Job Discussion Forums

[TitanicWreck]

I have a Bachelors degree in History, and recently procured TEFL certification. I would love to teach English overseas- but my problem is $$. I don't have the $$ to fly overseas, much less find a new apartment.
I live in Boston and work 2 jobs-How much money should a person have saved before they up and move to teach abroad? I'd love to teach English in Japan, but don't have much money, so that rules Japan out....Eastern Europe is also appealing.
I'm a volunteer esl tutor for local immigrants from Brazil- By day I'm a high school substitute teacher, by night I work in a bookstore.

If you were in my shoes- had a bacheors degree and a TEFL certificate, and wanted to teach abroad- but barely had two nickels to rub together- what would you do? I figure I'll try and work a couple years and save up enough money before I look for a job abroad-I don't want to find myslf in Prague or Kyushu with an empty wallet and no place to sleep...

[squindia]

In my experience it totally depends on what job you find more than where. I took a job in Morocco that didn't cover flight, apartment, or setting up costs and had a difficult time stretching the $2000 I went over with. However my current job covered visa costs, flight, apartment, furniture and even included a tour of my new city!

Why not apply for jobs you are interested in and see what they offer?

I would also add that when living/traveling abroad it never hurts to have some cushion in the bank...I would venture at least $1000 in case of emergencies. Depends on how cautious you are I suppose.

[BTSskytrain]

Titanic,

A lot of your situation will depend on where you want to teach. Most positions in Korea (for which your BA qualifies you) do pay roundtrip airfare but you'd still need $1000.00 or so to get you through the first month. Monthly salaries in Korea are decent.

Getting a job in Thailand and Vietnam usually require that you be there face to face in that they won't usually hire you sight unseen, not too mention the fact that they won't pay any airfare.

Getting a job in the European Union is tough. Getting an EU work permit requires that you show evidence that the job for which you are applying cannot be done by an EU citizen. Lots of very good, well educated English speakers in Europe capable of assuming the ESL teaching positions offered there. Of course you could always go the illegal route and work with no work permit. This is a sketchy way of doing things IMO and of course you have to pay for your flight as well have enough dosh to get you through a couple of months while you seek work.

Here's my advice:
Save 2 thousand dollars, then...
Call Rowan Hall at ESL Planet, then....
Interview for a job in Korea over the phone, then...
Go to Korea, teach and start saving

[Glenski]

In Japan, I'd say have US$4000-5000 ready. In general, and this will depend on the country, plan to support yourself until the first paycheck comes in. Go there to job hunt, and you have to live on their standards, so find out how much that will cost. Stay home and hunt from abroad, and you may not need as much. Just plan to go with at least enough for a couple months' living and a ticket home.

[denise]

I agree with Glenski.

I did what the OP is suggesting--I worked for a couple of years to save up enough money. I ended up with maybe $5 or $6,000, but I also needed to pay for my TEFL cert, which the OP no longer needs to worry about.

I'd also suggest making sure that you have not only enough money to get settled in your new country but also a bit left over in your account back home to come back to, just in case you end up in a country where you can't really save much.

d

[naturegirl321]

I think I brought only 1000USD with me, but that ws China five years ago. Asia seems like a good place to start as they usally cover airfare.

[ls650]

As others have suggested, it depends on what country, and even region. I would check with teachers who are already in the area you're interested in, and ask them what monthly expenses and startup costs will be... and then double it!

Don't forget to leave yourself a bit of escape money in the bank, just in case you have an emergency back 'home', or need to do a midnight run...

[Glenski]

[surrealia]

From what I've heard, some universities in Hong Kong pay for your flight over. Universities in Taiwan do not.

[arioch36]

For China, the government guidelines call for the school to pay one way for one semester. If you wprk two semesters, they should pay you round trip. This is per government guidelines, though some come to China agreeing to ridiculously lousy terms.

Most schools provide housing, thoug sometimes it's better to find your own. But certainly, coming to China your first time, and on a low budget, the school providing a fully furnished apartment (the norm) certainly helps.

Of course, you must pay the initial airfare to get to China. Most schools reimburse you promptly. But in China you must be prepared to bargain and negotiate. It's the norm for them to offer a poorer deal, and your job to negotiate a better deal.

I came to China with a couple hundred RMB in my pocket (wanted my US dolars back home to pay for those school taxes on my house!). 500 U.S. is plenty if you come under the above conditions

[Stephen Jones]

It all depends on the country. You can come to Saudi with $10 in pocket.

[johnslat]

Actually, in 1980 I went to Saudi with exactly $0 in my pocket ( less, since I was also in debt.)

[ls650]

[Zero]

No need to wait around a couple of years slaving away at two jobs and still probably not even saving much. Go on and go for it and get started. You can charge the ticket if need be; it won't take long to pay it off.

[spiral78]

Zero's wrong for Eastern Europe. You CAN work legally in Prague (you mentioned the city, so I'll pick it out) and other 'new' EU member countries.
BUT schools don't generally pay enough for teachers to pay off outside debt, or to save money.

If you charged an airline ticket, you'd have a hard time paying it off on a teaching salary in most of E. Europe.