Job Discussion Forums

MrWright · Joined: 27 Feb 2008 Posts: 167 Location: Arizona

Finally in China. Been here since late september. Hated it at first, and still not crazy in love, but it's growing on me. Here's my sitch. I don't know how good or bad I have it with nothing to compare, so I would appreciate anyone's insights. I teach 2-4 grade oral English at a private school in Shenzhen. I make 11,000, free apt, which is pretty spacious and well equipped, they feed me 5 days a week and the food is very good. Medical insurance is practically nonexistent, which is my biggest complaint. I teach 15 forty min classes a week, plus about 4 hours of English corner. Job is pretty easy, the school and kids like me and I like the school and kids back. Almost 3 months of vacation a year. I'm supposed to have office hours, but my contact teacher is a friend and way laid back, and he said I don't really need to go. So I work less than 20 hours a week total. I'm thinking this is pretty sweet, but maybe this is typical. Idk. I have a teaching license, so perhaps my options after this year will improve, but I'm digging the low stress and don't want to change that. I don't really like Shenzhen though. Where I'm at I can and do walk for days or weeks and never see a non Chinese face, and NOBODY speaks English here. It gets pretty lonely. So location is my other complaint. Other than that, I'm almost happy as a clam. Thoughts?

ESL104 · Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 108

When you say you have a teaching licence, do you mean you're qualified to teach in state schools in the West?

If so this is an absolutely awful deal you have and you should be shooting for 25k+ a month.

If by teaching licence you just mean some TEFL certificate, then it looks pretty good to me. 11,000 plus let's say 2500 for the apartment is 13500 a month. You say you get 3 months of (paid?) vacation a year and work about 20 hours, so that's 13500*12 = 162,000 RMB a year for 38*20 hours of work (760 hours). Which is over 200RMB per hour - not bad at all. It's essentially uni type hours but on 11,000 a month rather than 6,000.

MrWright · Joined: 27 Feb 2008 Posts: 167 Location: Arizona

Yes, I'm a certified teacher in the States. I taught high school History and Bio. 25+ huh? The thing is I don't want some high pressure, high stress job at an international school. I left America cuz I was sick of that. Are there any other situations where I could make better money but that isn't an intl school? I think I remember a convo on here about bridge schools or something. I don't know anything about them. Wondering what my options are here.

ben.detw · Joined: 14 Feb 2013 Posts: 41

I am in the same situation as you as far as being a certified teacher in America looking for a better job in China.

Where are these 25+ jobs? High school? Test Prep? International school?

Alien abductee · Joined: 08 Jun 2014 Posts: 527 Location: Kuala Lumpur

jm21 · Joined: 26 Feb 2008 Posts: 406

3701 W.119th · Joined: 26 Feb 2014 Posts: 386 Location: Central China

Yeah, sounds like a pretty good job actually. Great pay, given the hours. Apartment sounds nice. Rent in Shenzhen can be very expensive. I'm surprised you feel lonely there, in a proper Tier 1 city. Lots of English speakers. Have you started to learn Chinese?

25k+? You can take what people say about salary here with a pinch of salt.

ESL104 · Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 108