Job Discussion Forums

[pinkfrost]

$$, I am a newbie interested in knowing what the 5 top countries are for teaching english, in terms of saving money. I have debt galore! I have heard that Japan is good, but is fading as the money saving destination it once was?
any advice appreciated.

[naturegirl321]

Well the Middle East is a good option, but you usually need a couple years of experience and an MA:

You could try Korea or Taiwan.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Japan is fading really, really fast. The cost of living is high. As in every coiuntry the cost of things goes up each year. Unlike in other countries the actual salaries are dropping. Not just from things becoming more expensive. They are dropping in that if they pay X-teacher 250,000 a month, then when X-teacher moves on in a couple of years, they are paying Y-teacher 230,000 a month even though things are more expensive.

Korea is often mentioned as a good place to go to send back money because the cost of living is so low, they school will pay for your flight over and the actual salary is about even with Japan (in some cases greater than in Japan these days).

My best piece of advice is to figure out how much you want to send back (say US$1000 a month, or CDN$1500 a month or so. If you are Canadian then you get doubly screwed because the Canadian dollar has gone so high- JETs all get paid the same. In the last three years the salary value for Canadian has dropped by a third. This is only important when you send money back- most Canadians have to send money back to get out of debt). Figure out how many months it will take you at that rate to get out of debt. Then double the number of months and that will be a realistic number of months to think of.

[naturegirl321]

Although not exotic, the best place for making money is usually at home.

[denise]

[pinkfrost]

denise,

I have a degree, and a deferred education diploma, I have also worked as an esl teacher In Germany and Japan. I managed to save ok in Japan (about $1000au) per month. I was paid a reasonably high salary (270,000 yen) but the company was dodgy as hell and my boss treated his teachers quite poorly. I have heard Oman is quite good, where would I start looking for work there? any suggestions? cheers.

[naturegirl321]

There are some Oman jobs posted here on Dave's. ALso try www.tefl.com

Some countries give accommodations, but many others don't. IN general, places in North America, South America, Oceania and many in Europe don't provide that. Asian and Middle Eastern countries do.
If you stay at home, there's less things to work about. No flight to pay for, no visa to worry about, and you can take advantage of your contacts.
I agree with Denise in that teaching back home doesn't pay that well, but there are other jobs that do.

[grahamb]

Denise is right; the Middle East is the best by far. Decent employers arrange your visa, pay your airfares, provide accommodation (and sometimes transport) and give 60 days' annual leave. The savings potential is considerable.

[naturegirl321]

However, the lifestyle in the ME may not be the best.

[grahamb]

Hence the high salaries, free accommodation, paid flights and generous leave entitlement. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

[denise]

A lot of the hiring (at least for the colleges) in Oman is done through recruiters. Check out CfBT (Center for British Teachers). I don't remember the website but it'll pop up on google. I think another recruiter is Hawthorn(e). It might be too late for the coming academic year, but you never know. There may still be positions and they may need replacements on short notice, so it never hurts to look.

We get all the things grahamb mentioned. We're getting a 15% raise next academic year (woo-hoo-hoo!!), so the salary will be about $2500 per month, tax free (for MAs--slightly less for BAs but still good). You can live very comfortably on $1000 or less.

Oman is fairly laid back and pleasant. From what I hear, it's a much easier life than in other Middle Eastern countries.

d

[Jizzo T. Clown]

Come to Korea. I'm not very good with money but have been able to put back $1,200 USD / month and still live comfortably. Plus if you want to travel to other places in Asia, it's a good place to be.

[tedkarma]

I spent five years in Saudi and six years in Korea (about three years - two times).

My overall income was greater in the KSA, but savings were probably about the same - for a variety of reasons. Might have saved just a bit more in Saudi.

A few years ago when I wanted to sock away just a bit more money for my uh . . . "elder" years - I went back to Korea rather than to Saudi. I could save almost the same amount of money, but worked much less, the students were much more congenial and my overall quality and enjoyment of life was far greater. BUT, I should say, I was teaching at college/university level in all three positions - so "your mileage may vary" - depending on what kind of job you land.

Also, unless you are a fairly experienced teacher, discipline in the classroom can be a real issue in the ME. Male students can be very argumentative - and even 30-year-old men can have tantrums like a two-year-old kid. The school I taught at was great at supporting the teachers - but the students could still be quite difficult to manage.

All that said - working in the ME is a helluvan eye opener . . .

If you can get a decent college level job in Oman or someplace similar though - it might be preferable to some language schools in Korea. But - if you can land a public school job in Korea - that would probably be the way to go.

[saint57]

[Glenski]