Job Discussion Forums

[EnglishBrian]

I think the NET scheme is rather an odd hybrid though - it recruits for positions which are essentially 'TEFL like' but demands that you be a real qualified schoolteacher (have QTS in your home country), not just the usual TEFL teacher.

Still, I don't doubt you're right that teaching couples, if they get into these high salary positions can make a bomb. That is until they decide (or otherwise) to have a kid. I don't know what the maternity benefits are on the NET.

[Mchristophermsw]

English,

Everyone goes back to having Kids. Yes, for most it is reality but
I look around everyday in my mostly hispanic and asian community in the heart of Sillicon Valley. And the average person is struggling-But I also see many people with young children who would be classified as working poor with low paying jobs but somehow with the grace of good their making it.

Silicon Valley was just name the 4th or 5th most expensive place to live in America and the housing is outrageous. Most middle class workers are a paycheck away from homelessness and we have an abundent of PhD's that cant find jobs to boot.

I think one of the problems is that most people do not plan ahead.
There are many people on this forum that have saved, bought rental property and prepared a nice little next egg for themselves as a result of ESL. People are not going to stop having kids and I for one see people that econimically worse off everyday that have families, raise their families and are ok at the end of the day.

My reference point is from working for Child Protection Services.

[Scott in Incheon]

Any teaching couple on the NET program could afford to have kids in HK.

I don't remember the maternity leave but it was fairly good. The big thing about HK is that you can easily (read cheaply) hire full time live-in help after the child is born.

What hit most NETs was when kids started to go to school. School fees on top of maid's salary and housing started to eat into a lot of potential savings. But that was mostly for one-NET families.

I only knew one teaching couple. I met them my first year. Both at the top of the pay scale...making over 100K HK a month combined....paid off their own home...paid off their son's home....sacked money away and figure that the NET program was going to let them retire 10 years earlier than planned...

[merlin]

Hong Kong?
Who would seriously want to raise a kid in one of the most densely populated places on the planet?
Sorry, but not my idea of a pleasant childhood.
At least in London, New York, SF, etc most people live outside of the city and commute every day. As I understand it when you leave Hong Kong you just go into another densely populated and industrial mess.

[EnglishBrian]

Actually living up in the New Territories or on islands like Lamma, Hong Kong is very nice. Only thing is you have a long commute - starting with a walk to the ferry plus 40 minute voyage to Central, which is ok when you're working, but if this is the start of the sprog's journey to school it is too much. Senior teachers I knew tended to move on from HK once they got kids of school age,or at least had to move away from the cheap housing areas.

NET scheme is very good financially but it's not for TEFL teachers. I know they compare it to JET in Japan and EPIK in Korea but that isn't accurate. It's for school teachers who if they weren't 'netting' and wanted to escape the public school system in their home countries, would more likely be working in an International School (because they'd be qualified) than doing regular TEFL jobs.

[ContemporaryDog]

For me the biggest thing in the next few years is when Mrs CD and I have a kid.

However, my plan is to go back and get a job part itme and also do a PGCE (primary school teaching) part time. When my kid gets to school age it can o to school in the UK for a few years, until I'm well qualified enough to get a good (international school) job back in China, and then my kid can go there for free.

[ContemporaryDog]

[quote="merlin"]Hong Kong?
Who would seriously want to raise a kid in one of the most densely populated places on the planet?
Sorry, but not my idea of a pleasant childhood.
At least in London, New York, SF, etc most people live outside of the city and commute every day. As I understand it when you leave Hong Kong you just go into another densely populated and industrial mess.[/quote]

Actually chances are if your parents don't earn much in London you will be living in a seriously grim area like Dagenham or Barking. Rundown and not much greenery, but also miles from the centre.

Whereas in HK you could grow up on a nice island and have your parents commute in by boat every day.

Hmmm.>> i wonder which is better!

[DKatz]

EnglishBrian is correct. You need to have qualified teacher status in your home country to get hired. To become a Secondary School NET you need to also have a degree in English. Some schools are also requiring NETs to take a benchmark examination. Some 'qualified' native speakers have failed.

[EnglishBrian]

Can you make a living as an EFL professional?

I'm now 'based' in Lithuania. Have a young kid. I can't get decent TEFL work in my town anymore so I work away. I come back home every 3 months or so and have several month breaks in between contracts. I leave my wife and kid at home, which isn't great but we live in a port town where every second father seems to be a seaman who works away like that - often for much longer stretches, so it doesn't feel so unusual now. I take jobs in places I can save. I don't live a 'full' life away from home but live ok. We are now saving up to build a house and it shouldn't take more than a couple of years.

I am not saving money in a pension scheme but perhaps my 'real estate' investments will work out well. Like I said, it's not ideal, but I am able to bring up a family on TEFL wages that way, and have a good disposable income.

Yes

[Gordon]

Brian, that sounds pretty tough. Where do you go for 3 months stretches of work? Wouldn't it be easier (and lucrative) to bring your family with you?