Job Discussion Forums

[weigookin74]

So, I'm curious. If you're married to a Chinese, can you start your own English school? Also, I assume you can work for any place and quit frequently if you have the marriage visa. I know these are things that happen in SK; not sure how it applies locally in China.

[Fix]

I worked at Heidi for the summer of 2015 when off from the University I was working at in Dalian. It was pretty awesome. The three other foreign teachers are a good laugh and down to earth. Sure it’s a training school but you’re given a load of leeway in how you teach your classes. If you like kids, playing games and understand how things work in China you’ll find this the easiest job. You get paid a decent salary (for Dandong) while working very low hours. The cost of living in the city is quite low (much lower than in Dalian) so the lower salary makes sense. Traveling to and from Shenyang and Dalian was a tedious process. Having a place in Dalian I would go back and forth during time off some weeks and it was ~5 hours by bus one-way. However, the high-speed train to Dalian is supposed to be up and running by now, significantly reducing this time.

There aren’t any holidays in the summer so you don’t have to care about any activities. I guess the 2013 summer teacher was there for their anniversary celebration. 2015 wasn’t a landmark year for the school it seems so I didn’t have to do anything special other than teach. All jobs have their downsides and things you don’t really want to do. All/most training schools in China do these activities and they’re always badly organized so you can’t act surprised about it.

I think if you’re an experienced teacher you will find this job so easy you can relax and enjoy yourself. I’ve taught kids, in a University and professional adults in China so this job was a piece of cake. If you are an open and personable person then this school and city will be an awesome experience. You get to live in Dandong. This is the reason I took the job. Being right on the boarder you can explore and find some interesting things. The Korean food is pretty awesome in the city which is to be expected. Soju is cheap if you’re into that stuff. The river front is really nice at night and the people in the city rather than being suspicious of foreigners are very warm, friendly and inviting. There aren’t a load of foreigners as there is in Dalian (where I’d been living for 2.5 years) so it will seem that everyone is staring at you in some instances, like in any small city in China.

As for visa issues and all that, it’s a different story. If you’re going to teach there in the summer they recruit months in advance. This is enough time to get your visa sorted. If you’re already in China on a business visa, holiday visa or work visa that isn’t registered under them then you know you’re running a risk. Just common sense really. Get things sorted in advance or again you can't be totally surprised when things don’t work out.

Management can be disorganized. This is the major downside. They try their best but as with everything in China you need to push and communicate. You’re in a country where many people are making things up as they go in their jobs. Flexibility on both sides is the key to harmony in my opinion. There really is only one manager that is the problem. He tends to drag his feet on things, is disorganized and the sources of all of the real problems it seemed in my short tenure. The issues regarding anything to do with the school registration and all of those important official governmental things come under his purview which is the MAJOR CONCERN. Make this issue a major sticking point when it comes to accepting any offer of employment as it seems there has been ambiguity and issues regarding this in the past. But outside of this the other foreign teachers there are really open and cool people. If you have any issue let them know and they’ll help you by giving advice, actually bailing you out of a situation or lobbying for your interests. As with any workplace anywhere in the world communication is paramount. If something bothers you, make it known. It will be easily fixed in 99% of cases.

I think people have things twisted when it comes to the city and teaching in the training schools. It’s an awesome city but you’re not going to get a large expat community. If you want that, Shenyang is a better choice, Dalian even more so. But the expat community that does exist in Dandong is fairly tight and diverse in their personalities and interests. So my advice is if you want an interesting experience and don’t lose your mind over tiny annoyances experienced in a Chinese training school then Dandong is a good choice. If you are concerned about Heidi English there is also an Aston branch in the city. These two are the only two non-kindergarten schools that employ foreign teachers and have been running for a number of years.

Keep in mind I was only there for a short period of time and as with all jobs ask to speak with a current/recent past teacher before pulling the trigger on making the move. I met with one of the current teachers while in Dalian and she was from an area of Ontario that was close to where I was from so it was easy to gauge and discuss the pros and cons over a curry dinner.

[thechangling]

[Fix]

Sure...

[asiannationmc]

[Fix]

[asiannationmc]

[Longer]

My colleague worked for Heidi when he said it was owned by foreigners, and then left when the Chinese took it over. He said it was a great place to work before, but not after. Sounds like another Muffy's hostile take-over story.