Job Discussion Forums

[F-Tvl]

Hello, I'm here to inquire this board's collective knowledge on the school DD Dragon (they may also be part of an agency called Dragon Recruiters).
I believe they are Taiwan based, but I have a job offer for their school in Shanghai.
Any personal experience or information involving this company would be greatly appreciated.
Some names associated with DD Dragon are Steven Molteno, Erica and Paul Gibson.

Thank you for your time.

[tofit]

Hey.

DD Dragon is actually one of the best organized schools I've worked for.
You might not have luck getting into the Shanghai school, its the best managed school by far because its managed by the owner.

The rural DD dragon schools are owned by Chinese people some who don't speak much English. Such was the case where I was. A friend of mine was required to work an extra 40 days to recieve his bonus at the end of the contract, and a months salary. I'm not sure how that worked, he was suppose to finish before spring festival but they made him hold out until after the vacation.

I've been around to many different schools since I've been here, and DD dragon was one of the best training schools I had. The Master lesson plan was well organized for the FT, and you could prepare your lesson in 15 minutes.

[F-Tvl]

Thanks for your input
I hate to shamelessly bump my topic up a bit buuuut...

[HunanForeignGuy]

Dear OP,

I am not 100% sure but you may wish to contact Babala on this Board. She may work for Dragon currently (and then again I may have the wrong company). If she does, you will find her very helpful for sure.


HFG

[Babala]

Sorry, not me I'm with Web International

[thehumanaught]

Hey, I worked at a DD franchise in Suzhou and agree with what was said above - it's super well organized. The Shanghai DD (as also mentioned) is managed by the founder/owner directly (he even does classes still! How's that for involved).

It was founded in Taiwan and by a Brit, so it has all sorts of quality over your standard Chinese-run language mill.

The only thing you need be careful about, particularly with the franchises is they're often not able to get visas for you - or at least not legit ones.

[Jared]

I heard they also have a location of DD Dragon English in Taizhou, Zhejiang. Does anyone know of that location? Well organized and such? Any comments at all about the Taizhou location? Thanks.

[sahilsondhi]

Hello everyone,

I have just begun the process of applying to schools in China. As you can imagine I am a bit lost in terms of which schools/sites/recruiters are reliable. Everyone is cautioning me about mitigating risks since there seems to be a huge variance in how ESL teachers are treated once on the ground.

I have received a response from DD Dragon so far. Any feedback on this school?

Also, I see that Babala works at Web International- how are your experiences there?

Ideally though, I am interested in working in Guangzhou. Please feel free to encourage or discourage this inclination based on your knowledge and experience. I would appreciate any guidance anyone may have! Thank you all in advance.

[eclipse12]

Anyone have any more recent information on this company? Are they a decent place to work for ?

They have some offers near hangzhou that I've been looking into.

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

[dantana]

Great to have this same subject as I'm negotiating with "DD Dragon Dawn International" in Cangzou. Has anyone in here heard anything about them? They seem very legit and reasonable, but I'm just being cautious like the rest here. They sent me the first copy of the contract and it seemed too vague and repeating duties without naming them. I told them I wasn't interested and now the owner seems to tell me that she is very flexible to change. They told me this contact is not theirs and just a copy from Shangai DD Dragon chain school there but I still don't know. This seems to be the only information on this forum about this school so far, and it seems a good place to teach after what I've read here....especially the part about being well organized. Basically the contract seems shitty but the personnel and the organization there looks good.

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[lucyjessica]

Hi Dantana,

Did you take a job with the school in Cangzhou? They are advertising now and I have been looking into a position there. Was wondering if could offer any advice?

Thank you

[ksmcqueen]

I've accepted a position in Cangzhou and I'll be going there in April. Is anyone else there or nearby? I chose the Cangzhou DD school because they seem very well-organized, legit, and actually helped me get my Z visa rather than suggesting I come on a tourist visa like some other schools I spoke with did.

[Diminishing]

[Gonzofiend]

Bump!

I see a ton of advertisements for this place on here, I was just wondering if anyone is currently working there and can comment on how it's going. I did a search and there are a wide range of opinions so anyone with any fresh input would be a great help.

Thank you!

Gonzofiend

[samhouston]

I see they have bumped the salary up a thousand to 9000rmb. When I was working there in 2008, I thought it wouldn't be a bad gig for 10k. Almost there. (Only one day off a week, which they don't tell you in the ad.) As with every job, and esp with these franchises, you can never tell if the job is going to be smooth or terrible until you get there because of the unknowns. Quality of housing, management, co-workers, roommates. Always a coin toss.