I can agree with a lot of what you are saying here. I knew plenty of guys in China not only without any university education, but I wondered how much secondary education they had...and they still got hired in jobs. An ex army mechanic I knew always got work in China, but I don't get how being able to change the treads on a tank at some base in Cyprus equates with teaching English in China but there you go...

If you do have a bit of personal history behind you like that army mechanic you refer to it can be all to the good if you experience teaching in a crap English Training Centre which expects you to do two or more English Corners a week (1 Hour lectures) Rather than relying on well-worn topics like, Nelson bloody Mandela, Global warming etceteras, you can relate a few real life tales and experiences- plonk in a bit of grammar from time to time to use up some time when a deserving word comes along-Your soldier could have made a feast out of that word "tread" all its uses and derivatives. Lay youself down to change tread "lay and lie" another half hour well spent. Half the room was asleep by the end of my lectures, but that's no bad thing-sleeping students don't cause trouble. I encourage my students to snooze but will not tolerate chatting or fiddling with mobiles-you won't lull students off to sleep in a noisy classroom, and that aint good.