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I'm a Nursery Nurse embarking on my TEFL training. I do not have a degree, how will this affect my future job prospects?

Hi Alex,

The governments of most countries require a degree to teach legally, but there are some exceptions. However, you are probably in for a bumpy ride, the prospects of getting good employment will be practically nill, and there will almost certainly be no opportunities for advancement.

However, this is the most discussed subject on this board and I think most of the topics are in this forum:
http://www.tefl.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=11
You can also use the search feature to locate all the relevant topics. You will then be able to read up on it all.

You may also which to check out this ESL Jobs FAQ.

Hi,
when ever you ask this question in the direction of the majority (those with a degree) you will without doubt get nothing but negative feedback. It is a case of those with a degree wanting to make that degree stand for something when it comes to the job, it does for a visa, but it isn't all doom and gloom as they paint it out to be.
No degree will have restrictions about where you can go legally and long term, but why not get a placement and then do a degree online while working. By the time you have enough confidence and some ground covered you have the degree and the experience to continue and pick from the pile.
I stopped asking people about reality without a degree as it comes back so negative every time. In reality if you apply for a few jobs and state you have no degree you will get a better idea of what is around for you to pick from.
The lack of degree restricts access to a visa only, and for the majority I wouldn't say having a degree stands for much as far as ability to teach goes, and the majority of employers know that.
Have a poke about, apply for a few positions and see what comes back, you will get a positive result from it at some point but it won't come to you.

Good luck! ;)

Excellent post Scrubmuncher. I'm also degree-less (didn't quite pass second year of college..). Alex, I reckon your nursery experience will be a huge advantage.

My plan is to attend a TEFL taster day and see if it's for me. If I like what I see I'll do a month's course or try a placement as Scrubmuncher suggested.

Virtually all countries require a degree and TEFL certificate as their basic qualifications to teach. There are jobs available if you don't have a degree but generally they fall into two categories:

1. Jobs where there is no legal requirement for a degree; the problem here is that these are few and far between, in limited countries, and it is likely to change in the near future.

2. Jobs on the "black market" as it were. These are going to be in schools which are desperate for a teacher and who will hire anyone who speaks English well enough. The problem here is that you will be working illegally which means that there's no recourse if your boss doesn't pay you and likewise the standard of the school is not going to be that high.

The way to get these jobs is simple; you need to be there! So, at minimum get yourself a TEFL Certificate to have at least one qualification you can show, then get over to where you want to teach with enough back up money to get you out if things go wrong.