I'm considering teaching English in Asia, does anyone have advice? - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by moocow111 

I think the employers are looking for a degree in English, not a liberal arts in computer science. Also, if you want a low cost of living, don't even consider Japan, they have one of the highest costs of living in the world.

The cost of living in Japan, though, is really low when you consider how to live. You don't need a car when you live in a city and the trains come with very good discounts. You eat much more cheaply than you will anywhere in North America or Europe and when you look for the right places to shop, can buy groceries for mere pennies. The stereotype of expensive is silly and probably comes from tourists who unfortunately have no idea where to go to save money. It is reasonable, perhaps cheaper than Canada for living.

Both Korea and Japan unfortunately think that English equals American; for you it is great. That and being white will put you ahead. Its best if you are girl and malleable to their terms, but whatever. I did a year stint of teaching and then I did a bit of recruiting in Korea. To tell you the truth, the money in Korea is not good at all. You will earn about 2 000 000 - 2 300 000 won (1600-2000$) USD per month, but get your place paid for. Korea is expensive with fewer choices for eating, shopping and import stuff than Japan and probably China.

The English system is more evolved in Japan and probably just really taking off in China. Here in Korea, it is very racist, employing American first, White second, female third. In Japan, you can apply for JET where you'll get sent to rural Japan and make like 3300-3600$ USD per month before taxes. The money is good and the experience is not something you'll get anywhere else that'll send you to a big city. I went to the north of Japan where I spent the year riding my bicycle up amazing mountains.

I worked a lot though: you can get into the programme with JET that is a government sponsored, government run activity. It isn't run through agency crooks who steal most of the money themselves and can fire you for being sick one day.

My first choice would be Japan, but then I have ties there. It is NOT expensive as they say it is unless you only shop at department stores or live exactly the way you did in your home country. Food, clothing, shopping - everything was quite a bit cheaper than Canada. 

In regard to food costs, my understanding is that in the U.S. and Canada, we spend the least on food, (as a percentage of earnings), than any other country or region. That's for groceries, excluding fast food or restaurants.

An aquaintance who works ESL in S Korea tells me the pay isn't that great, but the perks make up for it. His home is subsidized, and he gets the use of a car when he needs it, plus other stuff. He was recently promoted to a college level postion and it turned into a bidding war between the highschool he's at now and the college. The college won.  :)

Unless you live in the country, I can't see the advantage of owning a car in Korea. It is more dangerous and very hard to find parking and often times much much slower than public transit. But university teaching is good from what I hear: 5 months off a year. The perks, though, are pretty poor. Again, you can get fired for any reason, you get (unless you are in uni) only about 2 weeks holiday per year at most. 

The pay is much less than in your home country and even added to the fact that you get subsidised housing, you still don't get promotion, don't get to use any new skills and arrive back in your home country after it all with... nothing but a year abroad with no new skills. When you are young and need to pay off school bills, it can be a great experience. But if you want to go for your own development, you really really have to think about it. In that case, I'd go to a country like Japan that is more honest, or China that is really wanting to keep its teachers. 

But the whole market really is just a scam. You are NOT a teacher. You just do puppet activities for a group of students. You mark papers. You pass time. You don't teach, or interact the way a teacher does. You have NO say at all in the school, the overall curriculum, or what students do. You ARE a glorified baby sitter. If you can stomach that for a year, it is fun, but again, I'd caution you to think about not going to Korea for it.

Thailand could be good (again the money isn't though), Japan, Taiwan, or China first. 

Regarding food: yes, Canadians and Americans (two of the most obese countries in the world) live off junk food and wear jeans and tee-shirts. If that is 'normal' to you, then anywhere else in the world may seem expensive when in fact, it is just that you are upping the quality of your life to the same level that most of the other rich countries enjoy. 

But then, I don't know anyone in Canada who eats like that, so I assume that it is a stereotype. I've met a few people that have fizzy drinks every day and others that eat at MacDonalds, but most people buy real food and make it at home. If you are one of those people, you know how to shop anyway. When you arrive, just shop around and buy things that will keep you healthy, but don't expect to eat the same things since the world is very different. Forget steaks or whatever you eat. Eat what you can find at reasonable prices and enjoy.

I've become a great rice eater since bread here ... wait, there isn't bread here other than dessert bread. Same in Japan. It is just give and take. My Japanese mates come to Canada and think it expensive because they can't eat the same things. When they've adopted to it, they find it quite cheap, but then going out to eat is just so much worse in North America. Tip and 14% tax is killer plus there being no cheap places other than fast food.

http://www.worknplay.co.kr/

 there's good and bad but hey it's all part of the experience and being so young just out of collage it will be an eye opener to say the least ,