Job Discussion Forums

[SamanthaB]

My husband and I are hoping to teach English in Indonesia. We've done a TON of research and we've read through the forums all the way back to October 2008. I'm pretty sure we've done our homework!

Some background:
My husband and I love to travel. Together, we've been to over 30 countries. We're easy-going and adaptable. We love challenges and the hustle and bustle of the city. We currently live in downtown Seattle. I'm 28 years old and I have over ten years of experience in the social and human services, primarily working with at-risk Southeast Asian and East African immigrant and refugee youth. My husband is 26 years old and has over five years of experience in journalism, including work for the New York Times, Politico, and Wonkette. Neither of us has completed our undergraduate degrees, although we've both completed three years of credits towards them. In addition, I've completed several certifications including Chemical Dependency Professional, Human Services Management, and Prevention Specialist.

I know that the lack of a degree is going to hinder our opportunities, however the completion of our degrees is an impossibility right now ($$$), so please don't suggest that we buckle down and finish before attempting to teach abroad. We're debt-free and in a good position to embark on an adventure of this type right now. We don't need to make much money-- we won't have expenses at home that we're trying to cover, we just need enough money to live off of.

I'm aware of the fact that there are many people on this forum who aren't too keen on Jakarta, but we are. We aren't moving to Indonesia with the hopes of it being a tropical paradise where we can lounge around on the beach and sip cocktails out of coconuts on our days off. In fact, that's exactly what we don't want. We want to be smack dab in the middle of the writhing, sweaty, pulsating mass that is Jakarta.

I'm also aware of the fact that many people on this forum aren't too keen on EF. However, I think that getting our foot in the door with EF might be the only way for us to score employment. We're not opposed to working six days a week and not making very much money. That's quite alright in our book.

From the research I've done, it appears that the two best EF's are EF West Jakarta and EF Jakarta Depok. It also looks like people think that TBI Jakarta is a great school, although we might not meet their requirements.

Does anyone have contact information for any of those schools? We'd like to get letters of interest/our resumes sent out to them ASAP, as we're hoping to move sometime between June and September of 2009.

Also, if anyone else has suggestions for us, we're open to them! Thanks!

[father Mackenzie]

Hi SamanthaB

You can try these links

http://www.efjakarta.com/
http://www.englishfirst.co.id

Either site will help you find out more.

[Vertumnus]

You two sound like a real pair of troopers - humanitarian altruists or something like that. Kudos to you, and I hope that Jakarta is exactly what you've envisioned.

If you want to try the suburbs, if it can be called such, you might want to try Fasih Berbahasa Inggris in Bekasi. The housing in Kemang Pratama may look nice, but remember that the housing complex floods yearly.
I found this link: http://www.yellowpages.co.id/company.aspx?id=07010012196
Interestingly, the address is listed in Jakarta, so they either expanded or it's wrong, but I know the email contact is correct.

You can also search here: http://www.yellowpages.co.id/business-finder.aspx

I think you might want to try ELP or EEP or something like that in Jakarta. I forget exactly where, though. Does anyone know?

-D

[SamanthaB]

I put my feelers out to both of those-- hopefully I'll get a response!

...Anyone else have tips?

[serbie]

I thought a degree wasn't required to teach English in Indonesia?

[Fishy]

[SamanthaB]

We're working on our TEFL right now. Hopefully we'll be done by May 1st!

[SamanthaB]

...I mean June 1st!

[Vertumnus]