Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Can you make money teaching abroad???

I've been teaching abroad for 11 years, and one of the questions other teachers are always asking me is... are you making any money??

My answer is always that it depends on where in the world I choose to go and teach.

For the last 3 years I've been in Asia, one of the best paying regions worldwide. And today I realised that since the summer I'd let my pay build up in my bank account a wee bit.

When I checked the exchange rate online I realised I had over $15 000 sitting in my account... much more than I had thought, so I'm wiring a lump sum home tonight.

So, can you make money teaching abroad?? Yeah, and if saving money is a priority for you, Asia is where you want to be!!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I want to find out how to do this. I will have a MA in Counseling in May 2009. Then I can begin preparation for teaching English in an Asian country, ideally Japan. I'm trying to find out about the variety of options available to me, the approximate salaries of each option, and how much cost of living takes from those salaries. In other words, I have a bunch of student loans I want to pay off ASAP and I want to know how much I could have leftover to do this! Do you have any suggestions for places to start looking for information?

Unknown said...

You can get a good salary in Japan; however, the cost of living is high. In Korea, I am currently making 25000 won a month, and take home 2100 after taxes. I live off of 700 won a month, which is low for most people, but you can easily spend only 800-1000, which allows you tuck away about 1200 won a month.

As for what that means in American or Canadian currency depends on the exchange rate. When I first came here, I was getting 93/100. Now it's dropped to 73/100. It sometimes fluctuates wildly, which means you have to check the exchange regularly, and make a dump into your home bank account when the going's good. But even when the going's bad, you can save a lot more than you would be able to at home, especially considering that you won't have to rely on a car, and you're apartment will be paid for by your school.

Be careful about the contract you sign! Shop carefully for your job, and research, research!