Job Discussion Forums

[tlyfly]

Hello all, I've been lurking on the forums for the past few weeks checking out some of the mixed bag of posts about EF Jakarta. I have a BA English as well as a SIT Tesol certificate, and I wanted to go to Indonesia. I checked out the job listings on this website, and all the offers for Indonesia seem to be from EF. It seems like there are a lot of 'better' schools out there, but I'm having a hard time locating any job ads or websites for them...if anyone has any thoughts please let me know.

Could anyone give me a little bit more information about each of these EF schools? Is the pay offered decent for that area? What are the areas like in terms of accomodation, night life, overcrowdedness?

Really appreciate any help!

English First Pluit
English First Tebet
English First Tanjung Duren
English First BSD Tangerang
English First Cengkareng
EF Puri Indah
EF Gading Serpong

all salaried at 8.5 million a month

EF Bogor
salaried at 7.5 million a month

[bmoore]

Let me start it off by saying most, not all people here say that
EF is the last company you would want to work for. If not for there more concern of making a profitable company than for there low pay scale. (which is understandable) (just keep in-mind "The top is a peak and theres not enough room for everyone to be up there" In EVERYTHING theres always going to be a 2nd,3rd,4th and so on)

You�re also going to be bombarded with replies about other companies that are willing to hire you with your qualifications. That being said.

Some of your questions have already been answered. Some of your questions should be researched in other places, such as (cost of living web sites) Who knows what you buy and how you spend your time better than you? (I maybe new to the forums, but already I see redundent post...not your fault, but why keep it going?)

My advice is call them up and ask them what you want to know. If you expect them to be upfront with you, then start by being upfront with them that way there�s no confusion. ( IMO as long as you take that approach with people they wont try to play games with you. Present yourself as a STRIGHT UP / NO-SENSE PERSON, and there less likely to try the OKIE-DOKIE with you) why not ask for a few teacher contacts at that location to ask them. I have just started my research in working for EF (2 days ago). I have sent out a few (3) e-mails and already have a phone interview set up for Friday.

You have to understand in forums like this you�re going to get more opinion than fact, even if it's presented as fact it's going to be bias so you might as well call and talk to "whomever" and make up your own mind if the school or location is right for you. Who else is better qualified to know if you�re going to be o-kay with the job?

[tlyfly]

Thanks for the reply - I appreciate your comments. With regard to the salary for each area, I really just added that in as an afterthought..I've checked out cost-of-living converters for Jakarta before and money isnt really the primary objective.
What I really wanted from my post was an idea of what each of the schools is like in terms of organisation, area, nightlife around it, etc for each of these areas in Jakarta. I'm probably going to pick one of these schools, but at the moment it would just be a pot luck pick. I think asking for a list of teachers at each individual school and sending them an email would be a good idea, but I thought i'd try on here first. So if anyone is over there working at one of these schools, please let me know what its like!

[bmoore]

After I re-read my post, I hoped it didnt sound condesending

[Ozindo]

Might be able to help you with some information about Bogor, though - as already pointed out - such views would be subjective.
Maybe you could try the website for EF Swara (EF Bogor's part of Swara) and find an email address and make contact with one or more current teachers?
If not, PM me or send some specific questions via the forum and I'll try to help.
Good luck.

[father Mackenzie]

I am able to give information about EF Puri and some about EF Cengkareng however as already posted it will be subjective as I currently work in EF Puri.
Please PM me or try this link for information www.englishfirst.co.id or www.efjakarta.com for more information.

I hope this helps

[ljb]

I am happy to give you information about EF Tebet, just PM me or post specific questions to which I will reply.

Thanks

[zaraz]

hi tlyfly

I am in the same predicament, what have you decided or found out?? i cant pm you because i havent made enough posts but i'd love to hear your thoughts and may see you there

[basiltherat]

Hi
I know it's not on the list but I did a brief stint in EF Kebayoran (Blok M) several years ago, which was run by a nice woman called Ifa (Nurmansyah ?, I think) and her husband. Never had any problems there and teachers, at least then, were treated very fairly. Also worth contacting, perhaps ?
Best
Basil

[tlyfly]

Hi everyone, thanks for the helpful replies.
In terms of my questions - if anyone could give me information on the following for the different areas which the schools are in, I would greatly appreciate it. Really just some idea what the different areas of the city are like would be super.
English First Pluit
English First Tebet
English First Tanjung Duren
English First BSD Tangerang
English First Cengkareng
EF Puri Indah
EF Gading Serpong


What sort of area is it? Very residential, industrial etc? Is it very busy, in comparison to other parts of the city? What sort of accomodation is there? What is the nightlife like? What are local amenities/activities? Please include anything else that you think might be useful. Appreciate it!
Thomas

[Chris Patton]

BSD and Gading Serpong are two areas that border on each other in the suburbs southwest of Jakarta proper. They are in the adminstrative region of Tangerang and it takes about 60 minutes to get to the city centre, depending on traffic and type of transport.

These areas have developed a lot in the past few years. EF Gading Serpong is next to a new mall, which contains much of what anyone would need, including various restaurants, cafes and a cinema that regularly shows up to date western films. BSD, which is about 15 minutes up the road, also has access to all these amenities, with a malls very close by and a new entertainment centre about a ten minute walk from the school.

As far as nightlife goes, there is not a lot in this area. If you are really interested in the club/bar scene you are much better off in Jakarta. There are a few small restaurants that teachers here have found where they can go and have a drink in the evening, but its not what you would call an exciting scene.

The big appeal with BSD and Gading Serpong is that they are in a quieter, cleaner area than some of the city centre schools. If you are looking for a slightly less hectic experience you might consider one of these locations.

Good luck!

Chris Patton
DOS EF BSD

[ljb]

Tebet area is very close to the business district which means bars, nightlife, shopping centres and exhibition centres are all very close. I would say out of all the EF Swara schools Tebet is in the best place to pursue a social life.

Supermarkets are close, good cheap shopping Centres are close and there will be a new busway route passing the front door of the school next year (we hope - it's nearly completed I think). Public transport in the area is pretty good too and you save lots of money on taxis around as everything is close.

It is on the way to Bogor and Bandung and near the toll road, so getting out is fairly easy too.

I have enjoyed living in this area and would not wish to move to other parts of Jakarta.

PM me for more specific information although I am happy to answer them on the open forum too.