Hi. This is mainly for you EF teachers out there (in Indonesia I mean). I used to teach ESL at EF English First Jayapura. Did you know that EF Jayapura teachers have been underpaid? Here are the ironies:
- EF Jayapura charges a minimum of IDR 1,500,000 per semester. That's 3 times Java rates.
- EF Jayapura expat teachers earn 5 million a month, while its local teachers make 2 million max. That's half of what the average EF school in Java is paying its expats and national teachers.
- The cost of living in Jayapura is twice that of Java. Sometimes even more.
Sure, we're making more than what teachers in general are making, but whatever happens to EF standard of salary? I thought this was a franchise business. Surely there is a salary margin that license holders have to follow....
So, tell me what you think folks.
This seems slightly harsh considering that EF Jayapura is one of the few EF schools that provide accommodation. Nobody teaches English to become rich in Indonesia but I do agree that the wages fail to keep up with the local prices. Last year there was a roughly 33% universal local hike in prices and this started to make the salary feel increasingly inadequate. I'm not sure if there has been an adjustment but if I were to re-start with EF Jayapura I would want a condition in my contract where I would get a pay rise proportional to the local cost of living, should there be a change. The rise was because of an increase in the cost of fuel although I would bet that there wasn't a drop in prices when fuel prices went back down again.
Papua is a third world province and the cost of some western luxuries are inflated. If you can 'rough it' then it's not so bad - you could even save a few juta (million), if you need to rely on a few too many 'home comforts' then your wages will burn out within a week or two.
Looking at what other EFs are offering at the start of 2009 I personally feel that a reasonable wage for Jayapura would be 6.5/7 juta/month + accommodation; I think new teachers are being offered about 1 juta less than that. I'd also strongly recommend taking a six month contact as a number of teachers haven't adapted well to life in Papua and have broken contract. If you're happy then you can always negotiate to take the terms of the one year deal after about 3/4 months.
I left with some 'management issues' regarding my severance - I quit 3 months into a one year contract and felt the 'fees' demanded were, in some instances, unfair and disproportionate to the amount paid - my main issue was that they waited until the last day before attempting to address my concerns and by that time I'd wound myself up to the extent that it was affecting my sleeping, my teaching and my personal life. Had this been addressed a few weeks previous I would have been happier - it would have given space for negotiation - so instead of leaving smoothly (I gave my notice well in advance and left for entirely external reasons) it ended up in a storm.
All things considered I'd love to go back and teach at EF Jayapura again, it was fun. Sure, the house wasn't the nicest place but I hear the teachers are about to move. The school is amazingly well resourced and the teachers space is mutually very supportive. Like all EFs it's a business that works as a franchise so has a ruthless side. The DoS doesn't just direct studies but is also a mediator with the director and owner so as much as the DoS might be someone you like or dislike there will always be a feeling of staring daggers in the direction of the office even if it's really about a decision that was 'voiced' from elsewhere.
Jayapura itself is a strange city. It's like an attempt to clone a Javanese city in the rainforest. Although it is certainly rough around the corners there's an amazing culture that is accessible from Jayapura and if that's what you want to experience then working for EF Jayapura is a good step towards doing that. It wont make you rich and you'll probably need some savings for the first couple of months, you might be shocked by a few things (electricity is unreliable and gas refills are sometimes not available) which is probably why they advertise for 'adventurous' teachers. Overall if you're still thinking about it then go for it, if the above has scared you away then too bad. It's fun, but it's not for everyone.
