Job Discussion Forums

[happy_me]

in indo ya pay is up 10% over 5 years only thing is inflashon is yo 17.5% this year! and fule went up 130% in Nov!

never mind the beer study rice has gone up from 1,500 to 4,800!
the bus was 500 now 2,500

have you seen this?
maybe it becuse tachers come and go faster than ice on a hot day

[Sweetsee]

Pheeeeeew!

[sallycat]

[Stephen Jones]

Obviously the price of spell-checkers is quite beyond your means!

[tedkarma]

In the countries where I have taught, I think wages have kept up with or slightly exceeded inflation - over the last 14 years.

No great gains, but then again there are many more of us out here nowadays.

Some countries, like Japan, I think wages have stayed the same for years - but the economy has been stagnant for a long time too.

[Sgt Killjoy]

In 5 years in Thailand, average salaries outside of Bangkok have went from the low 20'sk baht to right around 30k baht. I would say 30 to 40% growth. The baht has strengthened from 41 to 38 to the dollar so in dollar terms, the wages have went up quite a bit. But in the last two years, wage growth has been stagnant, but prices have went up by about 20% or more on things like food, transportation, media, etc.

[Guy Courchesne]

Mexico wages don't seem to have gone up much...a smigden over the last five years. Inflation has been fairly low, though some key items like gas have gone up.

[sidjameson]

Interesting question. In Japan, in my experience, wages have definitly declined. In the 8 years I have been here I have seen the part time work in the Osaka area fall by 20% and whereas there used to be a range of pay for the full time work, it now all seems to be at the same minimum level. On the other hand many schools have increased their contact hours for that minimum.
Simple supply and demand theory seems to explain the situation. A lot more foreigners here now chasing the jobs.

When I graduated from university I don't remember anyone else talking about doing TEFL overseas. Now I get the feeling that every fresh faced 22 year old is considering a year or two abroad.

[Guy Courchesne]

Curious...what do you think that says about things back home?

[Gordon]

Yes, salaries in Japan are stagnant. My salary goes up by .5% every year but the yen has dropped by almost 40% in the last 4 years compared to my home currency. That is a huge cut in pay in regards to savings.

[cam]

It is a question of supply and demand. There is an ever ending supply of ESL teachers so wages have not gone up much since I started. I worked on the JET programme in Japan from 93 to 95. The wages then were 3000 Yen a month and wages are still the same.

I was in Korea from 96 to 98 when almost all university jobs provided about 2 months summer and winter vacations with pay. Now a lot expect you to stay and do langauge camps. The wages are also lower and more teaching hours are expected.

After Korea I went to Taiwan for a couple years. In the beginning I earned a lot but then the wages just seemed to get lower as the number of Canadian and South African teachers/travellers increased.

[spiral78]

My pay has gone up as I've gained qualifications and experience. I think if you just sit around and wait for wages to rise with inflation, you're doomed in many places.

[Justin Trullinger]

While my personal earnings have probably been on a slight upwards trend, that's due to increased responsibilities/new position.

I imagine that this is something that changes from country to country, but here in Ecuador, teachers earnings are regrettably not increasing. When I was first here, 3 years ago, a teacher could expect to earn from $6.00 to $8.00 an hour, and now, a starting teacher can expect to earn...from $6.00 to $8.00 an hour. Rent has gone up. Flight prices have gone up...the people here say "todo sube, menos los sueldos." And it's about the truth.

Though I wasn't here, I'm told that before dolarization, teachers earned $5.00 to $7.00 an hour- but then, that was a fortune. Now...we get by all right, but there's no "lifestyles of the rich and famous."

Justin

[sidjameson]

Spiral, I think the OP is asking about "the pay" as opposed to an individuals. I would imagine that almost all of us here who have stayed in one country more than a couple of years have seen our pay go up.

[william wallace]

nil.