Job Discussion Forums

[thunder_god]

Is it better to apply to work at a university for teaching jobs or is it better to work at these private centers? Browsing some job postings it seems the universities pay much lower compared to these private companies, however they provide free furnished apartments and you work less hours. For someone with around 40k in student loans and hoping to pay that off as quickly as possible so that they can start saving up and investing that money, would it make more sense to apply to work at these private teaching jobs working 35-40hrs a week instead of the 16-18hrs at the universities?

[Simon in Suzhou]

Depends on the kind of personality you have. Are you a go-getter? If so, you may find it more lucrative to take a university job and set up private lessons on the side. (Note: To do this, you need to be living in a big city where the wealthy students live. Many universities SAY they are in a city, but are actually out in the middle of nowhere hours from the downtown area. Always confirm a university's location before taking a job).

If you are a person who doesn't want to scramble for side work and likes a more stable schedule, a private institute may be better for you. With the high hours, however, you probably won't have the time or energy to make any more money outside your contracted salary.

To be honest, to pay off 40k in student loans quickly China is probably not the best destination. I would look into another prominent Asian country which cannot be named on this forum.

[thunder_god]

[Non Sequitur]

The free housing jobs are usually uni FT gigs at 5-6k pm, or international school jobs at 25k pm, but for which you need teacher registration from your home country.
In my exp it will take the first semester to get used to life in PRC no matter whether you are working at a uni or a training centre/language mill.
If you can get a uni job at this late stage I recommend this route as generally it has the least downside and - again generally, you can locate current or former teachers to talk to.
When you've got the main teaching task under control walk into a local Mom'nPop language school and ask about weekend work.
As to private company work I only ever got 2 hours pw at one of these.
I think fulltime jobs at private companies are scarce and sought after.
Look for Oral English jobs as there is little prep and no marking to eat into your privates time.

[JamesD]

Yeah, I hate it when oral time eats into my privates.

[doogsville]

Whatever route you take, don't plan on saving anything for the first six months to a year. So many people come on these boards with big plans, who really have no idea what it's like here. I'm not decrying you or them in any way, just giving some friendly advice. As others have said, if saving a lot of money is your gameplan, other countries are better for that. You'll be working long hard hours, but if that's what it takes... China is a place that will mess with your plans, and refuse to behave in a way that you are familiar with. Very little of your prior experience will prepare you for living and working here, you have to get used to it.

Similarly, there are people here in China who are saving a ton of money, if these boards are to be believed. It can be done, but it takes time and effort to work up to it. So much is dependant on location, and you have to make contacts, contacts contacts. That's true for the native Chinese as much as it is for foreigners here. As to the type of job, uni jobs are mostly daytime working with few hours, leaving weekends and evenings free, which are the prime times for teaching privates. Language mills work mostly weekends and evenings. It can be easier to pick up privates working at language mills though, as you'll make more contacts more quickly. There's no easy answer as to which is better.

No matter how much you believe you can live frugally and save most of your income, you should figure in the effect of being in an alien environment where anything you find comforting and familiar is going to come with a premium price tag. It's all very well to eat at the local noodle shack or dumpling dive most of the time, but every now and then you'll want to splurge, and the more you find yourself struggling here, the more splurging you'll do. Take the first six months just to ease in to living here and working out your gameplan from the front line, that way you'll avoid too many major disappointments.

[thunder_god]

[doogsville]

I don't know much about the situation in other countries, but I would suggest looking at the countries north and East of China (apparently we're not allowed to talk about the one beginning with K on the China board, though I can probably mention Japan), rather than south east Asia, where it can be even harder to save from what I've heard.

Yes, language mill is a term commonly used to describe private schools, due to their habit of grinding teachers down, I would guess. The big chains you mention are often franchises, and some of them are highly rated, though most of them are not. you'd just have to do the research. The best way, though it's not foolproof, is to get the contact details of current teachers and ask them what it's like. There are many more privately owned schools though, not just the big names. The problem is a lot of them are not licensed to employ foreigners, so they'll give you the 'come on a tourist visa' BS. Avoid at all costs. They also vary in terms of how they treat you, so again, speaking to current employees is your best bet. Any school that refuses to allow you to contact their teachers is a big no no anyway.

I worked for a school here in Zhuhai called TPR for a year and a half, before moving to a uni job. I'd read bad things about them on these boards before, so I avoided them until I was stuck and had no choice. They were actually okay. They gave me a shared apartment as soon as I arrived, got all my paperwork processed and did a good job of supporting me to find my feet and settle in to China. On the downside their attitude to education is less than stellar, their in it for the money. The training they gave us was minimal, more to promote the school and it's owner than to prepare you for the teaching. The classes were filled with kids of similar ages but wildly differing abilities, and the majority of the workload is on weekends, which can really tire you out.

I had a good time on balance though, and learned a lot about teaching in China which I've used to good effect in my university job.

Bottom line is though that EFL is not a great career choice for most people, and I've yet to meet anyone in person who's getting wealthy in any kind of serious way. If paying off your student loans is your priority, you may find easier ways to do it at home.

[thunder_god]

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

OP:

Do you happen to know if any of the public schools/universities hire teachers to start teaching besides September?

There are always openings at public universities and colleges in spring in the smaller cities. That's when the flakes bug out because they can't handle living abroad, can't teach, or both.

I suggest that you take a look at a LOT of job boards and agencies to see what is available. Look at Dave's ESL Cafe's job board. Subscribe to esljobs.com, and look at abroadchina.org. You'll get a good idea of what's available and turnover rate (at abroadchina.org).

I assume that you're in your home country. You'll get a lot of advice to avoid recruiters. If you manage to find an email address for a university FAO, your correspondence will probably be handled by a recruiter, not the FAO. This has been my experience and may not reflect that of others.

You say that you have no teaching experience, That will hamper your job search. If you do get a job despite your lack of experience, don't expect private students to come banging at your door. Your first private students will probably come through your FAO. If you're floundering in your university classes, you probably won't get many private students.

While having a white face and round eyes will get you a job in China, those assets won't assure you success once you arrive. It'll be up to you to create a good curriculum and classroom atmosphere, something that may take you a lot longer to achieve than you anticipate. On the other hand, I've seen people with dubious credentials walk right into a class room and do a splendid job starting on Day One. That may happen for you if you developed a sense of class room decorum while you were attending your university. (You'd be surprised at how many graduates never really paid attention to what their professors did in class).

Let's say that everything goes well for you upon arrival. You'll spend a lot of time developing your curriculum at first. That means that you probably won't really have much time for private students for a few months. It may take an entire semester before you get a connection to private work. There goes 25% of a two-year plan to strike it rich and pay off your debts.

You may discover that your school is a h3ll hole. That'll open up a whole new set of distractions from attaining your goal. You may even take a fancy to a local girl. That'll be another set of distractions.

Your posts indicate that you're a thinker and a planner. That's good. Some folks come to China with no plan and no clue. What you need to do is to read as much as you can in TEFL forums like this one and to look into actual jobs by reading contracts--- lots of them.

China is not the Land of Milk and Honey. There are pitfalls galore. The better armed you are against them before you arrive, the greater will be your chances for success.[/b]

[Non Sequitur]

[creeper1]

You can get a public school job in a big city such as Shenzhen or Beijing.

You are done by 4pm and have time available for privates.

Big pitfalls are large classes and a large amount of money needed to start up (housing isn't included)

Don't come to China without cash (many reasons)

[Deats]

[Non Sequitur]

I think Deats, with that number of privates you (and OP) would need a good cancellation policy or payment in advance. Say 3 months on a 'use 'em or lose'em' basis.
Also 'your place or mine' is important.
Unpaid commute time needs to be factored in to the overall return.
The advice not to expect to have privates in Semester One is sage.
If you teach Oral English, it may sound easy but I spent Semester One working out how to get everyone speaking and assessing their output. I have a recognised ESL qual, but even so it was difficult.
The Chinese school admin is quite happy to send you into class with no, or inadequate resources, but they expect proper assessment, which you should be able to defend when challenged.
I really do recommend to OP that you get a bog standard uni job to start with. That way you have a roof and some income. Access to subsidised dining halls is also a good way to economise. Just put your savings projections forward by 6-9 months.

[thunder_god]