Job Discussion Forums

[Little Flute]

Hello there

Thinking of going to Malaysia from Vietnam. Anybody have any feedback on or experience of the Cempaka group in Malaysia? Or the Emirates International School (yes I realise this is not Malaysia!)
Many thanks to all of you for this forum- sometimes very funny, occasionally brutal, always collegial and informative.

[Sparkplug Spirit]

I, too, am in Vietnam looking to for work in Malaysia. I actually got a job offer, though I suspect they are lowballing me with the salary.

So, in 2008, with rising fuel costs and whatnot, what kind of salary can I expect from almost two years experience teaching ESL, 2 bachelor degrees in business-marketing and communications-film production, and a TEFL/TESOL certificate?

Also, how much easier is it to find jobs if you actually move to Malaysia, specifically Kuala Lumpur?

[Little Flute]

Well Sparkplug Spirit

You too are full of questions, which I, unfortunately can not answer, as my inquiry pertains to Malaysia as a possibility-I have as yet no experience of it. I have heard the chain of schools I inquired about (Cempaka), pay well for a full teacher, but would like some response re conditions, credentials, other possibilities etc.

I guess our main question is-is there anyone out there???

[englishmaster]

Am presently in line for a Malaysian uni job, but the paperwork hasn't gone through yet. It seems processing docs takes Malaysians a while. There do not seem to be many, or any, job announcements from Malaysia on Dave's. However, there is a guy called "saint" on this forum who has a blog and offers quite a bit of info.

See www.saintinmalaysia.blogspot.com.

That's all!

[saint57]

The lowball salary is not a joke. I imagine it was between RM 3,000-RM4,000 if you're lucky. This would be considered a good wage for a local, but I couldn't live off this.

Experience in ESL really won't help you too much. Most (all I've actually met) teachers are certified in their home country and teaching at international schools that teach their home curriculum.

Malaysia is not to the place to find work at a language school. Actually being here may help you find a job because there are plenty of language schools outside my college, but I doubt it will help with the salary thing.

People always think I'm so negative when I post messages like this, but I've been here for two years and this is how I see it.

[Kana65]

I was assistant director of a language school for a year and a half in KL.

There are plenty of language schools in KL if you don't mind making between 2,800 and 3,500 and that's the more realistic wage....Our starting wage for native speakers was 2,500 to 3,200 depending on experience(that was a couple of years ago)....We had about 1/3 of our 15 man teaching staff as expats at any given time.

There are plenty of foreigners here not at the master degree or Phd level with a bachelor's and either a CELTA OR TESOL diploma working at the language school level.

Here are some places to try in the KL area....ELS, Ridgewood Academy, Sentral City Institute, Language House, Erican, Linguaphone....I'ver never heard a good word about International House but in all fairness I should mention them.

Some of these places have dubious records but you might give them a try.

It is true it will be hard to get by on that salary but you can pick up teaching on the side and at night....When I first came to Malaysia, I advertised in the paper and picked up five Korean Samsung executives as students. I was also a corporate trainer for awhile and there's plenty of work there as well but you have to hustle a bit.

I have to say that a lot of the posts on here don't seem that realistic on that situation as I see it....You don't have to be a college professor to live in KL....And in regards to salary and cost of living well it depends on what you are comfortable with.

[saint57]

[Hod]

Plenty of people in KL have bucket loads of fun on RM3000 or more (not less, that would mean a crap time) a month with no secondary income. If you're getting on a bit or want to save some cash, then it'd be a very bad move. If not, you'll have a great one or two years there.

[Kana65]

Again it depends how you want to live...The idea that you will be broke all the time is totally subjective based on your level of comfort.

If you demand a three bedroom apartment by yourself with air con and no roommates and eating western food every day than yeah high 2's low 3's doesn't seem like much.

In general, Malasia is the easiest place I have ever lived as far as making money goes

The last place I lived in KL was a newly painted two bedroom apartment fully furnished for rm900. However, it was in a very old, dilapadated building in a bad part of town albeit one with excellent transportaion located nearby as it was very close to the Central train station.

If you are brought here from outside Malaysia on a contract at home currency pay level, it's a totally different situation than that of most people who teach at language schools

There are a lot of younger (and some middle aged) people who come here and get jobs after they are already in Malaysia at language schools....The language school I worked for advertised on JobsDB but we often had people walk in off the street....We were always looking for native speakers and all our competitors were the same....But language schools are not big enough operations to bring people in....Most I know(including the one I worked for) hire people who are already here or planning to come here anyway.

If anbody is interesed in further info on Malaysian language schools please free to message me.

[celtica]

Brunei is not Malaysia, but if you want to earn and save money and can do without (a lot of) booze and nightclubbing..... you can earn upwards of 6,000MYR ($3000) BND a month ...long term contracts though - 12mths plus. CfBT.org.bn is the place to look.

[Rishan]

hi, thanks for all the advice about Malaysia. I finished my CELTA 2 weeks ago and have since been searching the net for info. All I can find are online directories which list a few language schools and I've written to all of them. There has to be more than this though right?

From reading the posts here about Malaysia, I gather my options for getting a teaching job are with 1) Language schools 2) International schools 3) Uni-colleges, with the pay scale also in that order. Where else can I find about about places to apply to? I've already been offered a couple of jobs, but I think if I just go to Malaysia on a tourist visa it will be easier to find work.

I've been to KL several times before, know the place well and made some very good friends there, so its easy for me to just up and leave. Also, I am married to a Malaysian (Chinese background) girl but we are seperated and getting a divorce. Will this have any influence on me getting into the country? I mean it looks suspect enough to immigration that I have been four times for several months each time, but I'd like to buy a one way ticket to save some money. From memory the last couple of times I arrived at KLIA, no one checked my tickets and they just stamped my passport, but if I get pulled aside will the offer of a job and a marriage certificate be enough for them?

[Kana65]

I came into Malaysia a couple of times very close together by plane and also by bus in 2002 prior to marrying my Malaysian wife and was never asked to produce a two-way ticket....A few years later I was between jobs and traveled in and out a few more times within a relatively short period of time and was not asked for a two way ticket although I was questioned one time why I was doing that (at this point I was married).

I always carry a photocopy of my marriage certificate whenever I go in and out of Malaysia if I do not have a work permit or other long stay visa at the time just in case.

Generally speaking, they are a lot tougher if you take a bus out of Malaysia than if you fly (i'm talking about doing this multiple times over a relatively short period)....At least that's been my experience....I asked an immigration officer who is friend of my wife's family why that is and he said because if you fly they assume you have money to take care of yourself and you could be a genuine tourist.

Regarding where to go for jobs, I know both the language school I worked for and ELS used jobsdb and jobstreet....Twice a year they have education tradeshows at Mid-Valley City or PWTC....I once got offered a part-time class on the spot out of attending one of these events.

You might also try outside KL if you are daring....I currently live and teach in Ipoh which is a wonderful city in a lot of ways....Kl of course by far is the largest job market for teachers but you never know....

[Jati]

Simply moving the Malaysian threads up to the top of the listings!

Teak