Teaching English: Asia
Asian countries are the best places to teach because they offer the highest pay, greatest flexibility, most benefits, and least amount of hours. This is the area of the world where you will find the most teachers, a majority of which will be young, recent college graduates.
Korea. This country is the most lucrative in the region. Teaching in Korea can pay over $2,400 USD a month. Moreover, you get many benefits teaching there like a free round trip air ticket, housing, 50% medical, as well as a one month’s completion bonus at the end of the contract. If you have been there for a long time or are very qualified, you can earn over $3,000 USD a month. The cost of living varies greatly between the countryside and city. However, even if you live in Seoul, if you keep your partying down, you can save a bundle. Even with the recent drop in the won, many teachers can walk away from here with at least $15,000 USD after a year.
Conditions at school here vary greatly. You may find employers try to cheat you, apartments won’t be as described, air tickets are slow to be reimbursed, or your hours are different. However, Korea has a good labor board that lets you right any contractual problems quickly. Moreover, remember Korea has a serious work culture and you’ll be expected to work hard and long hours. They do not like giving sick days and vacations must be negotiated far in advance. However, the upside is that Korea is filled with a lot of young people meaning while you may work hard, you can play hard too.
The country changed their visa rules at the end of 2007 which has made the application process more time consuming. Teachers now need to be interviewed in their home country, go through a criminal background check, a drug test, and pass a physical. You are only allowed to get the work visa in your home country.
Japan. Japan can be a great place to work, especially with the strong Yen. Teacher pay pretty even throughout the country. You won’t find much variation. Typically, most teachers earn about 280,000 Yen a month. Some places might start you off at 250,000 Yen. Though that may sound good, living expenses are usually not covered by the schools. Bear in mind that Japan has an extremely high cost of living and this can eat up close to 50% of your salary, especially in big cities. However, if you stay in Japan a long time, you’ll be able to save. You may not get rich quick but you’ll have a lot of fun here.
The visa rules in this country are very standard. You need to be sponsored by a company in order to obtain a work visa and permit. Moreover, your visa is specific to that one country and it is technically illegal to teach at another school or private lessons.
China. China is now the “it” place to be and many people head there to teach English. But don’t worry about competition- there are so many people in China that they always need more English teachers. In China, you’ll find a lot of young expats, a friendly population, and a culture steeped in history. Teaching English is all about dealing with bullshit and there is a lot of it in China. Pay tends to be very low (around 6,000 yuan a month) and is the lowest in Asia. However, if you teach at a language school, international school, or private lessons, you can earn upwards of $20 USD per hour, which goes very far in a country where most people make less than $200 USD per month. Fill your week with private students and walk away with steep savings. Once you leave the big cities, salaries and working conditions drop drastically. However, the upside is that living expenses are very, very low and, since you will be one of the only foreigners around, you probably will not go out as much, thus saving money.
Things in China operate on an informal relationship system meaning while laws are there, what’s more important is who you know (and who you bribed.) If teachers work for companies in good favor with the officials, things are easy. If you work for a company who isn’t, things can be hard. Get on the wrong side of someone who’s “connected” and you’ll find your life hell.
Visa rules here change quite a bit but as of now, you will need to be formally sponsored by someone, with all your papers in order in order to get a visa. Prior to the Olympics, you could work under the table but the government has cracked down on that in the last year.
Thailand. Working in Thailand is easy but outside of Bangkok, unless you are very lucky, you won’t earn much money. The average salary at a language school in Bangkok is about 50,000 baht a month. If you work at one of the international schools or do a lot of corporate training, you can earn over 100,000 baht. Outside of Bangkok, most schools pay between 25-30,000 baht per month. Most Thais only earn around 10,000 baht per month so will be able to live quite comfortably even on 30,000 baht per month, especially if you live like a local. Outside of Bangkok, you’ll earn between 20-30,000 per month.
Bangkok is…well…Bangkok. It is a crazy, wild, out of control city and you will never be short of something to do or people to meet. If you can’t find something to do, there is always the tourist areas which are busy seven days a week. The city is also home to a lot of international cuisines so the gastronome in you will be very, very pleased. The only downside is that this comfortable life can get very expensive and you can find that you walk away with no saving.
In order to get a visa and work permit, you must be sponsored by a company. However, because Thailand is always changing their visa rules, no one really checks, and the process is very long, a least half of the people who work in Thailand teaching English work on long tourist visas.
Taiwan. Teaching in Taiwan can be very lucrative. Starting pay is about 600 NT per hour ($20 USD) and there are a lot of jobs to be found. Most jobs are for younger students. In the morning teachers tend to teach kindergarten and in the evening elementary school students. There are a few schools for high school and college students but those jobs are rare. Even rarer of business classes. Most schools only hire you on a part time basis but that is enough to get an ARC(work visa). Typically, schools will hire you for 10-20 hours a week. Many teachers here have more than one job. There is also a lucrative private tutoring market where rates start at 1,000 NT per hour.
Life in Taiwan is pretty easy. There are not many foreigners here compared to other Asian countries but there is still a vibrant and lively social life. Many of the bars do free drink or all you can drink nights and people, locals and foreigners, flock to these nights. They are a great way to meet new people and everyone here is usually friendly. Since foreigners are spread out, it is easy to integrate into the local culture, especially if you live outside of Taipei.
It is illegal to teacher kindergarten classes but most people just turn the other way. In order to get a visa, you must come in on an visitor or resident visa and be sponsored by a company. If you come in on a landing visa, you will have to leave and get one of the other visas.
Last Updated: August 2010