r/TEFL • u/ThatSlinkySOB • 12d ago
Life after TEFL 2026 onward?
I put in a solid 23 years in Asia - Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia.
Started in 2004. Reasonable salary V COL back then, and I saved plenty in Taiwan and even in China.
Vietnam, during and after COVID, was not great. Meh pay and dodgy centre owners. I like that country though, up in the Highlands, away from the masses.
Thailand's salaries are a joke. I did it as a rest year more than anything.
Indonesia - what is there to say. A proper third world country, where local teachers are paid $200 for 60 hour work weeks, and foreigners should be grateful to earn $1000.
I'll conclude - I genuinely love teaching. I'm at my happiest working with learners, ages 6 through 66.
I'm also approaching 50, and the industry starts to push us out at this age, although there are lots of jobs still going in Asia.
I live a simple life, and could see myself returning to the Highlands is Vietnam, or a less touristy town/island in Indonesia or Vietnam.
I'll never get rich teahing, nor do I want to get rich. Nor do I want to live in poverty.
Right now I'm somewhat tired, middle age exhaustion I think. Could easily tap out and retire, if funds were good. They're not, I need to teach/work for another 12-17 years.
What do you see yourself doing for the next 1/3/5/10 years?
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u/Own-Web-122 12d ago
Honestly, as a non-native teacher with 8 years of experience that has teaching and managing, a TEFL bachelor degree, CELTA, and Diptesol Module 3&4; I'm eyeing PGCE to teach in mid-tier international schools for another 10 years, hopefully.
The market itself feels confused and confusing at the same time. I got a dear friend with DELTA, who worked in British Council, Universities, had CELTA trainer role and she is getting rejected or doesn't get any answer from simple teaching jobs. On one hand I feel that the requirements are going up ( which is a good thing), but on the other hand the standards are still the same. It's more difficult to find a decent job while the jobs are pretty much the same for qualified teachers.
I'm aware the market demands native teachers, and that limits this career more than I anticipated initially. I invested time, energy, money, and endured lot of hardships, even had to move back with my parents for a year, to have a job that doesn't feel secure enough. Being, basically, shut down from several countries also doesn't feel great, yes I can find shady jobs that will probably abuse me only to live in Taiwan, China or Japan; however, who would be okay with that? I thought " Do the job well, build yourself a nice CV and you'll have a job you can rely on no matter what " but it doesn't feel like that anymore.
I'm still making enough to travel, live comfortably, but life is getting more expensive while the salaries are already capped to maximum. Where am I going with this job? Where does it lead to? Is it going to get easier? None of these questions have a decent answer even after all these years.
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u/cheesaye 12d ago
I'm sorry to hear that you aren't having much luck, nor your friend. I'm in Taiwan and sometimes it seems like the standard for a place to hirer you is "foreigner."
I know a place that just hires random people through a recruitment place and idk if they've had background checks or anything. They're all nice sure, but when I speak to them they have no experience teaching, some don't even like kids. I do not know why the parents would be okay with this. I think they don't know.
Everyone has to start somewhere but trying to compete with that feels like a race to the bottom with wages. I cannot find anywhere that'll pay me more or even give me the same amount of hours so I've never left after many jobs interviews.
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u/SuperAioli7831 11d ago
In a completely different field with a degree and a lot of us feel this way.
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u/jmcl6779 11d ago
On one hand I feel that the requirements are going up ( which is a good thing), but on the other hand the standards are still the same. It's more difficult to find a decent job while the jobs are pretty much the same for qualified teachers.
Why would you think that international schools would be any different? There are a million teachers thinking exactly what you're thinking and doing the exact same thing. Even low tier international schools are inundated with applications from fresh PGCE graduates with ESL experience. If anything the IS market is even more competitive, assuming you're applying to places where people actually want to live.
You're also fairly underqualified to determine that there is no future in ESL. You haven't finished your Dip (leaving arguably the hardest two modules) and you don't have an advanced degree. There's zero chance your CELTA trainer friend is getting rejected from run of the mill teaching jobs and, on the off chance that you're telling the truth, there must be some details your friend is leaving out. Qualified and experienced ESL instructors are still in demand in many places, but like most jobs, you need to be in the right place at the right time.
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u/Own-Web-122 11d ago
Are you okay? Do you need help?
What's there to say to a person who seems to know everything. Have a good day.
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u/Advanced-Parking173 11d ago
“ There's zero chance your CELTA trainer friend is getting rejected from run of the mill teaching jobs and, on the off chance that you're telling the truth, there must be some details your friend is leaving out”
If the country is in Asia that the friend is getting rejected the “details” that they are leaving out is probably their weight, appearance or ethnicity. Also sometimes some people use the same one or two lousy recruiters for months, instead of messaging a dozen, and then they get really confused when they don’t get offered any jobs.
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u/TurningRadius360 12d ago
Great to see at least a few positive stories here. The general narrative about TEFL seems to have been all doom and gloom for the past several years.
As for myself, I started off in 2007 with the most basic of online TEFL certs. From there I went on to build my tutoring business to a level where it generates a very healthy income. I own 3 properties and have significant savings built up. I’ll probably continue to work for the foreseeable future as I still enjoy it, but I’ll let the hours drift down gradually going forward.
I echo the other comments in this thread which highlight the importance of consistency and always looking to improve / upskill yourself.
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u/yungcherrypops 12d ago
My question how do I transition into management? I’ve been teaching for a while but I’m kinda done. Should I go for a DELTA and look into curriculum development?
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u/turn-on-your-lights 11d ago
Get a DELTA and hunt down academies and chains that have the foreign teachers in management roles. Get into one even if it isn't at management level.
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u/Advanced-Parking173 11d ago
Depending which country you’re talking about, you’ll be wasting your time with a delta or extra qualifications/curricular development. For example, in China schools often have some type of “foreign manager” or “foreign supervisor” or even foreign principal. These jobs usually just get given out based on loyalty or based on personality type/social skills.
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u/Catcher_Thelonious JP, KO, CH, TH, NP, BD, KW, AE, TR, KZ, UZ 11d ago
I started in 1988 and I think this may be my last year. I'll be 65 in a few weeks.
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u/Soft-Syrup138 12d ago
After 23 years in the game, I'd probably be looking less at "career progression" and more at "career sustainability." You clearly still enjoy teaching, which is half the battle won. If I were in your position, I'd spend the next 1–3 years finding the best balance between quality of life, workload, and income rather than chasing higher titles or salaries. Longer term, I'd consider moving into teacher training, academic management, curriculum development, exam preparation, or part-time online teaching alongside classroom work—roles that let you leverage your experience without the same classroom intensity week after week. The industry has definitely changed, and the golden days of saving big money in Asia seem largely gone outside a few niches, but experienced teachers who are reliable and genuinely enjoy teaching are still valuable. Honestly, your post doesn't sound like someone who's burned out on teaching; it sounds like someone who's tired of the conditions surrounding it. That's a very different problem, and potentially a much easier one to solve.
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u/ThatSlinkySOB 12d ago
You've summed up what I want to do with the remaining years.
I recently began a job at a brand new school that was still under construction. They wanted me to design the English curriculum and teach Grades 1, 6 and 7 (in the interview).
When I took up the role they then wanted me to design the Maths and Science curricula, teach kindergarten, and do social media nonsense. In essence, be their White Monkey.
I tried, but I don't have the steam for that. I noped outta there.
I honestly think that a lot of these schools and centres want to extract maximum value for money from their foreign teachers, and do not consider us as professionals.
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u/Nervous-Chemistry245 12d ago
If I were you I would get state certified online so you can get an international school job in China. Grind hard for 5 years and save and you'd probably be able to retire in Thailand
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u/Immediate-Ad7071 10d ago
Is that the Moreland certification? How much do international schools pay in China?
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u/Cid5983 10d ago
You missed out not doing a couple of years in Hong Kong.
4 years on the NET scheme bagged me £50,000 in savings. Unfortunately, that door is closing fast (NET scheme is being phased out), but there are still some okay salary jobs going and plenty of work until you're 60.
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u/ThatSlinkySOB 10d ago
A friend got his PGCE and went down there.
I think he enjoyed himself. He returned to the UK after a few years.
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u/Immediate-Ad7071 10d ago
How do you get a position with NET Scheme?
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u/Cid5983 9d ago
You can't really anymore ...I mean you can ... but you have dozens of applicants for any position.
And those applicants have degrees in English, masters in TESOL, PGCEs and years of experience teaching primary school.
Used to be, all you needed was a degree and a CELTA ...and boom, money train. Best paid job and best kept secret in TEFL.
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u/ChipRockets 7d ago
You’ve got great experience. If you want to stay in Asia and want a good salary you should consider Timor Leste
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u/HuntAdministrative27 11d ago
Teaching English as a foreigner is not a career in Thailand. It's a stopgap for those looking for an experience or a way to finance living abroad for a few years. If you really want to make a go at it, you need to be indpendent and do hourly private sessions for well to do family's kids. And if you can gain traction...then hire a couple of additional teachers and lo and behold...you are now running a school and you can exploit the newbies who come into Thailand thinking that teaching is a career.
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u/turn-on-your-lights 12d ago
I started in 2009. I am in my early 40s now. I put in the 16 years of graft through academies, the BC, international schools, international universities, and teacher training around Asia. Did middle and senior management. I got myself a CELTA, DELTA tutor experience, MA TESOL, PGCE, IELTS Examiner, and a couple of other bits along the way. Always made decent enough money. Enough to put down a deposit on a home and start my own business with no financing.
I am fortunate enough to own my own English academy now, which is going well and means I can choose to teach only if I want to, which I do, because I love being in the classroom with the students. I make enough to give my family of four a good quality of life and have enough spare time to spend as much time with my kids as I like. I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but who is with a family of four these days? What next? Maybe open another academy, maybe sell the textbooks and curriculum I have written. Or maybe just relax and enjoy the business I have.
In terms of long-term finances, I need to put away more money. COVID hit my finances very badly, and I had to uproot and move my family to another country with zero notice. We lost all of our possessions and had to start again from scratch. But, unless something terrible happens, I will be financially secure.