Job Discussion Forums

[Henry_Cowell]

I'll carry drinks from business class to all of you guys in economy/steerage/kelas kambing.

[Chester]

Love thsm

that Champ-ale! hey Mr Happy! Some of my students referred to the male appendidge as "Mr Happy".

I love lee Remmick. She's a darling!

[TEAM_PAPUA]

Remember to drink in moderation. Someone of advanced years, such as yourself, shouldn't drink too much, or mix alcohol with prescription medication.

[happy_me]

Demonicat, well said.

TP, never you mind my mixing TM and cap tikus with the beer on the hash runs. As for my typos, rember my "advanced years" and the stress of hard to find drinks at this time of the year.
One thing i have noted, not many pepole have a need for TP here in Indo.

Chester, Mr. Happy and happy_me are not the same! One is a thing, the other is an action!

Only 3 days left!

[Dogsi]

I don't understand why everyone here rags on Indonesia so much.

I am not here because I have to be. Coming out of the navy I had a few decent job offers, mostly contractor work starting at 60k a year. Best paying was 140k a year but it was 6 month stints on an oil rigger, really not too appealing.

I have not yet started working as an esl teacher in Jakarta and have only recently started looking for a job in the field. However, I am living in Jakarta. I get far more for my money here than I ever would back in the states. I have a maid for $15 a month, a live in maid/nanny for $25 a month, a driver who we (my wife and I) start off paying $65 a month but after 2 years he's getting something like $80 a month now. I have a house that would have easily cost 10-15 times as much in the states and the possibility for investment in Indonesia far out shines that of the states. I have enjoyed being here every time I have come here and am enjoying living here. I will admit that the mosque trumpeting multiple times through out the day (and definately too early) is a bit annoying but that is what the door is for.

[xsbir]

Thanks for inputting something positive on this forum. Life isn't so bad here. Things are cheap. English teachers (even those at EF) earn about what an Indonesian middle manager makes. We can afford maids and nannies, although the amounts you cite seem a little low. Teaching English allows me to spend a lot of time with my son since a full-time job here is normally 25 contact hours or less. I hope you keep your positive attitude towards the place. Good luck finding work.

[Henry_Cowell]

Life can indeed be excellent in Indonesia -- even in Jakarta.

[uilleannpiper]

Careful, though. One's not allowed to get too positive on this forum. That would be subverting the dominant paradigm of this milieu.

[Chester]

Hmmm. yep things are cheap.

Life is full of trade-offs.
Cheap vs safety.
Cheap vs polluted air and water.
Cheap vs etc.

Then you also have cheapened your daily lifestyle.
Walking down the street for a burger. sitting at home on the patio not being bugged by bugs and poor people asking for money, shopping for decent groceries with TASTE, like nice cheese, salami, local fruit that has a taste, walking to the cinema, sitting in the park (that's a song!), watching the Simpsons on regular tv!, driving a car iin relative safety,
I actually like cooking and whiping my own ash.
I dont like maids or drivers. its a disgrace i think.
To bragg that one can afford it is insulting to all.

but then, thats my two cents.

I'm Kent Brockman.

[Chester]

oh yea.
i also left because i have a collection of LP records in aus.
man i missed them. snap crackle and pop and all.
vinyl sounds sooo good.
I almost forgot what real music is.
anyone who has heard "down in the tube station at midnight" by the jam - on vinyl will understand. it's got to be the best single in history.
its good to be home.

[TEAM_PAPUA]

EDITED to prevent further negativity



Hey - remember if you work hard you can eat in 'Chilli's'

[flapjack]

Fun reading:

Well, I would like to put in my two cents.
Seems like a personal choice.
Personally, I would hate living in my home country doing any job. But that's just me.

Language ability is one of the major things that sets humans apart from other animals on this planet.

The better your ability the more your chance of survival or even bettering your life or someone else's life.

While teaching English is not exactly rocket science, those who do it well know that it is a very complex subject.
Sure native speakers can get rudimentary jobs doing it, so much the better. Salaries seem to be about right depending on qualifications, although we all wish for more..

I have never heard the average salary stateside was USD$70,000 per year, maybe in NYC, where that much money goes about half as far as other places. I think it's more along the line of 40,000 on average nationwide with a Masters. Perhaps a few at the top of the ESL food chain with Ph.D's are pulling down higher salaries.

I suppose one could spend a life, doing much lesser or seemingly much greater things, but I was born to be a teacher and I feel content with it.

cheers Flapjack

[TEAM_PAPUA]

Excellent post!

[uilleannpiper]

[Chester]

hmm. I have a friend who did some teaching ESL for a while, between jobs for maybe 2 years in Jakarta. now has a real job again in indo with a mining company doing other stuff, works 4 weeks and gets 2 weeks off including free air tickets overseas. heaps more pay. infact getting twice the pay at least, and twice the time off. and he likes it heaps. but if you are happy, thats nice.