How to Get a Job Teaching Abroad

Brittany Roberts (Verlenich)

2 years ago

Wondering to get a job teaching abroad?

It seems like there’s so much to consider – to the point where it can be pretty overwhelming.

Thankfully, you’ve landed on the right article.

Welcome to your ultimate guide to teaching abroad, starting with those first, few, critical steps.

Whether you’re a seasoned educator looking for a change of scenery, or someone who’s looking for a creative way to earn and save while on a gap year or sabbatical – teaching abroad can be exactly what you need.

Is Teaching Abroad Worth It?

If you’re early on in your research and journey, you’re probably wondering if it’s even worth your time to teach abroad.

Will your career take a hit?

Will you be able to earn enough money to make a good living while keeping things going back home?

And, is it all it’s really cracked up to be? Or does everyone online make it sound great because they’re selling something?

These are all completely valid questions.

The truth is, the journey is going to be different for everyone – and in Jamie’s TEFL Teacher Roadmap Course, she breaks all of this down in depth with you.

All of this starts with you really knowing who you are, what you need, and what you want.

And those questions are harder to answer than you might think!

Self-awareness and self-discovery can take a lifetime. But, more on that later. 😉

For now, know that teaching abroad is absolutely worth the time and energy if that’s what you want to do.

The experience of even preparing yourself for this big move can be incredibly transformative, life-changing, and empowering.

So if you’re up for the challenge? Let’s dive into the “how.”

Can I Still Teach Abroad If I’m Not in My 20s?

Hi, by the way! My name is Brittany Roberts, a friend of Jamie’s and a student of hers.

I haven’t taught abroad yet – but her programs are definitely helping me see how possible it can be.

But like you, I’ve had many reservations.

I’m married, in my mid-30s, I have a pet, and I have a house – so when it comes to something like teaching abroad, it sort of feels like this thing I can’t do anymore.

And then there’s health.

Can you get the same medications abroad?
What if you need extensive health care?
How does insurance work? Does American health insurance work abroad??

There are so many valid questions and worries.

Maybe you have similar feelings – that it’s “too late,” or that “it’s just not a good time.”

The good news is, you’re never too young or too old to teach abroad – so long as you’re an adult.

In fact, if you ARE a veteran educator, your years or even decades of experience can be an incredible asset to the right school.

And if you’re young?

Then what an incredible way to learn about teaching, yourself, others, and the world – than to teach abroad.

A whole world of opportunity opens up for you once you decide you’re going to put yourself out there!

How to Get a Job Teaching Abroad: A Step-By-Step Guide

Jamie’s developed an awesome framework for helping people teach abroad, and I’m going to go over how I used it for my own reflections.

Choose Where You Want to Teach

This isn’t as straightforward as it sounds!

Many times, as humans, we love the idea of something – or how something sounds – more than what the idea looks like in practice.

But the great thing is, even if you end up in a place for 1-2 years on a contract, you’re not tied to that destination. You can always move schools, change countries, or change industries entirely.

Mind Your Mindset for Teaching Abroad

Anytime you’re doing something new, hard, or different, you’ll have mental challenges to overcome – and doing something like teaching abroad is no different.

You’re going to come up against so many mental hurdles, so it’s important to have your mind right.

So before you get into the practical parts of moving, living, and teaching abroad, she takes you through tips for building your mental fortitude as you start on this journey.

Outline Your Goals for Teaching Abroad

At the beginning of the TEFL Teacher Roadmap, Jamie walks you through exercises and visualizations to help you figure out what you really want out of where you’ll love and what you’ll teach.

This part is SO important.

Because often, many educators have only a broad or vague idea of what they want.

Maybe this is where you are, too – because you haven’t spent much time thinking about it.

If you’ve said something along the lines of, “I want to live in Europe so I can travel on the weekends,” then you’ll get so much out of this course.

Knowing you want to travel often is definitely helpful – because if that’s the priority, then you’ll want to ensure you can quickly and easily access an international airport or train station with many routes available.

You’ll also want to ensure that you have enough disposable income from your teacher salary to support your travel goals.

Choose Where You’ll Be Teaching Abroad

This is a huge decision, and it can be a bit stressful – since most people haven’t given much serious thought to where they’d want to start teaching abroad.

With the Europe example, it’s not quite specific enough – Because Europe is a big continent filled with many countries!

You could have a very different experience working as an auxiliary teacher with kids in Spain, for example, versus helping immigrants in London learn conversational business English.

And there are so many factors to influence your decision, like:

Weather
Cost of living
Living in a city versus a suburb, or rural area
Working in a country where English is widely spoken
Teaching in a place with a different majority religion than your own
Typical salary and average expenses

Depending on which country you’re in, you might be better positioned for weekend getaways or school break trips.

So you also want to consider what’s the best for the lifestyle you want, your non-negotiables, and your general goals for teaching abroad.

Work Backwards on Your Teaching Abroad Timeline

When you want to teach abroad will definitely impact your choices for destinations, schools, and your choices for accommodations.

Even just being in the Northern Hemisphere vs the Southern Hemisphere, for example, will affect when you apply and when you search for jobs – because the school year calendars are completely different.

Each country celebrates different holidays, too – so bear this in mind when applying, communicating, and waiting on any official documents.

And then of course, you need to consider your own personal timeline:

How long do you want to be abroad for?
Is there a maximum amount of time you’d like to spend in a particular country?
Do you want to get married or have kids by a certain age?
If so, do you want to get married or have your kids abroad?
If not, how many years do you have until then?
Are you wanting to buy a house, or land, in your home country?
If so, who’s available to care for it while you’re gone – and how long will they do that for?
Or, if you’re going to sell that beforehand, how much advance notice would you need to secure housing for your re-entry into your home country?

Thankfully, you can apply for jobs in different cities, countries, and schools while teaching abroad.

But if you can plan ahead and work backwards according to your timeline, you’ll be in a much more advantageous position!

Where to Find Teaching English Abroad Jobs

Okay, okay – so you’re interested.

You probably have an idea of where you’d like to teach abroad, or at least a vague timeline.

But, where do you actually find these jobs?

Thankfully, The TEFL Teacher Roadmap course includes an entire module on finding teaching jobs abroad.

However, if you’d like even more support with your teach abroad journey, you can become a member of Teach Abroad Club, Jamie’s monthly membership that meets live with members each month and includes full access to The TEFL Teacher Roadmap.

Every month, she hosts a workshop specifically voted on by current members.

In just the past few months, she’s hosted workshops about:

Revamping your resume or CV to teach abroad
Teaching abroad in Korea
The teaching abroad job search process
Teaching in Taiwan and Poland
How to get started with Test Prep English
Finding teaching jobs once you’re already in-country

Google will only take you so far – especially when you consider that conditions and requirements for teaching abroad change all the time.

Having a community committed to reaching this kind of goal, along with a knowledgeable guide to help you reach your goals? Is PRICELESS.

So You Want to Teach Abroad – What’s Next?

If you’ve made it here, I haven’t scared you off yet!

So most likely, you’re pretty serious about your goal and dream to teach abroad.

Jamie has some awesome resources for you!

TEFL Teacher Roadmap Online Course details

Teach Abroad Club Monthly Membership details

I’m Interested in Teaching Abroad, But I Have Questions

That’s totally normal!

It’s a major transition and lifestyle change, so it only makes sense that you’d have questions about it.

You can reach Jamie in several ways!

How to Get a Job Teaching Abroad

Is Teaching Abroad Worth It?

Can I Still Teach Abroad If I’m Not in My 20s?