Job Discussion Forums

ClanDestine · Joined: 23 Nov 2005 Posts: 17

Hi all.

Well i'll be starting my TEFL course soon and then in two months time shall be leaving the world of IT and seeking a career in TEFL. Big career change i know, and most likely an even bigger change in salary, but its all about finding your passion right?

Being in a totally different field, im quite oblivious as to what is considered a good salary in TEFL. Areas im thinking of teaching would be Asia and Eastern Europe, can someone please assist in what is considered a decent salary in those areas? in american dollars please.

Thx!

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

In American dollars? You are aware that the exchange rate changes by the hour, aren't you, so listing something today will be different at noon.

Nevertheless, in Japan, entry level wages are around 250,000 yen/month. With an average exchange rate of 120 yen/dollar, that means you make about US$2000/month or $24,000/year.

Is that "good"? It's what the Japanese market has paid for conversation school wages for over a decade. Sadly the amount has not increased, and even more sadly, the schools are finding ways to offer less, as low as 170,000 in some cases. So, if you can get 250K, take it.

For better wages here, you are going to need more experience, or get on the JET programme, which pays 300,000 yen/month.

ClanDestine · Joined: 23 Nov 2005 Posts: 17

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

ClanDestine · Joined: 23 Nov 2005 Posts: 17

Thx PaulH.

Are JET positions advertised or is this something where one would need to approach the govt/school? I ask coz I have yet to come across a JET position, unless they are few and far between.

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

It's a government program and sadly, you've missed the deadline for application by almost two months now. There won't be another round until applications come available (either by download or go into a university career centre and get a paper one).

The unofficial discussion board for JET is www.bigdaikon.com

I'm a JET, in my third year. There are ups and downs. One of the downs (for many people) is that you have no choice as to where in Japan you live and most JETs are in rural towns.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:01 pm Post subject:

In general, the dollar amount that constitutes a decent salary is...irrelevant.

The places you've mentioned, Asia and Eastern Europe, are extremely diverse, economically speaking. From country to country, both salaries and cost of living vary greatly. Comparing salaries, dollar to dollar, will always be misleading. To make an accurate comparison, you need to look at costs as well.

In my opinion, a decent salary will cover a decent place to live, a comfortable amount of spending money, health care, and hopefully enough to move on comfortably at the end of your time there.

In some places, a few hundred dollars a month may be more than enough, while in others, a couple of grand may feel tight. But if you compare dollar to dollar, Japan at $1500 a month may sound better than Thailand at $1300. And it isn't.

My first year in Spain, I earned around $900 a month, while my first year in Ecuador, I probably averaged $600. Does this mean I was poorer in Ecuador? tee hee.

Good luck,
Justin

Super Mario · Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:27 am Post subject:

What Justin said. In China you'd probably get USD 500-1000, depending.
But with free housing and utilities as well as a low cost of living, you could [in most areas] get by nicely on less than 400. Just stay out of Western bars and away from the pink light places.

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

One thing that you should consider, ***VERY**** carefully is that if you are out of IT for any length of time, then you become much less employable.

Right now, in Toronto, the most expensive city in Canada, people with at least one degree and having successfully completed a full year university programme in TESL are getting $10 (that's about $8.60US) an hour for ten hours of work a week. The high end is $15 CDN ($12.94US) an hour. An MA is required for teaching at colleges or universities where you earn more, but there are far more people with MAs than there are jobs in those kinds of places. I write this because teaching English overseas is good preparation for teaching English in your home country, and is considered pretty much irrelavant for most other things (including k~12 teaching by a lot of people).

Unless you are absolutely sure that you will not want to live in the US again, then you should have a plan as to how to get back, and this could well mean doing something different from either IT or ESL teaching.

ClanDestine · Joined: 23 Nov 2005 Posts: 17

Thanks all for your comments.

I understand how the dollar to dollar ratio can be considered irrelevant depending on where you are staying due to living costs.

@GBBB - your last comment is quite intimidating. Wink

I'm a 28 yr old South African in search of finding my passion and hopefully TEFL it is, am so tired of the IT industry and am aware im taking a huge pay cut as well as leaving my comfort zone, i truly hope i find something suitable and something worth waking up to everyday thats rewarding.

its all pretty hectic. i start classes soon so no turning back now.

lucy lace · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 7 Location: Vancouver, BC

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

Toronto is Canada's most expensive city.

Gregor · Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 842 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

ClanDestine,
Don't be intimidated. The people who post these warning notes are just trying to help, but in my opinion (especially for someone like you, saying that you are looking for...I can't remember how you put it - searching for your passion? Following your bliss? Something...)Where was I?

TEFL is rewarding. My advice would be to avoid the JET program in favor of what many posters disparagingly call a "language mill" - a private, for-profit English language school. In a school like that you are more likely to get to stretch and become a good teacher, on your own (as opposed to just doing what a local teacher tells you to do from time to time).
Some people like that sort of thing, and if it sounds good to you, then that's fine too. But if you want to see whether you can become a good teacher, you should go somewhere that will give you classes of your own to teach. The language mills are the ones most like what you are preparing for in the TEFL course (though the job is a LOT easier than the course!). I find them much more rewarding.

Another reason to look for a more autonomous teaching position is that, if you're working as a supplemental teacher's aide of some sort, you are much more expendable. I've heard of teachers in Japan, loving their jobs and lives, and 20 years down the line, they get replaced unceremoniously.
It doesn't sound like an immediate or rampant problem, but in a place where YOU are THE TEACHER for the students, you can ingratiate yourself. Students will come to the school where you work because they want to take YOUR classes, and THAT is job security. That's looking ahead a bit, but it's something to consider.
And anyway, you probably want to make your mark, right? Teaching is a good way to do that. But who do YOU remember from past classes you've taken - the teacher of the course, or the guest speakers?

As for repatriating yourself is concerned, in my opinion, that's a bridge you can cross when you get to it. Again, it depends on your own personal style, outlook on life, and priorities. But that was the last thing I was concerned with when I went into TEFL. I wanted the JOB, and I wanted a salary that would allow me to enjoy life and not worry about money all the time, as I had for so many years before.
I found that in every single job I ever had in TEFL. Follow your bliss (or whatever), and you should be fine.

Another thing that gets laughed at a lot on this site is the advertised "good local salary." While that IS easy to laugh at, it's also almost always true.
What I mean is, and what that phrase is trying to tell you, is that the salary will sound pathetically, even impossibly, small IF you do the currency conversion. See Justin's post above.
I have no flippin' CLUE what I make in US dollars, but it's less than 2000 US dollars a month, AND I own a home in the most expensive district of Shenyang, China, and in an expensive high rise building.

I'm not at the entry level, either. But the point is, if you have enough money every month to enjoy life, that's what you have to worry about. Ask about health care as well; I never thought about it before, but it's good to have (and I have it now, but I only had social security in Mexico - "Importa Madre Su Salud," as they say there).

Don't worry. You'll be fine, and I reckon that you'll enjoy the career change. When it comes time to go home, well, things change. It's impossible to be completely safe planning for the future, anyway. So make sure that you enjoy life. That's the main thing. If you do THAT, then you MAY never even find out how you can go home because you won't want to. That is far more possible than you may think it is.