Job Discussion Forums

akgirl · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 2

I'm a newbie to the ESL thing. I'm wondering about paying off student loans while teaching. Has anyone done this? Is it reasonable to expect to be able to pay off a loan while teaching abroad? I don't have huge debt but enough to worry about. Thanks.

PanamaTeacher · Joined: 26 Jun 2003 Posts: 278 Location: Panama

I once made only $60 in an entire month. You'll be lucky to pay food and rent at first. I saw some postings about deferring payments. Look at those.

Good Luck Smile

Irish · Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 371

akgirl:

The answer depends a great deal on where you're going. As PanamaTeacher demonstrates, Latin American wages make paying off debt difficult, perhaps impossible. But Korean jobs typically include airfare and accomodation, freeing up more of your income. Of course, you also have to consider your lifestyle and your debt load. Without knowing your specific details--which are not my business--I'd say it's possible if you choose your location well and live frugally.

If you know where you're going, I'd suggest posting your question in that country's forum where the old hands can give you more specific information.

M.K. · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2003 6:00 pm Post subject:

akgirl,

Depending on what kind of loans you have, it's really pretty easy to defer them, up to 3 years in some cases. It's called an "economic hardship" deferrment request, and you can qualify if you make less than a certain amnt. Anyway, contact your loan provider to find out. This might be a good option for you if teaching is only a temporary thing, not something you want to do forever. Otherwise, your only options would be teaching in Japan, Korea, or the Middle East, since these seem to be the only coutries where saving ANY amount is even possible after living expenses.

Good luck to you! Smile

PanamaTeacher · Joined: 26 Jun 2003 Posts: 278 Location: Panama

Irish is correct--your income does depend on where you teach and how you live. I was prepared for frugality, but my first 10 months were more like total poverty.

I rented a hospedaje for $70 a month. In this arrangement, I shared a bedroom with 2 other people (each of us in a single bed). The owner of the apartment lived in the living room with her son; her boyfriend also slept there 3 or 4 times a week. There was one bathroom and the water would not flow after 7:00 am until about 2:00 pm. This was in a middle class neighborhood. Poor people don't have water in their house. They walk to a truck to get it. I'm sure Japan is better than this.

Marcoregano · Joined: 19 May 2003 Posts: 872 Location: Hong Kong

Wages are indeed something of a lottery, depending on where you lay your hat. One of my chums here in HK, a wild gay Kiwi as it goes, pockets about 65,000 HK a month, which is something like 9,000 US...a month. (I'm not joking!....he's at the top end of the NET scale). On the other hand, another pal here in HK, a private language school DOS who works just as hard, makes 20,000 HK a month. The DOS manages to save a little (HK is an expensive place to live) whereas the NET saves bundles, and would save more if he didn't go ballistic every weekend. Move twenty miles north of HK to Shenzhen in China and teachers working just as hard will be earning peanuts. Life's a gas.

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

I've got massive loans to start paying off (how much? dunno--I can't even count that high!), and my financial situation really determined which countries I applied to--I am now in Japan, and will hopefully be able to make payments and still live comfortably. While I was in the Czech Republic, before my MA and my nearly insurmountable debts, I was earning something like $250 per month. I knew people who had to leave prematurely so that they could get "real" jobs in the States and start making loan repayments. I guess my point is that, pardon the redundancy (as other posters have made this same point), it depends on where you go.

One more thing to consider--do you have any sort of grace period? If so, you could try to accumulate some savings during that time to help you get started on the payments.

dorum · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 35 Location: China

How do you delete posts?

dorum · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 35 Location: China

This is not only dependent on where you're teaching, but also on where you're from!

A 'small' student loan from the US would probably be a LOT bigger than a small loan from the UK, for example.
I'm paying off my BIG Shocked

student loan from Norway whilst working in China, slowly but surely...

I think you need to come back with specific information if you want a good answer, though...

akgirl · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 2

Okay, I'll be more specific. I have $5000 in student loans. From what I've read, if I worked in Korea or Japan it may be possible to live frugally (but not in poverty) and pay off that loan during the course of the year. I have checked into deferment and my provider won't do it. Is this a correct assumption? What experience have you had? I am open to various countries where this is possible. Granted, it's not just about the money but it would be nice to get take care of the loan.

Another question. I'm looking into a couple recruiters for Korea. Is there any sort of a list out there of people that have had a good experience with various recruiters? Thanks. Smile

Irish · Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 371

akgirl:

Although there are a few people around here who've worked in Korea, you really should post those questions on the Korean Job Forum. They can probably give you the most up-to-date information.

I'm surprised to hear that your provider won't give you a deferrment. Are you sure? Were you given a reason why? In the US, it's usually just a matter of meeting the (not-too-strenuous) criteria. Is this loan from the US, Canada, the UK...?

Another important issue is the size of your monthly payment. A US Stafford Loan with a 10-year repayment schedule, for example, should result in a relatively small monthly payment on a US$5,000 loan. I say pay it off if you're able--no sense in letting the interest pile up if you can help it.

Once you calculate your monthly bill, you can start looking at wages in different countries to determine which ones will enable you to make payments on the loan. From what little I know of your situation, I think you're in fairly good shape.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

It would have helped in the beginning if you had given us more information. For example what country are we talking about ? Not everyone in this TEFL/TESOL racket is from the US of A !!!!!!

M.K. · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2003 8:45 pm Post subject:

The US gov. loans are easy to defer, and no interest accrues for up to 3 years if you qualify as being in "economic hardship". It's private loans that usually can't be deferred. $5000 isn't bad at all. I'm jealous. Wish I owed that little. Seems like with a little frugal living you could easily make those payments teaching in Japan or Korea, but like another poster recommended, you should check out those forums before making any decisions...

Celeste · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2003 9:59 pm Post subject:

You should be able to pay off $5000 US in a year in Korea, Japan, or Taiwan. You may even come away with some savings after that.

C76 · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2003 11:50 pm Post subject:

Five thousand American $$? If you want to pay it off ASAP...

I agree with Celeste.

Regarding dinero, Asia and the Middle East (Oman and UAE) seem to be the places to go. I'm considering these locations more and more. In spite of my Latin tendencies, it looks like I'm going to have to place money over love in order to survive.

At least for now. Wink