3 Reasons Not To Teach Abroad

For many, teaching English abroad sounds like a dream come true: You get to travel to exotic locales, trailed by adoring children, and paid for something you do almost correctly everyday. But beneath this glimmering surface lays a great white shark of disappointment – one made of propaganda, deceit, and unreliable Wi-Fi access.

Pictured: Disappointment.

1) It’s the same as your job now, only crappier.

Think about what you hate about your job now. Do you have long hours and mindless projects? What about co-workers who despise you or a soul crushing commute? What would happen if you took all those things and moved them to Malaysia? Would they still suck? Congratulations! You’re now a foreign language teacher! Only now you can’t drown your sorrows at the local bar because if one of your students sees you, you’ll be immediately fired!

2) There is no safety net.

It’s easy taking for granted all the protections we enjoy as Americans – from basics like breach of contract all the way to your standard discrimination laws. As a foreigner teacher, you’ll soon learn to appreciate these luxuries firsthand since human rights that fall under the category of “Seriously Though, Don’t Be A Dick” are in no way a given, and employers are more than happy to take advantage of that fact. From dangerous living conditions to straight up refusing to pay your salary, I’ve seen and experienced it all. And you know what? There’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.

3) It’s a business, first and foremost.

“My dear girl,” you say, chuckling and swirling your brandy. “You needn’t worry about me! If the conditions are unfavorable, I can always travel somewhere else. After all, I am fabulously, FABULOUSLY wealthy!” Well, to you I say, first off, I am single and too enjoy yachts and hunting the most dangerous game. Second, no matter what city or what country you end up teaching in, ESL is still a fairly lucrative business.

The countries where there’s such a high demand for teachers are the same places in which parents are trying to do the best for their kids, but have no established educational infrastructure to guide them. I mean, how else could someone like you with no formal training outside of that ‘Introduction to Shakespeare’ class you took by mistake freshman year be allowed to mold young minds? Exactly.

So as much as you’d like to think of yourself as Professor Jones saving the world, most schools are willing to hire anyone vaguely pale just to plant them in front of a classroom full of determined twelve-year-olds whose younger siblings are going hungry so the family has a chance at a better life. And maybe, just maybe, consider people who aren’t you before you sew those elbow patches on all your jackets.