Job Discussion Forums

[kraggy]

Hey,

Contemplating a move to China from Korea.

Me:
34 years old
Certified Primary School Teacher
B.Ed in Primary School Teaching
1.5 years primary teaching experience in Ireland
1 year English teaching experience in Korea (mixture of elementary, middle school and after school program).

I would like a balance between decent money and a decent quality of life. Having lived in Seoul for the last 1.5 years, I'd like to live somewhere where it isn't just homogenous, concrete apartment blocks only.

I'm open to both small city or big city. As long as there is some variety in the surroundings when I look around. Also, being able to do activities such as playing soccer or other sports without having to get a train for an hour would be a big plus. The shortage of amenities in Seoul is ridiculous. Finally, easy access to scenery (within 3 hours), mountains, rivers or beaches would be a big plus.

So, I have some questions:

What cities would you recommend?
What salary could I expect in each city?
How much of that could I save monthly? I'm happy to eat cheaply as long as it's vegetarian and only have beers one night a week and drink in cheap bars.
Should I go to China and apply from there or apply from Korea?

While my degree is primary teaching, I'd be open to teaching any level.

Would I have any chance of getting an International School job?

Any advice at all would be great.

Thanks a lot.

[Non Sequitur]

Assuming you still have your Irish teacher registration I think an International School job is certainly feasible for you.

[kraggy]

Hey, thanks for quick reply.

Just edited my op to state that yes, I am still a certified teacher in Ireland. Are there international schools in all cities or just Shanghai and Beijing? Even though I'm open to living in those cities also.

When does the school year start in China and when would be a good time to apply? What's the best way to go about applying?

Thanks.

[doogsville]

What cities would you recommend? Zhuahi, where I live, it's very nice

What salary could I expect in each city? 6 to 12 K depending on the job.

How much of that could I save monthly? How long is a piece of string?

Should I go to China and apply from there or apply from Korea? Korea.

Zhuhai is on the coast, near Hong Kong and Macau, greener than most Chinese cities and has a lively expat scene should you want to hang out with other foriegners, or lots of other stuff to do if you don't.

There 's at least five universities, and a lot of kindergartens and language mills as well as two international schools.

How much you could save is entirely down to how much you want to save. You can live very cheaply here, or easily blow 10 to 12k a month.

[ecubyrd94]

I'd shoot for international schools. The hiring season is coming soon. The new school year/second semester starts late August, but most will be on vacation for 6-8 weeks prior to then and would want to have already hired a new teacher prior to the start of summer break.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Dalian, Changchun, Shenyang, Harbin, Qingdao... all have international schools.

Dalian and Qingdao by far the cleanest.

You will certainly be taking a salary decrease, a decrease in quality of life, a decrease in fellow westerners, and prices for western goods are about the same if not higher.

On the up side... someone help me out here.

[therock]

You don't have enough experience to be considered for international schools and besides if you are certified in Ireland that's going to be another negative as most internationals schools are American or British and want American or British trained teachers, or at least significant experience teaching their curriculum.

[therock]

[Non Sequitur]

American run Int School I know had Kiwis and Aussies on staff but didn't care for their accents. Americans also thought the only possible greeting a kid could ever want to use was 'Hi, how are yooo'.
Still the Kiwi I knew was getting way better dough than me as a humble FT.
On the negative she worked about a full school day and had all the parent/teacher stuff to contend with.
Registered teachers will be well used to that.
OP I'll PM you with the name of that school.

[therock]

But did the Kiwi or Aussie have a lot of experience? Taught a specialised subject which is hard to recruit for such as physics? Unfortunately for the OP, he / she is a primary school trained teacher without a lot of experience....very big difference!

[Non Sequitur]

Yes she was a 20+ year primary (grade) school veteran.
Her home country system meant she taught the same kids across all subjects.
Although I never discussed this specifically I feel her years of experience counted against her. 'There's one way and that's the American way' if you get my drift.
Having said that I agree that the OP's experience isn't great. But I would still encourage him/her to at least get into conversation with an Int School even if just for the hugely better conditions.
My friend could afford a housekeeper to clean and prepare meals on what she was getting.

[kraggy]

Hey again, thanks for the input.

I kind of reckoned myself that I wouldn't have enough experience for an international school. Also, after a hard year working 2 jobs in Korea, I could do with a less intense routine once I start working there.

On that note, I'm going to split this post into 2 sections, one for job related stuff and the other for travel in china.

A. Work
1. How do I go about getting a decent English teaching job? Do I go through a recruiter while I'm still in Korea or would there be an advantage to being in China when applying. I intend to do some travelling in China first then maybe base myself in a certain city and then go looking for jobs..

2. I know money varies hugely in China but if I could get some examples of typical salaries and what kind of jobs I could apply for in sample cities, that would be great.

3. How much of a salary in a given place could be saved (I know, piece of string etc but consider I'd eat cheap to moderately priced food and happy to drink in basic bars).

4. If apply while in China, do I have to leave the country and come back in to activate a visa before starting work like some folk in Korea do?

5. What are typical hours in various jobs, again the more examples the better.

6. Is it possible to to work casual jobs/short hours i.e. without having to commit to a year contract?

7. Again which cities would your recommend?


B. Traveling in China
As I said, I'm thinking of travelling around China for a 6 weeks or so before restarting work. I love scenery and places that are inexpensive. So far I've been looking at Guilin/Yangshuo and Lijiang/Tiger Leaping Gorge.

So,

1. Would 200 dollars per week be enough of a backpacking budget outside of Beijing and Shanghai? If not, how much would I need assuming staying in hostels etc.

2. What other places would you recommend? Think scenery.

3. Are trains generally packed? Are they expensive?

4. How much is a bottle of Tsingtao in a decent, non western bar in a 2nd or 3rd tier city? Ballpark.

5. Any suggested routes for a 6 week trip?


I realise that my questions are very particular and there's a lot to read, but if anyone could answer any of them it would be great.

[teachingld2004]

Look up the web site "tripadvisor". You can get alot of good information on there. Not sure what you are looking for, but I just love that site.

[JayCee86]

I have a quiet day today so will try to answer some of the questions

A. Work

1. The best way is through knowing someone, word of mouth etc. However, from abroad you can try your luck with interwebs.

2. The four main kind of jobs I can think of are -

Foundation Programme (at a school, college or uni)
Training Centre
Primary/Middle School
University

The first one would pay thhe most - some go into the 20,000+ range and nearly all are over 10,000.

Training Centres can have you working evenings and weekends (although someone will post saying how they work at a training centre and only teach Mon - Fri day time). Pay there would be around 10,000.

Primary/Middle School and University jobs generally have low hours and low pay but with accommodation and utilities. They can be as low as 3,000 and can get up to 5 figures.

3. Some people spend everything they get others claim to live off less than 50 kuai a day - every day. So you can save something between zero and 1,500 less than your salary each month.

I personally save and spend quite a bit (that includes accommodation).

4. Probably, I've no personal experience of that though.

5. Low hours can be 12 classes (not full hours) a week to 40 something 40 minute classes in a week. Average would be more like 20 classes a week of 45-50 minutes.

6. Yes but this is more of a secondary thing and not actually legal in most cases. Lots do it but, well see the crackdown thread. You're not likely to get a Z visa and (then) residence permit on a contract less than a year. You're probably not likely to get a contract for less than a year anyway.

7. Bigger cities have more job opportunities but "2nd Tier" ones can still pay decent wages whilst having a lower cost of living. The nicest cities that most people would like to live in can pay less and they know people want to live there - I am thinking of Qingdao and Xiamen, but also small places like Yangshuo. Other places are pleasant and out of the way so pay little - Kunming, Yunnan. I'd recommend not Beijing/Shanghai for your first taste of China though.

B. Travel

1. That would be about 170 RMB per day. If you stay in hostel dorms, eat at the cheapest restaurants and don't go to any sites that you have to pay for and if that doesn't include your transport costs of getting from one part of China to another, then yes, it's feasible. Entry to Zhangjiajie in Hunan is 200+ and the Stone Forest in Yunnan is around that too. Even Tiger Leaping Gorge's entry fee would be about half your daily allowance.

2. Tiger Leaping Gorge, plus most of Yunnan
Hunan countryside, e.g. Dehang - lush green terraced rice paddies plus Zhangjia jie
Yangshuo - big tourist place but it's for a reason, also you won't have as many language issues there.
Tibetan grasslands of Qinghai and south-west Gansu (Langmusi)
Inner Mongolian grasslands will be nice and green by now, and summer sees the Mongolian sports festival.
Canal towns of Jiangsu.
That's off the top of my head.

3. Yes they are packed, the cheaper the train/ticket the more packed generally. Not expensive if it's a slow train and especially not if you travel hard seat. If it's the super fast G Train then yes it's expensive.

4. Just because it's a non-western bar it doesn't mean it'll be cheap. Many 2nd tier city bars will happily charge 20 RMB (or more) for a small beer). If you want cheap beer drinking do it at a local restaurant where it won't cost much more than buying it from the shop.

5. If I had 6 weeks now I'd travel around Xinjiang, as it's the one province I've not visited. Failing that you could travel around south-west China - Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, & Guizhou, and possibly squeeze Hunan in. You could easily just spend those 6 weeks only in Yunnan - Xishuangbanna in the south, Kunming, Dali and around, Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Lugu Lake. As you have a small budget travelling around the same area would be better as then you don't eat too much into your budget with travel costs.

[Denim-Maniac]

Kraggy - if you travel to Yangshuo my employer is always looking for volunteers, that will reduce your hostel costs etc. They normally ask for a few hours of English corner / 1-1 type stuff a week (maybe 5 hours worth Im guessing) in return for free board and food. PM me if it sounds interesting....I dont know all the details of the volunteer program, but we have a lot of people using it for short term visits to Yangshuo.

Yangshuo is much cheaper than the poster above suggests. A 600ml local beer in a Western bar is 8 RMB here, or free with a 25 RMB chicken burger and fries meal deal. Your budget would be ample here I think!