Looking for online jobs to fund my travels?

Hi all

I'm looking for ways to earn an income over the internet, because it pains me having to return home and start saving up again with my regular job. Instead, are there any options out there for me which would allow the flexibility to work with my laptop, wherever I am, and whenever I want?

I heard TEFL jobs can allow such thing. I thought I'd ask on here for other opinions.

Travelling is a serious calling of mine and I want to live the nomadic life, like Benny Lewis, if anyone has heard of him. If anyone has any tips it would be much appreciated.

I blog as well, but I don't expect to gain revenue from that any time soon.

Thanks if you can help,

Saki Reply to this

I don't want a job where I have to do minimum 4 hours of work per day, though. I just want to hop online whenever I feel like, and I heard there are jobs which allow that kind of flexibility and freedom.

I don't know any other language well enough to be able to translate. I'm fluent in English and Greek, but even then I have trouble translating between the two.

And I will most definitely need to travel to areas where there is limited internet connectivity.

In a nutshell; I need a job where the hours and schedules are decided entirely (or at least mostly) by me. And so I've heard, with some TEFL jobs, you can do that. You can hop online at any time, and as long as someone is available to learn, you will have work to do, and it can pay as much as £60 an hour.

Sound too good to be true? That's what I though at first, but now I'm trying to find out about it. Reply to this

That sounds better. So it's possible I can have a set schedule, rather than working the "minumum 20 hours per week"? If I can work 4 hours per day, for just three days per week, that sounds much more bearable than working 5 days a week, or even, 7 days. But I also want to be able to take time off should I ever decide to visit a country with limited internet connection.

Example; Work in India for 2 months, then take a month off to visit Nepal. (assuming for arguments sake, that India has a good internet connection, and Nepal a bad connection)

So what would I need to do first, anyway? Obtain a TEFL certificate? Reply to this

HI Saki,

If there were online jobs paying £60 an hour for English tuition then I would be a happy bunny indeed. I've been teaching EFL for 3 years now and yes, Jo is absolutely right, some form of teaching certificate or qualification is essential if you are going to succeed in this game.

The demand for English teachers here in Asia is huge and if you are willing to teach then you could always come here and do it. Schools will generally want you to commit for a minimum of 3 months and some will even allow you to choose your own hours. Japan and Korea offer the best salaries followed closely by China and Vietnam. Cambodia and Thailand generally have the lowest wages. Here in Vietnam, $15-20 per hour is considered the norm and that is a king's ransom by Vietnamese standards.

The usually criteria are a bachelors degree in any subject, some form of recognised teaching qualification such as TEFL, TESOL or CELTA (depends on the demands of the school) and many schools will also ask for a criminal record check.

Realistically, you could spend a year teaching here in Vietnam and see most of the country during this time. Spend your first 3 months in HCMC, followed by 3 months in Da Lat or Nha Trang, 3 months in Hue or Da Nang and your last 3 months in Ha Noi. It can be done and I know people who have done it. In your free time you can explore the local area and experience what this country has to offer.

If you possess a British/US passport then by all means use it. Many Asian schools demand that their foreign teachers are native speakers and will only pay you accordingly if you can back this up. There are many Eastern European and Filipino teachers here, yet despite the fact that many of them are more or less fluent English speakers, they can only command around 60-70% of what a British, American, New Zealander or Australian teacher would earn.

There are also plenty of opportunities to teach private students, but again, you will need to commit to teaching them for a specified period of time.

Hope this is of some help.

Nick 😊

Reply to this

In response to: Msg #147354

This is brilliant advice Nick, thankyou.
Where are the best places online to find these jobs? Some i have found in Japan that look too good to be true - paying for your accommodation,visa and you get bonuses! Reply to this

Hi Abi,

There are plenty of places online, but be careful as some of the more unscrupulous sites will try to charge you money for a placement. Try TEFL.com, i-to-i or Dave's ESL cafe for jobs.

As you so correctly point out, some schools will actually pay for your flight and accommodation, but there is a catch. The schools that do this will only pay up on completion of your contract which will be a minimum of 6 months and anything up to 1 year. As for the free accommodation, while usually modern, it is often quite small and you may be expected to live in the same house or apartment as the other teachers.

There is such a huge demand for native speaking teachers in Asia hence the 'almost too good to be true' offers. Committing to a year of teaching EFL/ESL in an Asian school will be one of the best experiences of your life, that I can promise you 😊 Check out my blog null blog 658750
Reply to this

Hi again, thanks for all the advice everyone.

But I have another problem. I've decided that I want to teach English in Japan, but to be able to get a working visa, I need to have a university degree in ANY field, isn't that right? A university degree that's completely unrelated to teaching English? I thought doing the TEFL course would be enough. What is this nonsense? I find that very biased.

Someone please get back to me on this. I don't want to have my dreams destroyed just because I don't have a university degree. I am generally against having those. I wouldn't expect having to get one ever, especially if most employers in Japan hire teachers with little to no experience, which is VERY contradictory. I do not understand the logic.

What can I do to bypass needing a university degree? I'm sorry but I don't want to waste a few years of my life getting a degree in something that won't benefit me at all. I'm a firm believer in living life to the fullest, and as such, university degrees are one of the main things I want to avoid.

Advice appreciated.

I will let you know what my goal is for next year:

Save up money, move to Japan, teach English for 6 months, save up more, then travel around Asia. I hope that's not asking for too much.
Reply to this

Hi Nick, thanks for your response. I completely agree, not much in this world works according to logic, lol!

But could you please explain to me what TESOL and CELTA are? I'm not familiar with those terms.

Vietnam sounds like a good option.. but exactly how easy is it to land a job without a degree? I'm an intense traveller, I absolutely must travel. I'm constantly trying to find ways to avoid "reality", being tied down to society.

Thanks again Reply to this

In most South East Asian countries, the degree fulfills the requirements of the work permit. The various governments state that an English teacher needs to have a minimum of a degree, or proof of three years experience teaching English to be eligible for a work permit. This doesn't mean you are a good teacher or not (we all know great teachers without degrees and crap teachers with degrees), but everyone has to have a base mark to use.

In some countries, you can get away with teaching without a work permit if you do visa runs and work for schools that don't ask for one. Sometimes these will not be the best schools, but you can't have everything.

In Vietnam, I have noticed that it's easier to get a job with no degree outside the big cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, where there are less teachers around. I know a few teachers in Haiphong without a degree, for example. I would suggest that in other countries, the same would apply - stay outside the big commercial cities and you should find work easily.

As for TEFL certificates, the names TESOL and TEFL are used by most companies selling English Language Teacher Training. The quality and acceptability of these courses ranges. The basic standard is that it must have a minimum of 120 hours of taught course with 6 hours of observed teaching practice. As Nick says above, the CELTA is the most widely recognised and accepted qualification. The Trinity TESOL is equivalent, but less widespread over here it seems. If you don't have a degree, make sure that you do a recognised course to increase your chances of work.

Hope this helps.

Reply to this

The Celta is officially for teaching adults, but people do it before teaching kids too. There isn't a 'TEFL' website for courses cos it doesn't work like that. CELTA is a qualification from the University of Cambridge exam board. Trinity College exam board governs the Trinity TESOL. Different language/training schools run their course, but the exam boards check that they are all done the same way e.g. one course is not easier than another. Other organisations run their own courses, which may or may not be externally moderated.

Weekend TEFL courses are not recognised by quality schools, no matter what they tell you. As you quite rightly say above, what can they teach you in a weekend? The minimum course is 120 hours of taught course and 6 hours of observed teaching practise. That doesn't mean that you can't get a job with a weekend course. It means that you will get the same job with a weekend course as you would without one.

What course you do really depends on how long you see yourself teaching for. If you are doing it for a few months break from home, doing something new and seeing a different country, then it's not necessary to do a CELTA or other expensive course. If you want to do this for longer and want a decent quality job, do a proper course.

Hope this helps Reply to this