Is Teaching Abroad Right For You?

[International Expat]

Teaching abroad can be a wonderful thing. For many people it can be a life changing, positive experience. But it's not for everyone! Some people accept an overseas teaching contract and then find that it makes them miserable – but they are then stuck with it until the year or term ends.

And remember, walking away from a job when you are living in another country is much more difficult than when you are at home. You'll have much less of a support system in place, and finding a different job may be nearly impossible. Plus, your visa to live in that country may depend on your contract.

This means it is really important that you make sure teaching abroad is the right thing for you before you sign any contracts. Here are some questions to ask yourself before you take a leap of faith and fly out to teach in another country.

·      How comfortable are you with change? Living abroad will be very different than living at home. Do you adapt to change well, or do new experiences cause you to have anxiety? If a big change is going to bother you, teaching abroad might not be for you.

·      Do you make friends easily? The truth is that living and working abroad can be a very lonely experience if you let it. You have to work to make new friends, or you'll find yourself feeling isolated. Some people are better at this than others. If being outgoing is a challenge for you, you might not have the best teaching abroad experience.

·      Are you tied to your current teaching methods? Schools abroad will probably have new guidelines for you, forcing you to adjust your teaching style. If you only feel right teaching the way you do now, then you might run into conflicts with the people who run the school.

·      How tolerant are you of other cultures? You will need to have a lot of respect for diversity when you teach abroad. If other religions or lifestyles bother you, teaching abroad can make you feel very uncomfortable.

·      Do you have any money saved up? You don't want to start a job teaching abroad without a nest egg. You don't know if things will go smoothly – and if you find yourself having to leave the job, you'll need to rely on your savings until something else comes along.

·      Speaking of which - how good are you at budgeting money? It's really easy to overspend when you are abroad. Not only is there a lot you can spend on traveling there, getting set up and then exploring the area you live in, but you might not understand the currency that well at first.

·      Do you have a significant other at home? You may think that a long-distance relationship can work out, but they usually don't. Ask yourself if potentially losing your current partner is worth the benefits of travel and teaching.

·      Are their any healthy problems you have that could be made worse by a new climate? If you are not sure, ask your doctor for their advice.

·       Do you have the ability to learn other languages easily? You don't need to become fluent, but you will need to learn some basic phrases simply to get by in your daily life.

 

cc: InternationalEducator.com 2016

[Rubina]

Very true!!! But once you get bitten by international teaching bug, you are hooked!!!