Career Change Overseas: Make an Adventure of the Recession

An economic recession wreaks havoc on careers. Companies have to cut back and they usually target those who are non-critical and are paid the highest salaries first. It is just reality. The company must survive and has to make changes. But if you are one of the highly-compensated and newly laid-off workers, the recession has put you in a place to make some difficult decisions. You might find that getting a new job will be difficult in the midst of a recession because it probably was not just your company that did layoffs. Have you ever considered shifting your career track to a new one overseas? It’s a possibility worth considering and it will probably revive your career outlook during this recession.

An overseas career change is not for everyone. Many have commitments in their home country and cannot just pull up stakes and move far away. You have to carefully study your specific situation. Also understand that moving overseas brings new problems like significant salary decreases and immigration rules you are not familiar with. However you might be a baby boomer not quite to retirement age (in your late 40s / early 50s) and you still need to work. You might find your dollar goes farther by working overseas.

Most make a career change by teaching English overseas. It’s true that the booming economy of China is creating a demand for learning Chinese but English is still the universal language of the world. Consider that English is spoken in America, Canada, U.K., Australia, New Zealand, India, Philippines, and to some degree in numerous other countries. Businesses overseas deal with international transactions in English. Businesses hire corporate English teachers and demand that these teachers speak the language natively. That’s where you come in.

Usually, the starting point for any career overseas is a bachelor’s degree. For example, some countries require a bachelor’s degree just to get a visa and working permit to teach in their country. Many will require that you attend a Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course which is available in many countries. Once you have the credentials of a bachelor’s degree and a TEFL certificate, you can pick up corporate English teaching contracts either independently or through one of the numerous language centers found overseas.

Education is a recession-proof career. There will always be a need for people to learn and you will find that overseas more of the locals are actually excited about learning–especially English. You will also find that you might be able to live on one-fourth of what you had to earn in the United States and still have a decent lifestyle. But making this career move could hold you over until your social security or other retirement plan begins to pay benefits and you might just want to stay overseas to spend your golden years.

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