Job Discussion Forums

[n3ptne]

I'm gearing up to arrive in Jakarta sometime in December or January.

I haven't signed a contract yet, but I'm looking at one now that's 23 hours/week for a rate of 8million or so (housing/food included)

Ideally I'd like to work a minimum of 43hours/week.

What's the status of private lessons in Jakarta? How easy are they to find.

Furthermore, what's a realistic amount of money that can be saved every month to apply towards student loans?

Don't give me the "it depends on how you live" line... I'm aware of that, just as a general rule with moderate frugality.

Oh.. and would anyone be so kind as to compare Jakarta to Manila? Or Indonesia to the Philippines in terms of cultural attitudes and mentality?

Thanks.

[malu]

You are setting yourself up for disappointment. This is the wrong country if you need to pay back loans in hard currency fast. 8M is the lowest of the low in Jakarta salaries right now. Privates are possible but where are you going to do them? A language mill won't ever let you use school-owned premises to do privates - especially not a newbie. Travelling to students' homes and offices will cost you almost as much as you earn and will eat up a huge amount of time.

Go to Korea for a couple of years first and make your bucks.

Probably not the advice you want to hear, but it's honest advice from someone who has been here a few years.

[ESL Hobo]

I can't say much about the phillipines but I have taught in Jakarta.
Students there are pretty good but living in Jakarta can be a grind.
As far as a good cultural experience Indonesia is much better than Korea.
In general southeast asia is a lot more fun place to be than northeast asia but the pay is about half of what you can make in the north.

I haven't been to Vietnam but I am looking into it as the pay is better than most southeast asian countries about $1,500 per month. Housing is around $600 more or less depending on your standards, transport will cost around a hundred, the rest depends on how much you plan to eat, drink and go out. A good estimation might be you could save $500 a month. In Indonesia you might not be able to save at all. In northeast asia you could probably save around $1,000 a month if you are frugal, but you may not enjoy the experience as much.

These are my general opinions, of course everyone has a different temperment. If you are thick skinned and not much bothers you and you want to make money, go north. If you want to have an interesting cultural experience, go south.

[Nabby Adams]

And if you are going to teach 43 hours a week then you may as well be in the best paying countries as your free time will be zero. Go to korea or even Japan if the curent strength of the yen holds.

[n3ptne]

I've been in Korea.

I want to go somewhere and relax... but I don't mind working.

What can I save?

[rayman]

I'm prepared to save you initiative and 20 seconds on Dave's search bar by posting this link;

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=64476

No need to to provide thanks. My good deeds are self fulfilling.

[n3ptne]

Couldn't you copy and paste the contents here?

Talk about a lazy welp.

...and I've already done that. But things change... like economies, and industries... so I wanted people to tell me what it's like there right now, not how it was, or even how it was described to someone else recently. But RIGHT NOW. Upon careful and close consideration of my motives, I've come to the determination that THAT'S the reason I posted this in the first place.

futhermore... rather than spend all that time searching and providing me with some homework.... don't you think you could have typed a few numbers instead...

[guruengerish]

I read Rayman's article with interest.

However, are you sure about those age limits? I've been told that 55 is the 'retiring' age not 70 as you've posted, and the Immigration Dept are fairly strict about this. (when it suits them).

Also, most schools advertise the actual teaching hours, and not preparation time. Almost every school I've worked at in Indonesia expects teachers to turn up at around 1pm, and spend the next two or three hours in lesson preparation, so you're looking at an 8hr day.

Many schools roster teachers to interview and assess would-be students, so that they start off at the right level.

Finally, when you have a batch of class exams to mark and comment on, this can also be time-consuming.

You'll find that 5 or 6 hours of actual teaching per day quite enough.

[rayman]

[rayman]

[malu]

Quite a few of the over 55's teaching in schools here do have a KITAS. The loophole in the immigration law is that so long as the manpower ministry approves the appointment, imigrasi will issue the visa. The giving of suitable gifts to the manpower ministry generally results in such approval.

Last time I checked 8M was about the lowest salary offered to FTs in Jakarta. I wonder why someone with experience in Korea and presumably elsewhere would want to take a job like that.

[n3ptne]

Because Korea was too much.

Too much work, got burned out.

Came to the US for a year, hung out in Maui, LA, and a few other places and now I'm looking to see another part of the world (i.e. i'm broke).

Been to the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam... but never Indonesia. Looked at some job offers in the Middle East & Europe, but they don't offer year round warm weather and sunny beaches that feature drinks with little straw hats.

I'm not coming to Indonesia to make money... I just want to make sure I can take care of the few bills that I do have and to live well, relax on a few beaches, and enjoy Indonesia... which was the exact opposite of what I did in Korea.

Savvy?

Having said that... is it advisable to get a job locked in before I come to Indonesia? Or show up and find one?

A few of the schools I've been in contact with offer around 8M/month + apartment + food allowance + reimbursed airfare + bonus after 1 year.

Is 8M way too low?

Could I get my airfare reimbursed if I travel before signing a contract?

[n3ptne]

PS.

Yes I'm completely aware that I won't be teaching on the beach. Or possibly even seeing it for long stretches of time.

[Kebo]

The Rupiah lost 15% against the USD in the last month. Takes a fair chunk of your bill paying money if you are paid in Rupiah.
Then again, the Aussie dollar fell 25% in the same period.

So, who knows?

Go where your happiest.

[Kebo]

Yeah, yeah I know "you're" is wrong. Cut a guy some slack.