Discussion about expat salaries and perks as English teacher in Indonesia

snpark

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But sad to see even a qualified teacher with a degree and 5 years experience in what seems like a decent job and school etc can still only earn less than $24,000 a year
Sad that such an influential job that has so much effect on a child can be paid so little really.
 
Good question...
Because if of the 30 jt he needs 10 for rental.....😫😫😫

Exactly
I thought hhhmm ok 33 not so bad. But then yes minus 10 for accommodation and expenses

23 a month in jakarta doesn't really go far. For an enjoyable life
 
Exactly
I thought hhhmm ok 33 not so bad. But then yes minus 10 for accommodation and expenses

23 a month in jakarta doesn't really go far. For an enjoyable life
If you have 23 left as a single person it's still enough to have an enjoyable life everywhere in Indonesia, even with a small family. I know enough examples.
Can you lead a super western lifestyle with sending your kids to the most expensive schools, eat out in the best places everyday and so on? Probably not. Hell, even 33 isn't enough for that. But that counts for most people, even in western countries. How many people can really live what SOME good situated people consider the good or an enoyable life anywhere in the world?
We can't forget that with 33, even 23jt you still earn a lot more than probably most people here. I can only repeat myself, I get around with 10-15 juta a month with wife and a kid and I don't miss anything. If I wanna go out and eat I'll do it, get a drink I'll do it and so on. Of course not in an excessive way, but yes, we enjoy life. Of course we all have different standards. Just yeah, not being able to enjoy life with 23-33jt in Indonesia can only come from good situated people who have more than enough to spend. No offense.

And yeah, if you have wife and kids and want to get the very best school, living style for them then it doesn't make sense to take a job with that salary, better stay where you are. But again, as a single person wanting a new experience, it's doable.
 
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If you have 23 left as a single person it's still enough to have an enjoyable life everywhere in Indonesia, even with a small family. I know enough examples.
Yes, Let's not forget that most qualified Indonesian Math/Science/etc teachers in Indonesia, or even dosen, don't receive a salary anywhere close to that.

But anyway, perhaps we should move all these discussions not directly relevant to the thread in a thread of it's own.
 
Can you lead a super western lifestyle with sending your kids to the most expensive schools, eat out in the best places everyday and so on? Probably not. Hell, even 33 isn't enough for that.
Recently I just found out that if you want to send a child (18 years old) to university (let's say UI), the tuition fees for a bachelor's degree total about 110 juta. So kos-kosan and other expenses are not included. That is why parents, who can afford to spend this kind of money, choose to send their children to universities in places like Singapore. Almost the same cost.
 
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Yes lets not get into this again we already know we have members who pay 5jt a month for a house and happy to survive / live on 10jt etc and yes even in Jakarta 23jt is an ok amount but you are watching your account every time you go out or drop your phone or your laptop freezes and suddenly your 6 months savings is gone

Anyway yes 33jt is a reasonable salary, even with a bachelors (how much do those cost) AND 5 years experience and excluding accomodation

BTW is that nett of tax? take home 33jt a month would be ok if they throw in a 2 bed apartment also I guess
 
Recently I just found out that if you want to send a child (18 years old) to university (let's say UI), the tuition fees for a bachelor's degree total about 110 juta. So kos-kosan and other expenses are not included. That is why parents, who can afford to spend this kind of money, choose to send their children to universities in places like Singapore. Almost the same cost.

Like most things in this country, if you can afford it, you don't do it here

Even a concert? Tickets here are rare and overpriced and the shows are no where near the quality of SG, BKK, HKK etc

That is sadly why Black Pink, Trailer Swift etc do a max of 1 or 2 nights in a country of 300m people (not even Bali or Yog or Bandung?) but do a week in Sweden, Singapore, London etc

I mean my Black Eyed Peas played in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kazaksthan, Taiwan, Malta, Cyprus, but still only ONCE in Indonesia but how many times now in other Asian countries and I've lost count how many performances as part of F1 rocks, festivals, etc etc

So sad

OK back to teachers jobs lol
 
While I think a discussion about if a salary for a job offered here is enough and putting things in perspective could be helpful (for some fellow expats who wanna work here), I agree - we shouldn't derail every thread, sorry.🙏
 
After your studies at University of Indonesia, you will get -depending on your study- between 5 and 8 juta per month. Exceptionally a bright IT kid might get 10 juta after his/her studies. So saying 33 is not enough for a teacher is somewhat out of place or plain populism.

Something else, I thought the trend for the Japanese businesses was to have the staff residing in Singapore after some issues with Manpower etc.? Besides that, after elementary school often the family of the (male) employee moves back to Japan. So the amount of high school kids in Jakarta should not be so big.
 
And yeah, if you have wife and kids and want to get the very best school, living style for them then it doesn't make sense to take a job with that salary, better stay where you are. But again, as a single person wanting a new experience, it's doable
Agreed.
Having been a full expat most of my life with all the perks (good salary, lodging, car, driver, electricity paid, flight tickets, pension, social security) even as a young professional I wouldn't have moved to the other end of the world for 1900 euro !
Except maybe as "animateur" at the Club Med because there are other perks....

And BTW, a "native English speaker" is not on the same level as a local as the latter will never be a native English speaker....(except for a few cases)
This explains the salary difference !
 
Agreed.
Having been a full expat most of my life with all the perks (good salary, lodging, car, driver, electricity paid, flight tickets, pension, social security) even as a young professional I wouldn't have moved to the other end of the world for 1900 euro !
Except maybe as "animateur" at the Club Med because there are other perks....

And BTW, a "native English speaker" is not on the same level as a local as the latter will never be a native English speaker....(except for a few cases)
This explains the salary difference !


That's what I mean. Teaching now has become a throwaway profession. Like I will bum around the world backpacking and when I need a few quid I can just teach for a few months. Like washing dishes.
We talking about teaching your kids. Their whole futures depend on the hippy from Newcastle who got robbed in Patpong and needs some money

Imagine going for heart surgery and the voice says gday mate me names Shane. I'm from Brizzy. On me way round Poo-kat and got mugged so gonna be doing some triple heart bypass for 3 months so I can get home and visit me Sheila.

Ok lift your leg so I can start cutting
 
That's what I mean. Teaching now has become a throwaway profession. Like I will bum around the world backpacking and when I need a few quid I can just teach for a few months. Like washing dishes.
We talking about teaching your kids. Their whole futures depend on the hippy from Newcastle who got robbed in Patpong and needs some money

Imagine going for heart surgery and the voice says gday mate me names Shane. I'm from Brizzy. On me way round Poo-kat and got mugged so gonna be doing some triple heart bypass for 3 months so I can get home and visit me Sheila.

Ok lift your leg so I can start cutting
Correct, I lived 10 years in Thailand (construction). The level of some "native English teachers" was often appalling. Not to mention they considered people from the Philipines like being in that categorie...
And the salaries they accepted to work for 😱😱😱

In HKG it was much better. Tighter rules and regulations, most of them were British (and not the backpacker type), and had a decent salary.
I guess many have left now and being replaced by Mandarin teachers...
 
Yes lets not get into this again we already know we have members who pay 5jt a month for a house and happy to survive / live on 10jt etc and yes even in Jakarta 23jt is an ok amount but you are watching your account every time you go out or drop your phone or your laptop freezes and suddenly your 6 months savings is gone

Anyway yes 33jt is a reasonable salary, even with a bachelors (how much do those cost) AND 5 years experience and excluding accomodation

BTW is that nett of tax? take home 33jt a month would be ok if they throw in a 2 bed apartment also I guess
Yeah so? Again. Watching your account everytime you buy something is reality for most people, that's life. Again, people who don't need to watch what they spend are a minority mostly everywhere.
Is it better if I don't have to watch my account? Sure. Is life not enjoyable and shit if I have to watch my account? A lot of people would say no.
And yeah, we were talking about a salary or 23 (already included accommodation), for a job that usually pays 4-10 here (and yes even them people survive).
I never said 5 or 10 are enough or nice especially excluding all living costs, especially for expats. 23-33 is reasonable for a single person and doable if you are not a hotshot. Again for a family and all the best schools and so on, it doesn't make sense to move here.
Even in Germany many, many people live off 2000-3000 Euro. It's all about how you live, what you expect and what seems good to yourself.
And yeah, if you don't have savings and live by your next paycheck, life can always get difficult when something unexpected happens, except you earn a lot.
 
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China (ironically) and South Korea are 2 Asian countries where teachers are well paid and highly respected professions
 
Having been a full expat most of my life with all the perks (good salary, lodging, car, driver, electricity paid, flight tickets, pension, social security) even as a young professional I wouldn't have moved to the other end of the world for 1900 euro !
I am sure many of us are glad to learn that you wouldn't have moved as a young professional in the 1960's, to the end of the world for 1900 euro / month.

Nevertheless this is now the 21st century and the employment situation in Europe and generally all over the world, is a tad different than what it was in your time.

A country like France has 2,3 millions unemployed at the first trimester 2024, which is (officially) 7,5% of it's active population.
Only 88% of the BAC+5 young graduates have found an employment 1 year after their graduation.
I wouldn't be surprise if some of them would make the choice to grab a job paid 1900 euro a month even if out of the country. Perhaps to get, what was that again, oh yeah... Life Experience. :giggle:
They have all my respect and I don't belittle their choice on the ground that it would't be/wouldn't have been mine. I am lucky to never have been employed and dependant of a boss to decide what my income should be. However some don't have this chance.

Native English speaker includes South African for Example. Average salary in South Africa, if I believe this link, is around 23.500 Rand (a bit less than 1200 Euro) and teachers in South Africa slightly below that. Perhaps that EUR 1.900 is something they would consider, and perhaps that the Pinoy you met in Bangkok and that you fell were accepting too low salaries did it because the proposed salary was above or way above what they could earn at home.
What may sound little for you may appear a lot for others.
 
Re the job advert- I wouldn't want/need the driver, the insurance, the visas & permits.
I would be nego'ing that against a contribution towards a decent room in a kost.
33million is a decent amount to live comfortably in Jakarta for a single person and probably a small family.
It depends entirely on what people choose to spend their budget on. Not everyone wants fine dining- I am cool with cooking for myself and grabbing street food.
The location of the school is close-ish to BSD & a full house can be rented down there for about 40 million a year (or less).
One can rent a room for around 3 or 4 million a month with cooking and laundry facilities near to Citos.
It is too far from home for me out that side of Jakarta. If I was interested I would want to nego Friday afternoons off to avoid the worst of the traffic.

To be honest the expensive stuff is the "Western" food and in my experience you certainly don't get what you pay for. If I could count the ways for 'fancy' restaurants to fk up a Western recipe I could write a book.
 
I am sure many of us are glad to learn that you wouldn't have moved as a young professional in the 1960's, to the end of the world for 1900 euro / month.

Nevertheless this is now the 21st century and the employment situation in Europe and generally all over the world, is a tad different than what it was in your time.

A country like France has 2,3 millions unemployed at the first trimester 2024, which is (officially) 7,5% of it's active population.
Only 88% of the BAC+5 young graduates have found an employment 1 year after their graduation.
I wouldn't be surprise if some of them would make the choice to grab a job paid 1900 euro a month even if out of the country. Perhaps to get, what was that again, oh yeah... Life Experience. :giggle:
They have all my respect and I don't belittle their choice on the ground that it would't be/wouldn't have been mine. I am lucky to never have been employed and dependant of a boss to decide what my income should be. However some don't have this chance.

Native English speaker includes South African for Example. Average salary in South Africa, if I believe this link, is around 23.500 Rand (a bit less than 1200 Euro) and teachers in South Africa slightly below that. Perhaps that EUR 1.900 is something they would consider, and perhaps that the Pinoy you met in Bangkok and that you fell were accepting too low salaries did it because the proposed salary was above or way above what they could earn at home.
What may sound little for you may appear a lot for others.
Perfectly spot on.
For various reasons since 30 / 35 years people started to sell themselves cheaply.
This was / is the start of the race downhill....profesionnally and salary wise.
It started with the Brits (in my field) accepting local contracts at much cheaper costs than the traditionnal expats.
Of course some companies started to propose local contracts.
Then you have the case of the "original expat" coming on a first mission, he will be send back or moved to another place at the end of the project (it's the rule, like the army they send you where they want, accepted for in your employment contract). The guy "falls in love" and asks to stay for another contract...
The company "yes, we don't have the budget for an expat but we can propose you a local contract"
If the guy accepts, they have now the same guy costing them half the price.
And next, another will accept even lower.....

Concerning the Pinoy, well it's the same as the Indo or Philipina domestic helpers accepting jobs overseas. They do it because they earn 3 x what they would earn here, but it is still.exploitation and slavery. HKG is a perfect example...

And don't forget about qualification !
A expat pilot in Thailand or Indo will make more than a local. Because he has superior qualifications, more experience, etc...

But as soon the local company can replace them, they will. Example : Cathay Pacific, who reduced and reduced salaries. Now they're struggling to find experienced long haul pilots.

Was I lucky ? To be born in France, yes. But I worked 12h shifts 6 days a week for a long time. It didn't came free.
 
Re the job advert- I wouldn't want/need the driver, the insurance, the visas & permits.
I would be nego'ing that against a contribution towards a decent room in a kost.
33million is a decent amount to live comfortably in Jakarta for a single person and probably a small family.
It depends entirely on what people choose to spend their budget on. Not everyone wants fine dining- I am cool with cooking for myself and grabbing street food.
The location of the school is close-ish to BSD & a full house can be rented down there for about 40 million a year (or less).
One can rent a room for around 3 or 4 million a month with cooking and laundry facilities near to Citos.
It is too far from home for me out that side of Jakarta. If I was interested I would want to nego Friday afternoons off to avoid the worst of the traffic.

To be honest the expensive stuff is the "Western" food and in my experience you certainly don't get what you pay for. If I could count the ways for 'fancy' restaurants to fk up a Western recipe I could write a book.
Too each his lifestyle....
 
To be honest the expensive stuff is the "Western" food and in my experience you certainly don't get what you pay for. If I could count the ways for 'fancy' restaurants to fk up a Western recipe I could write a book.
This.
Bali has some more great places for western food. Jakarta yeah, mostly not that overwhelmingly good for western food and if, yeah in the real fancy places. But sure you can find some decent or good stuff if you search long enough. But yeah, if you know how to cook your favourite food, cooking it at home could often he the tastier and (for sure)cheaper version. I mean, that's what many people in most countries do anyway, cook at home so the living stays affordable. I think a bunch of crazy, rich expats (😉😉🤣🤣) who live the "good" life isn't really representative.
 

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