7 Reasons to Quit Your Job and Become an English Teacher

Posted by TeachingPS on April 29th, 2016

Learn seven reasons why somebody might quit their job to become an English teacher and see if any of them inspire you to do the same.

Have you ever thought of becoming an educator?

There are plenty of people who at some point in their life feel like something in their career is missing. It isn’t providing them with the satisfaction they thought that it would, and some thought may be given to changing careers. While this is sometimes a result of not earning the salary they would like, it also happens with people who have large salaries but are dissatisfied in other ways. Becoming an educator may not be the job you have dreamed of or it may seem like something that occurred to you too late in life. However becoming a teacher may offer more options than you expect and it may not be as difficult to do as you think.

How to become an English teacher

There is more than one way to skin a cat and there is more than one way to enter the field of teaching. There is the traditional method that many use. After graduating from high school you apply to a college/university teaching program. Submit your transcripts, test scores and a personal statement for teaching that explains why you chose the field. However, what if you are past that point and the traditional approach is not an option? It doesn’t mean that you have no chance. It is possible to teach English by entering the field in a less conventional manner. If you have a bachelor’s degree in any field and are a native English speaker there are many places you can instruct just by taking one or two classes. There are even some countries that the only requirement to teach English is to be a native English speaker. It depends where you would like to teach but there is a good chance you are closer to qualifying than you expect.

Reasons for becoming an English teacher

There are many reasons why somebody might choose to change careers to teach English. Those reasons won’t be the same for everybody. Here are seven reasons to consider quitting your current job and take up a career as an English teacher:

1)     To make a difference: There is a great deal of satisfaction to be had from knowing you are making a difference. Teaching English provides your students with skills they can use to improve their lives. .

2)     Free time: Most teaching jobs come with plenty of vacation time. Generally you will have a couple of months of vacation in between school years that you can use to rest or do something else. Aside from the break between school years an additional two to three weeks’ vacation is possible throughout the year.

3)     Variety: Teaching is a profession that offers a great deal of variety. You will work with a new group of students every year and be exposed to new personalities and experiences. You have the option to change the English teaching material and approach you use if you feel like you are getting stuck in a rut.

4)     Experience new cultures: As an English teacher, you have the opportunity to travel and live in other countries while earning a salary at the same time. You may go to a country you would never have been able to vacation in, and get a far better idea of their culture than you would ever be able to on a two week vacation

5)     Travel: As an English teacher in a foreign country, you can make use of your vacation time to travel to other nearby countries and see more of the world than you ever expected to. 

6)     Grow as a person: When you live and work in a foreign country it provides you the opportunity to grow as a person. You will experience new things on almost a daily basis and have new challenges to face. Teaching English overseas can increase your self-confidence and teach you to be more adaptable and more patient as you learn to work with different peoples and cultures.

 7)     Build new friendships: You will be exposed to a whole new group of people in your new career whether you teach in your own country or abroad. There will be an opportunity to build new relationships and have friends from other countries and cultures.

Whether one of these reasons motivates you to change careers and teach English, or you have another reason entirely, a world of opportunities awaits should you make the decision to do so.