Teaching abroad is an amazing experience (it is one of the best decisions I ever made) but there are many teaching abroad myths out there. Teaching overseas came after having travelled quite a bit for university (I did 1-year study abroad and 2 different short courses: one in Israel and Jordan, and another in Indonesia) and also for fun (Backpacking Europe for 4 months, Summer Camp in the US and 2 weeks North Island trip in New Zealand). All of these travelling experiences taught me a lot about going into the BIG experiences with my eyes wide open. I learnt a lot of the myths about these previous trips the hard way, so much so that it significantly impacted how much I enjoyed it. 

When it comes to Teaching Abroad there are a lot of myths out there that will lead you astray. I am sure that if you made it to this webpage that you’ve probably heard a couple, if not all of these teaching abroad myths. From how much experience you need to the work-life balance debate, these myths about teaching are rife with bad advice. So scroll through to let me debunk some of these myths and share some hard truths about Teaching Abroad. If you’re here, you are probably also interested in one day Teaching Abroad yourself (I’m so glad you’re here).

Sign up to get this FREE Beginners guide to Teaching Abroad. 

So get ready for this first teaching abroad myth.

Teaching Abroad Myth 1: You need 3+ years of experience before you start teaching abroad.

This is one of the most common teaching abroad myths I hear and one of the hard truths, is that it is kind of true. Of course,  I wouldn’t have included it if you did need 3+ years of experience, however, it is steeped in some truth. The truth is that nearly every international teacher I know recommends 2 years of experience before you start. Why? Because it gives you a good base to get hired, and a good base to do your job well.

Can you get a job without 2 years of experience? Yes! 100%! But it’s probably not going to be in your dream school or your dream position unless you have something else going for you. Just like any beginner you have to be willing to do the groundwork and start from zero. When you have a little bit more experience, you have a firmer understanding of who you are as a teacher and what kinds of school you would like to work in. You are much more likely to succeed in teaching abroad if you have a little bit of experience under your belt. 

It is generally recommended that you have 2+ years of experience for international teaching, but that doesn’t rule out all teaching abroad. 

Places within the public school system abroad are much more likely to hire new grads or early career teachers. This is what I did working in London. I left Australia to teach in London just two weeks after my final exam. Teaching in the UK (or Ireland, or Canada) is a great way to teach abroad without any experience, especially in places such as London where they are bleeding for teachers. 

Teaching Abroad Myth 2: You will get paid 2-3 x more teaching abroad than you would teaching at home.  

You hear all the time about teachers who go to the UAE and come home with a little nest egg for a house deposit or that international teachers get paid more because they work for private schools. This is definitely an international teaching myth. Don’t get me wrong, it can be true. Work for a prestigious international school in leadership and your pay will reflect that, but it isn’t a blanket rule. In fact, the wage of an international teacher can be quite low or similar to back home. The difference is that your school will give you employee benefits, such as free housing, utilities paid for, flights to and home from the country of origin or perhaps the government of that country give you a tax break. It really depends on the school and country as to what kinds of benefits you get.

What is more important to consider when thinking about income is considering the teaching abroad benefits you get in your contact and your savings potential. 

You also need to factor in the cost of living. On job adverts, it is quite common to see a percentage advertised on how much of the wage is able to be saved. This number is more significant than how much you are getting paid. You might not be earning more than what you did back home, but you are saving 60% of your wage whereas back home you could only save 5%. This isn’t even an extreme. It all depends on your priorities and your lifestyle and of course, where you live and work. 

Teaching Abroad Myth 3: Teaching Abroad is all sunshine and roses

Everything would be better if I could just…. This is a dangerous game to play. I was a victim of it too. Often when teaching in the UK I thought “things would be so much better if I taught the IB curriculum” I love the IB curriculum. I love its focus on the whole child, its focus on student agency and inquiry learning and I often thought this in the UK. I know I shouldn’t have. I’ve been teaching abroad long enough to know better. But sometimes you cannot help it. 

I ended up going to an IB school for my Master’s placement where everything was chaotic. It is was so unstructured and so undisciplined that it was detrimental to learning (in my opinion). After about 1 day I was like ”there is no way I would work here – I would rather work in the UK”. It made me realise that there is no magic fix. I love the IB but when paired with educational philosophies I don’t vibe with, it doesn’t solve any of my problems. 

This is one of the huge teaching abroad myths. A large part of teaching abroad is doing your job, and any job has low points. I think the difference for me is that the benefits of teaching abroad (and there are many. Check out my blog post on 10 of the benefits of teaching abroad) make the low points worth it. 

Teaching Abroad lets me enjoy the parts of the job that I love, and I have the space and the energy and support to work through the parts that I don’t.  

Teaching Abroad Myth 4: When you teach abroad everyone has a great work-life balance. 

This is one of the myths I hear people say the most to me. Like “Oh wow teaching abroad sounds amazing! I wish I could teach abroad so I could have an amazing work-life balance”. Well sorry to be the bearer of bad news: this is a myth!  But similar to many of the other teaching abroad myths I’ve busted, there is some truth to it. 

Not in the sense that there is less work to do. In fact, I find it the opposite, there is more work to do. However, there are many international schools that provide you with more time out of the classroom to support this. I think this myth comes from seeing International Teachers talk about teaching abroad and how they have a better work-life balance than when they were at home. This didn’t just magically happen though. It was built. 

Teachers move abroad to teach abroad, but not just to teach, but also to live. I think we are much more mindful of creating the life we want to live, and that doesn’t involve teaching 24/7. I think regardless of where you teach work-life balance is hard and is more about setting positive boundaries.

Teaching Abroad Myth 5: Being a primary teacher abroad is going to be the best time of your life.

There are so many myths out there about teaching abroad, but none I despise so much as the “…. is the best time/summer/experience of your life”. I have fallen prey to this mindset twice 🤦🏼‍♀️ Yes there is probably one thing that will be the BEST IN OUR LIVES, but that doesn’t mean that everything else is awful. I have gone on adventures having listened to the advice that it will be the best time of my life… and it wasn’t. It wasn’t terrible, but my expectations were set so high that I was inevitably let down. 

That’s why I also say teaching abroad is one of the best decisions I’ve made. Because yeh, I’m super happy with my choice, but it’s not the best time of my life. It’s great and amazing and wonderful but it’s also stressful and sometimes it really sucks. A huge part of teaching abroad is having a job! And with all jobs come responsibly and stress – I mean report season sucks no matter where you live! 

This is how I manage this myth about teaching abroad

Before I did study abroad in Sweden, I had 2 experiences where I thought that they would be the best time of my life. It took me experiencing the bitter disappointment the second time to realise that if I went in with reasonable expectations that I probably would have had an amazing time.

 So I had this mantra before moving abroad to Sweden that I think was a game-changer for me. I now use it whenever I start something new that is supposed to be amazing. I would simply repeat all the things that I do now that I didn’t like and just add “ but in x country and that’s going to be kinda cool”. When I would get crazy excited about living in Sweden, I would calm myself by going “I am going to study in Sweden, just like I do now. It is going to stress me out, just like it does now. I am going to hate it, just like I do sometimes here. I am going to complain about the cold and feel lonely sometimes, just  like I do now, but I’ll be in Sweden and that’s kinda cool.” 

Your attitude will make or break your teaching abroad experience.

It sounds a bit depressing, but it was the best thing I ever did. It meant that when most of my friends left after a semester and I was lonely and I was sick that I could look out this window and look at the snow and go “Wow, the snow is so pretty, remember this, because you won’t see it in Sydney” I wasn’t sitting there going “This is the worst, I’m lonely and I’m sad and I’m sick and I don’t want to go to class and I hate this. This was supposed to be amazing, maybe something is wrong with me.”  

I knew all of those things were coming. Being angsty about university was something I regularly did when I was stressed and overwhelmed with university assignments. It also meant that I didn’t dig deep into the disappointment. Did it suck that heaps of my close friends were only there for 6 months? Yes! But was it awesome that I made close friends in 6 months that I still connected with 4 years later? 120% Did I let that depressive mood ruin my experience? No, I felt my feelings because it sucked for a bit, but I also embraced the friends that still remained and made more. I wasn’t disillusioned by the low parts of being abroad because I had expected them, so instead, I got to appreciate the small things that were different: the falling snow, the brisk air on my face, the fact that I was only 5 minutes from campus and still late to everything. Everything is about your attitude. 

Going in with the right attitude makes a huge difference! And a huge part of having the right attitude is being well informed. You’re not going to work 9-3 (what teacher does!). You’re not going to magically have an amazing work-life balance (it has to be intentionally built). And everything isn’t going to be amazing all the time (some of the time, yes, but there are definitely rough patches too). 

Start your Teaching Abroad Journey well informed with this FREE GUIDE about the Most Common Questions About Teaching Abroad Answered! 

Being informed about what is realistic and what is just another set of teaching abroad myths is an important place to be at the beginning of your teaching abroad journey. Don’t learn these international teaching myths the hard way. Learn from those who have walked the path before you.

Want to know about my experience Teaching in London? Or what I have learnt in my time teaching abroad in London? Check out my previous blog post: 

5 Honest Reasons I Became an International Primary Teacher Abroad

4 Big Lessons I Actually Learnt Teaching Abroad in London

10 of the Best Reasons you should Teach Abroad in London this Year (or Anywhere Else in the World)

Related Articles: 

Five myths about teaching in international schools | Teacher Network | The Guardian

Top Five Myths about Teaching Abroad by Sarah at Seek Teachers

Debunking Myths about International Teaching  by Ari from Along With Ari