Job Discussion Forums

[LarssonCrew]

Shared apartment is a big no no.

I came to China with KidCastle[didn't know it was them] saying I'd live in a single apartment, and they put me in a shared apartment.

Not too far from school, IF on site accommodation no fees or utilities please, and another thing, this year I will negotiate with the university for external internet, the universities internal internet to which I connect is dire.

Free food or whatever, no thanks, although it doesn't harm. At a school I worked out I got a card and the canteen food was free, but fairly dire.

Long commutes is a nono unless I'm paid for those hours, funny how they don't like it.

Teaching plans every week, no.

Choice of what I can teach is something I like too.

I really like jobs that let you get on with it, if you mess up the student's tell them, if not, you're on your own. I like to just see my boss to pick up the cash.

[mcloo7]

[theoriginalprankster]

[Jellyfish666]

Kids!!

Any "up to..." salary!

Any job that promises work visas for people with no degrees.

Any job in a small city!

[mnguy29]

Too many expats? I would have to agree completely with this after my experience. I am in a great, southern city thats even relatively clean. However, there are far too many foreigners here for my liking. I have found that when this happens, they all tend to get attitudes about anyone who is not from THEIR country and are not very friendly. I was in a different city for two years before this, not clean, not very nice. However, I had great friends there from all over, Europe, Canada, and USA. I also had many more Chinese friends there. I would opt for the latter, if I had to choose between.

I also agree with no children under 14.

[Nkengaola]

I'm probably a weirdo (wait, I'm teaching English in China, of course I am), but don't mind split two days off, I don't mind teaching kids (although I prefer middle school), and I don't mind a shared apartment (then again I have a pretty cool roommate).

My non-starters would be:
*big cities - more than 5 million people
*less than 8,000 RMB per month
*more than 25 classes a week
*only Oral English classes
*only one day off a week
*kindergarten (ugh!)
*required office hours
*no other expats in the area

[Toast]

[LarssonCrew]

Office hours can be a killer, if you do 8 office hours a week, you're losing AT LEAST potentially 8*150 = 1200 a week in wages you could make elsewhere.

So you'd be better asking for no office hours and a little less salary

[davelister]

12k+
Proper work visa and RP
No kids below university age
No huge cities so polluted yer gotsta chew de air
Job ads wid terrible Engrish are a non-starter
Schools with really cheesy names are a non-starter
I'd never go through a recruiter
No cities with people spitting everywhere
Only kidding on the last one, but it would be nice

[muffintop]

Come works at Happy English!!!

[fat_chris]

[fat_chris]

[fat_chris]

[dean_a_jones]

So much posted here already make for great warning signs.

But if I took it all, or even most of it, into consideration, might not have landed on my feet where I did in a job I really do enjoy. Very hard to judge anything based on electricity bills or city size when it comes to job satisfaction.

Would say, with caution, that a lack of willingness to negotiate and/or send an incompetent person to the table/phone/net to lure you in. But again, in my case those doing the recruitment are far removed from those in charge of the academic side of things. So either way, you could be in for a unexpectedly bad/good time.

If the warning signs start to add up, pay heed. Would state that the obvious one is getting real paperwork, and is something I really do encourage. But came over (last minute, weeks into the semester) on a business visa way back when and had to do the HK run, which worked out. So even demanding that on such a thread seems disingenuous.

[creeper1]