Though teachers are in great demand in the United States, these teaching jobs often leave something to be desired. Though many great opportunities do exist in the U.S., many others are plagued by low salaries, crowded classrooms, political correctness, inability to discipline children, etc. Often, the teaching experience in the U.S. is just not what teachers envisioned when they started their careers.

For teachers with a bit of an adventurous streak, many opportunities exist abroad for qualified applicants. Opportunities exist at all levels and in a variety of settings. Teachers can choose to teach in the host nations national school system, for American schools located abroad or for numerous private institutions looking to hire Americans.

The Department of Defense and State Department school systems are a large employer of teachers abroad. In this role teachers instruct students who are dependents of Service men and women and diplomats and support personnel stationed overseas. Because these schools are officially part of the U.S. school system, many of the same regulations are in place as in mainland U.S. schools. However, these schools are not plagued by state interference and generally enjoy a larger budget than other U.S. schools. Teachers are paid well for their willingness to teach abroad for the U.S. government and salaries are among the highest for U.S. public school teachers. Possible locations include Germany, Japan, Korea and many others.

Many nations actively look for American teachers for their public school systems. American teachers bring diversity and help give students a head start by exposing them to American language and culture. Pay for these jobs varies greatly depending on the country. For example, one can expect a much higher salary teaching in Japan and Saudi Arabia than in Mexico and China. Some countries require prior teaching experience and advanced education while others accept teachers straight out of college. Just like in the U.S., teachers with more credentials and experience will be able to demand higher salaries.

Private schools throughout the world hire American teachers. These jobs offer some of the highest salaries available to primary and secondary teachers. Often these schools have campuses in several countries and offer teachers the opportunity to move to a new country every few years. Many of these offer free housing and other services as part of the hiring packages. Keep in mind that competition for these schools is very fierce and they can generally be more selective as far as experience and qualifications. Skills such as speaking the local language, previous experience teaching abroad, etc. can greatly increase one’s chances of landing one of these posts.

Teaching abroad can be a very rewarding experience to do something different and experience new cultures. One should keep in mind that some overseas jobs do not include a retirement plan and should consider that when determining their career path. Many of these, whether private or government run do offer retirement and many other benefits. So if you’ve got your teaching degree and are trying to decide how to put it into use, why not use it to fund some international travel and living?

Author Bio: Jennifer Dobson is an early childhood educator and she invites you to visit her favorite online teacher store, MPM School Supplies. The website has tons of quality products like children’s pretend play products including dress-up costumes, kitchen sets, and much more. The site also has a great selection of toy food sets!

Category: Career
Keywords: teaching, career, advice, abroad, teach abroad