The requirements

The requirements to become a foreign english teacher in china and in most foreign countries are pretty simple:

1. you must have a college degree: your major doesn’t matter; as long as you have a 4 year degree from an accredited school in an english speaking country, you are good. I was hired having a bachelor’s in Marketing.

2. You can’t have a criminal background: You can’t have any arrests (even minor arrests) in your current city of residence.

3. Be a citizen of an english speaking country: Countries like Australia, USA, England, Ireland, canada, and new zealand. I am sure there are more, but these are the ones that popped in my head.

4. You need a valid passport: This is self explanatory. You can’t travel to a new country without it.

5. Be ESL or TEFL certified: The most important one of them all except for not being a criminal is being Certified to teach English. You can honestly get hired as a foreign english teacher without having a college degree and just having a ESL or TEFL certificate. However, it’s just harder to find those Opportunities, because most schools require a degree. Tip: if you have an education degree or English degree, you don’t have to get certified.

Applying for a job

Getting hired to work for York English had many layers. I first had to do a lot of research on where to apply. I decided to go through an Teach abroad agency/travel company instead of applying for individual teaching jobs on my own.

Benefits of applying Through an Agency:

• full support from application process to throughout your contract (great for first time Foreign English Teachers)

• visa support/reimbursement

• interview prep/support

• Guaranteed job offer

• documentation prep support

• Housing provided (Usually free or stipend is offered)

• flight Reimbursement

• airport pick up

• usually there’s in-country support throughout the contract

• typically a private school that offers school materials & training

Drawbacks to using an agency:

• high fee to apply (usually $900-$2000)

• job opportunities Offer lower pay than the average schools

• usually hired at a learning center vs an actual school

• Work hours offered might be weird or longer than average school

• Sometimes no housing support. Might have to find one on your own, but you can negotiate a housing Stipend sometimes with your new employer (imagine trying to find an apartment on your own in a new country? YIKES!)

I found a young lady on YouTube who was teaching abroad in Thailand and she went through a travel company called Green heart travel, a company that offers teach abroad programs, international internships and study abroad programs in various countries.

I applied for their China teach English abroad program. Why Did i decide go through them instead of applying for a job on my own? Well most importantly, What i loved about GreenHeart travel was that their china program was FREE to apply. Most third party agencies charge a hefty fee ($1000-$3000) to apply for a teach abroad program. Also, this will be my first time living/working abroad, i wanted FULL support from beginning to end. Doing this without an agency Can be hard If you don’t know what you’re doing. The school I was hired though provides all teachers with a free apartment, free medical care, flight and visa reimbursements, in-country support, airport pick up, training (so good if you have never taught before) and full visa process support. There are other Benefits that were offered which I didn’t want to lose out on.

Getting the job

Once i submitted my application, someone from Greenheart Reached out to assist me with the rest of the application process. They helped me with my interview prep, which i aced and connected me to york english. My interview with York English was a video interview. We talked about the opportunity and living in China. I was asked questions about why I wanted to teach, my experience with teaching (if i had any; not required either), The interviewer gave me scenarios that typically occur in the classroom and asked me how I would respond or handle those classroom events, and if I had any questions to ask the interviewer. From there I waited two weeks for a response and was offered the job via email. After all the excitement, it was time to prepare my documents and apply for my visa. I will share that process in a later post.

As you can see the process to get a job in China is pretty easy, especially if you have all the requirements i mentioned above. I Chose to go through a third party company because of the support. I have never moved to a different country before; doing this all on my own would’ve been a nightmare. However, after speaking with a few people who have done this before, I will go out on my own the second time around because there is a potential to make more money applying directly with a school. I am so excited for this opportunity and my awaited adventure. See you in my next post!