If you’ve read any number of blogs, Facebook group posts, or forums, you realize that many people teach abroad straight out of college. Some view it as a gap year(s) before moving into the “real world,” while others see it as an extended study abroad adventure. Quite frankly, some millennials are facing a tough job market and see this as a pseudo-job somewhere between college and full-time employment while brushing up on some language and/or teaching skills. Others just want to see the world.
On the other hand, there’s a fair number of people who have been working in numerous fields post-college graduation for a while before making the move to teach English in Spain. Many are underemployed looking for a break from the 9 to 5 drag, but some are looking to change fields, having a quarter(mid)-life crisis, or just want to see the world.
As you can see there is truly a wide variety of people who are going to teach abroad, or at the very least incredibly interested about the idea and are seriously considering it. I fall into the latter of the two groups.
After graduating college, I got a full-time job, moved out from my parents’ house(s) and in with a now-ex-girlfriend, moved back home, and moved into the nicest place I have ever lived with two friends from elementary and middle school all while continuing to collect bi-weekly paychecks and contribute to my 401k. Life was good, but ever since studying abroad, the curious case of wanderlust hit me, as I know it has many others. I had wanted to venture back abroad and live, on my own, working to earn a living. Studying abroad pushed me to want to go further.
Through this blog, I have connected with a few inquiring minds asking questions about teaching in Spain. These are mostly about the application process and the visa process, but I have received a few recently regarding my decision to work for a few (3) years before deciding to teach abroad. I thought I’d write a post highlighting what I think are the pros and cons of working for a few years before teaching abroad.
Disclaimer: I obviously have only worked before teaching abroad, therefore cannot comment on the pros and cons of teaching abroad right after college or working for lots of years before teaching abroad. As always, comments are welcome 
Cons
Comfort
I’m warning you that it is incredibly easy to slip into a nice, comfortable routine collecting steady paycheck after steady paycheck and living day after day the same way. Once you have that at-one-point-seemingly-impossible-to-get job, it’s difficult to leave the comfort of a salary and benefits. You get used to the safety of it all and do not want to take the risk of giving it all up have to “start over.” Quitting your job to take a “temporary” job teaching English abroad is something that is very hard to do and not everyone will want to do once they begin working. Leaving that steady income and reliable paycheck has been tough, but teaching English in Spain supplies me with enough money to live on while allowing me to save some too.
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Relationships
I’m well aware that I may get chewed out for this one, but if you’re single it’s a heck of a lot easier to make the decision to move abroad. You are making the decision for yourself, whereas in a relationship you need to take someone else into consideration, especially if it’s a very serious one.
Now, I know that this does not directly relate with working after graduating college before teaching abroad, but I’d argue that chances are you will meet someone while working after college, be it through friends, co-workers, or at a happy hour. I’m basically saying that if you are working after college, get in a serious relationship, and your partner does not want to teach abroad and/or does not want you to teach abroad it may cause you to have to decide between the two.
Every relationship is different, and it’s not a fact that you will meet someone if you chose to work before teaching abroad. However, I feel as though it’s an important point in the discussion. I was dating someone for three years from the end of college until two years post-graduation. We broke up partially due to me wanting to experience living abroad. I’m not going to delve deeper into it, but if it would help you out, please contact me, and I would be more then happy to discuss it further with you because I know it can be an incredibly difficult and heart-wrenching process/decision/situation.
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Resumés and Experience
Over my three years at my job, I have built up an incredible amount of resumé worthy experience that many employers may value. However, it’s in the field of public transportation, urban planning, public administration, and project management. That’s all dandy, but where exactly does teaching English overseas fit in there?
You will find that the longer you are in one line of work, the more your expertise in that field grow, which in turn should mean that you are a more desirable professional for other companies within your field. Great! Except that now you want to teach abroad and begin questioning whether this will ruin your built up experience, look bad on your resumé, or become a pain when interviewing elsewhere.
If you want to switch career fields, then this is probably of no concern, but if you’d like to stay in the same field while experiencing the world, this reason may have you thinking twice about strolling into your boss’ office and handing him or her your resignation letter. For me, I don’t necessarily want to stay in the same field and am exploring what else is out there.
Time, Time, Time
This is the biggest one in my mind. Time is always passing us by. Do I feel like I lost years of my life because I didn’t go to teach abroad straight from college? No, but I do know that the older you get the chances of you actually taking the leap to teach abroad exponentially decrease as things such as mortgages, relationships, kids, and a plethora of other things life throws at you can get in your way and become ill-fated excuses as to why you cannot go. I’m 25 going on 26 and made the jump now. There’s no saying you cannot do it when you’re 30, 40, or 50, but the odds are probably not in your favor.
Pros
Professional Experience
While I wrote above that it would be hard to leave a job in which you’ve built up so much professional experience, I am also thankful for the experience I had and the skills I did build and can now put on my resumé. Whether I stay teaching English abroad forever or end up with some other sort of job, I know that that experience will help me succeed. Mindlessly staring at spreadsheets, having rubber band fights, and browsing the world on GoogleMaps probably will not get me anywhere, but developing solutions for hundreds social service agencies and educating the public on the changeover of a new fare system will. At the very least, succeeding in a professional environment gave me all the more confidence to know that I can succeed in the real world, in a different culture, across the globe.
Friends and Life Stages
I really enjoyed experiencing the oddities that life brings after college graduation with my closest of friends. We were all going through similar experiences at similar times in our lives, and we could all relate to each other. Most of it was probably complaining about the job search and later how we felt under-appreciated and underutilized at our jobs though. Being able to experience this together was something I will never forget and has helped shape who I am today.
The Office
No, not the show. Although, I could relate most of my daily encounters to the TV show, and as an aside, remember that if you don’t know who the Michael Scott is in your office, then it’s you!
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Anyways, in all seriousness, I am glad that I was able to experience working in an office and learn about all the politics that play into it, including in my office’s case politics itself since I worked for a government entity. I was able to better learn and understand the culture that exists out there, and although each workplace is unique, I feel as though my understanding will help me navigate my future career endeavors. Again, wherever that may be.
However, I will still speak my mind, suggest new ideas, and try to ever improve upon the system that is in place. much to the chagrin of some of my former co-workers who had the mindset of, “If it’s broken, why try and fix it?” Sorry, that’s not going to fly with me.
Money
Immediately after graduating college, I, presumably like many graduates, did not have a lot of money. Even by cobbling together multiple jobs – selling shoes at the mall, teaching tennis lessons, working as the studio assistant in the ceramics studio, teaching pottery classes, and making custom pottery – it didn’t amount to too much. After 3 years of working professionally, I have been able to save up a sizable amount of money. Well, at least enough that I was able to move to Spain and afford to set up an apartment, phone, internet, and food without having to anxiously and nervously await my first payment for teaching, which might not come until late November… So luckily, I can ignore the Facebook group posts asking the minimum amount of money one needs to have to cover the first month’s expenses before that first paycheck arrives. In my mind, this takes one more worry out of the whole process.
Ultimately, as in any situation, there are pros and cons. I’d say follow your heart and your gut. I find it usually leads me in the right direction, which is what it’s doing now. Let me know what you think!