So now that you have decided that you should teach English overseas– it is time to get cracking on the preparation and application process. There is alot of ground work to do between making the decision and actually landing a position to teach english abroad.
My goal in this post is to walk you through my very own step by step process of choosing a location, obtaining the qualifications and filling out the application.
It can seem daunting at first. My advice is to read through this blog post in order to get a zoomed out view of the process. Then just take it one step at a time. I was able to breeze through the process in about 2 months so try not to stress about it.
The good news is there is a HUGE need for english teachers so if you stay calm and flexible you will find a position that is right for you.
Step one: Do Your Research
- First, I read through Nomadic Matt’s E-book How to Teach English Overseas. Yall, please make this investment if you are planning to teach abroad. It is only $10 and it is a hugely beneficial resource. It helped me understand the difference between teaching at private schools vs public schools, which countries to avoid and which ones to consider and ultimately helped me pick out a stellar recruiting agency to assist me with the whole process.
- Next, I started talking to friends and family. The weirdest thing happened as soon as I declared my intention to teach english overseas. People came out of the woodworks and everyone seemed to know someone who had done it. One of my co-residents put me in touch with friends who taught in Thailand and South Korea, my mom knew a family friend who was currently in Japan, one of the nurses I worked with had a sister who was a principal in Thailand. And on and on. It was truly wild. Reaching out to these people and hearing their first hand experiences helped reassure me that this was the move for me. It also helped me to further sift through the noise and decide which country to apply to.
Step Two: Pick Your Location
My decision making process can be summed up by that Harry Potter quote “The wand chooses the wizard, remember”.
I don’t feel like I chose South Korea as much as it chose me.
I initially was gung-ho about teaching in Thailand. Then, I read Nomadic Matt’s book and started to have doubts about the pay, work hours, consistency of experience, medical benefits etc.
Two out of the five real life people I talked to had taught in South Korea and absolutely loved it. This first prompted me to investigate it further.
Out of all the countries I read about, South Korea seemed like the most well oiled machine. It had some of the highest salaries, provided you with housing and medical benefits, paid for your flight over and even gave you a settlement allowance to buy things for your already furnished apartment. It also is a very developed nation which appealed to me. I was very realistic about what I could handle and I didn’t want my first living abroad experience to be in a third world country.
My other piece of advice about location is to ONLY apply to one country at a time. Odds are you will get a spot in the first country and avoid doing unnecessary paperwork. There is no common application so applying to multiple countries could get pretty hairy.
Do the research first to pick a location and THEN get started on the application process.
Again, Nomadic Matts book was very helpful when it came to choosing a location.
Step 3: Pick a recruiting agency
You wouldn’t go to court without a lawyer right? So by that same token, you really should not apply to teach english overseas without going through a recruiting agency.
Recruiting agencies are non-profit organizations that essentially work as head hunters for the school. The service is COMPLETELY FREE to you. They are paid by the schools because schools trust them to help find quality applicants.
I selected Reach to Teach after reading about them in Nomadic Matt’s book and I could not be happier about my experience. They honestly made the whole application process a breeze for me.
Let me tell you, I am someone who hates paperwork, errands, and basically all things adulting so for ME to say this process was a breeze- is a big fricking deal.
My family and friends would ask me loads of questions out of genuine interest and curiosity. “Don’t you have to apply for a visa?” “What about your phone plan?” “When do you need to book your flight over there?” etc.
I would just tell them…. “oh my recruiters are handling it.”
Because I worked with Reach to Teach, I felt so calm and would just take each step as it came. I rarely felt that horrible feeling of overwhelm.
Here is how the process went: My recruiter would email me with a few documents and step by step instructions on what to do and EXACTLY how to do it. I would complete the steps as instructed and then wait for my next email.
They would answer all my questions BEFORE I even knew to ask them. I felt like I was always one step ahead working with them- and I never felt lost or confused along the way.
They basically held my hand through the entire process. Apparently EPIK is one of the most rigorous applications to go through and it legitimately didn’t even bother me.
Step 4: Get Your TEFL certificate
In order to be qualified to teach English, you need to either have a bachelors degree in education OR have a bachelors degree in anything + your TEFL certification.
There are tons of ways to get this certificate and many different companies that you can go through. Online, in-person, and hybrid programs are all offered. There are also different length certifications usually from 100 hrs to 140+ hrs. Make sure you check in with whatever program you are applying to. See if they have any preferences or recs for which course to take.
I got a 120 hr online certification using i-to-i. I think my rationale for picking this company and the online course is that they were the cheapest one I could find. Price shopping is real.
And there you have it! Your step by step process to landing a gig teaching English Overseas. Let me know if you have any other questions or areas I can help you.
