Job Discussion Forums

[Makara]

Hi,

This is the first time I've posted on here. I have been offered a position at the Englishtown (online teaching)/EF (English First) school in Bali. It seems that these 2 schools are owned by the same guy, are located in the same building, but have separate contracts etc. Although the position I have been offered is a mixed contract between the 2?!?! (Yes I realize the last couple of sentences don't go together properly.) The DOS I spoke to sounded really nice, although the contract isn't that well paying (I have a few years previous experience but no university degree) & because it is a mixed contract (Englishtown doesn't pay flight reimbursment while EF does) they only offer $300 after your 3 month probation & then another $300 at the end of your 12 months. I'm currently in India & my flight there alone is $550 as well as an additional $250 for an onward flight to Singapore that I will essentially throw in the trash & count as a loss.

SO...my 2 main questions are:
1)Has anybody heard anything about either of these schools?
2)Any other suggestions for work in Bali outside the EF realm? (the past couple of days worth of internet surfing has scared the crap out of me when it comes to EF...although I'm sure since they're franchises they can't all be bad.) I've got to leave India in 8 days (visa expires) and I don't want to make a wrong decision based solely on time restraints on my part. Would I be better to just show up there & hope I can find a decent job?

Any help/advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thanks so much!

Makara

[hairyrambutan]

A friend who worked there says that the joint contract is bad. Soul-sucking too, judging by her description. Afraid I can't offer you more than this second hand information.

[TEAM_PAPUA]

That was a very informative response.

If you are set on working in Bali, just bite the bullet and do it. The job may not be the best, and it may not offer the best package (salaries are pretty low on Bali relative to city schools on Java).

If it gets you to where you want to be, I am sure you can deal with the daily grind and reap the benefits of enjoying your weekends doing the things you want to do in a place you want to be. During your year keep an ear to the ground and try to get as much information as you can about other job opportunities, and use this to find something better later.

Initiation by EF fire! But it's only a year.

But beware of 'advanced' courses

[hairyrambutan]

And live from enslavement to obliteration for one year only.

And then get a real job.

Where you will Teach Hard doing as yet unspecified advanced courses alongside Team Papua. Are these online spats fun to anyone apart from the readers? What's wrong with having reasonable discussion?

More apologies for the previous sparse post. I had a small gathering at my home last night, during which time, many litres of red wine were consumed.

The joint contract (which is what you appear to be headed for) is said to be real slave labour, not just your usual EF business. I don't want to say too much because I only have second hand information, but I hear that one of the downsides is frequent split shifts without added financial benefit.

My friend worked at EF Denpasar for a year and it appeared to be the only downside to her otherwise idyllic life. However, she was only teaching in a conventional classroom and spoke of what I've already mentioned with conviction.

[Llamalicious]

[Fishy]

A couple of friends of mine have worked at this school and have had no issues. The pay is fairly crap but the work is pretty easy (and boring), sitting chatting to someone on skype most of the time. As TP says, if you just want to go to Bali and have little qualifications then this is an easy way to get there. You'll be able to go to the beach every day before work and generally have a lovely chilled life. You can find nice cheap accomm near the school too.

PM me and I can try and put you in touch with someone who works there if you like

Good luck

[Llamalicious]

[Fishy]

From what I can see, most of the work is spent just chatting to people on skype correcting pronunciation and stuff. This is not challanging work.

[Makara]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Some of them were helpful & some of them were entertaining

As of now I've booked my flights & will be arriving in Bali in 2 days! I'm going to take a swing by the EF school & take a look (see how it's run etc), but am going to keep my options open for the moment. Any other suggestions for schools to apply to would be great.

One more question...most of the contracts say they send you to Singapore to get your work visa in the first week or two, but the guy I had my phone interview with said in reality it takes more like 2-3 months! So...do I have to keep leaving the country every 30 days (which there's no way I can afford)? And how much of a risk of getting into trouble am I running by working in the country for that long on a tourist visa?

Argh...this is the most complex move I've made...all the other places in SE Asia seem pretty straight forward compared to Indonesia.

I lied...I do have one more question. So I haven't been able to get my hands on a travel guide for Indonesia (I'm in a tiny little village in India at the moment), curious when I arrive at the airport on the other side with bags in tow...where should I go? I was thinking of looking for somewhere in Sanur. Would I take a taxi? Rickshaw? And is just showing up there to find accommodation without anything pre-arranged going to be a problem at all? I just need to find somewhere super simple & cheap for a couple of days until I can get my bearings.

Alright...that truly is it for the moment

Thanks so much!!!

[Fishy]

If I was arriving in Bali for the first time I would go to Kuta or Seminyak first rather than Sanur. Sanur is good for 4 and 5 star hotels and has nice quiet bits of beach for chilling out and getting away from it all. I always spend my first night in Kuta as its right next to the airport, has lots of shops, restaurants, places to stay, good beach to spend a day sitting working out what your doing. I never hang around Kuta for too long as there are much nicer places to go to in Bali, but it�s a great to work out what to do next.

Also the EF school is actually in Seminyak, just at the northern end of Kuta. If you take this job you can find nice affordable accommodation in Seminyak.

I would get a taxi (take a bluebird) or some of the hotels in Kuta will send a driver to pick you up when you first arrive. Have a look at the places to stay in Bali thread too. When I go to Bali I usually stay at Hotel Sorga Cottages (just for a night or two at $18 - $25 per night), which is right in the middle of Kuta, walking distance to beach and everything else, and if you book they will pick you up from the airport. From Kuta it�s a short taxi ride to EF. Stick to Bluebird group taxis though and you won�t have any hassle. I think they're also called Bali Taxis but will have the little bluebird logo.

[wannaBguru]

typicaly it takes 4-6 weeks to process your kitas. now, schools are required to pay the foreigner worker tax of 100 us dollars per month up front for the entire year, for a total of 1200 dollars. this is a sizable investment. probationary periods are illegal for contracts of a year or more. but a lot of schools will put these in their contracts. some schools want u to work on the tourist visa so they can check u out without paying the expat tax and related visa fees. also the probationary period frees them from any liability...... actually it doesnt and u can get a lawyer and sue them for the balance of the contrace, but most teachers dont realize this and meekly move on. so it is a win situation for them..... free trial period in which they dont pay any visa expenses and can terminate the contract. it is a lose situation for the teaher as they lose their airfare, job, housing, etc as well as face deportation if caught working on a tourist visa. as far as i know, u need to leave the country every 30 days, but i have heard of tourist visas being extended. usually this entails some agent taking a bunch of passports with him and going to singapore, gettting all of them stamped along the way.