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Are you looking for a guaranteed job? Or a TEFL course with a job placement service? Do you think your problems will go away once you get a job? No no Toto, they are just beginning.

Getting a job teaching abroad is the EASY part. I know you are probably scared and anxious about going abroad, but it's not hard to find a job on your own if you look. 

Also...

Are you looking for the most "reputable" TEFL certificate? Are you thinking that a certain companies name or its accreditation will make a difference in the job you get?

THAT'S VERY UNLIKELY.

I know you may have read differently on some TEFL course providers website, but that's probably because they have self-serving interests. They may even lie and say that schools "want their certificate".

It's just like getting a job in your country. 

Does it usually matter where you got your degree?

It depends on the job right? Employers care more about experience right?

It's the same teaching English abroad.

It depends.

A TEFL certificate is NOT a ticket to a job

...or any job for that matter. You aren't buying a job, but that is how you are acting if your interest in taking a course is merely to "check the box" so to speak.

Lots of people have certificates, some don't and most teachers only last a year or two. It's an industry with a high turnover rate. Teachers come and teachers go. And as a new teacher you are unlikely to get a very good job with or without a TEFL certificate. 

The best jobs go to teachers with experience and sometimes to teachers with teaching licenses or master's degrees. 

Are TEFL certificates always required?

Not always.

Usually that degree that you paid thousands of dollars for is though. Unlike a TEFL certificate it carries more weight and is used to process your visa.

Schools that require TEFL certification in Asia are not that common. 

Stop chasing the carrot

You are a new teacher and since you just want a carrot certificate I can tell you that you aren't going to learn much in that course since you are chasing the carrot. And if the course is a low quality one without visuals or feedback then you especially won't learn much.

You're focused on the wrong thing.

And it's not your fault. You've been trained to do that. It's the education system's fault and you're a product of it.

Let's talk now about another carrot you might have chased.

Why did you get your degree?

Did that degree that you went into thousands of dollars of debt for make a difference? Did you get that degree to teach English abroad?

Wasn't part of the reason you got a degree to get a job?

Is the education industry a scam? 

Employers don't care much about the certificate. Well, some may if you don't have any experience, but many don't and I've taught English in China, Korea and Taiwan. I also currently live in Japan. I started TEFL in 2004 and I've followed it since.

Take a course because you want to learn


"Don't do it for proof, do it because the learning itself is worth it." - Seth Godin


Take a course because you want to learn and choose a course wisely. Getting a job is the easy part, but teaching is the hard part. If you are just focused on the end (the certificate) and if it's just another low quality course then you won't remember much from that course and you won't be prepared to teach.

If you don't enjoy your job then you will be in for a tough year. And the course isn't the end either. Teaching and learning is a process. There's always something to learn. Here's a course for people who want to learn or...

Here's a legitimate, reputable, accredited, internationally recognized, 120 hour online TEFL course, that’s cheap with a guaranteed job!