Because I've already claimed that teaching can be done successfully without loving teaching
And my response to that was quite clear; I don't think anybody should do a job they don't enjoy. We spend too much of our time working to do something that doesn't make us happy. I expect you will say but it allows me to do other things that do make me happy. I personally think that's a cop out, I wouldn't be happy doing a job i loathed or detested (your words!), even if it did mean I could climb mountains at the weekend, I don't think anybody should make that compromise in their life. I could never work sitting behind a desk, crunching numbers or some other such job, it would make me miserable to spend my time doing a job I had no interest in and took no pride or satisfaction from, no matter what it meant I could do at the weekend. I personally also feel that while you may tick the boxes for 'successful' teaching, you will never have that spark or rapport with a class if you do not truly love what you're doing. If I'm having a bad day, or I've had yet another row with my idiot boss, I walk in to my classroom and my kids lift my spirits up and I get back to doing something I love doing. I imagine if I detested teaching, then walking in to that room after a long, tiring day and angry from a row with an idiot boss, the last thing I'd want to do is teach a class of teenagers about how to use reporting verbs!
I see your point about the risk of leaving big gaps in one's CV, yet this wouldn't be a worry for all, for say, gap- year students
Firstly, a gap-year student shouldn't be teaching, a gap year is usually taken prior to starting university and they should already hold a degree if they want to teach. Secondly, I was quite clear in my use of the plural, years. A single year is an easily explained gap, quite possibly one that will be viewed as a positive, character building addition to a young persons CV. However, more than that and it is no longer a reasonable gap to expect an employer to overlook, especially if there are candidates similarly qualified and with relevant experience.

From San Migs posts and date of posts, one can safely assume he spent more than one year travelling and teaching, and so my original point stands; If teaching is not something you wish to do as a long term career, it will be a detrimental to you later in life when applying for work in a field you do want to be in. Ergo, my advice that if this is not something you want to do for a long time, perhaps you should reconsider doing it in the first place as the potential to damage your employability in other sectors is higher than you'd expect.

This is not advice for somebody in that position now, this is advice to those who have not yet embarked on teaching ESL. Think about your future, get in on the bottom rung of the sector you want to be in now and it will increase your chances of ending up doing what you want to be doing, more than a couple of years in China teaching ESL will.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm afraid there are more people around than you care to acknowledge who do have to make compromises in their lives, and especially when it comes to putting a crust of bread on the table and spending some time doing things they really like doing. This more often than not involves doing a job of work they do not like doing. Take the dustman, he gets through his shift with a cheery whistle, but if questioned he will most probably admit to not liking his job, merely doing it so he can do the things he likes. The same applies to me, I smile sweetly at my students and try to teach them as much as I can.

But let's get back to what's good for the students, because it's getting through to them which counts and not whatever you or I maintain should be this or that. I repeat, when I was working at that Tianjin Training Centre, it was the students and the Chinese teachers who voted me as the best FT, I didn't vote for myself. There were other teachers (FT's -sorry ne editors bracket on this keyboard) who like you loved teaching, but it was I that succeeded. I'm not saying you are totally wrong, LondonGirl, I am sure that more often than not teachers who love teaching teach better. What I am trying to do is stretch you a bit and change your opinion to include"More often than not this is the case...but. I did also tell you about the grouchy professor I worked with who hated his job and his students and still managed to get approval from his students. I notice you didn't try and appraise that one.

I'm afraid the horse has long since bolted for it to matter to many of us what our CV's look like. As far as young teachers are concerned who may be able to benefit from your heeding....well, if they're proper teachers they will stay in England to teach. Teaching in China is and always will be the domain of those that will never qualify to teach in an English school. [edited], the rest of us teach oral English only,in state schools or merely follow lesson plans in Training Centres-often involving business English which they will never need.