The International Schools Review Forum

NOTICE:( PLEASE guys, I completely understand that this exercise is not without flaws, so with that in mind, if you think it's pointless then don't join the thread. I don't need people ruining it by picking at it's deficiencies - Let's keep it to those who want to join in and may get something from it. Thanks).

I thought it might be useful for us to pool our knowledge/experiences regarding NET salaries paid by individual schools, in different countries throughout the IS circuit, prior to the recruiting season.

Now, before anyone deems this a useless exercise as everything is subjective, all I want to achieve is to gain a ball park figure for individual countries regarding what is/is not an acceptable salary offered by schools based on cost of living. This is EXCLUSIVE of other benefits such as housing/flights/medical etc - let's assume usual benefits apply. I think the net figure will be more useful, though open to gross if this would be easier? For ease, let's use a regular teacher with 5-10yrs exp as a standard example.

For example if I was looking at an International School in Thailand and usual benefits were covered then I would consider anything under net 70,000 baht per month (1420 pounds) very low and possibly unacceptable. (Also, perhaps we should use dollars as this is the currency used by Search - or we could go with local currencies?).

Therefore acceptable salary range in Thailand might be something like 70,000bht - 120,000bht. between the tier 1 -2 schools. (again tiers are subjective and I don't want to venture there really). I suppose most figures will include the tier 1 to 2/3 schools

So, in summary, I'm looking simply at providing teachers with an idea of an acceptable net salary, where they can live comfortably and save some also. Any and all suggestions/improvements warmly welcomed. I understand this will not provide perfect salary advice to everyone but it may help us a little as we set of on our quest to dance with the good, the bad and the downright ugly! ^_^

Who wants to play? :

For Saigon

$40000pa for 12+ years (after tax) is about right for 4 or 5 of the best schools here.

Thanks dano, exactly the info. I'm looking for for this exercise.

Would you say that example covers T1 schools only, or T2 also? What I'm getting at is, what do you think is the cut-off amount where people would struggle to live comfortably AND save a decent amount ( say $1000 up per month)?

$30-40000 ? $40000-up ?

Cheers.

I would say that we (arguably of course) don't have T1 schools here, so $40000pa is for the top 4 or 5 (T2) schools in Saigon.

We are a teaching couple with 2 kids and can send $4000+/month home. However, we then use a lot of it for travel. So we could get away with $2000/month each with no saving. In a typical month $2000 gets us a nanny, all bills paid, going out (or getting takeaway) 3/4 times a week.

When we lived in Saigon, we earned around $30,000 US each. Couple, no kids. We traveled every holiday and didn't try to save. We did save 1 salary between us so could have saved a lot more if we tried.

Good post Yantantether. I hope it receives a lot of responses.

In my opinion:

Thailand-Bangkok: You wouldn't really want less than 80,000/month before tax, and the flights and accommodation would have to be covered. You'd generally hope for more than that though.

Thailand-Outside of Bangkok: 80,000 is good.

Qatar: Absolutely not less than 35,000 USD per year. 40,000-45,000 is more like it to start off with. No tax makes it a bit more appealing.

UAE: About the same as Qatar

dano – thanks for that detailed explanation, excellent stuff and very useful.

Aisha – would you say $30000 is the minimum figure a teacher should consider in Vietnam? How long ago was that?

Inman – thanks, glad you find the topic useful.

Agree about Thailand (the figure I gave was after tax and assumes housing etc. is provided).

I’m personally interested in ME figures, so really useful examples there for me and others.

Thanks guys and keep them coming.

Jakarta, Indonesia most half decent tier 2 schools offer upwards of $3000 a month after tax for a qualified teacher.

Schools like BIS and JIS offer more and much better benefits. You can find BIS' pay scale and benefits on their website.

You could live very well on less than $30,000 in Saigon. Most of our single friends saved half their salary. Some teachers did tutoring and just lived on that and sent home all their salary.

We mainly shopped in supermarkets but the markets are very cheap, we just didn't live close to one. We took taxis everywhere but you could chose to ride a motorbike. We didn't eat out loads but eating out is cheap in Saigon. This was 2 years ago.

In the UAE, I think you need to have housing paid for you. $35,000 plus housing is just about okay.

The Bahamas is very expensive and although there are loads of islands to visit, traveling to them is very expensive. Getting to the nearest island from Nassau was $100 by boat. Rent is expensive and you have to drive as public transport is limited. It is better for couples without kids and $40,000 each or more is required to live. If you eat out a lot then you need even more money in order to save. You can do tutoring there as well.

Aisha,
Thanks for your breakdown of some costs to consider, very useful.

Out of interest, how did you find the Vietnamese? I've heard some negatives from people who have been/lived there. (On saying that, I've heard opposing opinions too).

THis is my 2nd year in CHina. I make about 30,000 rmb before taxes. I have to pay my daughter's health insurance,utilities, an ayi and language tutor for my daughter. We order out 2-3 times a week and travel every holiday. I also use taxis to get around. I could easily save 1/2 my salary if I wanted to. Shanghai is getting more expensive though. :)

That's a nice salary Meghan. May I ask what tax you pay? Also, any developments on the 'new' tax everyone has been worried about?

Thanks.

I found the Vietnamese wonderful. I have heard that it is not so in Hanoi from teachers who have worked in both places. I have not been to Hanoi.

Our landlord took us out with his whole family when we first moved into his place. That included his parents, his wife's parents and then their brothers and sisters. And when we moved out they took us out again. I love the Vietnamese.

A great topic for a Sticky!

I agree with the salary ranges for Bangkok.

Thanks aridion.

It's actually now one of the featured articles. Go onto the homepage and click on 'articles and info' . Scroll down 'This month's featured articles' and it's titled 'Can I Really Live On That Salary?

Much more feedback/info. there.