mercenary

[valleydweller]

At the risk of sounding like a mercenary i am after advice on best pay, best working conditions and best party town in asia. I am a high school english teacher with five years experience in Australia and UK looking to work for twelve months/two years in asia. My priorities are potential to send earnings home, enjoyable working conditions and the chance to play up on the weekend . Any advice i can get would by appreciated.

[kkbaby]

Choose either Japan, Korea or Taiwan. That way you can save like living in the western world.

Some people say that because the cost of living in China is cheap, you can save a lot. Sure, you can save a lot, but you aren't earning a lot either. Plus, it's hard to socialise with the Chinese since they hardly understand English. At least with Japan, Korea and Taiwan, many can still understand basic English even though they may not be a student studying English.

[exported_kiwi]

Actually, Shanghai or Guangzhou in China offer decent salaries that allow one to save and also allow the party lifestyle (on the weekends) that the poster is after. It all depends where you work really. If you work for public schools, the pay isn't great but the free time is there and there's usually free accomodation. If you work for private training centres, the pay is there but there is little free time in the weekends and as a rule, you have to pay for your own accomodation.
Hope this helps!

[valleydweller]

Thanks for the advice guys, i now have a platform to begin my search! A couple of other questions you may be able to help me with.

Will my teaching degree be enough to get me a job or will i need TEFAL?
Are the kids as perfectly behaved as i've been led to believe?
Whats a ballpark figure i can expect to send home at the end of the month?

Thanks again for the help, any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[exported_kiwi]

I can only speak from my experience in China. I know next to nothing about teaching in other countries bar what I've read here.
It's difficult to give even a ballpark figure regarding earnings because each city differs in their pay scales. Add to that the possibility of working for either a public or private institution. Private ones pay more but demand more of your time etc. From my experience, private institutions in China can pay anywhere from approx 8000RMB/mth up to about 17000. It depends where and upon your workload (hours worked). Most private institutions don't provide accommodation so you'd have to pay for that, as well as utilities and all other living costs. If the salary is only 8000, and you work in a city like Shanghai or Guangzhou, for example, you won't have much left out of 8000 unless you live in a terribly small apartment in an area that most wouldn't let their dog live in.
I prefer public colleges. The pay is lower (approx 4000 - 8000 depending on where) but the workload is light and accommodation is usually free, as are utilities which sometimes stretch to computer and internet. With such a light workload, you can do extra work during the week which tops your salary up and allows the lifestyle or spending habits you seem to want. if you're not much into partying, you can do a few tutorials on the weekends and earn even more.
As for sending money home each month, not worth it I'd think. I just convert X amount to USD each month and every 3 months I go to HK and deposit it there. How much you send home depends on how much you earn, and spend on living and partying here.
The students: well, in China, they're for the most part, nice kids. As in every classroom, you have the malingerers but they're not the rule. Most students here want to learn and once you've broken through the shyness barrier, they're quite a joy to teach. It all depends on age and motivation I think.
Teaching degree: in China, your degree will be enough to get a job. Some of the upper tier places want a TESOL qualification, but not all. Experience counts for a lot here. I have no TESOL, but have been teaching here for 4 years now, so it's easier to "land" a decent job. I'm not sure about the other countries but I'm sure others here will be able to fill you in there!
Good luck in finding the job you want and the lifestyle you desire.
It's probably the right place to say; when you go to another country to teach, it's not a good idea just to go for the partying and women, that kind of lifestyle still exists but isn't condusive to acheiving and maintaining a good reputation and here, in China, foreigners are all generally lumped together and if one does a bad thing, we've all done it, so beware!
Hope this helps!

[cool ice]

The kids are only as well behaved as you lay down the law. Don't let your classroom become a circus.

A teaching degree is sufficient to find yourself a nice paying job. Many English teachers don't have a teaching degree, so you have this added benefit.

[valleydweller]

Thanks for the quick replies guys (especially for the essay exported kiwi) It makes it so much easier to hear from people that have been there and done it. Didn't mean to sound like a tool about the partying, i understand the need for cultural sensitivity but don't want to get stuck somewhere for a year with nothing to do. One last question (for now ) How long are the contracts and are you trapped if you sign one but realise you've made a terrible mistake? Once again thanks heaps for the info.

[exported_kiwi]

You're welcome! I can understand what you're saying about wanting some sort of lifestyle outside of work, but being "stuck" isn't a place you should put yourself. if you think you'll be stuck, then maybe it's not the best job for you. Find a place that suits your personality, and if you like clubs etc, the big cities are the only way to go, so look there!

As for contracts being changed; well, there's usually a mechanism within contracts that allow for termination but you usually will have to pay a sum of money to compensate the school. I've never actually heard of any teacher doing so however! Most teachers I know, including myself, have had contractual issues and have tried to arbitrate per the contract but most employers are intransigent and won't change anything, including their attitude, so when this happens, pack up and leave! Screw em, it's your life and time and you're a valuable commodity so just leave. Make sure that this IS the only avenue left to you before you choose to do it though! Contracts are usually very ambiguous and heavily favour the employer, so read the contract carefully before you sign it and discuss amendments before you sign it. A bity of give and take hurt nobody and it shows goodwill on both parts. Most employers will be fairly flexible and so you should be also...you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours etc, so don't do everything to the letter of the contract. Keep the hours expected of you, dress well, don't go to work smelling like a brewery and if you live on campus, don't go back to your apartment with a different girl every few days.... all these things are big no no's! If extra is requested of you, like the periodic English corner etc, do them with a smile but don't give too many extras or they'll begin to expect more and when you say no, things could get ugly fast! Be careful what you volunteer for because the same thing applies...give an inch, they'll take a mile if it's given for free. Don't ever have female students in your home unless there's a group of people there, both male and female.... but the best rule is NO! Bad things have happened in the past with some teachers I know, who were innocent but were accused anyway. My rule is, no way on this one! Keep your work and personal lives as separate as you can. It'll be a little hard if you live on campus, but make friends with the gate guards and you should be ok. Campus living isn't easy and it sure isn't private as you're constantly "seen" and you should bear this in mind should you live on a campus. Give the employer the best you can, within reason concerning your time and keep the contract and all should be fine with you, but if you have to leave, greet a friend outside the school to help move your gear, at night, and asak him/her to arrange a train ticket out of where you are, to where you're going. Make everything appear normal and then, just leave as if you're going to the shops. Find another job before you leave and when you find another job, unless you're in a huge city, don't work in the same city.

Contract lengths; This depends on whether you work for public or private institutes. Usually, public schools have contracts which cover a school year, or 10 months actual working time. These schools have long holidays in summer and winter and if you want to travel, this is the way to go. I can't say I've ever seen a half year contract for public schools.

Private schools/training centres prefer a 12 month contract as a rule although there are those that allow a 6 month contract. In private centres, there are only the usual Public holidays and maybe 5-10 days paid holidays/year. If you do a half year contract, the employer will probably only refund a 1 way airfare back home but if you do the full year, you'll usually get a return airfare refunded up to a specified limit....8-10,000 is a general idea. Public schools pay refunds too on airfares if you complete the full contract.

Ok, that's all I can think of now, hope this helps and good luck!

[Motivated]

Ulaanbaatar is a reasonable place to live and work. Right now there are jobs available, free apartment, $2000USD salary per month (very easy to save money here as living/partying costs are reasonably cheap) and Mongolian women are one of the world's best kept secrets! It's also relatively easy to communicate with people here without any understanding of the coughing-up-fur balls noise that is the Mongolian language.

Good luck with wherever you wind up and have fun!