Job Discussion Forums

[Volver]

I work at a private high school for kids bound for the US plus I do plenty of side work. I save much more than you want to and I don't work all that hard. The downsides? Pollution and classrooms full of spoiled brats.

Face it, OP, every place in this country is a cesspool in terms of pollution - you are not going to avoid it.

Were I to do it over again, I'd do whatever it took to get into Hong Kong. So much easier to live there than any place in mainland China.

V

[Non Sequitur]

[LarssonCrew]

I see it as being easily doable, assuming some things come to pass.

To save money there seems to be two basic approaches[or three maybe].

Firstly, work in ONE job that provides housing and has you work full time. Earn say 16000. You spend say 6000 [hey!You like to have fun] and you can therefore pocket 10000 RMB, which isn't bad, around 1800 USD or 1000 pounds, around 1700 euros.

Second is work for a uni or a school that works in the day[say normal high school or middle school] and work say 16-20 classes a week. They provide you with 10000 plus your housing. You can throw that 10000 into savings. Next, work say one full saturday [7 hours x 200 RMB = 1400]. You spend this 1400 a week. That leaves you 200 RMB a day, without rent. Some days will simply be eating and then mooching around your home, internet, gym etc. So it's doable.

Thirdly is to get a soso job but live super frugally.

Earning 12000 a month and save 10000 by only spending 60 a day. Eat the slop in the school canteen, baozi for dinner etc.

Anyways it seems doable but again since the op will be new in China it can be hard to bring in privates. Also, it's much easier to have them come to you than dart around.

I was once lured in with an offer of 250, but it took me 45 minutes there and back, so I was getting 500 for 3 1/2 hours work.

Much better to just get 200 a pop and do it in my friends coffee shop. I'd get free coffees and ice creams from students, the boss was happy because most parents bought a VIP card and it was a safe and quiet environment to do my classes.

If a student arrived a little early it wasn't a problem for them to order a coffee and a cake and eat it for 15 minutes whilst I finished up.

I've no idea how it would work in a starbucks. I guess they don't care as long as you've bought 1 or 2 things during the day. I think in some big cities Starbucks might actually be a bonus. Other rich Chinese may see you tutor, hear you speaking some Chinese and then approach you more comfortably. I've had it happen a couple times in coffee shops.

Of course if the police[around Spring fest.] see you you may be done for.

[Non Sequitur]

Using a coffee shop for several back-to-back students certainly gets over my hangup over unpaid commute time.
Your commute is a known, rather than random and it is written off over multiple earning situations.
A further protection against 'no-shows' would be payment for several lessons in advance.
Interested in that aspect Larssoncrew.
But good advice for OP on his/her quest for 8K PM saving.
Best

[getbehindthemule]

Yes, good advice on privates LC.
I only wish you were right about the 10000RMB ~ around 1700euros (more like 1400 unfortunately)

Op, I know that you specify uni/adults and that you find teaching kids tiring.
But have you considered teaching Science to kids over here rather than teaching English? It is much less demanding in ways (lower teaching hours, not the same pressure from parents, school, etc.) and I find it to be really interesting and fun.
Anyhow, with your background, you could find a nice position over here. Say if you did so for a year, to settle in and to build up some contacts during this time for future privates etc, you could easily meet your savings goal.
Then after the year, and after doing your on the ground research, you could move to a cosy PT Uni position.
Just another potential option for you, Good luck with whatever you decide!

[wangdaning]

[getbehindthemule]

[Non Sequitur]

[teenoso]

[quote="tim.clearwater"]

Is it realistic to save about 8,000 RMB per month working in a Chinese university and teaching a few hours of private lessons part-time on the side?
[quote]

Possible , yes , as others have said, but highly unlikely IMO.
You would have to be very lucky to land a high paying Uni job in a clean city with lots of people nearby wanting you as a private tutor.

A typical Uni contract does not pay 8000 RMB, so you would need to live entirely on private sources. Assuming 150 RMB per hour, you would need to do maybe 25 hours of private teaching to get 3000RMB per month, which is barely enough to live on in most cities.
That's an extra 6 hours a week, which sounds like nothing , but you have to factor in vacations, no-shows, travel time, waiting time.

Also , new teachers at Uni sometimes are given difficult schedules with trips to other campuses one or two days a week, because the established teachers have wised up and made sure they have an easier schedule.

High paying private or contracted Unis can be in remote places (eg the Uni campuses in Tangjiawan , Zhuhai), or in expensive cities, or in polluted ones (see the comment about Suzhou , which applies to every city in the Nanjing -Shanghai corridor).

I would lower your expectations if your after Uni work, or just take a higher paying language mill job.