ideal location or good pay?

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bluewhale
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:54 pm

ideal location or good pay?

Post by bluewhale »

I have been tentatively offered a position in Bangkok. This would be my first IS position. They have all but said I will be hired but they are just having to work out teaching loads and the like. they have said that early in 2016 they will make the offer formally. It is in a subject area I would really like to continue teaching in but that doesn't have many other jobs advertised for it. Also, Bangkok is my first preference of places to live in the world. I have some friends there and I am familiar with the city.

However, the pay is quite a bit lower than many of the other schools that are advertised on Search Associates. They also do not offer housing/housing allowance or relocation funds.

I still do have the option of looking for other jobs until the start of 2016.

So what would you guys do for your first IS position? Go for the ideal location or go for a place that pays much more money?
MedellinHeel
Posts: 169
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2014 1:59 am

Re: ideal location or good pay?

Post by MedellinHeel »

It all depends on your goals, needs, and lifestyle preference.

If you are wanting to drop a lot of money on X investment as your main goal then pay would obviously be more important.

If you have no goals requiring a lot of money and you lived a simple life then location might be more important.

All depends.

Things like age, whether you have a family or not, etc all come into play.

25 year old single guy, no debt - hell yea I am going to Bangkok on what ever pay I can find.

35 year old guy, with a family - i am looking to find a place that pays well
sitka
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Dec 26, 2013 6:15 pm

Re: ideal location or good pay?

Post by sitka »

It really depends.

If you're in it as a tourist, then pick the location.

If you're in it as a career, pick the school that will look better on your resume.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

First some reality, you dont have a tentative offer, you have nothing. The only thing that matters is a contract, and no IS needs to sort through scheduling to employ someone. What they mean is they dont know if they have a job for you or not, based on their claims. It is very rare scenario where an IT with your likely marketability would have an option between such an appointment with such a low compensation package and one that is the other polar extreme with a high compensation package. What is more likely is you have a choice between a bottom third tier IS with a local package in a desirable location and a bottom third tier IS in a less desirable location with an OSH package.

As the previous contributors wrote, you need to provide more about your goals and priorities, you cant just make a list of pros/cons or advantages and disadvantages without having a set of priorities to measure them against.
My position is always choose location and region over compensation. Its easy if your creative and enterprising to increase your income. Its much more difficult to improve your quality of life and lifestyle if the resources and environment are adversarial to that. Coin doesnt compensate for misery very well, and in your scenario it isnt likely you would be comparing it to a significant increase in coin with an OSH package. You can get an apartment and utilities for about $400 a month and the cost of your flights over two years is another $50. Thats a very minimal cost to be in a location you really desire to live in. Its very likely your IS wont have high expectations and you can supplement your income with private lessons, or just do some basic import/export on amazon or ebay.
buffalofan
Posts: 350
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:08 pm

Re: ideal location or good pay?

Post by buffalofan »

I would proceed with caution. Good schools (and even a lot of mediocre ones) in Bangkok don't make tentative offers, and they will certainly pay a somewhat decent housing allowance. If this school is for-profit and run by Thais (and it sure sounds like it is), you need to completely write it off if you are planning a career in international schools. As the poster above points out, they are treating you as a local hire which says a lot about the school. If you just want to live in Thailand for a few years, fine, but that will still be painful at times if you are working at a for-profit Thai-run sweatshop masquerading as an international school.
nikkor
Posts: 218
Joined: Thu Nov 18, 2010 11:59 pm

Re: ideal location or good pay?

Post by nikkor »

If you are thinking about intl teaching as a long term gig, then it's all about delayed gratification. Find a job almost anywhere for almost two years, and then apply to mid and upper level schools in Bangkok. Once hired,my ou'll enjoy a better work environment, and you'll live in BKK like a king. Best of luck!
Monkey
Posts: 74
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 2:59 am

Re: ideal location or good pay?

Post by Monkey »

I agree with Medellin and nikkor; it's all about where you are in your career. I did an awesome location with crap pay for my first IT gig as a 22 year old and don't regret it at all. I have amazing memories! But I'm no longer 22 and I've sinced moved on to a crap location with amazing pay. Is it my favorite thing ever? No. But it's absolutely worth it to me for a few years before I move on to something else, hopefully something with a better balance of the two.
Overhere
Posts: 497
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 3:29 am

Re: ideal location or good pay?

Post by Overhere »

Your perception of ideal location and pay will change as you move both through your career and personal life. My family lived in SE Asia and my wife and I taught at a small school for not much money but I look back on those two years fondly as our family had some wonderful times together. Now, later in my career, the kids are costing me a fortune back in North America and I am happy to be making a little more money but I am living in a city that doesn't offer me the type of outdoor activities I would like to be doing.

Personally if your finances would allow it (little or no student debt, mortgage etc), I would go for location over pay.
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