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Wiganesi
Joined: 02 Oct 2013
Posts: 46
Location: UK
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 Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 12:56 pm Post subject: |
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I'll bare that in mind! This was pretty much the best I found when I weighed everything in. Other Science teaching jobs I saw were more general- wanting me to be able to teach all 3 sciences AND maths up to A-Level for 16k. I was tempted but decided against it as it wouldn't be fair to the students to be taught maths by someone who is hopeless without a calculator!
I thought this would look pretty good on my CV too, and read up that 7500 will probably get me far in a city like Wuhan. Maybe if stay in China for another year after this I'll get a higher paid job. |
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twilothunder
Joined: 09 Dec 2011
Posts: 442
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| Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 2:14 pm Post subject: |
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If you are leaving Wigan to go to Wuhan, you'll never know you've left.
Whenever I type Wuhan into my phone, the autocorrect changes it to Wigan. |
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dean_a_jones
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 1151
Location: Wuhan, China
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| Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Javelin of Radiance wrote: |
| Frankly speaking teaching oral English is probably more draining and frustrating than any other subject (ESL is a subject in my book) because of the problems in getting students to participate. Any other subject can be taught in lecture format. If the classroom hours are the same and there isn't a lot more preparation involved I don't see too much wrong with this as a first job. |
I would agree with this, particularly if you don't hold actual teaching credentials for a job back home. Different strokes, of course, but the problem with oral English much of the time is class size + radically different abilities + unwillingness to participate. You have less of these problems with a taught subject. Also, if the 16 hours are correct, that is not really much of a workload--although the planning hours will probably be higher.
| Wiganesi wrote: |
| I thought this would look pretty good on my CV too, and read up that 7500 will probably get me far in a city like Wuhan. Maybe if stay in China for another year after this I'll get a higher paid job. |
It is not a bad salary--lots, if not most, university jobs here pay around 5,000. If you are also getting a good package (i.e. free apartment, no utilities etc.) then it should allow you to save quite a bit.
| Wiganesi wrote: |
| During my interview I was told that the University is a 50RMB taxi from Wuchang and Hankou which is decent I suppose. I'll clarify with a few questions before signing anyway. When I google mapped it it said like 50 minutes walk to Hankou, although I suppose the campus is all over the place. |
Also, just want to note that I am not familiar with this school, so my positives are about the general situation, not the specific job offer. The above sounds a bit ominous--Wuhan is quite big, and a 50RMB taxi drive tends to be a 30 minute taxi ride, which is pretty far. I would make sure you clear this kind of stuff up if you are thinking this will be a regular journey for work purposes. From the UK, 50RMB a pop for a taxi seems like a good deal. Once you get here and get adjusted to the cost of living (and want to try and save), spending on something like this will start to grate pretty fast. There is now a subway line that runs from Wuchang to Hankou, but that only helps if your start and end point are on the line or close to it. Really good bus coverage, but they are slow and horribly crowded most of the time. Traffic can be quite bad here, so you don't want to be running around the city or your commute might involve 1 or 2 hours each way.
If you wanted to know anything more about Wuhan, feel free to PM me. |
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Wiganesi
Joined: 02 Oct 2013
Posts: 46
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 12:59 am Post subject: |
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Thanks Dean, really surprised about the amount of info I'm getting here today!
I think my accommodation is on the campus near to where I'd be working. I was worrying about being so far from the centre more for social reasons. I suppose the plus side of being out the centre is maybe it could be less polluted and maybe even cheaper?
Are you in Wuhan? I have one or two questions for someone I can be assured has a neutral viewpoint and I can be sure isn't going to sugarcoat stuff to make me go!
On public transport- Does it run all night?
Are taxis in Wuhan easy to find in the early hours? Do they charge a much higher rate? |
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twilothunder
Joined: 09 Dec 2011
Posts: 442
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| Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 1:40 am Post subject: |
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| Wiganesi wrote: |
=
Are you in Wuhan? I have one or two questions for someone I can be assured has a neutral viewpoint and I can be sure isn't going to sugarcoat stuff to make me go!
On public transport- Does it run all night?
Are taxis in Wuhan easy to find in the early hours? Do they charge a much higher rate? |
No I'm not but I have friends there and have been a number of times.
All things are relative. There are a number of cities I would rather be in than Wuhan. Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou - all these cities are much nicer. The pollution can be pretty bad and it can be dusty due to construction. The locals can be ignorant, aggressive and rude - indeed they have this reputation amongst other Chinese and are not well liked (but they are 'respected' for being 'clever' businessmen - read into this what you will). The food is quite bad by Chinese standards. Hubei food is not one of the 'famous eight styles' and they just appear to drown every dish in chilli oil.
However, it is improving. I would still rather be in Wuhan than about 95% of other Chinese cities. The subway is cheap (2rmb) and now has two lines and appears to be being something of a 'civilising' effect on the feral locals (conductors do a reasonable job of enforcing behaviour). It stops around 11pm like in most Chinese cities. Plenty of Western supermarkets at least on the Hankou side of the river. Some western bars. Two really good clubs that have live music (mostly punk or djs playing minimal techno/electro) - this is at least much more than many places in China have. Taxis are easy-ish to find up to around 1am, so long as it's not raining. Probably charge more than daytime fare but not noticeably more. |
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hochhasd
Joined: 03 Jul 2008
Posts: 422
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| Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 2:46 am Post subject: |
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| Wiganesi wrote: |
Thanks Dean, really surprised about the amount of info I'm getting here today!
I think my accommodation is on the campus near to where I'd be working. I was worrying about being so far from the centre more for social reasons. I suppose the plus side of being out the centre is maybe it could be less polluted and maybe even cheaper?
Are you in Wuhan? I have one or two questions for someone I can be assured has a neutral viewpoint and I can be sure isn't going to sugarcoat stuff to make me go!
On public transport- Does it run all night?
Are taxis in Wuhan easy to find in the early hours? Do they charge a much higher rate? |
If you are living the same place a teacher lived that was teaching other than English, then you will be sharing an apt. I would check first.  |
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dean_a_jones
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 1151
Location: Wuhan, China
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| Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 3:49 am Post subject: |
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| Wiganesi wrote: |
Are you in Wuhan? I have one or two questions for someone I can be assured has a neutral viewpoint and I can be sure isn't going to sugarcoat stuff to make me go!
On public transport- Does it run all night?
Are taxis in Wuhan easy to find in the early hours? Do they charge a much higher rate? |
Yeah, I do live in Wuhan.
Transport shuts relatively early--many bus lines finish around 9pm, subway at 1030pm. So good for going out, but you need a taxi to get back. Getting at taxi is never a problem at any time in my experience, unless it is rush hour and raining. Late at night should be no problem, especially in areas where people tend to stay out late (i.e. with bars, clubs, KTV etc.) If you are only using them a couple times a week to go out, then not a problem. Also, there is plenty of stuff on both sides of the river in terms of entertainment.
| twilothunder wrote: |
| All things are relative. There are a number of cities I would rather be in than Wuhan. Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou - all these cities are much nicer. The pollution can be pretty bad and it can be dusty...locals can be ignorant, aggressive and rude...The food is quite bad by Chinese standards....However, it is improving. I would still rather be in Wuhan than about 95% of other Chinese cities. The subway is cheap (2rmb)...Plenty of Western supermarkets at least on the Hankou side of the river. Some western bars. Two really good clubs. |
Going to disagree on some of this--the pollution and construction (thus dust) are pretty bad here, but not really much worse than other cities I have been to. The weather (really hot in summer/cold in winter, short spring/autumn) can be rough for some, as is the fact that in winter everywhere inside is just as cold as outside as the buildings are not insulated and most public places (regular restaurants, schools etc.) don't run heating. So expect to be wearing layers/coats a lot--if you don't like the cold, going further north is actually better, as the situation indoors is more comfortable, despite it being colder outside.
I think the food here is great, although it does tend to be quite oily. But you can get around that by finding places you like that don't use so much. It is spicy, as the main influence on the cuisine here seems to come from Sichuan and Hunan. But Wuhan has one of the largest student populations in China (and the world) so there is plenty that caters to students from other regions (and countries). Most of the major universities are on the Wuchang side, and the high number of international students and foreign teachers does mean the availability of western amenities in this area (shopping, restaurants, bars) has improved quite a bit in the last 5 years. Couple that with taobao and you should not be wanting much.
The locals are generally quite loud and can be a bit uncouth by western norms--but I tend to find people here are generally quite friendly. A perk about living here is that there is not really much tourism, at least in terms of western visitors. Locals seem to know this, so in general you get treated like a resident who knows the basics, rather than as a tourist (i.e. someone ignorant who they try to rip off all the time).
There are plenty of downsides (traffic, construction, weather), though these are also found elsewhere. There are other things that people struggle with (Chinese customs/habits, other expats) though again this is usually the case wherever you go. Wuhan is certainly less international that Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou etc., and less developed than many other cities further east. It is coming up fast and ever changing, which you might love or hate. It lacks a bit of its own character, and lacks culture (particularly western culture, although my experience is that in other cities this is often a rip-off in terms of how much it costs). The expat scene is large enough that if you want company it is pretty easy to find. But you can also avoid it quite easily as well, and the large numbers of students everywhere means finding locals to hang out with is also pretty easy to do if you prefer that.
It is definitely not for everyone--thinking back to the UK, it is probably a bit like living in Birmingham, Leeds or Newcastle compared to London and perhaps Manchester these days. |
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twilothunder
Joined: 09 Dec 2011
Posts: 442
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dean_a_jones
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 1151
Location: Wuhan, China
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| Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 7:00 am Post subject: |
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Of course--though the pollution here has been particularly bad in the last few weeks, the air is never especially clean (though it can look that way). Am sure there are places with clean air somewhere in China--a quick glance through the website provided suggests they are a rarity. My point was that, in comparison to other places (including those you mentioned), the pollution here does not strike me as exceptionally bad. There are good days and bad, but in general the air quality sucks in Chinese cities. If clean air is what someone wants, I would suggest not coming to the country in the first place.
The government said recently that they will start reporting monthly on the most polluted and least polluted cities, but not sure when that is supposed to start. |
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Wiganesi
Joined: 02 Oct 2013
Posts: 46
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 10:18 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for your replies. I'm aware of the pollution problems in the big cities and will be taking whatever precautions I can. I think where the campus is might be a bit fresher anyway because it's not in the centre, although that could be an incredibly naive thing to say.
I got a lot of things cleared up from my email. I'll be living alone in my apartment which has two bedrooms which is pretty decent and 5 minutes walk from where I'll be working. Bills paid for.
She assures me we're not that far from the nightlife and good areas too. 40 mins bus apparently.
Although quite irritatingly, as I'll be there in summer, apparently in Hubei extra work is not allowed. Ever. They did mention something about getting me into the lab to collaborate with research so I hope they'll pay well for that!
Just waiting for some more things to be wrote into the contract then I'll be signing I suppose!
Thanks for your help! |
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dean_a_jones
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 1151
Location: Wuhan, China
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| Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 12:53 pm Post subject: |
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The SAFEA contract states extra work is with permission of your employer. Some (on here) have questioned whether even this is legal, or whether your visa only allows you to work for the sponsor. Whatever the case, usually no one usually cares unless it causes problems with your primary job.
Your school may put in your contract you are not supposed to work extra hours--in practice, in most cases the school will turn a blind eye (or be blind) to extra work as long as it does not interfere with your teaching duties. In the summer, this should not be a problem. Then there is tutoring etc. which is also common, and not usually considered an extra job (unlike, say, working for a private language school). So I would not worry about this too much--you will figure it all out once you get here, see what others are doing etc. |
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hochhasd
Joined: 03 Jul 2008
Posts: 422
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| Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Wiganesi wrote: |
Thanks for your replies. I'm aware of the pollution problems in the big cities and will be taking whatever precautions I can. I think where the campus is might be a bit fresher anyway because it's not in the centre, although that could be an incredibly naive thing to say.
I got a lot of things cleared up from my email. I'll be living alone in my apartment which has two bedrooms which is pretty decent and 5 minutes walk from where I'll be working. Bills paid for.
She assures me we're not that far from the nightlife and good areas too. 40 mins bus apparently.
Although quite irritatingly, as I'll be there in summer, apparently in Hubei extra work is not allowed. Ever. They did mention something about getting me into the lab to collaborate with research so I hope they'll pay well for that!
Just waiting for some more things to be wrote into the contract then I'll be signing I suppose!
Thanks for your help! |
If you have a two bedroom apt then it is the same on the Jiagnan campus in Wuxi. Is it part of the Lambton program? if it is then they may have changed things around since two years ago. Who is your FAO and his he/she working for North American college/ Lambton College on the Jiagnan campus in Wuxi? I would try to get a hold of a current teacher . |
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Wiganesi
Joined: 02 Oct 2013
Posts: 46
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 10:45 pm Post subject: |
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It's in the Wuhan main branch of Jianghan University. I'll be the first (and only) foreign teacher in the department so I don't think that's going to be possible!
I think that this lambton thing is a pure esl thing so it isn't the same. |
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teenoso
Joined: 18 Sep 2013
Posts: 365
Location: south china
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| Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| She assures me we're not that far from the nightlife and good areas too. 40 mins bus apparently. |
For me , that is too far, but it depends what's immediately around the campus. Nightlife is not important to me , but I would not want to endure a 40 mins bus ride to do some shopping or mooch around. Buses are often overcrowded, and sometimes not air-conditioned. 40 mins by bus may also be too long a journey for an ebike.
Otherwise this job sounds good. Will you be teaching postgrad students in biology? You may find their English speaking level is quite poor (although they can probably read and understand scientific papers in English). |
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Javelin of Radiance
Joined: 01 Jul 2009
Posts: 1187
Location: The West
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| Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2013 12:54 am Post subject: |
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| hochhasd wrote: |
| Wiganesi wrote: |
Thanks for your replies. I'm aware of the pollution problems in the big cities and will be taking whatever precautions I can. I think where the campus is might be a bit fresher anyway because it's not in the centre, although that could be an incredibly naive thing to say.
I got a lot of things cleared up from my email. I'll be living alone in my apartment which has two bedrooms which is pretty decent and 5 minutes walk from where I'll be working. Bills paid for.
She assures me we're not that far from the nightlife and good areas too. 40 mins bus apparently.
Although quite irritatingly, as I'll be there in summer, apparently in Hubei extra work is not allowed. Ever. They did mention something about getting me into the lab to collaborate with research so I hope they'll pay well for that!
Just waiting for some more things to be wrote into the contract then I'll be signing I suppose!
Thanks for your help! |
If you have a two bedroom apt then it is the same on the Jiagnan campus in Wuxi. Is it part of the Lambton program? if it is then they may have changed things around since two years ago. Who is your FAO and his he/she working for North American college/ Lambton College on the Jiagnan campus in Wuxi? I would try to get a hold of a current teacher . |
You are talking about a completely different university in a different province. He's going to Jianghan U. in Wuhan not Jiangnan U. in Wuxi. |
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