The Market for Domestic TEFL Jobs Might be Bigger Than You Think

Most people start TEFL as a way to get out of the comfort zone and enjoy new experiences for a while. While that's probably why you studied for your TEFL Cert – it's not the only option. You might think that coming back home means you've got to re-skill and find another career path – but that's simply not the case.

What many TEFL teachers forget when they weigh up the options over whether to move back to their home country is that there's probably a huge demand for your skills back home. In many cases, there's actually a greater demand for domestic TEFL skills than there are elsewhere. In this article, we're going to look at how and why the market for domestic TEFL jobs might be bigger than you think – and what that means for you.

Increased immigration means there are tons of people who need to learn English that already live in an English speaking country

You probably think your TEFL skills are only for somewhere where there are lots of non-native speakers, right? Like Southeast Asia. While demand there is still pretty big – there's probably an untapped market of TEFL jobs in your home location. That's because of increased immigration.

Without getting into the politics of it – immigration has been huge for the domestic TEFL market. If you want to stay at home for a while and take things easy – you might find a perfect role for you.

Check your local towns – especially educational colleges and centres. There are TEFL jobs all over the place that you probably didn't even know existed. If you do a search for TEFL jobs in the UK – you'll find hundreds. And it's probably the same if you're in North America or Australia.

You might be surprised that the number of TEFL jobs at home matches those found in many other TEFL hotspots like China or Thailand.

There are private language schools as well as proper schools that run classes for children from newly arrived immigrants. All of these places need TEFL teachers, and they need them fast.

Low supply of teachers means the wages are good

Let's face it – most people don't get their TEFL Cert and dream of staying in their own country to teach. You probably didn't either. But if you just want a break from the hassle of living in a new culture, it could still be the right choice for you.

Actually – you can see the supply and demand of domestic TEFL jobs as an advantage, and it's something that leads to a competitive local wage in your area.

Because very few TEFL teachers want to stay in their own country and teach – that makes things even better for those that decide to. It's simply economics. With tons of demand for language courses because of increased immigration and an under-supply of qualified teachers, wages are good.

Nobody takes up TEFL to get rich. If you did – you've made a big mistake. But while wages might be low in places people really want to teach – they're actually much higher in domestic markets. You could get a wage that's comparable with a real job in your local area – rather than fighting for scraps with hundreds of other newly-qualified TEFL teachers in Thailand. Or competing with not-even-qualified TEFL teachers.

Working domestically could save you a lot of hassle

Another thing to remember – in those developing nations that people are fighting over eachother to go and teach in – employment law is rarely on your site. You simply get what you get and like it or lump it. There's often no comeback when something goes wrong. If there is a contract – it can rarely be worth the paper it's written on.

But when you teach domestically – you've got all of those things in your favour. Paid sick leave, a solid contract that means something, and hopefully a boss that doesn't take advantage of you.

You don't have to teach domestically for the rest of your career – but it could be the right choice for a few years while you gain experience so that you can get that next job you really want. You may decide to do it as you complete training for your next job, such as Manager training.

Hopefully – you're starting to see how domestic TEFL teacher could be the right choice for at least some of your career.

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