Are you looking for a way to make money while living in another country? If so, you’ve probably considered teaching English abroad.

As someone who’s lived overseas for almost five years, I’ve written this article to help you determine whether or not this is a good idea. You’ll learn about the pros and cons to going down this path.

Enjoy!

The Case For Teaching English Abroad

(Who wouldn’t Want To Make Money While Traveling?)

There’s really only one big advantage to teaching in another country. And that’s the ability to do some travel while getting paid.

A friend of mine did this, where he came to Vietnam for a summer, taught English for a couple months, and then spent the rest of his time goofing off and traveling around. It helped cover his rent, and looked good on his resume (he’s majoring in education).

Short-term, it’s a fine idea. As a career? Not so much.

Most countries pay their teachers very little. Here’s an article, showing that the average English teacher (in Vietnam) earns anywhere from $800 – $1,800 per month. Not good! You can work a minimum wage job back home and make more than that. Seriously, my college job paid $1,600 a month. More than double what many teachers make.

And, keep in mind that Vietnam’s pay rate is higher than its neighboring countries. If you’re teaching in Thailand or Cambodia, you’re making way less. So, if you’re a college kid or just looking for a short-term job that’s fun, teaching English is alright.

Major Downsides (And There Are Many)

The previous section discussed salary. And you might assume that low pay is the only issue with teaching English. But that’s not the case.

Here are a few other issues you’ll want to consider.

Negative co-workers: Obviously not all teachers are like this. And many of the younger ones do not fall into this category. But, there are a lot of older teachers who are incredibly negative. They’re basically living abroad because of poor life choices, and this becomes an inescapable rut.

If you go to any popular expat bar on a Friday night, you’ll see this guys sitting around and complaining about how much life sucks. Generally, they’re fat, old, and should have retired years ago. But, in many cases, bad decisions (like never saving their money, or alcoholism) keep them perpetually broke.

Unlike their younger co-workers, these guys aren’t teaching English abroad because they want to. It’s their last resort. And as such, they’re very pessimistic about everything.

This type of negative attitude is unbearable in short bursts, and I can’t imagine having to deal with them on a daily basis.

No free time: Self-explanatory. It’s hard to travel or enjoy the local cultural when you’re working eight hours a day.

Commuting: Have you ever seen traffic in Vietnam, Thailand, or China? It’s a nightmare.

Unless you’re taking trains, you’re going to deal with situations like this.

Alright, those are a few downsides to think about. If you’re really interested in teaching English abroad consider all those downsides. Plus, remember that many schools pay less than US minimum wage.

Suggestions And Alternatives

This article probably sounds harsh or comes off like I hate English teachers. But I don’t, and I’m sure some of them do very well for themselves. However, the idea of blindly moving to another country and getting an $8 an hour job, because it lets you bang chicks and eat exotic food, is pretty dumb. This is a bit like those guys who read motivational business books, so they drop out of college to sell Herbalife products. It’s a bad idea, made off emotional impulses.

However, I do want to offer a few alternatives and suggestions for anyone who does want to teach in another country. Here are a few of my thoughts:

• Download the Cambly App – This is a cool App which is like the Uber for teaching English. You can do lessons online for between $10 – $12 an hour. Give this a shot if you’re dead set on teaching. It pays better than most actual schools, plus you’re able to do your lessons from home. Here’s a whole Reddit thread on what to expect from using the program.
• Create a source of passive income – Most of my money comes from eBooks and websites. This is a super easy way to build wealth. However, there are other alternatives too. One is investing in the stock market, and the other is buying real estate.

(Invest In Five Or Six Properties And You’ve Got Passive Income For Life)

If you annually throw $12,000 into a program like RealtyShares for just five years, you’re making $18,000 – $20,000 a year in passive income. That’s more than most English teachers make at their full-time jobs.

• Visit the country first – There’s a big difference between vacationing someplace and living abroad. Grab an apartment and spend at least a month your chosen country before deciding to relocate there as a teacher.
• Create a realistic budget for building wealth – Again, most English teachers make under $2,000 a month. And many struggle to even earn $1,000. You can’t save much on this budget, and opportunities like investing are completely out of the picture.

The only way teaching English abroad is possibly a good idea is if you’re also building a business on the side, already have a large stream of passive income (which you want to reinvest), or are teaching short-term during a break from college or “gap year.”

But moving overseas to teach English is otherwise a bad idea. It pays very little, limits your freedom, and handicaps your financial opportunities.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on this subject, and I hope the extra suggestions help you out.

Until next time!