There are many things we must think about before committing ourselves to working abroad for any length of time. Here are just a few of them:

	Where do I want to work?
	What type of work do I want to do?
	How long do I want to go for? - or more to the point, How long CAN I go for?
	Do I want to work in the towns & cities, or in the more rural areas?

The next problem we face is trying to find a suitable placement. There are two approaches we can adopt. The first is to use a company that will provide you with a pre-arranged placement, usually these are through organisations or schools that they know well and use time and time again. The other method is to try and arrange the placement ourselves by establishing relationships with overseas NGOs & charities. Needless to say, the first option is by far the easiest. The only drawback by using the first option is that inevitably, the company who organises your placement, will charge for their services.

If you do decide to use a commercial organisation, then an important question to ask is: Where does my money go? If you pay a company, say for example, £800 to arrange your placement overseas, who gets the money? Does the charity you will be working for get any of the money? Or does the commercial company that arranged your placement keep all the money. Are you getting value for money? Do you get travel insurance included, do you get any training before you leave? Do you get help with your visas, vaccinations etc. These are all things to think about.

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