Job Discussion Forums

[curioustraveler]

Hello all,

I�m really excited about the idea of teaching English abroad, but I�m wondering if someone can actually make a money-making-career out of it. There doesn�t seem to be any pay in it at all. Am I wrong?

I�ve been thoroughly looking on the web and found the highest paying job only about US$35,000 annual. Not to mention, the teacher for this position needs a Master�s degree, several other expensive certifications, and many years of teaching experience. In the United States, a Masters in another field, with that many certifications (which is virtually like a Doctorate degree) would pay 4 or 5 times that amount � and you don�t have the nightmares I�ve been reading about with police raids, immigration paperwork, not getting paid on time or at all (just to name a few things).

In fact, the US$35,000 annual is the rare exception. Most TEFL jobs only pay about US$700 to $2000 per month depending on the country. If I�m totally wrong, please say so. I�d love to hear your opinions.

Many thanks!

[denise]

Your title is about dead-end jobs, but you really seem more concerned about money. Where did you see that $35,000 job? In many parts of the world, that is A LOT of money--you can live quite well. I earn just over $40,000 in Oman, and given that it's tax-free and housing is provided, that money really goes a loooooong way--$40,000 in the US would not provide me nearly as comfortable a life as I have here.

And no, it doesn't have to be a dead-end job. If you enter the field with the standard BA and TEFL certificate and just move from one language school to the next to the next, then maybe it will start to get old. But 10 years on, I am still excited about what the next several years may hold for me.

d

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

It can definately be a career. There are a lot of jobs that pay more than US$35,000 a year. It's like anything else, you need to build contacts and experience in the area and then move up. In TEFL, that experience usually includes knowing the local language and business customs.

If you always translate the amount you are paid into US currency then maybe you will always think of it as a low paid job. I'm from Canada. I translate my earnings into Canadian dollars. I get paid more than most of the people I grew up with. Of course, if I translate it into US$ then it would be much, much less. Generally speaking, Canadians get paid less than Americans to do the same job and the cost of living in Canada is generally higher than that of the US. And so translating my salary into Canadian dollars makes it seem like a lot. However, the amount in Canadian dollars doesn't actually matter, because I don't live in Canada. The amount that your salary is worth only really matters in your home country if you want to use that money in your home country (send it there to pay bills or go back there to live and need savings etc). I think the longer you live away from your home country, the less you really equate things with your home country. Especially if you make the decision to not return there to live (if you can help it).

[father Mackenzie]

Teaching overseas can be a career which can provide you with a lifestyle you cannot match back home. The cost of living in the west can be far higher and the pace of life and social stress is different too.
As GambateBingBangBoom said, if you calculate the salary you recieve into your own currency and then try to live on that in your own country then you would find you are lower paid and would struggle.
But the cost of living many parts of the world is far less than the west and so money goes further and you get more experiences and rewards.
My standard of living is far higher in respects of travelling, socialising, housing and the level of stress is less and the work load is demanding but personally rewarding.
The stories of immigration raids, not being paid on time are true but does that not happen everywhere? If you work for a good employer then you have nothing to fear. I am sure immigration raids happen in every country in the world and I can certainly remember working in big businesses in England where my salary was late or wrong.
I see teaching as career and a way of life and the financial rewards are there if you work at them.
In Jakarta teachers are earning 2/3 times or more a month than the average person here does and that is at the first year level. My teachers find their salaries allow them to do so much more than it would in their own countries. They all have their legal papers paid for by the school and their salaries are always on time.

I do not see this as dead end career, I see it as an opportunity and a long term prospect with many rewards to come.

[Glenski]

TEFL is what you make of it.

Sit on one's laurels and minimum qualifications, and what can one expect but a dead-end situation? Conversation school as a career? I don't think so.

Improve yourself just like you would/should for any other job in life, and you will move up (and yes, make more). Perhaps country-specific, but you didn't ask about any one country.

[Justin Trullinger]

Hi all,

If you want to make the kind of money that will impress the friends and fam, might I humbly suggest that teaching ain't where it's at. BUT:

[naturegirl321]

LIike Justin , I'm in Latin America, last year, after taxes I made 24K. We have a house, no mortage, SUV, no loans. I freelance for Longman Pearson, and only work 20 hours a week.

YOu can move up, be a DOS, writer, start your own business. There's lots of opps

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

I work in a neighbouring nation to denise. I've been TEFL'in for nearly 20 years...started on the JET Program(me) in Japan. Is TEFL a dead-end job? Good question...consider these points:

1. I make just over USD 5000 a month

2. That translates to just over USD 60,000 tax-free a year

3. I earn a "13th month" end of year bonus that is paid out when I decide to throw in the towel. If I do so at the end of this contract, it'll a USD 35,000 "bye-bye" present. Oh, and the final tally is based on what my end monthly salary is. I say this, because...

4. I've received a total of a 33% increase in my starting salary over the past three years...19% this year alone

5. I get free round-trip airfare to HOR for my wife and "up to three children"

6. I get free medical

7. I get free schooling for "up to two children"

8. I have a provided 3-bedroom accomodation with a wonderful view of the Arabian (Persian, based on your perspective) Gulf with pool, weight room, sauna, etc.

9. I have wonderful co-workers and a GREAT boss.

10. I get, on average, 70 days off because of system policy and Arabic/Western holidays.

11. I got a furnishing allowance when I arrived to completely outfit my flat.

Have I forgot anything? So many perks that one forgets. I also own a home, fully paid-off that will fully return its equity on it that we paid in three years as it's been fully rented for the last 5 years. That's another 12K per year that gets put into my child's college fund. We have a van that's fully paid off.

In short, an EFL career is what you make out of it. For us...and I should have been saying "us" all along, it's worked out quite well. I should mention that I have an M. Ed. in TESOL which made all of this happen. And, remember, there are many, many more like me...even some that have teaching spouses which, of course, means DOUBLE of what I get.

A dead-end job, not, unless you're not prepared to invest in yourself and it as a career track.

NCTBA

[naturegirl321]

Wow, I'm jealous. I wish my husband were a native speaker and I were a foreigner.

Is your wife able to find work where you are?

[fladude]

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[Justin Trullinger]

Another thought:

[jpvanderwerf2001]

Work hard, make contacts, continually upgrade quals, seize opportunities, and keep a budget. Follow these steps in this--or almost any, career and you'll be OK.
Good luck!

[JZer]

[JZer]