Job Discussion Forums

marymarywuwhereareyou · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Posts: 7

Hi Everyone,

I�d love some advice and insights from the experts on what to expect and ask for when applying to teach English at Chinese universities. For reference, I am a 24 year old Chinese-American (currently in the US) with tutoring and part-time teaching experience. Also, I have a BA from Yale in history.

I had been having a lot of difficulties with recruiting companies (they would tell me about job openings but not send me contracts, or send me draft contracts as examples of what I can expect and then not follow-up with me), so I decided to go the low-pay route and apply to universities. I figured they would be more honest and offer medical coverage Smile

. I applied to several universities this weekend, and received a positive response (�we welcome you to teach with us�) from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics almost immediately. Nanjing is my first choice city, so I'm really excited about the offer, however they haven�t mentioned anything about a contract.

I have emails from them on their salary (3,000 yuan RMB) and benefits, and the contact person has offered to send me(through postal mail) "accreditted unit visa inform list and foreign expert certificate" if I find their terms agreeable.

Long question short�is this common practice for Chinese universities?
Is this a legitimate job offer or just a cattle call, where I'll have to fight 100 other teachers for 2 job openings once I'm in China?

I've gone through such a roller coaster of emotions with the recruiting companies, so I really don't want to get my hopes up unless this is legitimate.

Sorry for the long post! I�d really appreciate any advice or info on my situation!

Best,
Mary

Taiping04 · Joined: 27 May 2004 Posts: 188 Location: East of Aden

Hi Mary
I'd say its a real offer. There's a whole swag of Jiangsu Unis recruiting, and offering 3000 a month doesn't make for a lot of competition. Having a quick look at www.chinatefl.com , some of the offers outside of Nanjing, eg Wuxi, look better, but if money isn't your main concern, then this one could be for you.
Just two points. Do they know you are Chinese American? If so, fine. If not, they may change their attitude when they find out. Cruel but true. Secondly, what medical cover do they offer? A lot of places will just give bandaids and aspirin at the school clinic, but that's all.
Good Luck.

anthyp · Joined: 16 Apr 2004 Posts: 1320 Location: Chicago, IL USA

Yeah, I'd recommend checking out that website as well. It sounds like a legitimate job, but really, you could do much better than 3000 Yuan a month! And not a whole lot worse.

I don't know what they are offering to send you through the mail. I believe you can only receive your FE certificate after you've arrived in China.

They will most likely send you a letter of invitation that you can show at your embassy to prove you've been offered employment in the PRC. But shop around before deciding on any school!

Laoshi1950 · Joined: 22 May 2004 Posts: 198 Location: Australia

Hi Mary!

I agree with the other posters about your salary offer. RMB3000 a month is a rather low offer for Nanjing. You can ceratinly do much better than that in other universities or public schools here in China.

Then there are the private schools to consider as well - they pay more money, but in return, you have to work much longer hours, and they are sometimes unreliable and haphazard in their treatment of their foreign teachers.

osakaittome · Joined: 30 May 2004 Posts: 5

Hi Mary,

I was offered a job at the same university. They seemed okay to me but, and this is a but, they offered more money than that. About 1000RMB Evil or Very Mad

. I think you should try asking them for a little more cash. China seems like it is a bit desperate for teachers, with your qualifications you should be able to have some influence over the contract terms.

Cheers and good luck!

marymarywuwhereareyou · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Posts: 7

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the good advice. Aside from the pay, I�m really happy with the school and I�m 95% ready to stop looking for other jobs because I have my heart set on teaching at a Nanjing University (I was actually born in Nanjing, and my family moved to the US when I was 4 years old).

Osakaittome, I appreciate the inside scoop. Are they sending you any contract information? I�ve been emailing back and forth with Yu Tingting, and she is only sending me an invitation letter.

I�m going to call them tonight, and try to negotiate for a higher salary. I have had two other offers from other schools with higher salaries, but I really want to be in Nanjing so I�m a little hesitant to rock the boat.
Also, I wonder if they�re offering me less money because I�m of Asian descent....
Well, wish me luck tonight, and any tips on negotiating for a higher salary is appreciated.

nomadic · Joined: 14 Feb 2004 Posts: 118

Hi Mary,

Just curious how it worked out for you... I was looking into Nanjing as well, and NUA&A was one of the Unis I was most interested in. And, coincidentally, greetings from New Haven. Smile

Cheers,
- nomadic

stavrogin2001 · Joined: 06 May 2004 Posts: 92 Location: Liaoning

Just a quick note, I think that it is better to not sign a contract until you arrive at the school. This will give you leverage, not the school. If you arrive at the school and see that things are not as they were presented in the emails sent previously there is no obligation to stay on at the school. I can tell you that finding work in Nanjing is not too difficult, online there is not much, but once on the ground there are a lot of opportunities. I had a friend that worked at Nanjing Forestry University and he had more opportunities to work on the side then there were hours in the day.

This asside, the school has to at least show you a copy of the contract before you leave the States.