Hello everybody,

I am working towards the goal to be an early childhood teacher, probably kindergarten. I am 32 years old and had a change of heart from the medical field to move into teaching. I think being a kindergarten teacher is a GREAT job for me and I need some experience to validate this before jumping into grad school! I don't have formal teaching experience but back when I was in college I was a teachers assistant. It's been difficult to volunteer in my town and I have a friend who recommended the experience of teaching English in a foreign country for a year. I hadn't thought of that before but I was excited by the idea because my boyfriend is studying in Cochabamba Bolivia and I could live with him. And I'm delighted by the idea just to be close to him! He is Bolivian and is getting his degree there to save a boatload of money.

However, I have to think about my career and I'm not getting any younger so I can't afford to waste time. Should I bite the bullet and go straight into grad school or do you think it would be a worthwhile experience to teach English overseas? Or does it make more sense to volunteer locally in a kindergarten?

My view is that I should start getting my masters degree to teach ASAP but I also think that doing something crazy like teaching overseas in South America might help me decide once and for all if teaching is for me. ESPECIALLY if it'd be possible to teach CHILDREN English. Who knows down the road I could get a dual masters early childhood AND ESL.

What are your thoughts and suggestions about this? THANK YOU!