Worse still, because I found the love of my life in a foreign country.
What should I do in my life? I have an Associates degree in Horticulture, a useless, liberal arts Bachelors degree and a TESOL certificate.
Currently, I teach English part time at a local language institute here in the foreign country. It isn't enough to make ends meet. I have been looking for English teaching gigs from online schools in other countries for a while now, and it still hasn't given me any income. I do enjoy teaching, though. I must say, it's a fairly rewarding line of work. It feels good, and the pay is actually a bit more per hour than the average local job. On the whole, however, I have just been slowly burning through my savings.
I'm wondering if I should leave my wife and go home for a while and work towards something at home (e.g. the cliched passive income) before planning my eventual return. I certainly don't want to separate for any length of time, especially since we haven't been together very long, nor would I be thrilled to move back to the USA.
I really need a solid long-term plan. Do I start some small business here abroad, such as a laundromat, or something else that doesn't have very high startup costs? Should I get another degree related to Horticulture, and then look for relevant jobs locally and compete with the locals for local wages?
Should I pursue a CELTA certificate and see if I can gain enough experience to travel with my wife to live somewhere like Saudi Arabia in order to make a decent income?
One thing is that I feel very insecure about my future career-wise. For that reason, I don't feel like narrowing my options down to any one thing, but I'd like to have various options. The flipside of that coin is that I spread myself too thin and don't get the necessary experience whereas if I just applied myself to one thing.

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I'm at a Sticking Point in my Life - What should I do?Moderators: fschmidt, jamesbond Check out our Dating Sites and International Romance Tours! Special Offer! FREE 6 Month Membership on ForeignWomen.com! Sign up here. Find Your Foreign Sweetheart Now! Try our international Dating Sites and Overseas Romance Tours! Yep, I'm in my mid-twenties and just started an internship with a branch of the government in one South American nation researching and experimenting with new crop species. I'm somewhat of a specialist, and have some relevant work experience, yet I don't even have a relevant Bachelors degree in the field, just a relevant Associates degree. According to my supervisor this could definitely turn into a decent, paid, research assistant position by the end of the year. All that for just making a few contacts and following up with them at an opportune moment. There is one thing to be said about working abroad if your first language is English. My coworkers see me as a valuable asset, because most scientific articles are published in English, and thus I am able to help translate and interpret information. That's why they are eager to have me as an intern as opposed to a more "qualified" local. Just try to find some backwater, off-the-beaten path place where hardly anyone bothers to learn English, and position yourself as a specialist in whatever field you have some experience. After having picked up my first month's measly paycheck from the English language institute, that is exactly what I intend to do. As long as you are fluent in the local language, I think there's a decent shot at finding something other than teaching English. Many proponents of passive income and entrepreneurship site having a boss as one of the drawbacks of a job. Well in many other countries work environments aren't nearly as nasty. I like Hammanta's suggestion for working for NGOs as well. The economy of the future is just going to be governments and rich people giving handouts to projects that they deem proactive and practical.
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