Job Discussion Forums

[lugubregondola]

[Jmbf]

Might be quite interesting to start a salary poll over in the China forum.

My thoughts? Basically most teachers in university positions plus anyone working outside the main tier 1 cities are most likely earning less than 10K RMB / month. I would guess this would encompass a very significant % of the English teachers in China.

[lugubregondola]

Most people on those kinds of salaries are also doing privates to double their income i believe. They work 15 hours a week for 7k and make 10k in privates. Without doing privates you wouldn't be able to save anything.

[Jmbf]

Good point about taking on private lessons. Yes, many teachers will supplement their incomes with private students. But taking on enough students to earn 10K RMB? Certainly it's possible for the motivated and those in the right location, but I don't think that applies to a lot of teachers in China. Many teachers are not in a good location to find private students, some are wary of breaking the no-teaching-on-the-side rule (or work in places that seriously discourage such activities), some don't have what it takes to develop the reputation needed to build up a decent student base, many are simply too lazy.

10K RMB means 10 students at 250 RMB (I'm averaging here) per hour on a steady weekly basis. It's impossible to come by reliable figures but I remember a thread in a China forum a while back where most posters who had taken on private work indicated that they had between 2-5 steady private students. Only a very few had taken on more than that.

[Kowloon]

I know this is an old thread but the absolute nonsense in here

People seem unable to grasp the fact that unless you are living/have lived and worked in a place then you're really just speculating. I read up on Japan loads before when I was considering there, I also used to teach in Korea 6 years back...but I'm not plunging into either of those forums dishing out advice

10k HKD for a studio? Yeah in CWB for sure, more in mid-levels. My colleague lives in a 1.5 bedroom flat in Mong Kok for that exact price. It's not a walk-up (a term those already familiar with the HK property market will know), the amenities inside are modern although the bathroom could use an update and it is a 2 minute walk to Langham place and the MTR. For the same money you will get a larger place in the further reaches of the new territories. Great for people who work out that way or don't mind commuting.

Saving up to buy property in the South of England? You're working in TEFL! However if there is a place in the world you could do it as a TEFL teacher it's here. Banks with UK HQs (like Lloyds and HSBC) will give you a mortgage here of up to 5x your salary (combined salary if married). At the current starting salary on the NET scheme that would equate to about 300k GDP. A number of teachers on the NET scheme go down this route, buying property back home with mortgages secured in Hong Kong and renting them out to cover the rent. The Aussie SNET in my school has 9! He's 61. Has been here 11 years, is single and has built his entire retirement fund in that time. Will have a comfortable dotage now.

If you're single I can understand that maybe somewhere like Saudi where you are staying in a paid-for compound with things like a free cinema, gym etc. for entertainment is potentially a better deal financially at the end of two years. The jobs I see advertised there don't seem to offer a great salary but I'll assume there is much better available. However the sacrifice you'd be making between the two would be huge. If you're cohabiting and your partner also works full time then HK NET scheme is the best deal going.

[Jmbf]

Well said Kowloon! Good points all around. I'll only modify one of your statements slightly, if you're cohabiting then the best combination would be one partner working full-time in the NET scheme and the other tutoring privately. Best of both worlds.

[siologen]