:: TEFL Pay

TEFL is all about giving something back, and doing a job which is enriching, uplifting and culturally interesting - but what does it pay?

There are plenty of jobs you can do to bring in the money and most people we speak to are looking for something to do with their lives which brings them other, more human rewards. This is a good outlook to have, as TEFL is not renowned for paying well.

When we try to get figures from schools on the average rate of pay, the variance in each country is quite considerable, such that quoting numbers becomes quite meaningless.

:: TEFL Pay - Rule of Thumb

There does however seem to be a basic TEFL law, which states that if you're on a full-time contract of 24-26 teaching hours per week, you will have enough money to pay rent in a modest, possibly shared apartment, pay for food, get out and about to explore at weekends, have the odd beer or glass of wine of an evening, and, over the period of your contract, get some money put aside for flights home at Christmas.

Generally speaking, you tend to live fairly basically, and what you earn is not usually enough to support partners, family back home or pay back debts or mortgage instalments. In many ways, TEFL can be a bit of a return to your student days, where there is less emphasis on material 'stuff' and more in being absorbed into the culture of the experience.

:: The first few months

Any savings you have can act as a valuable cushion on your arrival abroad. You might well need to pay out a couple of months' rent as a deposit when you move into a house or flat, and if you're looking for work when you get there, it might take a few weeks to secure something, and another month before your first pay pack arrives.

:: Earning more

As schools don't expect you to stay much beyond an academic year, it's often quite difficult to try and negotiate any sort of pay rise with the school you choose to work for. However, there is no reason why you can't offer to take on extra responsibility, or try to get further qualifications. Some schools also offer to pay for your Diploma level qualifications (e.g. Cambridge DELTA, Trinity LTCL DipTESOL) in return for you agreeing to be tied to the school for a year or two longer.

Some teachers do work for more than one school at a time, put up small ads in shops, and use their network of friends to look for more hours, with or without the express consent of their primary employer. This allows you to charge more per hour, and all the money goes to you, rather than the school taking the majority of the price charged to clients to cover the costs of overheads, premises, marketing, etc.

Cactus Language Training (another area of Cactus) also organises bespoke training around the world, so it's probably useful to sign up to their database of teachers - and if work comes up where you are in the world, it provide an extra source of income for you.

Away from doing more TEFL, many teachers supplement their income with bar and restaurant work, or finding ways to use their qualifications or expertise in combination with their TEFL skills.