New to TEFL, Asia Advice

[jfromnorfolk]

Hello All

Im looking into taking my TEFL qualifcation with [plug deleted - Admin].co.uk very soon. The MD from there has been very professional and helpful since contacting them.

I just wondered if anyone from here can tell me where the better places towork in Asia are for living standards and salary etc. Obviously i know this is not what its all about, but its nice to have some feedback of where the nicer areas are as i have never been to the continent.

Is it fairly simple to get a VISA sorted for this area? And what happens if you and your school are happy to go for a 2nd year for example, what then re the Visa?

many thanks

Jamie

[Alex Case]

Can you narrow it down to which Asian countries you are considering, and maybe some details about what "living standards" means to you?

In the meantime, here's some rather unspecific advice of mine:

http://sixthings.net/2009/02/18/alex-ca ... r-in-asia/

http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/teaching/t ... interview/

[jfromnorfolk]

Living standards. What i really mean is where you can get a salary where you can live comfortably. I was thinking of China, Thailand. Mainly the countries where you dont need a degree.
Thanks for replying Alex
Jamie

[Alex Case]

In Thailand, wages haven't gone up since I worked there 13 years ago, while things have got substantially more expensive in that time. From what I read on Ajarn Forum, it can be a struggle to get by in your first job. Still, some people like Thailand enough that they still flock there to teach. You need both a degree and TEFL certificate to get a working visa in Thailand. Don't know about China, but people posting on Ajarn who have moved there say they are much better off financially. Not sure life in most Chinese cities has much "quality" to it though, especially if you end up a dodgy school