Can you be an ESL teacher without a degree?
It depends on where you want to teach whether or not you can teach without a degree.
On top of that, visa requirements are constantly changing so you’ll have to double-check with country criteria.
Make sure to do your research. These are not all 100% confirmed and are just general guidelines you can follow where ESL teachers don’t need a degree to teach.
Anyone can teach online without a degree. But the qualifications completely depend on the online teaching company. While some require a Bachelor’s degree, others don’t need any type of degree at all.
Now that we’ve experienced the effects on education systems from the global pandemic, online learning is here to stay. Even after this is all finished, there will still be a demand for English teachers online.
READ MORE: Teaching English Online Without a Degree
If you want to teach in Asia, most countries require a Bachelor’s degree. That means if you want to teach in some of the highest-paying TEFL destination such as Japan, South Korea, and China, you’ll need a Bachelor’s degree
But still some countries allow English teachers without a degree such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. Even though it’s not a requirement, these countries still prefer a Bachelor’s degree
Asia hires the most English teachers compared to any other continent. According to our study on 13,000 ESL jobs, a whopping 41% of global TEFL job postings were for China. Based on these the job postings, 64% of them preferred or required them to have a TESOL or TEFL certification.
Central and South America is not as popular of a TEFL destination compared to Asia. But we see a bit of a resurgence of English teacher demand in countries like Colombia, Chile, and Argentina.
One of the disadvantages about working and teaching here is a lack of online job advertisements. There are not as many job postings compared to Asia, and it’s not uncommon to have to be already in your chosen country and knock at a couple of doors.
Even though wages are higher than the national average, you won’t be able to save a significant amount of money. This is partially because schools don’t cover housing and flights. Although it’s recommended to have a degree, one of the advantages is that you can teach English here without one.
Europe is a bit of a unique situation in TEFL because it can vary significantly from country-to-country. Any resident part of the European Union has options to teach English in Europe even without a degree.
If you are not part of the EU, some of your options may include:
- Working holiday visas
- Student visas
- Freelancing visas
While most English schools in Asia will cover the costs of your flights and accommodation, Europe does not follow the same tradition. Despite being able to teach English without a degree, employers still prefer it if you have a Bachelor’s degree.
Popular destinations to teach English in Africa include Tanzania, South Africa, and Ghana. However, the official languages in these countries are already English so the demand is not terribly high.
There are also English teachers that enjoy volunteering with organizations like Peace Corps. One of the best parts about Peace Corps is that it’s mostly all covered for you such as flights, medical, monthly living allowance, and housing.
If you want to work in North Africa, countries like Egypt and Morocco hire English teachers. But most of these positions at lease require a Bachelor’s degree or higher.