Job Discussion Forums

wiz07 · Joined: 23 Feb 2015 Posts: 14

I am looking to take gap year and going to China is a great prospect idea
however i'am sending at least 5-6 emails a day and no replies... is it because now is the wrong time to send CVs? or is it because i am mixed race (brown skin, i attached a picture of myself in my resume ) I was wondering if i should just turn up and find work by myself? i am looking to bring 8K RMB
(£800) i could take an internship but the programs costs a large fee.. experience could be great but i'am also looking to pay off my loans so that route is a no-no.

santi84 · Joined: 14 Mar 2008 Posts: 1317 Location: under da sea

Do you have any qualifications?

esl_prof · Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:04 pm Post subject:

If you haven't completed your BA yet, that would be part of the reason you're not likely getting any replies.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

esl_prof · Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:31 pm Post subject: Re: Unable to find work

santi84 · Joined: 14 Mar 2008 Posts: 1317 Location: under da sea

Lack · Joined: 10 Aug 2011 Posts: 252

Depends on what kind of jobs you are applying for, your appearance/race, and your qualifications. In that order.

happyinshangqiu · Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 12:39 am Post subject:

Also, it depends where you are applying, if you are applying to places in Beijing or Shanghai - it might be difficult without a degree.

I work in Henan and have worked with black teachers (who were very popular) in all the universities I have worked in. Even without a degree, I doubt you would have much of a problem getting work here but I doubt you have been applying to institutes around these parts.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Gap year-OP may simply be perceived as too young. Under 25 can be a red flag for prospective employers in many places.

dblkhqc · Joined: 26 Feb 2015 Posts: 34

It is sad that so many people accept and encourage this sort of thing - making teaching the default, "I can't get a job in my own home, so let's go overseas and teach"

Have some pride in what you do, my god.

wangdaning · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 3154

tomseslcafe · Joined: 25 Feb 2015 Posts: 17 Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Whatever you do don't come here (to China) without first finding a job. Things have gotten stricter lately. Many schools are insisting on teachers having a degree and a TEFL or CELTA. I must ask you some questions; how serious are you about teaching? Why do you want to come to China? If you want to be a teacher then why don't you slow down a little and do things the right way by getting some experience, a degree and a teaching certificate and learn at least a little of the language while you are at it, then you will certainly get some job offers. There are tons of jobs here. I have been here for two years, I am looking to teach in another country and I keep getting job offers in China even though my resume clearly states that I am looking for something in southeast Asia.

dblkhqc · Joined: 26 Feb 2015 Posts: 34

And yet the so-called senior members of the forum do nothing but spout off how ESL is NOT a career and how going abroad to teach is ignored by potential employers back home as experience in the job market. So, I'm at a loss to explain or understand the mindset here by Wangdaning.

Universities and colleges, even community colleges have job preparation and job seeking departments for their students. What's happening is people are doing nothing but going to university, mindlessly, smoking-it-up, partying till who knows when, with no concern of the future. There ARE jobs out there. The issue is that they new graduates all think they should get 6-figure jobs from the starting block rather than working through the rungs. So there they are, new graduate, unwillingness to go to a new state, unwilling to be a nobody, trying their best to put off loan repayment (the mindset that those loans were a gift and not a loan) any way they can. So, China, Korea, whatever, all become to home of the lazy. People have made it clear, ESL is not a career. Going to China for 1 or 2 years with the sad illusion that you can cash-in and then return home... well, that's simply unavoidably sad. I would venture that 98% or more of teachers (a.k.a Foreign Experts) here make in the area of $1000 - $1300 a month. This is half the poverty line from the U.S.

You'd make more at McDonalds, Taco Bell, etc.

People today are simply unwilling to do what it takes. Doing what it takes does not include, running away from home, hiding in some back home city in a back hole country, and enjoying that new-found fame of being a white-face-boy and all the social perks that seem to go along with it.

The great, great majority of folks that do this sort of thing are so far out of their element that it is hilarious. Hiding tattoos, hiding the drug and tobacco use, rejoicing in the flock of girls who hover around them. It's all a social experiment that has nothing to do with the reality of the situation.

While America is an economic ruin, there are jobs out there. Settling for China is hardly the answer.

wangdaning · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 3154

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Guys, if the OP is 19 or 20 as is possible for a gap-year student (gap before starting university) it's not about any of the above. It's about employers not wanting to be responsible for an underage kid abroad.