Job Discussion Forums

[Prof.Gringo]

[wailing_imam]

Teach in Indonesia for fun. A truly fascinating country.
Teach in Singapore for the money and the normality. After a while, one needs to try and earn a comparable salary to what one would expect in the west.
I would like to try Myanmar in the future for a giggle.

[water rat]

[Tudor]

Yes, water rat, we get it, you don't like Singapore as is evidenced by your three or four near-identical posts over the last few days. I don't know what your agenda is other than a need for your opinion to be heard more than others.

I'm sure life in China must be amazing for you - I can only begin to imagine the joy that comes from living amongst shoving, shouting, smoking, spitting, shitting neanderthals.

[water rat]

[Tudor]

Look up "arrogant" while you've got your dictionary out.

Oh, and "boring old tosser" whilst you're at it.

[cb400]

Asian countries tend to work on a reverse life-income shitscale. Think supply and demand with a poop scale.

Let me explain.

The shittier the place, IE Vietnam and China quite often the better the pay (compared to living costs). Demand is higher is higher than supply.

The good places with less pollution, ignorant locals and acceptable services such as Japan, Korea and Thailand offer the less saving potential (in local currency) and many of the desirable locations are paying less now than 10-20 years ago, though the supply is higher than demand.

Laos is hopeless, Cambodia has no ESL market to speak of and Burma thinks that it is the next Paris of SE Asia and is charging similar rents. Mongolia is the retard of the group and the Philippines have no need to English as it is a second language already and everyone is leaving there anyway.

The shitscale in effect

[happyinshangqiu]

[wailing_imam]

As I have said before, Singapore is an incredibly divisive place. Like marmite, people can love it or loathe it, but rarely is anyone neutral about it. I have met many like Water Rat, who just can't deal with the place. It certainly challenges the Western ego to find oneself living a lower middle class existence in Asia after enjoying the perks of teaching in poorer countries, where the funny currencies flow freely, though amount to little in pounds or dollars.

I have spent time (3 years) in China. I generally had a good experience there, though now I have children, there is no way I could live there again. The carrots are far too orange, the water too dubious and the kids crapping on the street simply set a poor example.

Anyway, this brings me back to my point regarding Singapore. As anEnglish teacher, one may get married, and have children and need to be somewhere with superb free English language state school education, access to the property markets, stable investments and good healthcare (not too mention excellent public libraries). These things may seem a tad dull, but Singapore is THE ONLY place in Asia that offers all of these things. When it all gets too banal, my salary affords me the chance of hopping on a plane to all sorts of exotic locales.

Therefore for the career English teacher, who intends to build a long term existence in Asia, I conclude that Singapore offers the best deal.

[kurtz]

What does one require in terms of quals and experience for a quality job in Singapore?

TEFELers are always looking for a better gig. I don't think there is one "best" country for everyone as seen from the comments here.

When one starts working in a new country, everything is very exciting and interesting. However, as time goes by the wow factor dimishes and then money becomes an issue. For me, it's all about the money and currently I am earning a decent old paycheck. In the future I'd like to live in a country with clean water, clean streets, have reliable police and be surrounded by a populace that have a bit of class and who don't resent foreigners. What countries in Asia fit those criteria?

Most of SE Asia and Asia in general is a dirty shitehole. This is from working and living in Asia for nearly ten years. There is often trash everywhere and the smell of pee and poo and spit on the streets. Of course the countryside can be beautiful, but most of the jobs are in cities and many Asian cities just are not very liveable with a severe lack of space and clean parks.

The aspirational classes and those who have made it to middle class or higher have adopted the worst character traits imaginable; I simply don't want to be near such people, especially the newly rich with their oversized watches, and don't get me started on those geezers who think wearing a Tag makes them something special. Furthermore, most places in Asia don't pay very well for the humble non related BA and Celta holder; one has to up the quals these day; that will be my next move.

This means Asia isn't so big any more and the number of worthy countries is very small. For us middle aged guys in general, not that I want to speak for everyone, we want to earn good money and have a good quality of life. Where in Asia is that?

Lastly, I would never work in Korea again for a number of reasons including a spitting, slack-jawed yokel populace who treat foreigners like they are monkeys in a zoo, or Vietnam which has very deceitful locals and a currency no better than toilet paper, and China, which is like an open sewer.

Anyways, have fun out there people, life is too short to grumble, so go grab some kimchi jiggae, nibble of some bun cha, munch on some mie goreng or a malai kofta and enjoy your day.

[Prof.Gringo]

[water rat]

@kurtz - I would suggest Japan except for the part about resenting foreigners. However, Japanese are often (too) friendly and you'll find yourself getting spotted beers, or even your meal paid for at a restaurant. although this can be tiresome, if you've been teaching all day. Also living costs are very high there. (However again, I saved $7000 in two years there.)

However, the Japanese are very refined and polite, and the country s clean in a nice, swept up way, not sterile like Singapore.

As for the noveau riche of other Asian countries: a mate of mine once observed an Indonesia lady all decked out in gold and Prada diligently picking her nose throughout his class.

[wailing_imam]

I would say for a TEFL Asia lifer, to get a salary comparable to a fair Western salary one needs at least a DELTA or TrinityDIpTESOL and preferably an MA TESOL or AppLing. Without these quals, decent salaries are hard to come by.

Kurtz is right. Asia is exotic, but for the most part an uninhabitable hole.The big boy salaries in China involve working in Ningbo and Suzhou. Check out the air pollution index in those places. It's horrific.

[plumpy nut]

[plumpy nut]