Does the cost of a study abroad investment pay off for education majors? Alumni weigh in.
Studying abroad can be a powerful experience, helping you build confidence, adaptability, and real-world skills. But you may wonder if the cost is worth it, especially when thinking about your future career. If you’re planning on teaching or working in education, studying abroad can help you stand out by showing future employers you bring cultural awareness, inclusive thinking, and global awareness to the classroom.
You may have heard the term “return on investment,” often when someone is talking about finances. Essentially, it means that what you gain in the end will be worth the original investment you made.
In the case of a University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) study abroad, your “investment” includes not only the program fees and other monetary costs, but also your time and the emotional investment of living in another country, facing new challenges, and learning a new language.
Study abroad is an excellent thing to add to your resume. Many employers look for qualities like independence, flexibility, and open-mindedness when considering candidates for a position, and living and learning abroad is a great way to obtain those skills.
“I have never been happier of a decision that I made for myself,” says Emili Marlar, a CSU Chico child development and liberal studies major. “Studying abroad was so life changing for me in so many ways. I got to meet and travel around Europe with other students from all over the U.S. and I got to further my education for wanting to become a teacher by taking classes that had different perspectives on approaches to education and teaching.”
A study abroad experience can also launch employment opportunities to teach abroad. There are many programs to consider, including the Fulbright Teaching Assistantship, Teaching English as a Foreign language (TEFL), and English as a Second Language (ESL). There are also programs specific to countries, like English Program in Korea (EPIK), Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET), Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF), and English Open Doors in Chile (EOD).
For a real-life example of how a semester abroad led to a job overseas, here are two USAC students who have pursued opportunities to teach abroad after completing their study abroad.
Eliza Zahn: Teaching English in Spain
Eliza Zahn, now a University of Washington-Eau Claire alum, was working toward a double major in economics and public health and a minor in Spanish when she headed to USAC’s Bilbao, Spain program for the Fall 2022 semester. According to a report by the university, ever since her return to the U.S., she has “been trying to find a way to go back” to Spain — a sentiment that many study abroad students understand after they return home.
Her time in Bilbao, along with a passion for global learning and a social and environmental justice immersion trip to Guatemala, made her a strong Fulbright candidate and led to her receiving the 2025-26 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Award to be an English teaching assistant in Spain.
Eliza asked to be assigned to rural schools so she can see the side of Spain that not many tourists see. She looks forward to challenging herself again by doing everything in a non-native language and is excited to see what kind of progress she can make in a year, both for herself and the students she works with.
Niecea Freeman: Teaching English in Czech Republic
In Niecea Freeman’s case — a University of Nevada, Reno alum — studying abroad with USAC’s Chiang Mai, Thailand program in 2015 set her on a path to receive a Fulbright graduate fellowship program to teach English in the Czech Republic.
Niecea had a desire to familiarize herself with Eastern philosophy and culture and chose Chiang Mai after friends and family spoke highly of the unique city culture. With the help of USAC staff and the Chiang Mai on-site program director, Niecea was able to participate in volunteer and internship opportunities, including teaching English at a monastery and refurbishing play equipment at a local orphanage.
She was also able to participate in exciting excursions to local museums and temples to gain real-world experiences — opportunities that might have been difficult to orchestrate on her own. She even had the opportunity to teach English lessons at a school for the visually impaired, an experience that helped her realize she could live and work in another country.
For Niecea, her time studying abroad in Chiang Mai helped her develop a sense of international citizenship and civic duty and allowed her to build a foundation of experience and understanding of living and traveling abroad that prepared her to teach English in the Czech Republic.
Where could you teach after study abroad?
Study abroad opens exciting doors for future opportunities. You can make connections with professors and program advisors from around the world (and even receive letters of recommendation from them, as Niecea discovered!), learn about career opportunities at home and abroad, and strengthen your resume and skillset, no matter where you find yourself after graduation.
Whether you’re hoping to return to your original host country or want to start your career in a classroom near you, study abroad expands your skill set and can open the door to teaching abroad.
Additionally, having already completed a study abroad experience as a student can help make your program application stand out, as it did for Eliza and Niecea, as well as prepare you for living abroad (again).
So, is studying abroad worth the investment for your future career goals? The answer is a resounding yes!
