Considering a Career Change

Hi All

I'm considering positions in China/Hong Kong for the August intake, I am a 29 year old guy from the UK, previously travelled and worked on a Working Holiday Visa in Canada and found it a lot of fun. Also had a fair bit of work in an education related job (travelling between schools to give career advice) whilst I was out there, which again was very fun and fulfilling so I figured TEFL seems to tick a couple of boxes. Qualifications wise I have an unrelated Bachelors and a 120 hour TEFL certificate.

At the moment I'm considering taking a year contract initially to see how I find the role with the goal of heading back to the UK afterwards to complete the CELTA course, I'll be heading back home around October 2026 for a family event anyway so the plan at the moment is to work the 12 month contract, then maybe travel for a couple of months, head home and complete the CELTA with a view to find another position around February time, maybe picking up some short term contacts/online work to support myself in the 6 month hiatus from the classroom.

My main concern is how employers would view this 6 month period in view of re-hiring, I've seen some conflicting information on this sub and elsewhere about how employers view employment gaps/non renewal of contracts however I'm unsure how this would be considered when the gap involves upskilling to a relevant qualification

Any and all feedback much appreciated, cheers! :)