Job Discussion Forums

[hak]

Hi guys
I am intersted in teaching in Asia East and am looking into what placed would suit me.I am after a place with Interesting p/l to meet,an oppurtunity to travel,a scenic place where i could have some oppurtunities to maybe place some tennis or soccer,join a wrestling club or if im very lucky get some dance lessons.
I am planning to stay for a 3 year period and would like to save some money as well as have some experiences.I have a BA,Dip Ed ,and Ma from Melbourne University as well as 5 years experience teaching English to high school students.I would like to find something that pays at least 4 thousand Australian dollars a month.
I would like to know which of the Asian countries could meet my needs.I was also wondering if the INternational/ Private schools in the area pay better then the ESL jobs.I would prefer to teach something other then English and have experience in the Humanities fields mainly.

[Deicide]

[Serious_Fun]

[Leon30]

Korea is, hands down the best place in East Asia for saving money. Bar teaching at a Japanese university I guess, but for that it might be difficult to get a gig without beingproficient in Japanese and previous experience in Japan.

With your credentials, you will get the cream of the crop jobs available to you here in Korea. DO NOT settle for a private language academy (Hakwan) job - unless it's one of the more fancy high paying ones.

Public schools are good places to work. I work at one and teach 18 fifty minute classes per week, clear 2,150,000 Won a month and can save 1,200,000 of it EASILY. Don't know what that is in Ozzie dollars though....

The private High schools will be open to you too, but they strangley, often are not great places to work. A friend works at the 2nd best Foriegn language private high school in Seoul, and gets paid about 200,000 Won less than me for the same working and office hours. They do however give him around THREE MONTHS of paid vacation each year in contrast to my seven working days of in summer and then the same in winter.

So if paid time off is a bonus to you over a bit more monthly salary, obviously go for that, also you could do tons of extra part time work or camps with that time off and be earning two salaries for those months.

Uni jobs will be open to you also with your BAed and your MA, but are rarer and not so widely advertise and I THINK they mostly hire from people already over here. Not sure on that though and have known lesser qualified poeple than you working at Korean uni's.

But anyway, like I said Korea is good for the cash and you'll meet interesting people / friends and they have all the leisure facilities you mentioned in all the biggger cities, particullarly Seoul.

Never worked anywhere else though, so can only talk about Korea.

Training here is scarce and so is common sense and general suport from employers (I'm talking about relating to the JOB only - outise of the job I've had al the suport I could ask for and more from my employers) but with your teaching experience I doubt that will be to much of a hurdle for you. Whereas I had a hard time adjusting to a classroom of 36 teens who dont speak the same language.....

You may have heard this before, but people who teach in other countries usualy do so because they genuinely want to live in that country and for the experience, more so than the people who come to Korea. That goes for me too, but I will also say that once you get here and learn to settle in and negate the customs and understand the culture and way of life, there's no reason not to have a great time. I've made some good friends foriegn and korean, had good times and travelled around the country and seen great places and met nice people.

Good luck...!!!

[Aramas]

[hak]

Thanks guys you have given me something to think about.I really dont want to be in a Western country especially one that is as expensive as England.

[Deicide]

[Ariadne]

Hak.. I know other posters have suggested Korea and Japan, but you might want to look at Hong Kong too. If you are certified, the pay along with housing allowance, etc. can add up to a pretty tidy sum. I've heard that you have to put in some serious hours.. not like the 12 hour weeks at a uni in China.

HK has plenty to do and you could even play tennis and find some dance lessons. You can go almost anywhere from HK. It's worth a look.

.

[Aramas]

[Leon30]

In response to Deicide -

"I can't believe you are recommending Korea...the only thing I agree with you about is money....otherwise... "

I would have to admit that on the work front it has been very unnecessarilly STRESSFUL. If I were subjected to the ignorance and stress I have been subjected to here through neglect, lack of organisation in the school, nil training and little co-worker support unless asked for - I would SUE. And most likely make a fortune.

BUT - I'm here primarilly because I save more money than I did working on a decent salary in London (earned 23K could only save 400 pounds a month and poor lifestyle, now work half the hours and save almost twice as much) and have a lot of free time and like being in Asia right now.

And I have plans for what I want to do with the money I'm saving that will make the sacrifice (the stress I've had) worthwhile. If not for the money I WOULD HAVE LEFT A LONG TIME AGO!!!!!!!

Ouitside of work though, you can have a good life, there is no reason you shouldn't. I lived in Seoul, Ilsan and now in Hannam. Traveled around the country and had great times and seen great places.

Plus I'm assuming that with your quals and teaching and managing kids experience you would have a less stressful time I think.

But yeah, if not for the money, and if I had better oportunties with my limieted quals (BA only) I wouldn't be here. And with your quals and experience Hong Kong / singapore / Indonesia and other places might be better options...

[hak]

"So you want a first-world income and third-world living costs. Perhaps you should get a job with a NGO" ONe can dream a little cant he.Thanks fot your help i now know much more.Is there money to be made in Singapore ?