A good chunk of my English-teaching career has been spent teaching for the military, both foreign and domestic ones. This is just one of the many, many niches you can find work in as an overseas English teacher (for a list of all, click here). It’s a niche that not a lot of teachers know exists, but can be quite lucrative. It can also be very challenging, and at times dangerous. If you are wondering what it’s like to teach for the military, and how you can go about finding one of these jobs, read on.

What is a military teaching job?

First off, there is a distinction that must be understood when looking for jobs teaching with the military. There are essentially two types of positions that exist: positions in which you are hired directly by a government, i.e. the United States, Saudi Arabia, Moldova, etc. While these do exist, they are not very common, for the simple fact that government employees are more expensive to maintain. The other type of position, and the kind that you most likely will find, are jobs with firms who are subcontracted by governments to provide a specific service – in this case, English language training. 

Why do militaries need English-language trainers? 

There are many reasons why militaries might need to train English-speaking personnel. The most prevalent, however, are: to do joint operation with English-speaking forces, to contribute forces to global task forces (such as those in NATO), or to be able to operate and maintain equipment manufactured by the US and the British.

Let me give you an example. If the United States, Britain, Australia, etc. sell some fancy airplanes or missile systems to a country, then they must also train the buyers on how to use them. Since the pilots and maintenance technicians who will be doing the training speak English, the buyers need to speak English to receive that training. This is where we come in. We are essentially the first level of training for these future maintenance techs and pilots, etc.

There are other capacities in which militaries need language training, but this is the most common. The American and British governments also do a lot of training domestically of foreign soldiers. This is for geo-political reasons. In this case they might also need English language Trainers. I have worked in both capacities in the past.  

Who exactly would I be training? 

Well, let’s take the two scenarios that I described above. In the first, where you are essentially a part of a weapons/training package sale, you would primarily be teaching maintenance technicians of varying ranks, or pilots. This is the most common, but in Afghanistan for example, civil servants of many professions need training in English to be able to cooperate with US forces. 

In the second, where you are working domestically to train foreign soldiers coming to your country for training, you could literally be training anyone. It all depends on who your government has invited. When I worked for the USG in Texas training “security-cooperation partners,” I trained naval officers going to navy seals training, colonels who were going to attend the US war college, even American citizens who wanted to join the army but didn’t speak English as an L1. Very interesting work and probably my favorite job.

Where do these jobs exist? 

Primarily in the Middle East, because they are big purchasers of weapons packages. It is pretty common to see military jobs in Saudi Arabia and UAE pop up on TESOLJOBBOARD.com. You can also get more information about teaching English in the Middle East in my article on the subject.

They also crop up in active war zones, like Afghanistan obviously. But they can pop anywhere. I have seen jobs working with the South Korean military, for example. You really have to keep your eyes open for these though, because they appear only sporadically. I recommend bookmarking TESOL Job Board and checking it periodically so that you don’t miss them.

Is this kind of work dangerous? 

If you are working in an active war zone, like Iraq or Afghanistan, there will always be some element of danger involved. Don’t let anyone tell you different. However, In those cases you will usually be living on a military installation. Obviously this provides you with a higher degree of protection, but nothing is absolute. The base I lived and worked on in Iraq was shelled and evacuated multiple times during my tenure. There’s a reason why these types of jobs pay so much. A good portion of that pay is hazard pay.

What is the pay like? 

That brings us to the next item of business, and probably the question you are most concerned with. How much do these jobs pay? Well, it depends on the risk factor involved. If you are working with your own military domestically, the jobs typically don’t pay very much. Perhaps topping out at $70,000 a year, but usually less. If you are in a relatively safe locale abroad, one that is easily accessible and life is relatively normal, think the Gulf states, you could make anywhere from $50 – 90,000. However, if you take a job in which your life is nominally or actively in peril, pay typically surpasses six figures. Not bad for an English teacher, right?

Why doesn’t everyone do it if it pays well?

Well, it’s certainly not for everyone. While military contracting jobs pay more than most teaching jobs abroad, there are significant drawbacks that keep many foreign teachers from ever considering them. First off, most are located in an area of the world that, even if not dangerous, is not appealing to many travelers – especially women. In fact, most military related positions in the Middle-East won’t even hire women. Also, curriculums tend to be very proscribed, which can be a turn off for some. Lastly, it is not uncommon to end up teaching batches of students who are required to learn English as a part of their vocational training, but are not interested in learning the language at all. 

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I’ve  presented the pros AND cons so that you can decide whether this sounds like a great adventure, or your worst nightmare. Just remember, money is not everything! If the dangers or the drawbacks are a turnoff for you, there are plenty of other opportunities around the world. Far too many people get into it just for the money, and stay in it even though the danger or conditions are making them miserable. Don’t be one of those people!