Job Discussion Forums

[celtica]

From cfBT recruitment info

[Jati]

I got a reminder today from The Cafe. I guess I posted a "teaser" and then dropped out of touch. It wasn't intentional; I just got busy.

Malaysia is a great place to live and work. There are, however, some issues that we westerners have to overcome in order to tolerate life.

For me, number 1 headache is office politics. You have to realise and accept that Malaysia is for Malays first, then Malaysians second, and finally foreigners last. Malays will get the promotions, the best salaries, the best class hours, and etc. If you can leave your ego at the border, you will do much better.

Salaries are not as high as have been suggested by some posters. The range is more like 3k-5k in KL and 2k-4k outside KL. One can live on this but need to forgo the lifestyle of an expat on an expat salary. Our former CEO only made 5k, much less than the 8k thrown out there by a poster who is obviously in an unusual situation. If the ringgit weakens more against the Canadian dollar, you may see those Canadian twinning programs go down the tube like the American twinning programs did back in the late 1990s. (Been there; done that; don't need no stinkin' T-shirt).

With a PhD, the salaries inside KL will probably be in the 7-8k range; 5-6k outside. I speak as one who has run an MBA program with a local university both in KL and on the east coast. I also oversaw some foreign degree programs which were cast aside when the government started upgrading colleges into college-universities and college-universities into universities (e.g., Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Malaysia Kedah, etc.).

So, please keep sending questions, I deal better with specific requests. I have 12 years of teaching experience in-country and can give some weighted opinions; of course, there are others out there with valuable advice and experience also.

Jati

[Mike S.]

[quote="friendoken"]I taught in Korea for a year and didn't like it much at all, even though I had a great job and a fantastic apartment a two minute walk away.

I then went to Laos where I taught for a year and loved it. So much in fact that I will stay for the rest of my life. I got married to a Laotian and built a house on the Mekong river. Laos is heaven, it has all the glory of Thailand without all the hustle and bustle. Having said that, if party time and nightlife is your aim, Thailand would be a better choice.[/quote]

Yeah, I'm starting to get the same feeling about Korea.