Best salary/package in the world?

[speedracer]

Seein'TheWorld wrote:
> Is the Angola school $70k after tax?
>
> Before tax means nothing...there are so many countries with differing
> income tax rates.


I believe that it is net salary
like cheery said, everything is relative: Luanda is one of the most expensive cities in the world

check this out:
http://www.lisluanda.com/jobs/the-package/

[Ddd]

Geneva IS
ICS zurich
IS Zug and Luzern
IS Basel
Le rosey
Aiglon college

All these schools have excellent packages.

[SpedMaestro]

Ddd wrote:
> Geneva IS
> ICS zurich
> IS Zug and Luzern
> IS Basel
> Le rosey
> Aiglon college
>
> All these schools have excellent packages.

All those schools are in the most expensive nation in Europe.

[Ddd]

True, but the taxes are very low, unlike other places in Europe; you should be able to save money despite the high cost of living. This is why many people choose to live in Switzerland for many years, and these schools have low staff turnover.

[Ozymnds24]

Luanda International School has very high savings potential, despite all the news articles out there about Luanda being the most expensive city in the world for expatriates, especially now that the oil crisis has dropped the exchange rate so much. Note that the majority of these surveys, such as Mercer's Cost of Living Index, include rental costs (which you will not be paying) so they are not an accurate way to judge the savings potential of Angola as an expatriate teacher.

Your net salary in your first year, assuming you have a Masters degree and no additional positions of responsibility (such as HoD) is USD 82,243. Note that all tax liabilities in Angola are taken care of by the school. As well as this, the package includes:

A baggage allowance of 150kgs (you can use shipping, excess baggage or DHL)
Economy class return airfare to Home Country once per year for Employee and Accompanying Dependents
Worldwide health insurance
Lunch at school Monday to Friday
Free housing (this is the biggest cost for most expatriates in-country)
You also get free access to a fleet of shared school vehicles and drivers for use 24/7, so it's not necessary to buy a car, although some people still choose to

Street exchange rate when I left (June 2014) was 105 Kwanzas to 1 US Dollar. It is now 220 Kwanzas to 1 US Dollar, which basically halves your in-country expenses such as groceries. Your only expenses in-country are feeding yourself and entertainment, which can be as cheap or as expensive as you want them to be (as a single hire, I spent USD800 on this per month normally, with over half of that going towards entertainment!) I had a very active social life and travelled like a maniac during the holidays, visiting 25 new countries between 2009 and 2014, and was still able to save a lot of money.

Full details of the package, including pay scales, can be found here: http://www.lisluanda.com/jobs/the-package/

[PsyGuy]

But its Africa, whereas Switzerland (Geneva, Zurich, Bern) has 3 of the top 10 spots. Did I mention that its Africa, and not the Safari, look at the lions and zebras, part of Africa, but the, an AK-47 is only 19£ part of Africa.

Why do admins and admin cheerleaders have to pitch their IS, you dont see ASIJ, TASIS, ISBm shilling their ISs.

[marieh]

I'm curious as to what the savings potential is at schools like LIS and ASIJ if one were to lead a reasonably social lifestyle. More than $30,000 a year? $40,000? I'm at a small school at the moment that I feel has an excellent package, but it's hard to compare without knowing more about the cost of living at these other locations.

[Ozymnds24]

PsyGuy wrote:
> But its Africa, whereas Switzerland (Geneva, Zurich, Bern) has 3 of the top
> 10 spots. Did I mention that its Africa, and not the Safari, look at the
> lions and zebras, part of Africa, but the, an AK-47 is only 19£ part of
> Africa.
>
> Why do admins and admin cheerleaders have to pitch their IS, you dont see
> ASIJ, TASIS, ISBm shilling their ISs.

Not sure where to begin with this response PsyGuy! I'd start by asking you not to engage in the casual racism of dividing Africa (a continent of at least 54 distinct countries) into two oversimplified camps - the safari destination and the warzone. I am not an "admin" or "admin cheerleader", as evidenced by my balanced review of LIS in the School Reviews section. Having lived in Angola for five years, worked at LIS and written a guidebook to the country (http://www.bradtguides.com/shop/angola.html) I am saddened by this dismissive attitude. You might think that Switzerland is better, but let's try and keep things objective.

The OP (Redvaldo) made specific reference to Luanda International School at the beginning of this thread, so I felt it was appropriate to comment given my experience there. marieh, to answer your question, you could save much more than $40,000 a year at LIS as a single hire without being too careful. Main thing would be to avoid spending loads on travel during the holidays or imported food / restaurant trips while in-country.

[PsyGuy]

@Ozymnds24

I am being objective. Those simplified divisions are accurate and relevant. Reads like an admin/admin cheerleader, and when it looks like an admin, smells like an admin, its and admin or admin cheerleader. Your review wasnt that balanced. Its the recruitment approach of a candidate asking to describe a weakness that isnt really a weakness. There isnt a lot of margin, Switzerland is way better than Angloa in an y and every conceivable factor that I can image is relevant.

[mamava]

We were in Saudi and the money was great. Salary was high, our flight allowance basically covered the cost of 2 flights home, our school had leaving bonuses based on how long you worked there. Housing provided, all utilities paid for (except internet). Because there are no clubs/bars/movies, there's not much to spend money on there. Close to Europe for getting away. The down side, of course, is that life in Saudi is tough, for the very reasons you can save money there. There are an awful lot of people though, that stay on to watch the money pile up.

The actual salary was close to what we were making in China, though--but it was harder to save there because there was so much more to spend money on--travel, furniture, jewelry, entertainment, etc. The perks of the oversized flight allowance, no utilities, and the leaving/resigning bonuses and lack of spending opportunities made us make out better in Saudi (easily living on 1 or less than 1 salary with a family of 4-5).

[PsyGuy]

You have to be a mercenary and be focused on the coin when going to the ME.

[Ozymnds24]

@PsyGuy

"Those simplified divisions are accurate and relevant" This defence of your overtly racist statement about Africa tells me everything I need to know about the validity of your opinions in this discussion.

To anyone who is considering Luanda International School, my review can be found in the "Read Reviews" section. It is 1455 words long, scores categories as low as 3 and as high as 9 out of 10, gives the school an average of 6.5 and was described by the latest evaluation (34) as: "a very balanced view of the situation of living and working in Angola." Not sure how taking the time to produce something like this makes me an "admin cheerleader"!

To get back to the specifics of the discussion, my salary at LIS as a fifth year teacher with a number of positions of responsibility and a Masters degree was just under USD100,000. I had around 185 student contact days. I spent about USD10,000 of my pay in-country on food and entertainment (I did not waste money on loads of expensive imported goods). Given that I paid no rent, tax or utilities, the rest of my pay was mine to spend as I pleased - on travel outside the country, further qualifications, savings etc. In this respect, I think the savings potential at LIS is almost up there with the Saudi ARAMCO schools if you intend to stay for a few years and work your way up the pay scale. There are many other factors to consider other than the financial, but here's a starting point for you.

P.S. PsyGuy, in the unlikely event that you ever choose to visit Luanda International School, you will be pleased to discover that there is a safari park (complete with zebras, elephants and hippos) only 45 minutes drive to the south! http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g29 ... .Park.html

[sitka]

PsyGuy wrote:
> You have to be a mercenary and be focused on the coin when going to the ME.

I get that you don't like the ME, but the Dubai and especially Abu Dhabi are extremely comfortable and easy to live in.

[PsyGuy]

@sitka

I agree if your a mercenary and if you qualify that its 'easy and comfortable' for the ME. Whats not comfortable and easy about wake up, go to work, go shopping, go eat, go home, repeat. There are a LOT of places that could/would privide that routine of easy and comfortable.

@Ozymnds24

Name calling and social labeling is not data and doesnt make it any less valid. Labeling something racists doesnt make it less true if race or ethnicity or other factor (such as religion) are valid factors. Im sure the Paris and French security forces are using such factors in their current investigations,a dn they would be dumb to invest their time and resources in questioning and detaining such groups or individuals such as the elderly Caucasian couple from Norway (there are three classes of individuals in that example).

I saw your scores, and your review, its the typical admin/cheerleader approach of emphasizing the positives and glossing over the negatives, qualifying weakness so they appear trivial, or framing them not as weaknesses or deficiencies but as goals to improve in.
Reenforcing reviews mean nothing, admin/cheerleaders can post multiple times and can submit supporting reviews of themselves.

LIS does not approach salaries of Aramco or BEA when you compare. You can find 6 figures without TLR,a nd Switzerland can offer 6 figures without having to live in Africa.
185 Contact days is average and many ITS receive OSH packages that include housing and tax benefits.
The outrageous cost of goods and services substantially decreases lot of that discretionary income.

Combo meal McDs $20
Milk (Gallon) $8
Mobile (/month, 1 line) $200
Movie Ticket $17
Pair of Jeans $125

Its the transitioning 45 minutes though a conflict area of Africa to get to the Safari park thats the issue.

[fine dude]

South-east and east asia is the place to be, not just for savings, but for some very motivated, parent-fearing, and diligent students. Thailand and Singapore still remain the go-to places for experienced educators. The only downside is humidity.

With so much craziness around us, Switzerland might well be the safest place even in the event of a full-blown nuclear war.