Thank you for the reply. I am still looking for options where there isn't such an upfront fee. My brother, who works in South Korea, was able to pay $250 for a TEFL and then immediately found a position with a recruiter. I'm not sure if his case was extremely lucky, but I am hoping for the same. If anyone knows of a similar program, please inform me. I'm open to almost anywhere for a first start. I would Japan or UAE though...