I have a secret I want to share with you...

There's something I feel compelled to share with you; a way to take a new direction in your life and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Working abroad had always appealed to me and I knew that one day I would pursue this passion to explore the world. It had been festering within me and I had been harbouring the desire for a great many years. I knew that I wanted to experience living in another country, learn about other cultures and broaden my horizons. My only problem was I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to go about this. Let me share with you what I found...

If you're reading this it's a fair assumption to say that you speak English, so you're already half way there. A friend of mine directed me to teaching English as a foreign language; a job I didn't even know existed for someone without qualifications, the more research I did the more reasons I found to go for it! He pointed me over to south-east Asia and before I knew it, I was jetting off half-way around the world thinking "...oh Jesus". My main concern was funding, the savings I had wouldn't quite cut it if I wasn't fortunate enough to find work, so after much deliberation I settled on Thailand. I did some research and discovered that Thailand had English teaching jobs in abundance. A fact that still shocks me even today and I've been here 3 years. I'm sure if people knew that they could move to one of the worlds most beautiful spots and take a well paid job teaching (in a country where such a profession is held in high regard) they would jump at the chance. After researching, researching and researching I found a TEFL (teaching English to foreign languages) course in Phuket, Thailand. A was studying with a group of people from all around the world, who I am still in contact with today, people who were making a change in their lives much the same as I was. I was lucky to find such a great course right next to Kamala beach - golden! The course was only four weeks (relative to the studying you would need to do in England this is a walk in the park) but the TEFL instructors know what they are doing and with plenty of teaching practice you're ready to take on any type of student and when you acquire that certificate, doors open up for you all over the world. You can find work allllllllll over Asia. There is also teaching opportunities in Europe and South America (I even got offered to teach English as a second language in England! - But I humbly declined :). If you want to change your life, fancy a gap year, or just want to fund your travels, teaching English is a superb way to do so and a formidable opponent against volunteer work - as you get paid!

when you acquire that certificate, doors open up for you all over the world

There're a great deal of courses you can chose from, so chose wisely, you want a course provider that gives you full instruction and aids your transition over to wherever you're headed. I'm in Thailand and can't recommend it enough, if you're starting out, prices are cheap, there are some great courses for you to take and working with Thai students is more enjoyable than I could've ever imagined. I'm stunned how many opportunities there are available for westerners to experience the wonders of working abroad and I hope this article gives you some food for thought.....