Of Degrees and Certifications

Sometimes you never know what will show up at a Goodwill store!

So, as of right now, it's probably pretty evident that you need at least a passport to teach English overseas, but what about all that other stuff? You also need to be proficient with the English language or bilingual and do some testing. In our case, we just speak English (he knows some German and I know bits and pieces of a few languages) and are from the US, so we're good there.  We will get more into the certification piece and language a bit later, but for now we'll just discuss the important thing: having a bachelor's degree from a college or university.

You don't need a degree in English or education, but you do need a degree from a college or university. While the previous degrees (and probably minors) would probably be very helpful to you when it comes to teaching, it's not necessary. They can give you a bit of an increase as far as pay rates go, but experience with children (I have no room to talk about adult and university teaching, so I won't go there now) is also a plus and can do the same.

I come into teaching with some experience volunteering at a few festivals doing activities with kids, working at a daycare center for about two years with a variety of age groups, and working with kids and families from my casework experiences. As far as the degree goes, I have a bachelors degree in psychology with minors in anthropology and sociology. Zach has less experience than I do, but he has some; he also has a bachelors degree in anthropology.

In short, we're set in the degree department, once the paperwork hoops are taken care of on that front. Now, I did mention certifications such as a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and various other similarly coined certifications that can help with securing a position (particularly with programs like EPIK and GEPIK which are public school related).