Job Discussion Forums

[sharona]

I am 53 year old New Zealander, CELTA certified but no university qualifications.

I taught English in China for 6 months approx five years ago (but don't know if I still have the paperwork to prove that).

Now I'm keen to teach & travel again and unsure whether to return to China or try Indonesia or Malaysia instead. So just scoping things out at this stage.

I need a reasonable paying job as I need to send about $100 US home per month.

I wasn't that keen on China (I think I'm more a SE Asia kind of person) but I found a good school which made all the difference.

What do people recommend? I'd appreciate it if you could keep your suggestions positive and constructive....thanks

ps - I don't want to lost all credibility at this early stage, but I am a rather phobic towards large spiders. How many of those could I expect to see in these countries? I suspect a lot, am I right?

[nomad soul]

Indonesia requires at minimum a bachelor's degree.

[bradleycooper]

Indonesia now requires not only a degree but a degree in an English-related subject. Frankly, I doubt yours will be a very appealing CV to most employers in Indonesia these days. They can't even get most degree-holders through. Word of mouth is that it is hard to get a job there without a degree now- unless you know the right people. But presumably you don't?

Unfortunately, the same now applies for China. They require a degree, a TEFL certificate, 2 years' work experience and a criminal record check. The laws were tightened as of late 2013.

Look at Thailand and degrees are also officially required. However, according to rumour, you could probably get a job in Isaan (the arid North-East of Thailand) if you just turned up in somewhere like Nong Khai or Khon Kaen and went around to the academies there with your TEFL certificate. This mightn't seem as glamorous as living in Bangkok but costs are much cheaper. If you got a job paying 30,000 baht in Roi Et, Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani or Nong Khai etc. that might be a reasonable option. Certainly better than Cambodia, where you will struggle to earn enough to pay your rent and eat noodles at first.

[nomad soul]

[Tudor]

There's also the issue of age. Indonesia - and I believe Thailand - has an upper age limit of 55 for the issuance of work permits so the OP would have to get their skates on.

There are sometimes ways around these things in Indonesia if a potential employee ticks some of the other boxes, but if they don't then no employer is going to waste their time and money trying to get a work visa for someone who's too old, has no degree, no teaching cert and no experience.

Of course, there's plenty of "under-the-table" work available but, as NS mentions above, that comes with its fair share of risk.

[bradleycooper]

The days of TEFL jobs in Asia for people without degrees are clearly on the wane. They will accept you in Phnom Penh without a degree at some places but you will get $8-$10 an hour and a decent apartment costs $250 a month. Then there is the fact that power prices are very high, so factor in another $50 for that. After tax, you will therefore need to work 40 hours to just pay rent and power and that is probably 2 weeks working at most places. Clearly, you won't have much money after you've paid transport costs- and there is literally no public transport in the whole city, believe it or not- and paid for food. For people with degrees you will feel sorry for the miserable sods eking out this sort of life.

In short, unless you have a degree I am not aware of anywhere in Asia that has decent schools which will hire you. Therefore, my best suggestion is to get online clients and then live somewhere in S.E.Asia with a reasonable speed Internet connection. This can be lucrative if you provide a good service.

[nomad soul]

Language schools in Mongolia may not require a degree.

[mysterytrain]

[mysterytrain]

[plumpy nut]

[nomad soul]

[Tudor]

[bradleycooper]

[mysterytrain]

[mysterytrain]