Job Discussion Forums

[the dakota kid]

Yes, I have read the prior posts, but I was wondering someone else could give me a current report of what it is like to work for them? 26 forty minute classes per week, housing allowances, and a decent salary has been offered to me... but what is the catch?

Comments?

[rogerwilco]

[the dakota kid]

A decent salary is equivalent to an international school or between 4-5000 USD a month

[kimo50]

26 teaching sessions a week! Way too much IMHO. The salary had really better be 'decent.' 4-5000 for that amount of work (or any amount of work) is not decent.

[choudoufu]

25,000-30,000 rmb/month? plus housing?

[Qaaolchoura]

Wall Street, which has been a topic on the Chinese forums, offers about 2.500 USD/month (I forget the RMB and don't feel like looking it up again) for 30 teaching hours, and looking at the offered packages in China, it's the only one I'd been even slightly tempted by until now. I'd say the DiPont one is an excellent deal. In fact it's about what you'd make in the Gulf with a post-graduate degree and 5+ years' post-post-graduate experience.

So again: what's the catch? Personally, it sounds too good to be true, but then I know precious little about China. If I saw a job like that in Turkey, I'd assume it to be a scam, of some sort. Though China generally seems to pay slightly better than Turkey, that would still be my first thought.

What are your quals, if you don't mind me asking, that you're getting upwards of 36 USD/hour?

~Q

[mambawamba]

The money's good, the hours are bad and Dipont? Wouldn't touch them with a bargepole!

Know people here who've been involved with them, and they have had mulitple problems, mainly shonky visas and being shunted from centre to centre with no warning.

But the money's very good, what are you prepared to put up with? Your choice.

Mamba

[choudoufu]

[Phil 999]

I worked for Dipont.

I'd say no catch. Good money, especially if you haven't been in China for long. No problems with Visa for me and housing eventually was provided and was fine.

If you are serious about teaching and can get along with people you will fit in well with Dipont. They do have fairly rigid expectations about professionalism but if you want to improve your teaching then go for it. If not you'll probably be pulling your hair out or get laid off after a few weeks/months. I'd really recommend them for the up and coming enthusiastic teacher who wants to learn new, tricks and learn how to organize themselves as teachers.

Also they give pay rises every year. The scale of pay is, I imagine, as good as any International school.

[SledgeCleaver]

Not sure if I should make a new thread or just resurrect this one - anyone have up-to-date information about Dipont? The salaries they offer seem quite good, would like to know about their management practices and so on. I've heard there's high turnover, however they also seem to be growing. The salary one of their recruiters was mentioning (for subject teachers) was mid-to-high 20s before taxes, plus insurance, housing, and flight.

[El Macho]

They were offering two flights/year, last I heard.

It can be an OK gig, but if you're at a center that DiPont runs (rather than a center to which they 'consult') you'll have to put up with more bureaucracy and longer days.

The pay can be good, but it's by no means the best. If you're a certified subject teacher with experience, you should also be looking at other international schools. I left for a better paying job.

That being said, if you're just getting your feet wet in China, there are certainly worse places to get a start. I didn't know anyone in the system who had problems with visas or being paid, and the insurance will pay for treatment at some (but not all) expat clinics.

[SledgeCleaver]

Thanks for replying Macho. I've heard they ask for a lot of work (26 hours on contract) and have strong requirements about when you attend, tutoring and marking and the like. I'm not against the work, actually what you said about the health insurance sounds more worrisome, but maybe that's how it is with most insurance plans. I'd imagine if your job is in a bigger city (Nanjing, Shanghai), then a choice of clinics is not the biggest deal, but if you're in a provinicial city, I'm thinking that if I found a good clinic/doctor that I really liked, I wouldn't want to go elsewhere for insurance reasons. They claimed it was "international insurance for expats" or whatever, just hard to figure out exactly what that means or if it's going to get the service you hope for. I'm young and reasonably healthy, but I do have a couple issues for which I need ongoing care.

Good to know that they generally have their act together though.

[Big Worm]

I know several people who work for dipont. They all like it. It ain't no babysittin' job. Lots of work for good money. If you want to leave the world of 'I pretend to teach, they pretend to learn' you should grab this. They do expect you to be a real teacher tho.

[LPKSA]

[El Macho]

If you're at a DiPont center, they expect 40+ hours a week of you being at school, either in class or at your desk. You won't have to be there quite as long as Chinese teachers are, but it's not a huge difference either. Generally, it's better to get a school that isn't directly administered by the DiPont headquarters. They don't necessarily require this.

Don't misunderstand me about the insurance; it pays for good places, but it won't pay for some of the very expensive clinics like United Family in BJ/SH. I didn't feel that it was lacking…but it isn't quite the same sort of insurance you'd get at, say Harrow, SAS, or WAB. I know of teachers who had serious health problems and were very well taken care of.

As others have mentioned, it is "real" teaching, and for the most part your colleagues will be real teachers. A position with them certainly is a step up from the typical English teacher gig, but it's also not the be-all-end-all.

If you'd like more info or have specific questions, PM me.