BootsnAll Travel Community

I just started reading up on TEFL programs. I really like TEFL International and am thinking about doing their Rome 4 week program. The problem is I can't seem to find a consistant answer on if having a BA is necessary. I get the feeling it's not necessary but certainly helps you get jobs later on.

I have 1.5 years college(from 10 years ago) but no degree. Is it going to be worth my time and money to do the certification with TEFL International? Will I even be able to get a job with just that? Or does it just depend on where I want to teach? I pretty much wanna teach anywhere. Mostly the Mediterranean, Indonesia and possibly South/Central America and Africa.

So...whats the deal with this BA thing?

Not having a BA will definitely limit your opportunities. First of all, many jobs require one. More importantly, many countries require a BA for a working visa, a very important issue if you want to work legally. I've worked both legally and illegally, and despite the romance/adventure side of living somewhere as an undocumented alien and having to do a border run every few months, hoping you'll be allowed back into the country, I'd definitely recommend going legit.

The certification has a couple of benefits. One, it's something positive for your CV. Two, it gives you a bit of a clue before you find yourself in front of a class of people you've paid their hard-earned money to learn English.

Another thing to consider is whether you're looking at teaching as a job or a career. I started doing it because I was broke and in Istanbul -- twelve years later, I'm still teaching.

I'm a writer so that is my career. Really I'm looking for a way to travel and I don't wanna wait an eternity before I have the money to go. I've taught Kindermusik(tm) before(it's a program of teaching music, development and socialization to babies-6 year olds). I went to school for voice performance, then switched to Music Ed. before I dropped out. I just don't have the patience to finish my BA. I do love teaching, I almost got into Montessori training once, so I think I'd be good at it.

Maybe I should go back into looking at Volunteering and trying to raise the money for that. I really liked the idea of teaching though.

Just out of curiosity, is it generally a BA specifically that organizations are looking for, or will any university degree do?

Mine's in engineering, and though I'm not actively planning it at the moment, I imagine that SOME day I'll probably want to teach English overseas.

From what I've read it seems to be any bachelors degree is preffered.

I didn't have any problems and I just had my TEFL certification and my diploma from college. I taught in Taiwan and my friend who had the same qualifications as I did taught in Japan, no problems whatsoever.

Hey, I have heard that a BA / BS is necessary, but I have heard that a TEFL certification is not really necessary. Can someone talk a little bit about this? What agency did you use for your TEFL certification? Was it an online program? Thanks!

There are several threads on the topic of whether tefl certificates are necessary...sorry, in a rush but there should even be some on this page.

The short answer is it depends on the country. While it is obviously silly to expect a four week course to prepare a person to be a teacher, it is also often a lot better than nothing - not only for the students, but for the person teaching to feel even a bit more prepared.

My opinion on the BA (or four-year degree) - it is very common in most countries for this to be required by law for a work permit, or just for a teacher to be competitive with other teachers seeking the same jobs. There are people who work without one, sometimes under unique circumstances (married to a local, etc.), sometimes illegally, and sometimes for some other reason I don't know. Working illegally often puts the teacher at a greater risk of exploitation by the employer.

I have to say I find it frustrating and less than straightforward when companies offering a tefl certificate put forward lots of info about how great the job market is, but aren't clear about the fact that very often, a degree is required to work legally. I think this means that people invest in the course with false expectations, created by the company offering the course.

There are definitely people working without degrees - it is not impossible - but I think it is more responsible to offer the advice that it may be harder to get a job in some circumstances without a degree.

quote:

Originally posted by KateL57:
Working illegally often puts the teacher at a greater risk of exploitation by the employer.

Good point, Kate. My first teaching job was an illegal one in Istanbul. My schedule varied from 2 to 50 hours per week and they put two of us (my Australian flatmate was also illegal) in a nasty $25/month place in a neighborhood my Turkish friends were afraid to visit. They were very short staffed when I first got there, so I didn't get a day off until my three-month tourist visa expired and I had to leave the country to get a new one. Then, the next thing I knew, I was down to 2 hours per week...

After a year of that shit, I got a job at a more reputable school with a contract, visa (actually, it took over a year to get it, but the intention was there) and a stable work schedule.

Hi Richard - I replied without reading much of what had already been posted, so I'm sorry for repeating much of what you said!

I think there are legal jobs where teachers are exploited too (and possibly illegal ones where they are not) ... but, yeah, sometimes I think the point is missed that employers may well have their own motives for employing people illegally.