Decide what kind of job you would like to perform abroad. The most common placements will be as an Au Pair, a nanny for young children, or a TEFL, short for "teaching English as a foreign language," teacher. Determine whether you would feel more comfortable living with a foreign family and teaching their children English or finding your own housing and maintaining a normal teacher's schedule. These are the primary differences between the two positions, besides salaries.
The difference in salaries is notable. As part of an Au Pair program, you will not be provided with a substantial enough salary to afford living independently from the family that you are employed by. In fact, your housing and most of your meals are often provided by the family that you work for. You are then paid a living stipend, which usually equates to around $300 per week.
Conversely, most TEFL programs only provide housing during the certification process as part of your program fees. After you obtain certification, you are in charge of finding your own housing and paying all living expenses. Because of this, your salary will be comparable to other teachers' in the area. Salary expectations will differ greatly depending on the area of the world you are working in.
Determine your preferred budget. Most of these programs will require that you pay your own way to your destination. In fact, TEFL programs will require this on top of gaining TEFL certification. Certification will require either a weekend or a 4-week course, which may run from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand for the 4-week course. Housing should be included in your fees and provided by the TEFL certification company during your training, though you may find yourself living in a shared apartment or with a host family.
Do your research. Connect to a site such as TransitionsAbroad.com that contains information about and links to a variety of job opportunities abroad. It is important that you search for reviews of specific TEFL or Au Pair programs before committing. You would not want to end up with a company that has a demonstrated record of not taking care of its participants. If you are going the Au Pair route, this is especially important as you could end up with a family that is dangerous or neglectful. Gather as much information as you can from past participants and representatives of the company before making your decision.
Apply to your selected program. Prepare yourself to pay any sort of application or listing fee as required by some companies.
Once you have selected a program, purchase your plane tickets as well as any other transportation that may be required.
