TEFL career progression isn’t always as linear as some other careers. That’s partly because teachers often have two or more roles at the same time. For example, it’s quite common for someone to spend half their time teacher training, and the other half teaching, or to work as a Coordinator for one school while teaching at another. You can jump steps, and go back and forth between different steps. I went from being a teacher, to a Director of Studies, back to being a teacher again, then a Director of Studies, then a teacher trainer, then a combination of teaching and teacher training. This is what has suited me and my circumstances at each point of my TEFL career, and the TEFL industry is great at giving you the flexibility to do that. Returning to teaching after being a Director of Studies, for example, is not necessarily seen as a step backwards, as a similar move in many other careers would be. With this in mind, here are some of the steps in a TEFL career. 1TEFL teacher Teach in private language schools 2Expand your teaching Branch out into freelance teaching, or work for universities, or as a language assistant in local state schools. 3Senior Teacher / YL or Business English Coordinator Take on a junior management and coordinating role, maybe specialising in Young Learners or Business English. 4Diploma level qualification Take a course such as Delta or Trinity DipTESOL in preparation for more senior academic management or teacher training roles. 5Director of Studies Manage the academic side of a language school, recruiting, managing, developing and advising teachers, dealing with clients, coordinating schedules and developing training courses. 6Teacher trainer Become a trainer on a TEFL course, passing on your knowledge to those just starting out. 7Branch out Start a language school (large or small), work in a related field, work in TEFL back home.