Teaching contract without a degree

[Sintinian]

Hi, I very much hope to teach in Asia. I don't have a bachelor's degree, but I hear that Vietnam is less strict on this requirement. Which TEFL qualification would be best to help balance the scales in order to get accepted? Would it be worth forking out for a CELTA certificate or would an online TEFL be just as valuable?

Thanks!
S

[Briona]

I'm not sure where you heard that Vietnam is less strict on the degree requirement, as it's completely untrue. To work legally there you need to have a business visa, which is organised by your employer. If you don't have a degree then you won't be eligible for a business visa which means that reputable employers are most unlikely to offer you a job. The only exception I've come across is if a candidate has five years' full-time teaching experience.

As you may have gathered, the list of countries where you can legally teach without a degree is rapidly decreasing. Currently your best bets are China or Ecuador. Of course if you are in possession of a passport from an EU member state, the whole of Europe is open to you.

In terms of TEFL qualifications, online certificates will never be equivalent to a CELTA/Trinity CertTESOL as they lack the all-important observed teaching practice. However plenty of schools will happily accept online TEFL certificates.

[Sintinian]

I was told about Vietnam by I-to-I who sell online TEFL courses, I understand they just want to make profit and misinformation is sometimes the best way. Although I have heard of travellers in Vietnam being aproached by employers simply because they look like an English speaker and then offered a job on the condition that they at least have a TEFL certificate.
It seems this practice is a thing of the past, I've been researching on and off for the last year and have repeatedly read that more countries are tightening their requirements...
This angers me because I have an A-level in English but cannot get a good English teaching job in Asia, yet someone with a Degree in something completely unrelated can... I also have an A-level in psychology, a BTEC national diploma in music and an A/S-level in ITC yet I am unfit for a work Visa?
Anyway, sorry for the rant!

[Briona]

I use the i-to-i forums as well and while I don't doubt that you were told on there that you could work in Vietnam without a degree, I suspect it wasn't actually i-to-i who said it. For some reason that forum is frequented by people who insist that you can work in Vietnam without a degree and they know that because they are doing it. They may well be doing it but I assure you that they are not working legally.

Unfortunately the requirement for a degree is simply to satisfy Governments that you have a certain standard of education (16+ years in full-time education I think). While most countries will accept a degree in anything, there are some that will insist on candidates having a relevant degree.

If you are really keen to teach, you will find a way to make it happen, albeit not necessarily in the country you had originally intended. That's no bad thing though. I originally had my heart set on Spain, and yet ended up first in Vietnam, then in Portugal and now in Poland. I guess what I'm trying to say is that just because something wasn't your first choice doesn't mean it's not a good choice or that you won't enjoy it.

[Sintinian]

It was actually an I-to-I employee who told me over the phone about Vietnam from their own personal experience. I've no doubt that there are options for people without degrees in Asia, just not as many.
I do actually have 16 yrs in full-time education plus the A-levels I mentioned. I even have some experience of teaching voluntarily in a secondary school (assistant) and also teaching guitar in a music school so hopefully all this will work in my favour. Fingers crossed....

Thanks for the info!
S