Job Discussion Forums

[Angel.Ro]

Based on some friends that I have that work in the industy, I'd assume you probably make somewhere between 60-70k?

I don't have experience in China yet, but I've done a ton of research and asked a lot of questions and it seems like the most you can make with only a BA is about 35k usd a year - someone here correct me if I'm wrong because I could be way off. But is the move worth splitting your income in half? Tough to answer.

[mysterytrain]

[Spyro]

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

They [public schools] are sought after because the jobs are [b]stress free/relaxing and allow you the free time to pursue endeavors outside of work (such as writing, traveling or tutoring for more money).[/b]


Maybe you're right. There's more b*tching about the language mills and private schools than about the public high schools and universities. I wonder why so many people work for them if they're so horribly difficult to work for? Is it because unprepared newbies tend to jump into teaching with no prior experience, lured by the promise of a fat paycheck, and give no thought to the fact that there are very real goals to be met? Is it because the language mill teacher tends to be quite a bit younger than the average university teacher and has different expectations about what goes into working in a foreign country?

In cities where I've worked, I've noticed a REALLY high turnover in teachers at the language mills. I've always attributed that to age and inexperience.

[hdeth]

If you are working at a job with 16-20 teaching hours per week it is very unlikely you will earn much your first year in China. Maybe $1k USD. You will have a lot more vacation (at a uni, almost 4 months per year) and a lot more free time (you will be really bored by the end of the year), but you will not make anywhere near the same type of money.

As anywhere in the world, you would make the most money by running your own business, which is very difficult to do legally in china.

I enjoy the vacations. I've found a job that pays half-way decently and I still get a few months of vacation per year. I wouldn't go back to a professional job in the US. But that sort of thing isn't going to happen your first year.

[JohnE3294]

^ How long have you been in China for? And is 1k a month in China enough to live comfortably given their cost of living?

[Jmbf]

[hdeth]

[mw182006]

[jimpellow]

I came from a similar background as yours, OP, and personally I would have found it very hard to adjust to living on Chinese salaries. Luckily I had savings from my corporate slave life along with a 2-3k USD a month income stream from a mostly passive internet venture.

I never really dipped into my savings, but there were more months than I care to remember those first two years that I burned through my 8k Web salary as well as all of the Internet income. It surprisingly was not very hard and I lived in a Tier 2 city and had half my Western lifestyle subsidized by rich Chinese students who wanted a Western friend as a status symbol.

Imported beer, sushi outings, young money digging girlfriends, picking up restaurant tabs for fellow teachers who are skimping and scamming by, and the occasional hedonistic bender add up in China surprisingly quick.

So I applaud you for learning that being a corporate slave is no way to spend one's life. You realized it about 15 years before I did. At the same time, the benefits of a high income can become addictive.

I eventually learned over the last few years in China to have more self control as regarded my largely superficial lifestyle. To what extent you do not need these things, or how quickly you will be able to wean yourself off of these things I do not know.

So I would suggest that if you want to lead a Western lifestyle that you will either need to develop an Internet based income stream or do as was mentioned above and develop some kind of side venture.

Sorry to say, but teaching is still an hourly endeavor no matter how you spin it. Doing 16-20 hours a week during the days, and then privates at night does add up, but back to being a slave in a different form for a person coming from a background such as yours.

I actually think you might enjoy a chain like Wall Street. The $students$ would appreciate someone with your background and would very likely lead you to more lucrative non-teaching ventures outside of work. They offer part-time options with visas.

Finally as you probably know, you have to think about your exit strategy. Do you plan on being an ESL teacher for the next 40 years? Teaching can be a rewarding experience which is why I personally do it part time. But what if you want to switch careers again? Maybe back to finance but on better terms? Hard to use those 10 years of ESL in China as a bridge to other opportunities. Owning or being part of some kind of "side" business or venture will keep your marketability much higher and help to round out your business experience and acumen.

[Nano]

As someone with a degree in engineering, many people think I'm retarded for choosing teaching over an engineering job back in the West. Maybe they are partially right about that but I have worked a 8-5 for a little over a year and hated it. My paycheck here is obviously less than what I would make back home as an engineer but when you factor in expenses like my own apartment, food, transportation, I actually have more disposable income and free time. I am a math, science and business teacher that currently has a 12 hour work week and no office hours. I recommend finding subject teaching jobs are they generally pay way more than english due to less supply. An engineering job would require me to stay at the office all day but here I can teach and walk back to my apartment and do whatever I want. I'm also generally left alone here and am not constantly being bothered.

So all in all, my job here is better than a typical 9-5 back home in engineering but your attitude in a new environment is also crucial. If you are someone that can't flow through life and are constantly resisting change then maybe that alone will screw up your experience here. If not, then you can enjoy yourself here. In my opinion though, teaching ESL is not a lifelong career path but it is something new and fun to try for as long as you want.

[jimpellow]

I love Nano's advice above. I taught subjects for three years and have recommended that route for a fair share here.

To the OP, being a subject teacher usually will help one spend less as the campuses are rather remote and the teachers often live on campus. No nearby sushi shacks and nightclubs, expensive laundry services, or the ability to be have bar girl schuang fei's in your converted dorm room love pad. But personally a fair amount of teachers who do it feel like they are sort of isolated and missing out on the "excitiement" of living in China.

Anyways, the reason I did suggest this route for the OP is I think sooner, rather than later, he would get bored with the set-up. People drawn into finance, in my opinion, have a very different mindset than the average ESL teacher in China. He may have not been able to weather the slave game that financial firms play with younger employees, but I gander at the end of the day he is still subconsciously geared for a more "dynamic" day and driven for the "big hit".

[Jmbf]

Working long hours doesn't have to automatically equal drudgery. Especially if you work those hours under your own terms for decent pay. I do believe there is truth in the words written by another poster, if you put the same effort into your teaching career as you would do in a normal professional job, it is not too difficult to get yourself into a very decent position.

Anyways, some very good information in this thread - there is certainly a lot for the OP to consider carefully before committing to a life-changing decision.

[JohnE3294]

Thanks to everyone for all of the great responses - really enjoy reading through them.

With regards to being a subject teacher, do you need to be licensed teacher to teach anything other than English in China?

[jimpellow]