TEFL teacher salaries – How much can I earn teaching abroad?

Can I make a career out of EFL teaching?

Are TEFL  teacher salaries good enough to live on? We all started our TEFL careers for different reasons. Some of us wanted to travel and see the world without breaking the bank. That was my primary objective! Some of us wanted to live abroad during our gap year, learn a second language or have a good time outside our country. These are very acceptable reasons.

For those who didn’t choose to earn as their primary reason for TEFL, you still need to earn to be comfortable. So whatever country you choose for your TEFL adventure, your earning potential is an essential factor to consider.

Will I be able to live on my salary as a TEFL teacher? Will I have enough to live comfortably, or will the money be tight? Will I be able to save? Can I make a career out of teaching English without living paycheck to paycheck?

This blog will look at TEFL salaries in different countries, entry-level salaries and what you should expect to find in the TEFL job market. Whether starting a full-time job or looking at supplementing your earnings, teaching online is a great option.

There are many online companies offering jobs to teachers with the right qualifications. Teaching online is excellent if you have a full-time teaching job because you can schedule your online classes outside your full-time job hours. The advantage of online teaching is that you have different time zones.

Get qualified ASAP

You must establish yourself as a TEFL professional to get the highest hourly rates as an online English teacher. What you must do before applying for any EFL teaching role is to make sure you can show them your TEFL and TESOL qualifications. Most online or onsite companies are becoming even more selective nowadays. An unrecognised certificate will not cut it. You will want to show them that you have been awarded the highest TEFL and TESOL qualification, a TESOL/TEFL certificate recognised and accepted by the British Council and employers worldwide. There is no use applying with an inferior certificate because, like any employer in any job sector, for the best-paying jobs, they hire only the best.

If you want to start your own business by working as a freelance English teacher, higher qualifications from a globally recognised college will attract more students. If you are applying for a full-time TEFL job, employers prefer teachers with strong TEFL qualifications. Employers don’t want a TEFL certificate but a Trinity College CertTESOL, which has actual teaching practice classes with ELLs (English language learners) included in the course. You get ten 1-hour teaching practice classes with Intermediate and Advanced ELLs, four practice classes with your peers and six hours of Job Workshop interview practice.

• If you’re new to teaching, you can start with the 200-hour Trinity College CertTESOL. The CertTESOL is rated at Level 5 on Ofqual’s Regulated Qualifications Framework, comparable to the second year of an undergraduate degree. HYPERLINK OF THE CERTTESOL
• Next, you can hone your skills with the Trinity CertPT (Practising Teachers). You can specialise in Business English, CLIL, CLT or Online Teaching. The Trinity CertPT is an Ofqual Level 6 qualification. Your qualification conveniently fills the gap between the Trinity CertTESOL initial Level 5 teacher education certificate and the Trinity DipTESOL advanced Level 7 diploma. HYPERLINK OF CERTPT COURSES HERE Your CertTESOL and CertPT qualifications show employers that you’re serious about your career in TEFL. Your earning potential will increase, and employers will find you more attractive than those with unrecognised certificates and general training.

You can showcase your TEFL qualifications on your CV, LinkedIn profile, business website, or email signature. Whether you are a full-time employee at a language school, a freelance EFL teacher or a TEFL school owner, it is always good to show your Trinity College qualifications. Be part of Trinty’s recognition and worldwide acceptance. You are part of the Trinity family, a brand that has been around for 150 years!

Establish your specialist area

Business English teachers almost always command TEFL teacher salaries. As a full-time teacher, you qualify for more competitive jobs with companies depending on the types of classes they offer. If you want to teach Business English and you have your Trinity CertPT Business English certificate hyperlink to CertPT Business English, reach out to language schools that offer corporate English classes. As for freelance tutors, show your expertise in a particular area and attract students in this specific area. For example, suppose you want to prepare students for official exams like the IELTS or TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). In that case, you can increase your earning potential by targeting this particular area.

Another advantage, aside from making it possible for you to charge more, is the organisation of your lessons. By being an expert in a specialist area, you will plan your classes according to your area. For example, suppose you have established yourself as a Business English expert. In that case, you will focus on specific Business English areas. With this kind of focus, you stand out in your field and significantly increase your earning potential.

Work with multiple companies

Suppose you are working full time for a language school. If your employer and schedule permit, work with multiple companies to increase your earning potential. You can teach on different schedules, and you make more money. For example, if you live in Spain and work for various companies. Your full-time job as an English teacher is from 9-5, Spanish time. Suppose you want to teach online classes to maximise your earning potential on top of your 9-5 onsite teaching job with a Spanish language school. You can also work online for a language school in South America, Canada or the USA. While students in one time zone are asleep, the others will be up and ready to learn! Being available during various times of the day will get you more students and make you more money.

Be available during peak hours

As an Online English teacher, you can pick your schedule. However, being available during peak hours will get you many classes that the other teachers will miss!

If you teach online to students in South Korea, peak hours are generally between 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST. Most students can take their online English classes during this time, so if you make yourself available at these times, you will make more money. Teaching during peak hours will command higher pay rates, and online language schools are willing to pay them.

Good reviews

Students or their parents can review their teacher within a company’s online tutoring platform. Good reviews mean more students, which in turn means more money. If you work freelance or own your business, students may provide reviews on your website or Facebook page. They could also recommend you to their friends.

Become a freelance teacher or start your own business

You can become a freelance online or onsite English teacher, either a full-time job or a supplement to your full-time job. In either situation, you increase your earning potential.

Freelance teaching is a good option for those who find it challenging to get hired by an online company due to a lack of qualifications, such as a degree or teaching experience.

Let’s look at some ways you can work as a freelancer.

Let’s start working freelance!

As a freelance teacher, you have control over your teaching work. While you have to independently take care of everything – lesson planning, class organisation, marketing, and financial transactions being a freelancer allows you to set your class rates and receive 100% of your students’ payments.

Maximising your earning potential as an English teacher depends entirely on you. You will earn the salary you deserve if you are self-confident are committed to your career development. First, get your Trinity CertTESOL/CertPT certification, which will help you stand out, then reach out to the best-paying companies.

TEFL teacher salaries: what to expect

How much can you earn teaching English?

TEFL teacher salaries depend on many factors. Some of the most common ones are:

• The country where you are teaching English
• How much experience do you have?
• Your other educational qualifications
• Your TEFL/TESOL qualifications

Let’s look into the most common factors:

The country where you are teaching English

Like any ex-pat job or a job outside your country, an English teacher’s salary differs from country to country. Generally, TEFL salaries will align with the country’s cost of living. Most employers will pay according to this and expect you to live comfortably on your salary.

If you want to return home with good savings, look to the Middle East or Asia for higher salaries. When I say Asia, I am talking about Korea and Japan.

Working in the big cities in every country will mean higher living costs. If you want to save, especially in countries like Japan and Korea, look into the smaller towns and rural areas. Their living costs are significantly lower.

How much experience do you have?

When I say experience, I mean EFL teaching experience. While teaching other subjects may be good, this won’t add to your immediate earning potential. Most employers prefer teachers who can start with the least amount of guidance and training. They want you to start from the get-go. With your Trinity CertTESOL, you can boast of actual teaching practice classes with students from different countries. On our Online Trinity CertTESOL course, you teach English to students from Spain, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. You learn how to address different countries’ English learning problems. You might wonder why your Eastern European, Turkish or Russian students form sentences without the articles (a/an, the)! They might say, “Put the glass on (_) table.”! Why? Because you will find out that are no articles used in their languages. The definite and indefinite articles don’t exist as we know them in English.

Your other educational qualifications

Many countries that offer the highest salaries require a degree. If you don’t have one, this might affect your earning potential. If you have a strong TEFL qualification like the Trinity College CertTESOL, comparable to you having completed two years of a 4-year undergraduate degree, you still stand a chance. These high-paying countries may overlook their requirement when deciding how high your salary will be.

Having a degree helps you to get started with a high salary. But don’t fret; there are many EFL job opportunities worldwide, and with more experience tucked under your belt, you will increase your earning potential.

Your TEFL qualification

Don’t get swayed by TEFL course providers saying that all certificates are the same when looking for a TEFL job and increasing earning potential. This simply isn’t true. Like in any other job sector, entry-level positions are, and their corresponding wages are decided based on educational qualifications, additional training, volunteer work, languages, etc. If you were an employer, would you employ someone with an unrecognised certificate that is not externally moderated and one that you need to do a lot of research on to check the programme’s validity? As an employer of EFL teachers, I will hire ones with a certificate recognised and accepted worldwide from a school that has been around for 150 years and one that you don’t need to do much research on. The TEFL world knows what the Trinity CertTESOL name stands for. So why settle for less?

TEFL teacher salaries in Europe

European TEFL teacher salaries vary by country and by region. Northern and western Europe tend to have higher wages, but the cost of living is higher. Eastern and southern Europe pay a bit less, but the cost of living is lower. In most countries, salaries are higher in major cities than they are elsewhere in the country.

TEFL teachers usually work for more than one language school. Finding work with a European passport or work visa is challenging. If you want to teach in Spain hassle-free, we run our Road2Spain programme that includes a Spanish student visa with authorisation for up to 30 hours of work per week.

TEFL teacher salaries in Asia

Asia is your best bet if you’re looking for the best entry-level salaries. China represents the world’s biggest TEFL jobs market, but note that there are rules for foreign teachers to control their behaviour. There is also a healthy demand for TEFL teachers in Thailand and Vietnam. If you want to teach in Asia, you’ll need a degree.

Some countries, like China and South Korea, usually include housing which saves you a lot.

TEFL teacher salaries in Central and South America

The highest TEFL teacher salaries are in the Middle East. However, the offer of high and tax-free salaries means a lot of competition. Employers can afford to be picky, so they’ll go for people with top-quality certificates like the Trinity CertTESOL.

Paid opportunities in Africa are mainly in the north in countries like Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria, but you can also get paid work in South Africa. Many other African countries have TEFL teaching positions, but they are usually volunteer work.

TEFL teacher salaries in the Middle East and Africa

If you want to save money, don’t go to South America. However, salaries are not the main attraction. South America is a colourful, vibrant continent with many local cultures. You go to South America for the experience.

You won’t earn much, but this is balanced against a low cost of living. One local peculiarity is that many employers don’t advertise work online, so getting a job is best done when you arrive.