Job Discussion Forums

[Mr. Scone]

Hey all,

I'm a recent CELTA graduate with a BA linguistics but very limited ESL field experience (6 months' part-time volunteer work with refugees and the 6 hours from CELTA). I'm a native English speaker (New Zealand). I'm 21, which apparently means I can't apply for jobs at the Wall Street Institute.

What sort of hours/pay/classes should I expect with those qualifications? I've been offered between 6 million - 8.5 million rupiah/month with subsidised accommodation and airfare. Is that enough money to live on? Is that money that matches my qualifications?

thanks,
scone

[memae]

WSI wouldn't take me either. EDIT: Should also mention that it wasn't because i'm under 25, but because my linguistics major wasn't specifically English linguistics).

i've never lived in Indonesia, but i'm pretty sure no one can really answer your question about 6.5-8 million being enough to live on without some more details. Like location, and what sort of things you like to spend money on, and what sort of living arrangement you're thinking of.

[Mr. Scone]

Alrighty then.

I'd love to be in Jakarta if possible. Luxuries I'd like to have: good food for my kitchen, a gym membership, a high-speed internet connection. I tend to spend friday night with a quiet few supermarket beers in someone's house rather than hitting the clubs.

I'd prefer to live by myself; not in a broken-down hole in the wall (I did that enough during Uni) but not a mansion either. Somewhere small, pleasant and hopefully not too far away from the school. I understand that might be a long shot- I'm just floating my ideal situation. The 8.5M offer also includes an accommodation subsidy of 85,000 rupiah/month but it's from EF Swara Group, who other expats seem a little wary of.

I'm told hiring help is the done thing in Indonesia but I worked for a cleaning company while I was studying and I'm pretty confident I can do that myself.

What do you mean by 'English Linguistics'? I studied linguistics in an English country and we did morphology/syntax etc but it was "a pluperfect structure exists in languages xyz and serves this purpose" rather than "here is how the simple past works in English". I can do that better than the average Joe but it's not what my degree was focused on.

[memae]

i've been hesitant to apply to EF Swara Group based on word from expats, too.

Seems like we're after the same sorts of things, actually. Gym, nice food, Friday beer. Guess i'll probably be heeding the advice you're given too.

As for the linguistics major, i was told linguistics in English. And i didn't know what that meant. Linguistics specific to English or English mediated education? So i asked:

[drandreasbrown]

The accommodation subsidy isn't much, and if you want a house you may have to pay at least a year's rent up front. Also, to be frank, 85 000 a month is a rubbish subsidy- I spend about 600 000 a month on utilities and internet, and don't live in Jakarta. I think EF Eduka will provide accommodation, but then, you're living with a bunch of expat colleagues (which is a good or bad thing- depending on who you get). Like other poster noted, you can live very cheaply here if you want to, but personally I like to eat decent cheese, sometimes drink wine and non-Bintang beer, and have high speed internet, and I also can't drive so have to take taxis (I can drive, but I'm crap at it). If it was me, I would find 6 million difficult to live on in Jkt, 8 million would be doable but I wouldn't have much left over.

If you're intending to stay for more than a year though consider these things-

flight reembursement
health insurance
end of contract bonus
pay increments for future contracts (this one, in some schools, can be quite lucrative after a few years).

For example, when I started working in Indo in 2005 (for another school) I was getting 6 million a month, but I had enough brought with me that it wasn't an issue for the year, plus it was way cheaper then. Flight money and extra month's contract bonus, plus a 10% increase each year meant that, after a few years, I was earning more than I needed. Basically, if you like alcohol, travelling (by plane anyway) and foreign food you're going to get screwed, but if not, around 8 million should be more than enough. Also, some apartments and places will gouge you on electricity costs, but if you can speak Indonesian you should be ok. By way of contrast (if you have lived in other SEA countries), I have found the cost of living here noticeably higher than Vietnam and Cambodia (2009 comparison).

Feel free to PM me if you want (I'm currently in my last year in Indo).