Job Discussion Forums

[adorabilly]

so I have now been reading and posting on this site for a while, and I keep coming across these dire warnings of "avoid this place" and the "there are other better paying places to teach at," and yet none of these "better" places are ever listed.

People post generalities, "japan, china, korea...." and say it is so much better.

Lets get into the truth.

I lived and taught for 2 years in central china, and I can tell you there isn't a lot of money to be made there. The average salary was 6000 RMB a month ($750) for a native speaker with a bachelors degree, and it would go up to about 8-10,000 RMB for a MA in TESOL or applied linguistics. In beijing or shanghai the average salary is 16,000 RMB (or $2,000) a month with a MA in TESL. That means your average salary was about $25,000, up to about $30,000 living in very polluted cities. Mind you the cost of living was pretty cheap, but still not that great. Most of those schools will only pay for the teachers airfare, and the teachers housing. Medical is covered, but not much else. if you want your kids in expat school, you have to pay out of pocket, and that is most of your salary (esp with 2 or 3 kids)

I have now lived in japan for a year. We keep hearing that it is so much higher paying. But not really. The best salary we found for MA in TESL was $50k a year, and there is very little job security. Housing is also included, and airfare for the teacher. But when you look at it, living in tokyo (the 3rd most expensive city in the world, where beef from the grocery store is $8 a pound, and milk is $6.00 a gallon it is pretty steep just getting groceries is an eye opening experience) kills any extra money you are making. My single friends love it here, they have extra money, but a family of 5 on one salary it is a losing battle.

And my good friends in Korea tell me the amounts of pay is between the amount in tokyo and beijing, with prices closer to chinese prices.

What is my point?

I don't think people know what they are talking about when they say, "there are so many better jobs in ASIA."

Mind you if I was single, 30k a year and airfare would be covered, and housing I could see jumping ship to go somewhere that pays 50k.

But for families, I still haven't found a better deal than the ones in the UAE (not counting iraq, kuwait, or other places that are too dangerous for my taste). They pay between 40 and 50K a year. You get a months salary for each year you teach as severance pay. They pay for the whole family to travel to the job location, you get roundtrip airfare to your home country each year for your family, find housing and pay for it (not the schools faults that dubai and abu dhabi are getting outrageous prices for housing), and pay for your kids schooling. when you factor in the job benefits (housing, schooling, and airfare) you are making nearly $100,000 a year.

Find me a better job package in TESL, and I'll bow down, and want to teach where you mention it, but I seriously doubt I'll find one.

[veiledsentiments]

I think that you are preaching to the converted here on the financial benefits to teaching in the Gulf versus Asia.

My major quibble with your post was your pairing Iraq and Kuwait as dangerous?? I would pair Kuwait much more closely with the UAE as being currently safe. (though a war of aggression on Iran could change things there due to its proximity)

Also, sad to say, there is not a great deal of job security in the Gulf either. Though most people who get hired by the better places (those that you have been talking about on the board) are usually good for a contract or two. And these are constantly referenced on the board, so I'm not sure what you mean by none of them are mentioned... perhaps you mean on the Asia boards?

VS

[Shakhbut]

Adorabilly, you are quite right in your assertion that the better Gulf institutions offer the best package for TEFlers.
The only comparable situation is a top-notch international school in Asia (Hong Kong, in particular).
The people who winge and whine about the Gulf, and I am as guilty of this as the next person, are those who have been here for a while and forget what the bad old days in language mills were like!
Spoilt? Perhaps. Come and find out.

[spiral78]

Family of 5 on one income: not particulary feasible in the modern world. Bummer, but true.