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Countries that offer the highest salaries - top 3?
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Gerund



Joined: 09 Feb 2003
Posts: 80
Location: Amerika

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 6:21 pm    Post subject: Re: Countries that offer the highest salaries - top 3? Reply with quote

EFLeducator wrote:
nyc2323 wrote:
Where can a TEFLer make the most money these days?


1. Japan

2. South Korea

3. China or perhaps Vietnam.


Are you talking about Asia or the whole world? I suspect salaries in the Middle East are a lot higher. I'm making 70K (USD) a year, and there are even higher salaries here. Of course you have to balance the high salary with where you live Sad and the students you have Sad Sad .
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tttompatz



Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 10:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Countries that offer the highest salaries - top 3? Reply with quote

Gerund wrote:
EFLeducator wrote:
nyc2323 wrote:
Where can a TEFLer make the most money these days?


1. Japan

2. South Korea

3. China or perhaps Vietnam.


Are you talking about Asia or the whole world? I suspect salaries in the Middle East are a lot higher. I'm making 70K (USD) a year, and there are even higher salaries here. Of course you have to balance the high salary with where you live Sad and the students you have Sad Sad .


Your average "TEFLer" with a generic BA and a TEFL cert is not going to find an entry level job at $70k in the ME.

.
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HK_GURU



Joined: 17 Nov 2011
Posts: 26

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:11 am    Post subject: Re: Countries that offer the highest salaries - top 3? Reply with quote

EFLeducator wrote:
nyc2323 wrote:
Where can a TEFLer make the most money these days?


1. Japan

2. South Korea

3. China or perhaps Vietnam.


I find this hilarious.

250,000 yen per month x 12 and converted = $38,000 USD (no housing and less than one would have earnt in the late 1980's).

2.2 million Korean won per month x 12 and converted = $23,500 USD (what a joke! has not gone up significantly in years and well it is Korea. Say no more! Of course there is housing but it may be little more than a student style dormitory for the unlucky. Hardly a home to settle down in and live).

Vietnam? I won't bother.

There are well paid jobs out there. They are for qualified and experienced teachers and the the occasional lucky person who has connections or is in the right place at the right time.

There is good money to be made in place such as Hong Kong, UAE, Quatar, Japan in the tertiary sector which is extremely competitive and a few other places.

The real problem is the dumbing down of teachers and the flooding of markets with dopes who are mostly unemployable back home driving down wages.

I've done okay. I will be retired by age 50 with approximately 1.5 million USD which believe it or not I have made in ESL, investing and also with my partner contributing to our savings.
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naturegirl321



Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:53 am    Post subject: Re: Countries that offer the highest salaries - top 3? Reply with quote

HK_GURU wrote:
250,000 yen per month x 12 and converted = $38,000 USD (no housing and less than one would have earnt in the late 1980's).

2.2 million Korean won per month x 12 and converted = $23,500 USD

There is good money to be made in place such as Hong Kong, UAE, Quatar, Japan in the tertiary sector which is extremely competitive and a few other places.

The real problem is the dumbing down of teachers and the flooding of markets with dopes who are mostly unemployable back home driving down wages.

I've done okay. I will be retired by age 50 with approximately 1.5 million USD which believe it or not I have made in ESL, investing and also with my partner contributing to our savings.

Congrats! That's great. Which countries did you teach in? Seems like you invested pretty smartly.

I agree about salaries, they've been pretty stagnant where I am, though cost of living has gone up. Recruiters often use old exchange rates. And people can't get jobs back home, so they come here. Another thing is the cost of living. If you get free housing and have low taxes, no car, etc, you can save more than you can at home. At least for some people. And there's no shortage of people coming here!
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PC Parrot



Joined: 11 Dec 2009
Posts: 459
Location: Moral Police Station

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 3:14 am    Post subject: Re: Countries that offer the highest salaries - top 3? Reply with quote

tttompatz wrote:
Gerund wrote:
EFLeducator wrote:
nyc2323 wrote:
Where can a TEFLer make the most money these days?


1. Japan

2. South Korea

3. China or perhaps Vietnam.


Are you talking about Asia or the whole world? I suspect salaries in the Middle East are a lot higher. I'm making 70K (USD) a year, and there are even higher salaries here. Of course you have to balance the high salary with where you live Sad and the students you have Sad Sad .


Your average "TEFLer" with a generic BA and a TEFL cert is not going to find an entry level job at $70k in the ME.

.


Hold on a minute .. you weren't talking about entry level positions when you repeated your salary & savings for the zillionth time ..

And the OP didn't specify .. in fact it was you who introduced the entry-level aspect to the thread ...

HK_GURU wrote:
I've done okay. I will be retired by age 50 with approximately 1.5 million USD which believe it or not I have made in ESL, investing and also with my partner contributing to our savings.


Good show ... we're on target to do the same ... how close are you to 50?

.. we are 5 years away .. but 5 years is a long time in TEFL .. anything can go wrong
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tttompatz



Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:41 am    Post subject: Re: Countries that offer the highest salaries - top 3? Reply with quote

PC Parrot wrote:
tttompatz wrote:
Gerund wrote:
EFLeducator wrote:
nyc2323 wrote:
Where can a TEFLer make the most money these days?


1. Japan

2. South Korea

3. China or perhaps Vietnam.


Are you talking about Asia or the whole world? I suspect salaries in the Middle East are a lot higher. I'm making 70K (USD) a year, and there are even higher salaries here. Of course you have to balance the high salary with where you live Sad and the students you have Sad Sad .


Your average "TEFLer" with a generic BA and a TEFL cert is not going to find an entry level job at $70k in the ME.

.


Hold on a minute .. you weren't talking about entry level positions when you repeated your salary & savings for the zillionth time ..


If you were referring to this post (3rd in the thread?) then yes, I was talking about entry level jobs (non-related BA and TEFL cert).

tttompatz wrote:
General remuneration packages have been discussed multiple times before (recently).

By and large, as an entry level TEFLer the best packages are in Asia with Korea still leading the pack with monthly salaries in the $2000 range plus air, housing and other benefits. Because of the other benefits, savings on the order of $1000/month are common.

After that basing packages on base salary alone is pointless because of the widely divergent costs of living in the different countries in the region.

As an example, in Korea I was earning $40,000/year but savings were only about $15,000. I moved to Thailand, my salary went down by $8000 but the savings went up to about $20,000 because of the much lower costs of living. (this is not an average, entry level TEFL wage).

In China the entry level TEFL teacher will be looking at remuneration packages in the $1000/mo range and, depending on where they are, they will be able to save anywhere from nothing to $700/month on that salary.

The other countries in East Asia are all similar in terms of work/visa requirements and remuneration.

One BIG CAVEAT in all of this is the assumption that the TEFL teacher has a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree and a 120 hr TEFL cert. For those lacking a degree the chances of finding legal work in the region is quickly approaching "0" and after 2015 (ASEAN integration) it will be "0" with but a few exceptions (working holiday visa or married to someone within the region).

.
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PC Parrot



Joined: 11 Dec 2009
Posts: 459
Location: Moral Police Station

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No you weren't ... when you re-re-repeated your current savings .. you said [and you even quoted this above] ...

Quote:
I moved to Thailand, my salary went down by $8000 but the savings went up to about $20,000 because of the much lower costs of living. (this is not an average, entry level TEFL wage).


And you neglected to respond to the fact that the OP wasn't concerned exclusively with entry level jobs ..

Anyway, I am more interested in the motivation that drove you to snipe at 'Gerund' ... what's up with that ..

As for constantly rolling out your savings figures ... I work in a department with over 200 TEFLers (all with min MA/Msc TESOL) and they are all pulling in close to or more than $70,000/year + benefits (housing, health, schooling, flights, dental, gratuity) ... some of them are couples that both teach - pulling in $140,000/year .. some of the single teachers have outgoings of as little as $1,000/month, and many others have outgoings of around $1,500/month ..

Some of these people are saving over $100,000 a year, BUT I don't see any of them on here constantly blowing their own trumpet ...

I'm sorry if it sounds rather harsh .. but I'm just telling it as I see it ...
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sharter



Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 878
Location: All over the place

PostPosted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 7:06 am    Post subject: er Reply with quote

Back to the op before this turns into yet another measuring contest.

Personally I think places like Libya, Kuwait and Saudi are good places to save. The salaries are mostly OK and there's not a lot to do unless you make an effort. A very inexperienced friend of mine just got a great job in Saudi, so it can be done.

For women who need to pay off debts fast there are also those teaching/nannying jobs that are coming out of Russia. However, some of the self-important people on this forum are far too academic to consider such posts. Uni teaching jobs pay lower than the oil gigs....have a look at them.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The OP's criteria:

nyc2323 wrote:
I should have included in my question that I'm talking about a person with basic qualifications - a BA, a decent TEFL cert, a year or two of experience.

I want to know which countries offer the best opportunity to live like a king.
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VietCanada



Joined: 30 Nov 2010
Posts: 590

PostPosted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vietnam is not well paid. You're paid by the hour for contact time and expected to do all the other duties of a teacher for free. Not to mention that schools seem to think that $1000 a month is good value.

If you have the proper creds you can make money in Vietnam but then if you have the proper creds you can make money in many, perhaps most countries.

You need a BA and a 120 hour TEFL or equivalent just to be considered for work and enjoy the bonus of leaving the country every three months with all your belongings and hope they let you back in. Of course you could get married and discover that there is no pension plan or social assistance in this country with a median wage of $200 a month which means you're going to have to support the entire family of your spouse.

Vietnam as a destination for teachers hoping to make a decent wage is a myth.

Korea is the only place left with any resemblance to that quaint notion of making money teaching EFL with a BA in a tropical clime.
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Tudor



Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 339

PostPosted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Of course you could get married and discover that there is no pension plan or social assistance in this country with a median wage of $200 a month which means you're going to have to support the entire family of your spouse.


You're being hyperbolic - no-one has to do anything of the sort. If someone chooses to marry into poverty then it's their own look-out, it's hardly Vietnam's fault.

As for Korea being in a tropical clime...really???
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Plume D'ella Plumeria



Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 28
Location: The Lost Horizon

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 2:06 pm    Post subject: Re: er Reply with quote

sharter wrote:
Back to the op before this turns into yet another measuring contest.

Personally I think places like Libya, Kuwait and Saudi are good places to save. The salaries are mostly OK and there's not a lot to do unless you make an effort. A very inexperienced friend of mine just got a great job in Saudi, so it can be done.

For women who need to pay off debts fast there are also those teaching/nannying jobs that are coming out of Russia. However, some of the self-important people on this forum are far too academic to consider such posts. Uni teaching jobs pay lower than the oil gigs....have a look at them.


But who would want to live in such places as Libya, Kuwait and Saudi? I for one, wouldn't. They simply could not pay me enough to put up with that nonsense ...
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 10:00 pm    Post subject: Re: Countries that offer the highest salaries - top 3? Reply with quote

HK_GURU wrote:
EFLeducator wrote:
nyc2323 wrote:
Where can a TEFLer make the most money these days?


1. Japan

2. South Korea

3. China or perhaps Vietnam.


I find this hilarious.

250,000 yen per month x 12 and converted = $38,000 USD (no housing and less than one would have earnt in the late 1980's).
Regardless of how funny this sounds to you, the fact is, you can take on supplemental jobs in Japan and raise this income.



Quote:
2.2 million Korean won per month x 12 and converted = $23,500 USD (what a joke! has not gone up significantly in years and well it is Korea.
If memory serves, many situations there also pay for your rent, which amounts to a huge savings. (I wouldn't know if it's dorm-like in quality, so perhaps others can explain that.)


Quote:
There are well paid jobs out there. They are for qualified and experienced teachers and the the occasional lucky person who has connections or is in the right place at the right time.
But the OP was not asking about that...

Quote:
I've done okay. I will be retired by age 50 with approximately 1.5 million USD which believe it or not I have made in ESL, investing and also with my partner contributing to our savings.
Good for you, but the fact remains that investing and living with a working life partner were not parts of the OP's criteria, either.
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olpha



Joined: 26 May 2007
Posts: 35

PostPosted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 5:37 am    Post subject: Alternatives Reply with quote

Indonesia is a great place to work & travel. I wouldn't know about saving.
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madrileno



Joined: 19 Aug 2010
Posts: 270
Location: Salalah, Oman

PostPosted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 8:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In general, for the vast majority of teachers, I think the highest salaries can be found in the Asia and the Middle East. However it depends on age and experience...

For young, twenty-something newbies fresh out uni with just a BA and a TEFL cert, East Asia offers the highest salaries.

1) a tie between S Korea and Japan
2) Taiwan
3) China

Once you're older, have accumulated credentials and experience in Asia, the Middle East offers the highest salaries.

1) UAE
2) a tie between Qatar and Kuwait
3) KSA
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