So you’ve graduated uni and you’re at the stage that no one really prepares you for. You don’t know what you want to do with your life, and you’re sure as hell not ready to throw yourself into the corporate world of work.
Teaching english abroad is a very attractive option in this situation. It provides you with the opportunity to travel, whilst pretty much breaking even with costs. Not to mention, it is extremely rewarding. Surprisingly, the checklist of requirements is not extensive at all:
Congratulations! You start next week.
Well there’s a little more to it than that. My point is that if you have a passion for travelling, a willingness to learn, are good with people and have the patience of a saint, this could be an option for you that is a lot more accessible than you might imagine.
I had the pleasure of teaching english in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been (to read my San Carlos blog click here) so I’ll share with you everything I needed to do in preparation for my trip.
First, you’re going to need a TEFL certificate. These can range in price from double to quadruple figures and i’m guessing the price reflects the quality of the course, to some degree. The cheapskate that I am found a 120-hour TEFL course on groupon for a fraction of the price (about £20) and to be honest, I think I got what I paid for. Though I completed it, got the course certificate and in theory was good to go…in practice it was very different. I was most definitely winging it in my first few weeks on the job and learning by observation. My advice would be to do a bit of research and go for a mid-range course that will leave you feeling equipped with the knowledge and confidence you need to start teaching. I should note that while this is recommended, it is not a necessity. It is still possible in some counties to find work solely based on the fact that you are a native speaker.
The next thing is finding the perfect place to stay. There are many ways to go about doing this but one that I would absolutely recommend is using a website called www.workaway.info. This is a travel community specifically for cultural exchanges, working holidays and volunteering. The idea is that you work (in my case it was teaching english but there are plenty of options on the site including farming, childcare, petcare, etc) and in exchange, you get reduced or even free accommodation. There is a small sign up fee of about £40 for the year but honestly it’s such a sweet deal and an amazing way to travel if you are low on funds.
After sieving through hundreds of options, we decided on a school called ‘Spanish Adventure’ in a small mountain town near Medellin. Honestly, I don’t have enough good things to say. It deserves its own dedicated blog post, but what I will say for now is that the owners, Daniel and Camillo, have created the most beautiful learning space and their passion for the school is clear in everything they do.
Okay so you have the certificate and you have the job. Now there’s just one small and insignificant detail…you haven’t uttered a word of spanish since you were talking about riding your bicicleta in your GCSE oral exam. I can say with confidence, that when you are thrown into a situation where you are forced to learn, and are completely immersed in the language, your rate of learning will accelerate more than you could ever imagine. This was of course facilitated by the spanish lessons provided by Spanish Adventure that were second to none.
There you have it- an extremely simple 3-step plan to deal with post uni (or life) uncertainty. So grab your TEFL certificate, find your accommodation, download duolingo for the flight and be on your merry way!
