Hi Michael, I am glad you enjoyed the workshop last night, I enjoyed talking about my journey and answering the questions. When I did my online TEFL certificate, it costs £39, it was a 120 hour course, so the same as this free one. I would say do it, it's free and will act as a great introduction into teaching. Going back to one of the questions from last night, Cambodia do hire English language teachers with no degree but with a TEFL certificate, Myanmar is also another country that does the same.

@Michael Sodde £34 for 2 certificates sounds like better value Michael, get this done and you’ll be on your way!!

The situation in China and bank accounts is that they remain open as long as your visa is valid, every year I need to update my details, and this also requires me having my picture taken with a member of the bank in my home! Crazy, but I am use to it. Rather than shutting the account down, they do tell you about it before they do it. The biggest plus of having a bank account in the country you live is now having constant transaction fees for international transfer and using your card abroad. I know it's not of much help, but when my wife and I are in Thailand, we use WeChat and Alipay (digital payments) for quite of a lot of things. Is the a digital payment route in Thailand that allows you to use your "money" from another country or account?

I did my secondary schooling in London, during the late 70's and early 80's! I had a blast, but now when I visit, im counting the days to when I can leave!

I had been working in China since 2015, so I was familiar with the layout and how things worked here. And I was comfortable with the work-life balance, there was a certain amount of security getting the pay check every month, and also getting paid for the 2 longs holidays in the winter and summer. I had always known that the older I got, the more challenging it would be to maintain the annual renewal of my contract, so working online was something I had thought about most years as time passed. The school I worked for closed after 8 years, and this was the start of my transition to teaching online, I had a large number of students who still wanted me to teach them, but knowing how security made me feel, I took another paid job, this time at a University. The money was less, but also the work load was very small, 8 classes per week, and these were put into two mornings a week, all of a sudden I had a salary and time to start making the move. The other major incident which was instrumental in leaving the classroom at school and moving onto the laptop was a heart attack! Long story short, 2 stents fitted and drugs, and I am doing well. during the final months of the University contract, I started building my online classes, and by the time I had finished at the university I was regularly having 10 online classes per week. That was enough for me to not seek employment at any schools, and my focus was on building up the client bank. Fast forward, at the end of March 2025, I will have reached the end of my first year. My income has surpassed my Universities salary quite easily, and I would say I am at a level where I am close to being at the same level of income in the last year of my other school. My working week has been stable at about 18-20 hours of work each week, and this is enough to maintain a very healthy and comfortable lifestyle in China. The best part, well not having to answer to anyone, and being able to work from wherever I like!

I found my freedom in the very thing you don't want to go back to, online teaching. Online gives you more freedom than being stuck in a class, which is what I did for almost 10 years. Fast approaching my first year anniversary of being online, no looking or turning back now. As for ideas, stick to what you know and what you're good at, I would encourage you to look through upward and fiverr to get an idea of what you skills can get you, apply for some freelance work on there. Brand yourself, use social media to start spreading the word about what you can do.

@Niall Bennett building your own student client bank is a great way to start, it doesnt need a degree, and you get to choose who you teach! Yep, the 23rd is when i am talking about online teaching, see you there!