Job Discussion Forums

sidjameson · Joined: 11 Jan 2004 Posts: 629 Location: osaka

Having lived there for a year ten years ago I have a soft spot for the country so regulary check this thread out, but it so often seems that most posts end up a "who is the saddest dropout?" arms race. Is this really how most of you view each other? And if so, is it reflective of your opinions on TEFL or TEFLers who end up in Indonesia?

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the threads. I'm a just curious tis all.

laughing_magpie06 · Joined: 14 Sep 2006 Posts: 282

Sid,

I like the place however in small doses. I need to get out sometimes as at times I feel they are not on the same planet as the rest of the world. Even a small trip to Singapore or Malaysia can recharge the batteries. I will say I am here for personal reasons and wouldn't have chosen TESL as a career if not for the fact I have no engineering degree or diplomat credentials. Having said that, I like the work but have yet to find any manager or DOS who I can trust or who seem to be trained for what they do. Nepotism gets you a promotion here, not ability.

xsbir · Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 81 Location: The Big Durian

PlasticPill · Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 51 Location: usa

You can *legally* teach there without a degree? I had assumed a bachelors degree was minimum.

I'm currently in college, but I've been scoping these boards out for some time. I'm hoping to work in the Surabaya, Jakarta, or Bali area, but I rarely hear about the first, and the last two are usually heavily negative.

Aside from teaching english, anyone know the requirements for working in an embassy? Is speaking Bahasa a requirement, or would there be other jobs available that don't require speaking Bahasa.

uilleannpiper · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 107

PlasticPill · Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 51 Location: usa

Well I know an Indonesian who went to the US embassy and the interview for her visa was conducted by a bule; not a native Indonesian. I know native Indonesians do work there, but my question was more about the requirements. Speaking Bahasa Indonesia was just one of the concerns I had. Are specialized degrees considered a minimum (like a masters or doctorate), or would any bachelors degree suffice? Or is like EF, where university degrees don't seem to matter, depending on the country one is in.

gado_gado · Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 28

I ran into a guy who'd been in Jakarta 5 years at the weekend and he summed it up best.

'If you live in a toilet, you meet a lot of a$$holes...'

I'm already thinking about moving to Bali as Jakarta isn't pleasant enough to suffer for a year but there's not too many jobs in Bali at all.

Any suggestions anyone?

uilleannpiper · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 107

uilleannpiper · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 107

xsbir · Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 81 Location: The Big Durian

PlasticPill · Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 51 Location: usa

uilleannpiper · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 107

Demonicat · Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 65 Location: Near Shida, Taipei

well, its not that jakarta is THAT bad, its just that its not THAT good. Many people will bitch and moan about the heat and the pollution (#3 most polluted city in the world, with #1 most polluted water- time magazine about 3 weeks ago), but that really doesn't get to you that much. I suppose what kills you is an absolute lack of rights and freedoms. That will be instantly negated by someone claiming absolute freedom here in paradise, but the fact remains that unless you are willing to pay bribes- you have no freedom.

uilleannpiper · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 107

Demonicat · Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 65 Location: Near Shida, Taipei

That is indeed an interesting way of looking at matters, and it is true that copious bribes and copious taxes do indeed provide for basic social services. I would argue, however, that while taxes provide money for social services and infrastructure at the detriment of the individual, bribes provide for the welfare of the individual at the detriment of social services and infrastucture. Whilst people must pay police officers bribes to escape from fake accusations of drugs or whatnot, money is not going towards taxes- which would pay the police officers enough so that they would not have to rely on bribes to eat.
As another example, consider the bus scandal of a few months ago, when the city buses went on strike after having not been paid in over 8 months. This was a government agency. Before they went on strike, they had begun embezzeling and requiring bribes. Again, this could have been prevented though the proper distribution of tax money.
Taxes allow for a society to distribute their wealth appropriately to needs that all people share (infrastructure, emergency services, etc), so that the society may grow and flourish. Bribes, graft, and other corruption ensure that those in power feel no need to improve the society and therefore do not, thus leaving said society undeveloped and poor. It is no surprise that many of the ten poorest countries (United nations report) find hoems on the ten most corrupt nations list (transparency intl.)