This article is the first in a series about expat careers and business, and today I’m going to talk about ESL teachers, but specifically, how ESL teachers can upgrade their career into something a lot more fulfilling, that allows you to travel more and earn a lot more than what you’re earning now. Stick around to find out what that is.

I think a big reason is because you want to travel, maybe live abroad. Of course, you also need to have a love of the English language and a love of people.

English teachers play a big role in the lives of their students. They can help students love the English language by teaching English in a fun and engaging way. They help students gain a solid understanding of pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Becoming an ESL teacher can be a great way to help people learn English–but also, make a difference in their lives.

ESL teachers online can also help students all over the world to achieve their goals with the English language. Teaching online can lead to flexible learning for the students as well as flexible work hours for the teacher. Students can study more, and teachers can work more, because of saving time you would otherwise have to spend in traveling to a language school for live classes.

There was just one thing missing: earnings.

Don’t get me wrong: ESL teaching is great. You help people improve their skills, you develop meaningful relationships with people. You travel the world and you have great experiences.

It’s challenging because there is always a lot of work to do in terms of preparation. 

You have to be creative in your approach to teaching, and you have to be patient with your students. But it’s also rewarding because you see your students make progress and achieve their goals. You also learn every day. I always say that I learn just as much, or more from my students, than I hope they learn from me.

ESL teacher jobs can be tough. There are lots of things to do and lots of work: lesson planning, long hours on your feet, and admin work like record-keeping. Sooner or later you get tired. You burn out. The worst thing is in the end you won’t have a lot of savings because let’s face it: 

ESL teachers aren’t bankrolling it.

So, if you don’t have a passion for the English language or working with people, then becoming an ESL teacher is not for you.

ESL teachers face a lot of problems. One of the biggest problems is that they often don’t get paid on time. This can be very frustrating, especially when you’re working hard to help students learn English. Another problem is that there’s often no support from the school or company you’re working for. This can make it difficult to improve your teaching skills and keep up with the latest ESL teaching methods.

At a certain point in my career, I got lucky. I fell into another career that is closely related to ESL teaching, but with much higher rewards: 5x more salary. It also led to more enriching experiences and more travel opportunities.

The best thing is, I started having immense job satisfaction and I started feeling like I was using all my skills. Can you guess what this career is? Well, I’ll give you a hint: you’re still in a classroom-type situation, you still bring valuable learning experiences to people, and you still travel a lot. The difference is, you earn a lot more and the teaching is a little different.

Have you guessed what it is yet? You still use your international experiences, you still meet amazing people around the world, but you leave feeling much more rewarded at the end of the day.

This career is cross-cultural training. What is cross-cultural training? Well, in a nutshell, you teach people from different cultures how to work together more effectively. This is done primarily through different models, methodologies, and dimensions, which are very easy to learn and teach. Then you lead activities and tasks that help

people delve into the topics more and develop strategies to relate to people from other cultures more effectively.

Cross-cultural competence can go into so many different topics and down into so many different levels. There is basic and general knowledge, but there are several other areas that people may need to learn about and work on, including etiquette, communication style, negotiation, business meeting structure, listening patterns, attitudes towards business and work, building trust and relationships, use of time and space, and more.

Every client has different needs, and every training should be slightly tailored, in order to meet the client’s needs.

Stick around until the end of the article when I tell you which theories you can study and where you can get certified.