Teaching abroad has now become a popular career choice not only for seasoned teachers looking for international experience, but also with new university graduates and professionals with no teaching experience who want to explore the world. Whether you already have a teaching certificate, or you just graduated with an unspecified undergraduate degree, there is a teaching abroad opportunity out there for you. But why should you consider teaching abroad? Here are some of our best reasons for exploring teaching opportunities overseas:
Learn about a new culture
Teaching abroad offers you a viable way to live and experience life in a foreign country. By accepting a teaching contract for 6 months, 1 year or more, you know you have a definite period that you will be staying in your city & country of choice, allowing you to settle in and fully embrace what the new culture is all about. Living and working in a foreign country is a completely different experience to that of just passing through with a tourist checklist in hand (which has it’s own positives too!).
Become more employable
International experience adds value to your CV and makes you more attractive to future potential employers (regardless of industry). Anybody who has worked abroad knows that it’s not without its challenges and difficulties, and getting through any period working outside your home country says something about your character.
Get paid and explore the world
There are some very good financial packages available for teachers working abroad – both by teaching English to non-native speakers and also teaching at international schools. Many countries offer tax-free salaries (especially in the Middle East) so not only do you get travel the world, but there’s a good chance you can make some savings too! In recent years, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar have offered some of the highest paying teaching pacakges for English language teachers, but international school teachers can find great salaries and expat packages in all regions.
Expand your boundaries
Aside from the career and monetary benefits that you gain from teaching overseas, you will also learn a lot about yourself and grow as a person during your time abroad. Many people who have worked abroad have reported that the experience has taught them to be more flexible, adaptive, and able to handle challenges/difficulties with more ease.
If you’re thinking about exploring suitable teaching jobs abroad, you should head over to TeacherPort, which is a free resource that highlights positions with international schools and English language centers around the world. Good luck with your job search!
My name is John and I work with TeacherPort in promoting jobs with international schools and English language centers for teachers who are interested in finding teaching jobs abroad .
