So I have a summer off and want to go abroad instead of wasting

Bump.
Same position you're in.
Help exchange is a possibility, you won't get paid, but it takes the cost of food/living away for a few hours work every day.

>>1222274

You're not going to get a short-term TEFL position without either a degree or any sort of certification. That's especially true if you're only looking to teach for a single summer.

Really, do you think it'd be worth it even if you did? You'd completely lack the skills and qualifications necessary to teach English. Moreover, you would almost certainly be working under-the-table and illegally. There'd be a chance that you could be extorted, deported, or taken advantage of by your own employer.

If there were an easy way to travel for free, everyone would be doing it. Unfortunately, there isn't - you either need time and qualifications or in-demand skills and a business plan.

I'm a student as well as a freelance writer. One of my contracts pays about $1,000 per month, and then I usually make another $1,000 or more on top of that with individual assignments. However, I'm still saving for a series of trips this summer by working part-time and putting what I earn into the bank along with my writing income. Just "breaking even" is hard to do, especially if you haven't traveled before and don't know how challenging being broke far away from home can really be.

I would encourage you to work to save money. If you go somewhere like Thailand or India, you can probably get by on between $400 and $600 per month, if you're fine with just having an experience and not getting to do very much. If you can write or code or do anything which you might be able to monetize, then I would also suggest that you look for remote work in the next few months.

Just stay realistic - getting away from the computer is good, but don't expect English fluency alone to open any doors for you when you don't have the paper to prove your qualifications.

Until you build up whatever you're good at, think about getting a part-time job and saving from that. Traveling isn't as expensive as you think it is, provided you don't have lots of outstanding financial obligations.

>>1222287

For what it's worth, I do have the requisite skills (I'm a linguist and have taken language education courses). But yeah I see what you mean, the certificate is important. Unfortunately It's not really feasible for me to get the cert considering I'll be busy starting in fall and I'm not planning on teaching long term. I guess I'll look more in the freelance direction for writing, programming, etc. Thanks for your input, it's helpful.

>>1222317

No problem.

You might be able to find some work if you have a degree; I assumed you didn't since you said you were in school.

You might be able to find something in Thailand or a similar country, but I don't really know. I almost taught English in Colombia, since their government sponsors visas for degree-holders. I have 90 credits and they were willing to waive the requirement for me, but they also wanted a half-year contract.

There are usually TESL threads on /trv/. I'd ask in there if one is up. Frankly, if you have some writing experience, I would go for that, provided you can find a decent gig. I make $1,000 per month writing for a blog, and it takes me less than ten hours per week to fulfill my weekly quota now that I have a hang of WordPress and am familiar with the role. If you find something like that, you can be comfortable in a developing country; not living like a king, of course, but you'll be able to afford to travel around a bit and have a fun time on top of working.