Job Discussion Forums

[bluetortilla]

I've heard from a couple of people offers of 3k-4k USD per month teaching in China. More like 4k RMB isn't it? Well, not quit that cheap unless you're in Yunnan or something. Anyway, it seems that 10k RMB for a grueling schedule was the best I was seeing when I was looking for a job. I settled for 6500 and my sanity.
3k USD sounds way too good to be true. Does everyone in Shanghai and Beijing make 10 times as much as everyone else? How much do Chinese professors make (I'm assuming that 3k USD would require a PhD)? Doesn't make sense unless your a foreign corporate employee.

Wat up with it?

[shadowrider]

Joint programs and subject-matter teachers can earn maybe 10 to 15K per month (or more?). That's what I'm seeing. But these positions are requiring a Subject-Field Master's Degree of some sort...

[Opiate]

That kind of money is not terribly difficult to make with minimal quals. It will require work though and a good attitude. Consistency is difficult to achieve but not always desirable. A burned out teacher is useless.

I, like the OP, chose a lesser salary and sanity. I could work 40ish hours a week if I look very hard and get lucky with schedules. At 120 an hour (which is on the low side) that would be over 19k RMB a month.

There are other ways.

An acquaintance teaches only private classes to little kids....he's making over 30k a month. (supposedly)

Granted, if you have the qualifications a 16 hour work week for the same money is obviously a better deal but most of us do not and the jobs are quite limited. Also, a 16 hour week at many high end schools quickly becomes 40+ hours of work and meetings and prep and bullshit.

[naturegirl321]

[bluetortilla]

[MisterButtkins]

While some people on this forum would have you believe otherwise, in my experience salaries of 10k or less are far, far more common than higher salaries. If you have a normal bachelor's degree (no teaching certification or master's) 10k is a perfectly normal salary. I would even say a good salary.

[naturegirl321]

[johntpartee]

[naturegirl321]

[creztor]

One job advert doesn't mean they are all like that. I know this has been said above, but the high paying jobs are not the norm. I looked long and hard when I was considering moving from Taiwan to China, and all the absolute best I saw was around 10k in a language mill working all day, probably six days a week. University gigs were all around 4k - 6k, but you did have plenty of spare time. I am sure there are universities that offer high pay, but they are the exception and the competition would no doubt be high.

[naturegirl321]

I totally agree. I never said they're all like that. Most aren't. There are probably less than a dozen which are like that and they all require you to have enough qualifications, experience, and willingness to work hard.

12 hours a week for 6000 rmb or 40 hours a week for 20K ish rmb. Per hour, the first one is better. Moneywise, the second. Keep in mind that many people who go to China aren't going for the money, but to have more free time, write a book, study Chinese, experience another culture, work overseas, etc. Some are older and have savings or a pension, so money's not an issue. I wish it weren't for me, but money IS important to me right now. I've done the working for slave wages for years. I don't want to anymore.

Did you check the link I posted above that lists the places that DO pay well? And yes, competition is high, but so are the requirements.

[therock]

[creztor]

naturegirl321, apologies if my post came off as it was targeted at you. I just meant to say that these high paying jobs aren't the norm, and getting them can be very competitive. Occasionally on forums people make it seem like high paying jobs are a cinch to get, when the dribble they are spouting is so far removed from the truth it is not funny. Best of luck with your new work. It sounds like you have landed something terrific.

[bluetortilla]

[therock]