Job Discussion Forums

[JZer]

I am just curious. There are some jobs posted that pay 4000RMB a month. What kind of people take those jobs?

[Javelin of Radiance]

Any of the following: Newbies to China, people with 0 experience, people with no qualifications, people who aren't strapped for cash, those who are not native speakers of English, and people who are in it for the short term. Many people here start out with jobs that pay 4000 or thereabouts. Of course there are other considerations.

[Shroob]

[choudoufu]

people who have retired. they want to enjoy china, and find it
easier to stay long-term with a work visa. they're not worried
about saving money or paying off student loans. their salary is
to be spent in-country for fun and travel (minus about 1000 rmb
per month in living expenses).

missionaries who are on a mission from god. they either see
the low salary as some kind of penance, or they receive some
support from their parish/church back home.

some people want to volunteer, but don't want to pay the
(sometimes) thousands of $$$ in agency fees.

others will take a lower-paying position because they look at the
entire package, not just the salary. i'd work for 4000 with ten
hours in kunming. i'dn't work for 10000 with 15 hours in beijing.

[therock]

Peope who justify the low salary by saying the work load is low and the cost of living in low. Then when others mention they are on a better deal, they accuse them of "upping their own superior situation".

[Javelin of Radiance]

therock - Low salary = low workload. High salary = heavy workload. Too difficult for you to comprehend?

Here's a tip: low salary earners (people under 5000) pay almost no taxes or no taxes at all. Those same people often take on part time work that can effectively double their salary. Part time work is usually cash in hand and not taxed. See where I'm going with this?

[Denim-Maniac]

I have a low-paying salary. Its actually a little lower than the figure quoted in the original post too, and I dont mind admitting that either.

Its for many of the reasons already mentioned, which include location, hours, convenience and type of teaching. All the salaries here are pretty low, and as far as I am aware, I havent met another teacher in my location (Yangshuo and Guilin) who is bringing home significantly more than I do, especially per hour. The headline grabbing salary figure is rarely the whole story. I agree, I would be stupid accepting my job if every other school in the area paid double, but they dont.

If anyone can find me a job that is not in a city...not even a small city, Teaching nothing but adults in small classes during daytime and weekdays only, with a southern climate, minimal pollution issues, with free accomodation two minutes from my employer Ill look at it. Unfortunately these jobs dont seem to exist in too many places.

I am tempted to apply for Wall Street....Ive been interested in them for a long time, but the hours are roughly double, the work hours are significantly less convenient, and the commute time is multiplied by 25 I think. And Ill be in a big city which is definitely not my preference.

Im tempted to start a thread asking 'what kind of person takes these high salary jobs with less than favourable conditions?'

Amongst my current colleagues, we have two MA Ed holders. One lady into her third years contract, two into the second yearly contract and Im also on my second contract here. Although they are not here now, we also have a couple who come here every winter and I think (should they return) next winter will be their 8th contract here.

PS - Ive an English related BA, Trinity, 6 years of experience (both China and Europe) .... just in case anyone does have a job that meets my specifications mentioned earlier in this post

[TexasHighway]

Javelin of Radiance wrote:

[therock]

[MisterButtkins]

[choudoufu]

and those of you with real degrees surely must have taken a few
hours of economics. (i don't mean the 'home' type.)

so what if local salaries have gone up?
so what if inflation is up?
so what if peanut butter costs more?

that has nothing to do with your salary.

it has everything to do with how many teaching positions are available,
how many qualified-ish applicants are available, and the perceived
value of your services.

supply, meet demand.

[MisterButtkins]

[yamahuh]

All preferences aside - looking purely at the number of positions advertised at any one time - what percentage of total available jobs would you say are in the 4,000 (or less) to 7,000 range - what percentage in the 7,000 to 10,000 range and what percentage in the over 10,000 range outside of major urban centres (read relatively high cost of living urban centres) such as Beijing / Shanghai / Guangzhou / Shenzhen etc?

Just to be clear; I am talking earnings per month not including airfare reimbursement, apartment subsidy, utilities coverage or end of contract bonuses...

[therock]

[dean_a_jones]

Probably because the government has done things like raised the minimum wage for those at the very bottom of the pile.

I would like to think that any teacher who was earning minimum wage when such increases occured also reaped the benefits of a pay rise.

For example: