The International Schools Review Forum

Walter wrote:
> @joe90
> Given that your ambition in life seems to be to spread your seed as far and wide
> and cheaply and indiscriminately as possible, have you ever thought about ditching
> a career in education and becoming, say, a flight attendant with Air Asia?

Flight attendants get paid worse than teachers, don't have the long holidays, and you're at the mercy of your company as to where they send you.

Also, not being an attractive female substantially lowers the chances of getting such a job.

nathan61 wrote:

I have lived in African countries for the last 7
> years and would not trade that to breath polluted Asian air that is guaranteed to
> lower my life expectancy.

That's like saying you'd rather play Russian roulette than smoke a cigarette because only the cigarette is 'guaranteed' to adversely affect your health.

Plus, living in Africa means your life sucks amyway, even if you never end up being a murder victim.

@nathan61

Yes, of all the locations in the African region, Capetown and JBurg are the only ones worth going too, it offers the best quality of life in the region, safety aside.

I know a lady teaching in Cameroon now and a couple that taught there for about 5 years. Both are enjoying. Aside from crime it's a fine place to live in. I work and teach in Mali and I love it here. I'm very happy to see that most international teachers don't consider Africa because that just means there will be less competition for me when and if I choose to go to another African country.

PsyGuy wrote:
> @nathan61
>
> Yes, of all the locations in the African region, Capetown and JBurg are the only
> ones worth going too, it offers the best quality of life in the region, safety aside.

Perhaps other readers of this thread don't share your value system and would find "worth" teaching in other African countries. Rather than placing your subjective values on a topic why don't you try to be more objective and leave the decision to the decision makers.

@Overhere

Those other contributors are welcome and encouraged to provide their feedback, experiences, views and opinions as am I. We need more voices and contributors to the membership, not fewer.

I agree, and if you read my previous post I didn't say don't post.

@Overhere

I dont have an obligation to be objective, and I see nothing wrong with being subjective, or even highly subjective.

ISR should keep a scoreboard for how quickly it takes a thread about African schools to degenerate into a discussion about the availability of AK-47s. Amusing reading as always.

I have friends who have lived and worked in Ethiopia and Cameroon, both as teachers and in other roles. DM me on Twitter if you want to be put in touch with them to ask some questions via email: https://twitter.com/kayakthekwanza

It's not solely about the ability to obtain an AK-47, it's about all the other stuff I've already mentioned. It's a fact that crime is high, it costs a ton to leave the place and HIV affects a large amount of the population. It's a fact the internet is slow or doesn't work. It's a fact the water isn't safe to drink.

For all those hardships, you'd expect to be paid a lot more than you can get in other places. But aside from one or two schools, that doesn't happen.

There's not much to argue with joe30's objective statement on the HIV infection rates and slow internet. Easily verifiable. As MamfeMan says, flight costs are a little different for a hub like Addis compared to Cameroon, but yea, Cameroon's an expensive place to fly out of. Also agree that crime rates are high by West European standards in both locations (another measurable criteria). I guess where we disagree is when you state that "it's obvious both countries absolutely suck, and taking a job there is for the insane only." I necessarily don't see any of the above stated issues as impediments to me enjoying working in Ethiopia or Cameroon. As MamfeMan said, "If you want good Internet, cheap cereal, steady power supplies, and water you can drink straight from the tap, you might want to consider Colorado."

Based on discussion so far, looks as though joe30 would be willing to work with these stated hardships for a significantly higher base salary. Psyguy would be willing to work with them based on some vague ranking of quality of life which seems to put a high value on the ability to go on safari (and which sees Cape Town and Joburg come out on top - "safety aside"). I guess you'd have to place safety aside given that crime rates in both these cities are much higher than in Cameroon or Ethiopia.

There are many reasons to live and work in Sub-Saharan Africa. Financial compensation and going on safari are certainly two, but that's not an exhaustive list. Good to see some positive comments on here from ISR members with actual experience of living and working in Africa.

While I haven't lived in Africa, I have traveled there. Someone once said to me that Africa either gets into your blood or it doesn't. It did for me--I would absolutely teach in the places we visited--Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa--and from what I have read and seen, a bunch of other countries. I'd be a bit more hesitant with West Africa, but that is more about being unfamiliar with it. A friend loved Ethiopia, so it would probably be on my list, and I have non-teaching friends in Kenya who absolutely love it.

Someone we met on our travels also said you have to understand TIE--This Is Africa--and be willing to roll with it. Well, that seems accurate. When the power goes out, you enjoy your neighbours or nature or a board game at home or a date with your SO or reading a book. That doesn't sound so bad.

So it comes down to preferences in work environment, what you're willing to live with, sense of adventure, and quite frankly, preference. My gut would probably prefer Ethiopia to Cameroon, but my research would probably lead me to Cameroon (on first glance).

Good luck in choosing, and like with ANY school in ANY location, do your research!

Thank you Ozymnds24.

The thing is though, aside from a few schools (i.e. I can count them on one hand) you don't get the financial compensation for putting up with these hardships. Schools that pay a lot of money: LIS Angola, AIS Lagos...where else? Maybe IST if you're really going to push it.

The rest of them pay somewhere between $30-$40k, which isn't nearly enough to put up with all the awfulness of the region, especially when the exact same money could be had elsewhere.

It's like all those crap Middle East schools paying between $30-40k. No one should considerer working there for that sort of money, which is why the only schools worth considering in that region are the likes of AS Dubai and Aramco. Because why subject yourself to a hardship, when you can get the same or similar money elsewhere?

There is no utopia. Everywhere has its downside.

I enjoyed my time in Africa, however.