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DCHun
Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 51
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 Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 5:15 am Post subject: |
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I didn't realize that the Working Permits/FEC's were approved/denied on a regional basis. What's a PSB?
Well, I guess it doesn't really matter whether it was an excuse or if it really is stricter there. I can deal with rejection...like RW said its a part of my job. But the lack of feedback makes it tough to gauge if I'm making progress or if I'm even moving in the right direction.
Thanks for the list of provinces to avoid. I'll probably have to expand my search and lower my expectations more. Actually the school I referenced was in Dalian, dunno if the rest of Liaoning is like that either. |
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DCHun
Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 51
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| Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 5:28 am Post subject: |
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| Non Sequitur wrote: |
'Look for 5-6000RMB less than 20 hours gigs in 2nd tier provincial centre public unis and vocationals.
Get that 1st job out of the way and then you can look at moving up or getting out'.
The above from a previous post of mine.
If you are not 'Mr 5 years experience. Blonde blue-eyed, Native speaker and recommended by a current teacher' then don't put in too many up front conditions ie '10K in central Shanghai or nothin'.
That said all recruitment advertising is a wish list.
Schools are not yet desperate to fill their quotas and in my exp they will only give up on the ideal candidate much later ie end June.
Also remember, the FAO isn't working for you. He's working for some faceless supremo whom you would never see who doesn't want his school to be in the situation of wheedling with the PSB and losing face as a result.
This place is feudal! |
Haha, yes my expectations have already been lowered a lot since I started my search. Honestly, the salary is pretty far down on my list of priorities and I've pretty much given up on Shanghai/BJ for my first job.
Where are some places where the demand is higher for teachers...that aren't too far out in the boonies? |
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Non Sequitur
Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China
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| Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 7:17 am Post subject: |
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| DCHun wrote: |
I didn't realize that the Working Permits/FEC's were approved/denied on a regional basis. What's a PSB?
Well, I guess it doesn't really matter whether it was an excuse or if it really is stricter there. I can deal with rejection...like RW said its a part of my job. But the lack of feedback makes it tough to gauge if I'm making progress or if I'm even moving in the right direction.
Thanks for the list of provinces to avoid. I'll probably have to expand my search and lower my expectations more. Actually the school I referenced was in Dalian, dunno if the rest of Liaoning is like that either. |
I've worked in Dalian and it is the type of 2nd tier city you should go for, although it and nearby Qingdao (Shandong Prov), are probably more popular than their respective provincial capitals!
PSB is the Public Security Bureau and it has a hand in most things connected with foreigners.
At this stage your only defence is large numbers and you should have a lot of applications out there - not only responding to ads, but cold calls as well.
Draw up a list of 2nd tier provincial cities and look them up on Wikipedia.
On a side bar or text box you should see an entry 'Education'.
This should open to a list of tertiaries (not links though).
Google each college in turn with 'English' added to the search term.
If they have an English page it will come up and from there look for 'Employment' 'FAO' or similar.
You will likely hear nothing for a few weeks and then get action late June or early July.
Best
NS |
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it'snotmyfault
Joined: 14 May 2012
Posts: 527
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Non Sequitur
Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China
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| Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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Good resource.
Anyone who is 'off the beaten track' ethnicity-wise, or not from the golden 5 or 6 native speaker countries, should use the provincial lists and look for Western cities. These seem to have the hardest job getting teachers. Within that group go for 2nd tier cities and vocational colleges of around 10000 students.
All this with the customary 'This is China' caveat. |
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MisterButtkins
Joined: 03 Oct 2009
Posts: 1221
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| Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Where I live, in northeast China, they do not seem to apply the 2-year rule at all. However, it is cold in winter, and the bigger cities have some pollution. |
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DCHun
Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 51
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| Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 6:03 am Post subject: |
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| MisterButtkins wrote: |
| Where I live, in northeast China, they do not seem to apply the 2-year rule at all. However, it is cold in winter, and the bigger cities have some pollution. |
How far northeast are you? An FAO told me the Liaoning was getting stricter |
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DCHun
Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 51
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| Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 6:26 am Post subject: |
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Haha, that's the first time I've heard the phrase "off the beaten track" used to describe ethnicity.
Thanks for all of the tips guys. I got my first offer from a small school in Henan. That boost of confidence helps a lot. I'm gonna keep going and try to get a couple more offers to compare.
Anyone have experience living in Henan? Its in a small city close to Zhengzhou...heard the pollution there is pretty bad. |
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roadwalker
Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 1750
Location: Ch
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| Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 7:28 am Post subject: |
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Dirtguy and teachingld2004 are in Henan now. Look for their posts. I taught there years back. I loved the students there (most were farmers' kids) and liked the noodles. Pollution can be bad, depending on where you live. I didn't notice much, but that was years ago. The townies were mostly friendly but I got some deep stares at times. You'll be able to blend better, but probably within seconds of the first local to find out your secret identity, all will know everything about you, correct or incorrect. Smoke a lot, eat raw garlic and say "zhong" instead of "xing" (as in "xing bu xing" = "is that convenient for you?"), and you'll keep your cover longer.
If you are near Zhengzhou, you are reasonably near the new fast rail line(s) and the airport, in case the more rural aspects bore you into traveling to Beijing, Xi'an or elsewhere.
A small city in Henan might mean over 2 million people. It's the second or third most populous province in China. I've thought about returning to Henan many times. The pollution does worry me a bit, but it's only one factor. |
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MisterButtkins
Joined: 03 Oct 2009
Posts: 1221
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| Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 11:44 am Post subject: |
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| DCHun wrote: |
| MisterButtkins wrote: |
| Where I live, in northeast China, they do not seem to apply the 2-year rule at all. However, it is cold in winter, and the bigger cities have some pollution. |
How far northeast are you? An FAO told me the Liaoning was getting stricter |
Maybe they are getting stricter, but I worked in Shenyang about two years ago and half our teachers were fresh out of college, no teaching experience. This was at a first-tier university.
It would surprise me if everyone in Shenyang is now strict about the rule. A lot of people live up here and it's not a desirable work location for many. Dalian, maybe they can be strict. But Shenyang has a lot of people and a lot of colleges. I don't think they could be that picky and still fill the positions.
Oh, I also knew 2 British kids who were like 19 who worked in Shenyang at a private school. They only made like 4.5k/month but they did have residence permits. |
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MESL
Joined: 23 Aug 2003
Posts: 291
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| Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 1:58 am Post subject: |
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| DC Hun, I PMed you with several leads. |
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DirtGuy
Joined: 28 Dec 2004
Posts: 529
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| Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 8:32 am Post subject: |
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DCHun,
In what city is the uni?
I'm in a really small hick town in Henan Province and it is working out just fine. BJ is just 2.5 hours away so going there when I want to see something other than "salt-of-the-earth" types is easy. Friendly people here and a good soft landing for someone new to China.
Keep in mind that it's going to take you at least 6 months (and probably longer) just to figure out which way is up in this culture so having a low stress job is definitely a plus for your first year. My uni is the text book definition of low stress.
Remember that, as another poster pointed out, you have to look at the total package and not just the salary. I only get Y5K here yet I spend just 1/2 of it at most. Add in side work and it's really easy to be sending money back home every month.
DirtGuy |
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amisexy
Joined: 24 May 2012
Posts: 78
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| Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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Hey,
I am also looking for jobs at Chinese Universities starting this September. I'm also having trouble hearing back off universities. I've cast my net wide, but I'm not having any luck so far. (I'm British, have a CELTA and have some experience teaching in Europe)
Generally I am looking at cities with 5+ million people, on or near the coast, and between Beijing and Ningbo. (I think it's a very wide net including Qingdao, Tianjin, Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou and others).
Does anyone have any hints or leads as to where I could apply for jobs/ Make it more likely an FAO will reply?
Thanks. |
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Lloyduss
Joined: 20 May 2012
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 8:19 pm Post subject: |
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| amisexy wrote: |
Hey,
I am also looking for jobs at Chinese Universities starting this September. I'm also having trouble hearing back off universities. I've cast my net wide, but I'm not having any luck so far. (I'm British, have a CELTA and have some experience teaching in Europe)
Does anyone have any hints or leads as to where I could apply for jobs/ Make it more likely an FAO will reply?
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I'm in the same boat! I've applied to sooo many (52 universities) and have only heard from 4: two aren't taking teachers on and the other two haven't got back to me regarding an interview. I wonder if the grads in the UK and other countries have caught on regarding the university gigs and are flooding the market. |
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DCHun
Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 51
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| Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 5:10 am Post subject: |
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Roadwalker: That's interesting, I haven't heard the word "zhong" used like that, but I've heard the Henan dialect and its pretty similar to putonghua. A lot of places eat raw garlic though. 
Dirtguy: The city is Jiaozuo and has a pop. of 3.5 million. They retracted their offer...the FAO spoke to his boss and they needed someone "who has difference face-apperance,by which student know they're foreigners".  Oh well...
What do you think of Zhengzhou?
MisterButtkins: Thanks for the heads up. I've been trying hard for Dalian but I'll look for some in Shenyang too.
MESL: Thanks, I'll check those out. |
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