Want To Travel The World? Become An English Teacher
What’s the most important thing that’s ever been invented? Just think about that for 2 seconds?
There are a multitude of right answers; some of you may have said fire, (lighters & matches etc.), some of you may have said the wheel, some of you may have said the Internet or electricity. All of these are arguably correct. I’d make the point for languages, and more importantly the codification of language. Now, are languages an invention? Apart from klingon, maybe not. But the codification and the generalisation of languages, through things like the Oxford English Dictionary, may well be.
Inventions are worth something and there is a lot of money in language. They’re the foundation of our world, our cultures and our civilisation; without languages we’d be well and truly stuffed.
You can use your native language, English in my case, to go and explore the world. I currently work as an English Teacher (EFL) in Vietnam, so I thought that I’d take some of my experience and knowledge, to inspire you to do the same.
Life as an EFL teacher:
My day starts at 6.30am when my alarm goes off. After a quick breakfast, I’ll drive to work by motorbike, which is usually awesome! (20% of the time, Vietnamese roads can be a nightmare).
This means I get to avoid the packed commuter trains that I was so used to in London; I avoid being crushed against the window and I avoid the look of despair I saw in so many peoples eyes, that’s seemingly contagious. My first classes are at 8am, early I know, but you get used to it. These go on until 11.30am and then start again at 1.30pm, so you have 2 hours to eat, explore and sleep… (napping is so underrated in western businesses). The afternoon classes go on until 4pm and then the day is mine. I have time to explore, socialise and work on projects like Maps & Wanderlust and It’s Somewhere.
Teaching can be tiring, but if you plan your classes well and let the students teach themselves, it takes a lot of the strain away from you as a teacher. That’s all teaching really is, you’re leading a learning process, guiding the students to learn from each other. (It takes me back to my days in sales in many ways). The job is rewarding salary-wise, but more so for your self-esteem! Seeing students develop and knowing you’re playing an active role in their future is a fantastic feeling.
Your salary & are you worth the cost?
An English teacher usually earns a fantastic wage relative to where they live and there’s a simple reason for this, the value you add. A CEO earns a good wage because they (usually) add a tremendous amount of value to their company and their skills are in high demand and short supply. An unskilled, untrained worker doesn’t earn a good wage, because the value they add is low and their skills are in high supply.
Languages and education are the bedrock to a countries economy. The value of knowing English, which provides individuals and companies access to the traditionally industrialised markets, is extremely valuable. Therefor, the value you add to your students is extremely high & the amount your job is worth, is extremely high!
In Hanoi, a native English speaker with a TEFL qualification can expect to earn $20-$25 per hour; a qualified English Teacher with upwards of a CELTA, can expect much more. In Vietnam, a country where the average wage is around $150-$200 a month, this means your standard of living is phenomenal.
Salaries around the world vary from country to country and depend on your qualifications. It all comes down to supply, demand and how much a country is investing in education at that time.
Where to teach:
Hanoi — I live here, I love it. Come along and say hello, or xinh chao! The salary is around $25 P/H, but you do have to take care of your own paper work and work-permits usually.
Asia: In Asia, Japan and South Korea are considered excellent choices and as established markets, schools will usually take care of work-permits for you. Thailand, Cambodia and a multitude of other locations are also available.
The Middle East: This is the place to be if you’re looking for dollar, dollar bills. My friend is interviewing in the UAE at the moment and salaries are looking at upwards of $4,000 a month. With that price tag though, you are expected to be qualified… Either an English Teacher in your own country or a CELTA degree, upwards.
South America: With economies on the up in South America, English is in high demand. Argentina, Chile and Brazil are just a few of the options and who would say no to a Pina Colada on Copacabana beach?
So, there you have it! I’ll provide more information in upcoming blogs in regards to specifics and lesson plans, but this is a general overview.
I’m lucky to be born as an English speaker, but there is demand for other languages too! If you want to explore the world and you have a language that other countries are looking for, why not go and explore?
Do you teach English abroad? Have you ever? Where would you recommend?
