Job Discussion Forums

[Non Sequitur]

I wonder if the move to exclusively fulltime was a market maturity issue?
With the BC opening in Wuhan they now have the right number of BC 'hubs' to run fulltimers?
Given the limited options for FTs to move from teaching to something else, while remaining in China, IELTS examining should remain in the frame, even though it seems to be repetitive and boring.

[shawadywady]

[Non Sequitur]

WOW!
That's interesting and a possibility I hadn't remotely thought of.
I suppose it is a market maturity thing in a sense that 'cowboy' doesn't hack it any more.
Best
NS

[theoriginalprankster]

[Volver]

I also walked and just like The Original Prankster, it was the best decision I have made in a very long time. Many, many people did and a lot of others left after the first year. Here's why:

Met up with a buddy who went with the BC and got the full scoop. First of all, the lying bast**ds, aka the BC, repeatedly told everyone they would be making up to ¥50K per month. My buddy and his fellow examiners don't even come close to that. Then you have to back out taxes and the ¥8500 he pays each month for a not very nice apartment in BJ. OUCH! No flight or any other real perks worth a darn plus a really cr*ppy life spent on trains and planes all over northern China. He also has to pay for school for his kid. Bottom line is that he is hoping to just break even at the end of each month!!!!! What kind of a life is that, especially if you have to live here?

Just for comparison purposes, I now net far more than I did working for the BC part-time and a uni as a regular job. I teach at an international (in name only) high school and do side work. I'm also working fewer hours when you factor in the travel time I had to do with the BC. Why anybody goes with IELTS is truly beyond me.

I will give the BC credit for one thing and I think another poster alluded to it. They did not waste an opportunity to screw over their employees. They may have gotten bit in the behind by the changes they were forced to make, but it is the examiners who ultimately paid.

V

[bograt]

[Volver]

It wasn't my intention to criticize my buddy since all the other examiners are in the same boat. I don't agree with his choice, but it is his life. The point is that given how the job is structured along with the cost of living in BJ, living a decent life and/or saving money is difficult - especially if you have a family. A single person could do just OK (assuming you can stand the boredom and live like a pauper), but there are way better jobs (from a savings standpoint) out there for the taking.

As for the BC "promising" 50K, get real. They are experts when it comes to screwing their employees and would never guarantee such a thing or put it in writing. As you said, they claimed you could make 50K depending on your availability, how much you worked, blah, blah, blah. None of it was ever put in writing, but they never missed a chance to spin that yarn. I was there, I heard it multiple times, and it just sounded too good to be true. More than a few people saw through their BS immediately.

V

[auchtermuchty]

[slapntickle]

[bograt]

Sounds about right to me. The BC and their Australian equivalent IDP are way overrated. The have a monopoly on IELTS and operate arrogantly. The market should be opened up to other competitors, but the authorities aren't gonna make this easy because there are too many vested interests at stake.

Yeah, it's all the fault of the corporations man, etc...

That aside, working for both the BC and IDP will not make you rich.

Depends on how high you climb.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/17/british-council-censured-executive-pay-topping-pm-salary-without-signoff

The only reason to do this kind of work is to supplement another regular income.

Exactly, if it's a part time job, why should it make you rich? If you do it full time in China you can make a lot more than the average salary advertised for English teaching.


The work itself is mind numbing, especially marking the scripts.

Agreed but when you get proficient enough to mark a script in 5 minutes,
the hourly rate looks pretty good. It also involves no preparation/class room management etc....

You will also never be treated as a member of the BC.

You aren't a member of the BC, so why should you be treated like one? If you were asked to submit to the kind of checks/procedures full time employees of the BC are, such as job plans, line management meetings, appraisals etc... you would probably be the first one to come on here and complain about it.

You will always just be a guest on a casual contract and will often be made to feel like you unwelcome.

Don't know the details but this usually boils down to language/cultural differences and young staff working at low wages. Or someone feeling a bit entitled

The BC is an incestuous old boys club

I hear this a lot. Usually from people who don't work for them. They have pretty strict procedures in place to avoid nepotism in recruitment and a well-defined complaints system to follow up on grievances.


Just for the record I don't work for them full time but have been an IELTS tester with them for 13 years. Yes, it's been mostly monumentally dull work but I've had no complaints from the admin staff and have made enough on examining alone to buy a house outright in the UK. So no complaints from me.

[slapntickle]

[bograt]

[Non Sequitur]

'They have a monopoly on IELTS'
If I owned something I'd sure as hell want a monopoly on it!
IELTS is owned by 3 partner orgs including BC. As it (BC) is on the ground in many places as part of the British diplomatic representation* it follows that they will be the test deliverer in many cities including Chinese.
It is my understanding that BC have recently gone to full time employment of examiners with Z visas as the Chinese government frowned on casual peole using L (tourist) visas to work as examiners. I expect the turnover is too high to employ these people as permanent staffers and demand for testing is variable.
BC do a lot of stuff other than IELTS delivery and these include touring art exhibitions, ballet, music.
* includes Consulate, BC and Trade promotion.
I think that a couple of years examining would put you in good stead to apply for permanent BC positions as 'in country hires'.

[slapntickle]

[bograt]