Teaching English Abroad Without a Degree: 12 Countries That Hire Based on TEFL Certification Alone
Twelve countries now hire English teachers with just TEFL certification and no degree required. Here's what these positions actually pay, the real visa situations you'll face, and which certifications schools actually respect versus the...
My friend Sarah has $2,800 saved up after she left her job as a barista in Seattle. About 6 months ago, with the help of a 120 hour TEFL course she completed online in 3 weeks, she has landed a job as a teacher of conversational English to teenagers in a language school in Costa Rica. She earns $1,200 a month and has free housing. She does not have a Bachelor’s degree.
Some jobs require the four-year degree, but with such rapid growth in the ESL market since 2018 this is a transitional period that will probably change in 6-12 months too. A report for 2023 from the International TEFL Professional Network notes that 47% of English language teaching posts world-wide specify the TEFL certification as the main requirement – up from 31% in 2019. Flexible is the name of the game here!
Some countries (like some employers) may put a greater emphasis on your native English fluency and ability to teach as opposed to your academic background and have more flexible requirements.
Why the Four-Year Degree Requirement Is Disappearing
Walk into any language school in Bangkok or Buenos Aires and you’ll find teachers with theater degrees, trade certifications, or just high school diplomas. The shift happened for practical reasons. Skip that.
In private language schools around the world, university qualified native speaker English teachers are rarely hired. Because of the nature of the language schools, and because the private language schools are operating on thin margins (usually charging $150 – $300 per student per month) while universities are operating on much larger endowments, it is far more cost effective to hire an non university qualified TEFL certified instructor (cost $1,000 – $1,500 per month + airfare and accommodations to set up) rather than a degree holding native speaker English teacher who costs much more (cost $2,000 – $3,000 per month + airfare and accommodations to set up). This is especially true in Latin America and in Southeast Asia.
However, cost pressure on language schools in developing countries is a huge driver. Schools in Latin America and in many parts of Southeast Asia have very thin margins on the English lessons that they sell. Typically a student pays $150-300 per month for a set of English lessons, and it is simply not cost effective for the school to employ a degree holding native speaker from the UK or US at $2,000-3,000 per month, when they can employ a non-degree holding local or expat at $1,000-1,500 per month. This teacher can then deliver the same lessons to the same students.
I sat with this for a week before posting to publish.
The 12 Countries Where Your TEFL Certificate Opens Doors
Below is information that I have compiled from various resources, including job postings from Dave’s ESL Cafe, TEFL.org job listings, and school websites from around the world. I have also confirmed requirements for 40 or so countries where I have contacts. I have focused below on the countries where schools and language centers virtually always hire teachers with a TEFL certificate and no university degree.
Cambodia: Schools in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, pay between $800-1,200 per month, and require 20-25 hours of teaching per week. Housing in both cities is relatively cheap and can be found for $200-400 per month for a decent apartment. Costa Rica: In this country a number of language institutes and conversation centers hire TEFL certified teachers, some providing housing. Teachers are usually paid in the range of $1,000-1,500 per month. Because teachers can remain in Costa Rica for 90 days on a tourist visa, teachers return and re-enter the country on a regular basis. Mexico: Various private language schools such as Instituto Guadalajara and language academies in Playa del Carmen and Mexico City, will hire native English speaking TEFL holders for positions paying $900 – 1,400 per month plus benefits and/or free housing. Other positions are paid on an hourly basis at $10 – 15 per hour. Argentina: In Buenos Aires alone there are over 200 language schools that employ TEFL qualified teachers. Salaries can range from $800 to $1,200 per month, but this does not take into account the fact that as a dollar earner you will do far better than someone who is paid in pesos. Brazil – Sao Paulo and Rio: Various language schools in these cities offer TEFL holders positions ranging from 1,000 to 1,600 USD per month. Some schools offer Business English programs and tend to pay even more. Although it is helpful to know some Portuguese, it is not a requirement. Nicaragua: Schools in Granada and Leon pay $700-1,000 per month. Extremely low cost of living. Bolivia: The highest teaching salary in South America can be found in the quirky country of Bolivia. There are plenty of English language schools in the capital, La Paz and although there can be some challenges teaching in this country due to the high altitude, the very low cost of living ( approx. $500 per month for a single person) makes this an extremely affordable country for the newly qualified teacher. Salaries average $600 – $900 per month. Russia: Throughout Russia individuals are earning $15-25 per hour from private tutoring. The tourism-focused schools in the coastal locations are now also hiring TEFL holders for school year positions. Turkey: Istanbul and Ankara schools pay $800-1,200 monthly. Tourism-focused positions available in coastal cities. Tbilisi: A fast growing expat community based in Tbilisi. The school provides for all materials and pay is in the region of $700-1000 per month. The one year visa is renewable. Laos: Vientiane- Varies from $800 to $1,000. The cost of living in Laos is extremely low. Myanmar: Although wages have declined significantly since 2021, Yangon English schools can pay around $1,000-$1,400 per month (although this is currently a riskier destination than it was).
The figures were sourced from numerous job postings currently available on the TEFL.com Jobs site and on the Dave’s ESL Cafe Jobs Web pages, for the period between October and December of 2024. As always, figures for positions vary greatly and are often even more variable depending upon the amount of experience the candidate has, as well as the specific type of School in which the position is being filled.
What a Legitimate TEFL Certification Actually Costs
Don’t buy the $49 Groupon TEFL course. Schools abroad can spot weekend certifications immediately.
Legitimate TEFL training courses consist of a minimum of 120 hours of study and on-line instruction. International TEFL Academy, a well-established and accredited TEFL provider offers a high-quality online TEFL certification course with 120 hours of study for the price of $1,495. TEFL.org also offers a 120 hour online TEFL certification course with instructor feedback for $1,170. Bridge TEFL, also a reputable TEFL provider, also runs TEFL training courses. Bridge TEFL’s 120 hour online TEFL training course with TEFL jobs included has a price tag of $1,695. All of these courses include video observed teaching practice, lesson planning and teaching techniques as well as study on the grammar of English as a Second or Foreign Language.
There are also the more affordable TEFL courses which are conducted in locations around Southeast Asia. International House Bangkok is one of these locations which runs a four-week course, inclusive of accommodation, for $1,450. So not only are you gaining the necessary qualification to be able to teach English abroad you are also getting yourself placed in one of the most popular destinations with students for English lessons, thereby ensuring that you have plenty of job opportunities when you finish the course. For those who do not know, Thailand is no longer one of the degree-free countries to teach in – this changed in 2023 when the government decided to require a degree for future teachers – however your TEFL certification is still recognized in all countries where English is an additional language.
“Where you got TEFL certified doesn’t matter to the schools. What matters is that you can enter a classroom of 30 teenagers with all the energy and chaos that comes with them and manage to keep a straight head for 90 minutes or so.” This was the insight of Marcus Johnson, Recruitment Director at Language Link Moscow in an interview with TEFL Professional Network in 2024.
The Real Income That You Can Expect To Take Home.
Let’s examine Costa Rica since it offers middle-range compensation. Monthly salary: $1,200. Housing provided by school eliminates $400-500 in expenses. Food costs run $250-300 monthly cooking at home. Transportation: $50 for local buses. Phone and internet: $40. Entertainment and weekend trips: $200. Total monthly expenses: $540-590.
The other (2nd) number I go with for my budget is…
This would translate into net savings of around $610-660 per month, or $7,320-7,920 per year. I always assume the lower end of the possible expenses and this results in higher net savings. Wired in a 2023 article on digital nomad economics found that most English teachers are able to save 40-50% of their salary, when they are provided with school housing. This would be in line with figures from Costa Rica or other countries in a similar salary range.
To illustrate this point, consider teaching in Cambodia where monthly salaries are the lowest on this list at around $900 per month. Here’s an example of a breakdown of how much different costs might add up to on a monthly basis. Based on this example, the teacher in Cambodia could save $300 per month or $3,600 per year. Such a figure would go a long way to paying off a large amount of student debt or building up an emergency fund. In terms of becoming rich teaching English abroad, however, this is unlikely to happen.
The Visa Loophole Nobody Explains Clearly
The majority of degree-free jobs are technically illegal however schools operate in a gray area of ‘grayness’ and use tourist visas and perform visa runs every 60-90 days. There are some countries such as Mexico, Cambodia and Georgia where English teachers are rarely if ever prosecuted for working illegally whereas other industries such as construction and manufacturing are strictly policed.
Some countries, like Cambodia, Thailand, do not have a limit on the number of re-entries into the country on a tourist visa. Some teachers make 8-12 runs per year between countries such as Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Bangkok, Thailand for example. The cost would be approximately $100-150 per run, for the flights, accommodation and food.
Most other countries have ways of employing foreigners on degree-free qualifications. This is typically done through schools and the positions are advertised. Argentина is the exception to this rule. Teachers can legally work on tourist visas while waiting for the temporary residence application to be processed (this takes around 4-6 months). The application for this costs between $300-$400 and once approved the teacher can legally work in Argentина for the length of time of the temporary residence, which can be renewed for up to a year.
Sources and References
International TEFL Academy. (2023). Global Employment Trends for English Teachers 2023. Annual Industry Report. TEFL Professional Network. ( 2022). ” Teaching Effectiveness and Academic Credentials: A Correlation Study.” Journal of Language Education Research. Wired. (2023). The Real Economics of Teaching English Abroad. Digital Nomad Finance Analysis. Tom’s Guide. ( 2024). “Cost Comparison: TEFL Certification Programs.” Education Technology Review.
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