Job Discussion Forums

[overhere]

Have an offer from a small private school in Yinchuan...terms of contract 6500 RMB for 20 hours a week teaching plus 5 or 6 hours "management and consulting" duities..standard apartment and airfare provisions....Does this offer sound reasonable?

The owner seems nice enough...they have 5 or 6 FTs on staff...they are looking to expand to a nearby city..The owner seems interested in attracting and keeping good FTs...wants me to advise them as part of my consulting duties on how to do that (I have a background in HR).

How is Yinchuan? is it affordable? does it have an ex pat community? also I am partial to american fast food so any KFC or Mcdonalds in Yinchuan?

will be interested in your feedback. Thank You

[Opiate]

65RMB an hour. I sure hope it's a good job or there are other benefits I don't see...the salary seems low. Money isn't everything but it sure is important to most folks. Scratch those '5 or 6' vague hours off the contract and you are approaching what seems to be the norm for Uni gigs. How much paid vacation time will you have?

Speak to some of the other FT's there, ask about the city/school.

Can't offer you any info on that city I am afraid.

Good luck.

Also, as a side note...be careful about expressing opinions and 'advising'. It's often a can of worms. Things you are used to and things that work well back home will not always fly over here. Not sure how much time you have spent in China so perhaps you already understand this.

[Simon in Suzhou]

6500 is not bad for that part of China. The cost of living will be less than the cities in the east, and there won't be a lot to do to spend your money anyway. You'd have to be a HEAVY drinker not to be able to save half your salary (or more) there. I imagine that if you're willing to go to Yinchuan, you're not in the rat race anyway.

I spent a couple days in Yinchuan. I found it pleasant enough. It's very dry, quite a few chinese muslims and mosques. Definitely KFC there. I'm not sure about McDonald's but I would imagine so. It's big enough of a city to have supermarkets with some western food. Just know that you'll be pretty isolated there. You could head north and see the sand dunes and high grasslands of Inner Mongolia, or take a LONG train ride to Xi'an, but otherwise to get away you'll be flying which is not so cheap from Yinchuan.

[Baozi man]

Rip off. Management and consulting? Just more of your time wasted. 18 teaching hours/week without the extra hours is OK. Don't believe what he says. Your suggestions may be interpreted as criticisms. He "seems" nice enough? So did Sandusky!

[Non Sequitur]

I would also query the paid holiday conditions. At a uni you will get 5 paid weeks off at Chinese NY and perhaps some payment for the summer holiday if you re sign for another year.
On the face of it a uni gig would give less hours - 16 to 18 - each 45 mins, without the vague admin hours.
The pay is better, but not wildly so, than unis these days - which would be 5000-5500pm.
Are they 'clock' hours or 'teaching' hours.
If you're teaching across a lot of age groups or ability levels I'd query the amount of lesson prep time.
Old timers have a lot of this stuff built up over their careers. When you're starting out it can be a grind.

[Insideman]

Sounds like a standard contract for the Aston Language school. Could be wrong, but if it is..

Avoid.


I spent years working for Aston, quit in September. Won't ever ever recommend that school chain to anyone, not even a new teacher.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Too much time, too little pay.

Unless your qualifications are low (no degree, no experience) I'd look elsewhere.

This very board has job offers for much more money and much less hours.

Good luck.

[wuliuchiba]

I did a search and not much other info on this city on this site, at least nothing up to date. Anyone else have any other experience with this second-tier capitol?

Specifically, how's the pollution? Manageable for a northern city? I wouldn't expect too much given its relatively small size.

Weather? Cold winters might be a concern for me.

Western conveniences? I don't need too much, but I can't live on Chinese food every single day, so the ability to find a few non-Chinese restaurants to dine in on the weekends is a must. And no, I don't mean KFC. I know that Yinchuan has a KFC not just because I looked it up, but because every city in China has KFCs on every corner.

[Deats]

Unless you are getting 4 MONTHS holiday a year, forget it. Why would you work more hours for the same pay you get in a uni?

Questions it would be useful if you could answer:

Do you have a degree?
Any experience?
How old are you?
Why Yinchuan?

Is this the only job you have been offered or you just think it is a good job? I'd probably keep looking, unless there is something I don't know about.

If you want western conveniences, then why not head to the south - somewhere in Guangdong? Not too polluted with lots of cities that cater for westerners.

[Markness]

You can seriously make 2-3 times that much at a public school with paid holidays and only UP TO 15 teaching hours a week. Avoid that place, that is just a rip-off and an insult if it's the same offer 4/5 years later.

[wuliuchiba]

No, my offer is different from the poster from 4 years ago. It's a public school, 10-12 K per month, 20 classes a week, holidays paid, apartment, etc. I would be able to save easily on that salary in a province like that. My main concern is the environment -- I can't stand freezing winters and I wonder if pollution will be a big problem.

[Non Sequitur]

10-12K public school China - really?

[Deats]

5 months of sub zero temperatures. If you don't like the cold then why are you looking for jobs in that region?

[wuliuchiba]

No, that doesn't sound tolerable to me. I would think that close to Inner Mongolia would be great for the cultural experience, but not with those climate conditions.

I'll definitely give this one a pass.

I'm actually not sure if it's a public or private school, I just know that it's a high school. The salary seems very good for such a poor province.