Pay and Benefits

The main benefits to teaching overseas are the enjoyment of teaching in an international school, the friends you'll make, the adventure of life overseas, and the travel opportunities living abroad brings you. Money should not be your main motivation for teaching overseas and you should know that you won't get rich teaching abroad. However, we know money is necessary no matter where you are in the world, so below is a general overview of the pay and benefits you can expect with a teaching job abroad.

Salary
Salaries for international school teachers vary widely from country to country depending on the cost of living in each country and the desirability of the location. Given these considerations, when teaching overseas the best way to compare salaries is to look at how much income is left after expenses.

For example, if you want to teach overseas in a large and touristy city like Paris or Rome, your saving power will be much lower because, 1) the cost of living in those cities is high and 2) teaching jobs in those types of cities are in high demand, so salaries and benefits are lower. Consequently, your after-expenses disposable income might not be more than a few hundred dollars.

In smaller, off the beaten path cities (Educators Overseas' specialty!) like Cirebon, Indonesia or Torreon, Mexico you can expect to earn more and be able to save more because the cost of living is lower and because teaching jobs aren't in as much demand, so benefits are more. In cities like these, your after-expenses disposable income could be significantly higher.

Benefits
In addition to a teacher's regular salary, most schools offer the following benefits:

• Airfare to and from the host city for the teacher
• Health insurance*
• Housing or a housing allowance
• Career development opportunities
• Summer vacation
• Assistance learning the country's language
• Procurement of all appropriate visas and country permits
• Local taxes paid

In addition to the above, many schools offer some or all of the following benefits to teachers overseas:

• A vehicle for personal use or a vehicle allowance
• Shipping allowance for household goods
• Computer or computer allowance
• Free or reduced school tuition for dependents of teachers
• Retirement plan
• Life insurance

*While it may sound like a given, some schools don't provide health insurance for teachers. Fortunately travel health insurance can provide overseas residents and travelers extremely generous coverage for minimal amounts of money.