Job Discussion Forums

[Non Sequitur]

[jimpellow]

[thechangling]

[asiannationmc]

I have a couple of Weixin groups that advertise higher salaries, as does a Facebook group...I have no idea as to their validity adn have never checked them out as I no longer want a "J-O-B" ..... my positions came from referrals (in-house) except for the first job which was offered by a individual in the states who was recruiting for the program and was a U.S. citizen (non-chinese) and at that time I was leaving the State system and he got my name from an administrator and that was a low pay standard kind of employment, however... that was 16 years ago.

[Non Sequitur]

Let's not assume that the stated salaries are factual. But it is a tenet of human nature that the lower one is likely to be nearer the truth.
Whether this is a skim or whatever, it is unlikely that you will ever find out.
Again it is unlikely to be a recruiter skim if you are being paid by the school. Within the school - again - who knows?
Looking further at the click ads there seemed to be both internal consistencies and inconsistencies. The main consistency being max hour uni jobs were paid less than 9-5 high school jobs where contact hours aren't stated. Then again some 9-5 HS jobs do state max contact hours and you're left wondering about other duties.
Don't let the appearance of a seemingly honest recruiter let you shirk the job of closely questioning both the recruiter and the school when you get into a conversation.
See the job offer checklist thread for ideas on this.

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

I really doubt that recruiters or agencies skim from teachers' monthly salaries . Think of the extra bookkeeping that it would require of the agencies AND the schools. There's really no incentive for an employer to allow it.

The more likely scenario is that an agency/recruiter might try to recruit teachers for lower pay in order to gain the favor of the prospective client (the school). This applies not only to Chinese recruiters recruiters but also to westerners who recruit for Chinese schools. One possibility here is that the recruiter may try to recruit a teacher for 8,000 rmb per month while the school is willing to pay a maximum of 10,000 rmb per month. The recruiter who recruits an FT for the lower amount may be allowed to collect a one-time monthly fee of one month's salary PLUS the extra money that he saved the school.

I agree that the tendency of many recruiters (and schools) is to advertise a high salary, then low ball a prospect. One job board that has gotten a lot of praise during the past few years (and was mentioned in this thread) seems to attract recruiters who are prone to this. One will see astronomical salaries advertised, but when a copy of the contract is received, the stated salary is much lower, even though the prospect fits (or exceeds) the requirements of the contract.

The schools are complicit in this chicanery, so let's increase our wariness to include them as well.

[RiverMystic]

Yes, some are incompetent. One recruiter contacted me some time ago, and I decided they might be worth utilising. I was wrong. I was interviewed via Skype for over an hour, and I had to keep repeating the same things over and over and over again, because the woman didn't understand what I'd just said. For example, I would detail the specific duties I had done at my previous job, and go into quite a bit of detail. Then she would follow up with "What did you do at your last job?" Doh! I ended up getting a bit frustrated, as the interview went on and on and on.

Then I agreed to do an online demo lesson, which I prepared. But I had to give it to the same woman, and you can't demonstrate a lesson which involves interactive group work, pair work and a host of other advanced skills to one woman sitting in a desk on a computer. She was a really dull student, showing no enthusiasm or interest in what was going down. All this took another hour, on top of the preparation time.

I never heard from her again. It is unbelievable that her entire process made it almost impossible for me to demonstrate my skills and abilities. Not to big note myself, but I am probably in the top one per cent of teachers in China in terms of qualifications and experience, including management experience. If this woman couldn't even get me an interview somewhere, she is utterly clueless.

[adventious]

[Non Sequitur]

Given that most of us get jobs in the Oral English category, a demo lesson by definition, involves active student participation.
Indeed if you subscribe to the TTT (Teacher Talk Time) mantra, the student speaks for most of the lesson period.
A single passive interviewer does not lend him/herself to that scenario.

[CNexpatesl]

Lol... Math and science teaching jobs for 13k RMB?

Isn't the standard starting salary 20,000 - 30,000 RMB?

[asiannationmc]

[RiverMystic]

[LarssonCrew]

To be fair though I've seen guys with Phds and journals teaching and they have zero connection with the locals in any form, then I've seen a slobbish looking young 20 something rock in and smash it out the park by having the students interested and getting a connection with them.

Can't argue with $5000 a month salary though haha

[RiverMystic]

[asiannationmc]