Job Discussion Forums

[Bat_Guano]

Private School in Beijing

* 15 class hours per week in our Elementary program plus two evenings a week (2 hours each evening) at one of our Early learning Centers
* You will be assigned two classes between Kindergarden and eighth grade which you will stay with for the entire year (ie, homeroom teacher), plus one class at one of our early learning centers
* No more than 15 students in each class
* M-F work schedule - Teachers teach only from 8-11:30 OR 1-4:30 at the elementary school, plus four hours per week at one of our training centers (22 teaching hours in total)
* Teachers are fully supported and trained

Min. Req:

* Bachelor's Degree
* North American Accent (we use an American method)
* A teaching certificate OR
* At least two years relevant teaching experience

Pay and Benefits

* 7,750 RMB / month, 1000 RMB bonus with a Master's or two years ESL teaching experience
*Flight reimbursement up to $850 (USD)
* RMB 2250 travel allowance for Spring Festival
* Health Insurance provided
* Furnished Western-style apartment (including utilities)
* Transportation to / from work each day
* Paid holidays includinng one month durinng Spring Festival

The school is CardenChina... a search of this forum brought up one thread inquiring for opinions/reviews or info, posted roughly three years ago (there were no replies.

www.cardenchina.com


Anybody know anything about the school? If they are not lying / misrepresenting about the hours, RMB 8750 for 22 hours M-F + apt with utilities paid sounds pretty reasonable to me. I know the salary could be considered slightly low for beijing (then again fat_chris posted that gig offering 3700 yuan a month... WTF? In Beijing? Seriously???)

Any thoughts? This one doesn't seem nearly as easy to pick apart as the last one I posted, unless someone has the goods on the school and they ain't that pretty at all (free Warren Zevon plug there).

PS: I added the (22 hours per week total) myself... apparently they can't add too well, which could be a bit worrisome (or more so) 'cos 3.5 hours x 5 days is surely 17.5 (not 15), plus four hours is 21.5... and I know they haven't been explicit about actual working hours required, just teaching hours... so more information is definitely needed.

[muffintop]

Without nitpicking small details the salary seems OK but I don't know how far that will get you in Beijing. You mentioned this yourself.

I would certainly ask about travel time to/from work and summer holidays.

You know the drill....get in contact with at least one current teacher. Ask the school for an email or qq number or anything just be sure you eventually get them on the phone.

[zactherat]

the thing is with first tier cities: yes, you can live fine on 1000 yuan per week (after your apt is taken care of) if you really want to stick to wet markets and noodle shops, but the problem is that you are surrounded by temptations, and scores of people rich enough to be enjoying them - this kind of perspective doesn't exactly favor job satisfaction or a general feeling of fulfillment. I've done the first tier city thing. A lot of money slipped through my fingers and although I had a lot of fun, I became increasingly bitter towards people saying I was 'just' a teacher, and didn't have a proper job. It's no fun being at the bottom of the food chain.

If you're looking at under 10k per month, I'd recommend looking at tier 2 and 3 cities.

[fat_chris]

[mnguy29]

I agree completely with zac!!

[JZer]

[GreatApe]

I agree with the comments about temptation, cost of living and expense when it comes to calculating how much (or how little) you really make living and working in China or how much you could save in Beijing.

Personally, I've never worked in Beijing, but I don't think I would accept the contract in the OP because the salary's too low, IMO. I worked in Huizhou, Guangdong in 2010 at a Language Mill and made 6,500 RMB at a job with similar hourly requirements and basically the same qualification demands.

I cannot imagine anyone could save money living and working in Beijing on 7,500 RMB a month. I don't think I could do it in Shenzhen ... I KNOW I couldn't do it in Hong Kong. And neither of those cities is Beijing. I may be wrong, but I think it would be extremely difficult.

--GA