Can I Find Work as a Substitute Teacher Traveling?

When you want to travel overseas it can become costly to bounce around a lot unless you have unlimited funds (which most of us don’t). One way to travel abroad, be it at a slower pace is to substitute teach while traveling. 

You can find work as a substitute teacher in most countries. If you have a degree and are from a so-called English-speaking country (it doesn’t have to be in education) it will be even easier. Unlike the US, most countries do not have full-time substitute teachers and need to fill in positions. 

This sounds like an easy proposition as I laid it out above but there are nuances and oddities that one has to know about before venturing out to become a full-time sub. I have done it myself and had many friends do so as well. I will lay out how to do it and some positives and negatives to it below.

Qualifications and Abilities to Substitute Teach Abroad

This will vary on the country and if you want to do it above board or not. In most places, you will only need the following:

• Valid passport (with over 6 months)
• Flexibility to not work every day and odd hours
• Patience as not all teachers will leave lesson plans and the students could change daily
• Enough money to be able to handle the low periods 
• College/ University degree (in some places only a 2-year certificate will suffice)
• Working permit (if you want to do it by the law, which most don’t)
• Teaching License (in Taiwan for example you can have a substitute license which is much easier to get and you do not need to have studied for it).
• Clean Criminal Record
• Connections or a recruiter to find work

If you want to stand out in getting a teaching job whereas a substitute or full-time read my article here Ways to Stand out Getting a Teaching Job, it is for Taiwan but can be copied in any country.

What Does a Traveling Substitute Teacher Do?

You are the teacher for that day. You will do the same things that a regular teacher does, from walking the kids to lunch to teaching math lessons. There is usually no paperwork but this is for a short-term sub (a sick teacher). There are two types of substitute teachers: long-term substitutes and short-term substitutes (emergency substitutes). 

Long-term substitutes take over another teacher’s classroom for an extended period of time. It is basically the same thing as a regular teaching gig and has a higher pay rate and reliability compared to the short-term sub. On the other hand, you will be in charge of lesson plans, reports, and parents. I did this in Taiwan and it was great they hired me and flew me out here and the teacher was on sabbatical because she was pregnant. So she left lesson plans and such but I did have to adapt and create more and contact the parents. It was a bit difficult jumping in the middle of the year and the students knew that I was leaving but it worked out fine. You have a start and end date so you can plan on the pay and the work.  If you are interested in teaching in Taiwan (I still live and work here) I wrote and Full Guide from getting a job to what to bring here The Ultimate Guide for Moving to Taiwan to Work or Live

Short-term substitute teaching (Emergency subbing) can be very irregular but much better for those travelers that don’t want to work every day and are fine with sustained periods off. The pros are that you don’t even have to deal with most of the normal teacher nonsense ie. parents, grading, afterschool activities, etc. You don’t do lesson plans and have the worry of how the students will do on next week’s spelling test. You show up teach whatever the class, make sure no one dies, and go home afterward without a thought. Finding this world could be as easy as opening Facebook (which is really common and there are whole communities dedicated to it) and checking the message boards for that day or having your information on file with a school to call you when they need you. 

How to Become a Traveling Teacher

Get out and travel. There are some places online that you can use to find jobs, but is it most in-country hiring as they don’t want to pay to fly you there for part-time work, let alone give you a working visa. What I have done in the past is to have a contract with friends and asked about the situation in that country. If you don’t know anyone in that area you want to travel join a group on social media and reach out. Traveling Teachers are very friendly people and willing to help in most cases, you can even message me on FB or IG and I’d be happy to help or point you in the right direction. Being a traveling teacher is a great way to grow and learn, check out my article on 12 Reasons Teachers should Travel to Learn and Grow

I did find this site IST | International Substitute Teachers (teachersonthemove.com) I am not sure and cannot vouch for it but poking around it seems legit though the barrier to entry is high and here is their policy directly from their website on what subs they need “

We do NOT receive requests for the following areas – ESL/EFL/EAL, Library, Counselling, Administration.

IST RARELY receives requests for the following areas: PE, Art, and Music.

We ALWAYS need a register of teachers who cover the following teaching/curriculum areas:

• Any grade from pre-k through to the last year of high school
• Any subject taught in an international school, excluding the areas listed above
• Any curricula including US, Australian, British, Canadian, and International Baccalaureate”

Is it Legal to Substitute Teach in Other Countries?

If you have the proper documents and certifications then it is 100% legal. In most cases, though it is not legal. The teachers and schools that you will see at the smaller schools and posting on Facebook for a sub will be paying you under the table and it is illegal. While nothing may ever come of this and it is a thriving industry around the world, I do caution you to be wary and know that you are taking a risk. If you get caught you can get fined and in the worst-case deported and banned from that country. I have seen that happen in South Korea while I was a teacher there.

Tips On Being a Good Substitute Teacher

• Be Early- Many of these schools are in palaces you have never been to before and in classrooms, you are not familiar with. You do still need to be ready. 
• Get to Know the Boss and Co-Workers– Being a sub leaves the door open for full-time employment or you being their go-to sub.
• Always Have a Backup Lesson- Not all teachers will leave good plans and you don’t want to be stuck there twiddling your thumbs with nothing to do as the class erupts into mayhem.
• Make a Bond with Your Students–  You are only there a short time and by making a good connection that class will go much easier and if everyone is having fun and learning at least something, it is a successful day.
• Leave Notes of What Happened- Nothing is worse than coming back from a day off and you have no idea what happened the day before. Be kind to that teacher or school and it will pay off.
• Dress Business Casual- While in most of Asia the schools are very informal and a t-shirt and pants will suffice, dressing up a bit adds a lot of professionalism.
• Grade Any Work You Give Out- It is just professional and shows that you know what you are doing. Nothing is more obnoxious than a sub handing out a ton of worksheets that they know they don’t have to grade because they don’t want to work. 
• Follow the Lesson- There is a reason that that plan was made. When you don’t follow the lesson you are hurting the children’s learning and being disrespectful to the teacher that made it.
• Get Creative- Just because you are following a lesson plan doesn’t mean you can’t make it your own. Have fun with it and your students.
• Make Sure to be Kind to the Staff- A lot of the staff that works at these schools are underappreciated and underpaid. Being kind to them will get noticed and it is just the right thing to do.

Word gets around quickly with teachers and subs, so if you want a full-time position or to be called back here are some tips to follow.