Job Discussion Forums

[sonnytron]

I'm getting really exhausted... Between the passport, medical check, TEFL certificate... I figured, okay that's on me. But now I have to pay for the visa and the flight and I'm feeling like, at this point, I'm worried about whether or not I can recoup this.

Can anyone here give me some motivation or advice? I'm running razor thin on my finances and my contract date was moved to October 1st. I'm waiting for the foreign affairs office to approve my documentation and they're going to send it to MyChinaVisa (I was fortunately able to pick the agency but I'm in Nashville which means I can't go to the embassy/consulate myself).

Right now, my grand total is: Passport $243 (Nashville doesn't have a passport office), $131 for medical check (Have no insurance), $49 for my TEFL certificate and now I'm going to have to pay $318 for my Visa and $589 for my plane ticket.

Is it normal for offers at Chinese public universities to not compensate for any of the initial costs? Supposedly I'll get a flight reimbursement in January during winter break, added to my winter break "go home and come back" bonus (round trip ticket plus half a month salary) but I'm worried about how much I have to drain myself to get there.

Also, my offer and I'd like feedback:
Tier 2 city in Jiangxi providence, public university, on campus apartment with refrigerator, washer, hot plate, television, desk, bed, couch, internet, electricity up to 300 rmb covered, 15 lessons/hours per week without office, weekends off, meal card option (I pay 300 rmb per month and can eat at the dining halls unlimited). 7000 rmb per month with up to 70% of my salary optional conversion to USD. Contract from 10/1 ~ 7/1. Also the winter break bonus and a contract completion bonus of a flight ticket plus one month salary but I can roll that into a regular bonus if I decide to sign on for another year.

[hdeth]

Do they pay you during winter break? If so, that's good for a first gig I would say. If not, It's OK. You probably won't be very far in the black after a year but if you're serious about teaching abroad it's a good first step. I paid quite a bit more than that and got paid less...maybe saved $2-3k my first year all told, if that, but I went to Thailand for a long vacation and went home so that ate up a lot. I'd say expense-wise you're doing quite a good job keeping costs down. Which company did you use for the tefl and how many hours?

I wouldn't count on the meal halls serving up decent enough food to bother about. My girlfriend and I spend about 2,500-3,000 per month for food and other sundries and live about the same lifestyle as I did in the US (just far less beef and a lot more pork/chicken, less cheese).

[sonnytron]

[hdeth]

It seems like you would earn more doing something related to software engineering in the US, but I'm sure you have your reasons.

The first few weeks at the Uni I worked at were basically wasted due to incredibly poor scheduling. They kept switching the students' classes so I ended up doing 4 weeks of intro classes. You will probably only have the students one class per week or once every two weeks so you're not missing that much time if that's the case. Even at the pretty desirable job I'm at in Beijing there are people starting a bit late due to visa issues. Not a big deal.

If you live at least somewhat frugally (eat at home or school most of the time or at local restaurants, don't hit the bars too heavily) you should meet your savings goals, or close to. 3,000 per month is probably more realistic. Plan for the worst and hope for the best and all that.

If you're working on some sort of start-up or making a new app or something it could be a pretty good way to go...lots and lots of spare time. Access to some online resources might be limited though.

"Isn't that bad" from a Chinese uni student may have a different meaning than you are thinking...300rmb per month seems far too low to be decent quality food. Bear in mind that if you're a meat-eater, meat here costs about the same or is more expensive than the US (except in a few cases). To reach 300rmb per month they are almost certainly going to have to add something to the meat to extend it. Depends what you're used to I guess. My school has decent food and we pay half of what the students pay. About 12-15rmb for an acceptable meal but most people get bored of it and want to cook for themselves after a month or two. Then again, most people here are a bit older and not used to eating in a cafeteria.

[sonnytron]

[Laurence]

[teenoso]

For Jiangxi, this offer sounds good - tier 2 city must be Nanchang , right? Or do you mean second-level city in Jiangxi , which could be Ganzhou, Ji'an, Juijiang.....
I spent a year in one of these , and had a reasonable time: it was very quiet, pretty undemanding, and the students were great; although I did have some issue with the FAO.

One of these cities would not a bad place to start your China teaching career, unless you are very sociable. Nanchang might be more lively. The FTs where I was used to travel to Metro supermarket in Nanchang just to get any decent western food (cheese etc)

I think Jiangxi colleges and unis have a really hard time finding 'western native speaker' teachers to fill their posts, which is probably why they are happy to delay the contract.

I agree with others who say don't come without an escape fund, not least because there might be a reason why you need suddenly to get home.

[buravirgil]

[Non Sequitur]

Couple of points:
Most unis have teacher dining halls as well as student. Food isn't that much different but very acceptable. Teacher halls are not usually open on weekends, so everyone goes to the student ones. Ask your students which hall they prefer to eat in if there is more than one.
All pre flight costs - visa etc are teacher responsibility. The one big cost after arriving is health insurance - say RMB1500 via PICC.
Apart from the fact that you have had no direct contact with school it seems pretty standard.
As to bankable funds? I never got into the black before well into my second semester. Buying extra bedding, utensils and a heater come to mind.

[sonnytron]

[sonnytron]

[Non Sequitur]

I think you are going about this the right way.
You have accepted that there are risks and that you can't cover them all.
Good about insurance and meal card. Not biggies but nice to have.
A caution though is to avoid screwing the Chinese too tight. They'll take it back with interest if they feel they've been done.
Best

[mattyko40]

So, you want to come to a foreign country which has had previous violent outbursts directed towards foreigners, and currently is in the midst of a possible economic meltdown while having no money in your pocket? If you do not have a minimum of a $1000 in cash and a credit card you really deserve anything the befalls you. There are so many things wrong with your thought process it's hard to comprehend. One thing you want to check is your healthcare and what it actually covers. At best most reimburse 90% of your expenses, so you may have to pay 8k rmb upfront if you have a broken bone. Do not think that it is socialized medicine. Oh and you might have to pay the Dr. another 10k bribe. Welcome to china This is all assuming that there isn't a riot like there was in Sichuan recently where they shut down communications. Good luck begging someone for money then. Don't worry these things only happen in the poorer provinces and you're going to .... oh Jiangxi. I could go on but hey have fun!

[sonnytron]

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]