in 1000-1300 mark. Of course you could bulk that up with private lessons, but I wouldn't imagine you would be able to save much. But there are worse parts of the world to make a living. ;-)

I'm sure that after getting some experience you could get better salaries elsewhere in Europe. As I already mentioned, some places in Eastern Europe seem to offer good salaries (or at least offer salaries that afford you a comfortable living with the potential of some savings). You could look into that more.

I don't know if Japan interests you in the long run, but there are ways around the visa issue once you have experience. I believe that in the absence of a degree, once you have three years certifiable EFL experience, you can get visa sponsorship. Although, there is a high cost of living there, there can be some saving potential there.

The problem with you not having a degree would be troublesome for you if you want to live in the UK/Ireland though, as you pretty much need a degree. If you don't plan on going back and getting a degree, then you would need to be prepared to commit to living overseas indefinitely.......Would you be happy with that?......... You always hear of the odd exception to the rule though......and indeed I know one. A British friend of mine has no degree, but years of experience, has a DELTA and was even a Director of Studies for a period in the UK. Grant it, she has nearly twenty years of EFL experience at this stage.

Anyway, plenty for you to mull over!!!