Job Discussion Forums

[jesso92]

Hey guys, so I got a job interview with an agency, I think its called BeijingESL.
And they have this posted on a job board.

For teaching kids of 2-12 years old, we do not need teachers to have experience or degree, as long as you are healthy and love children, it is fine. We can pay you 10000 Yuan/month no free accommodation, or 7000 Yuan/month with free accommodation.

For teaching adults we need the teachers who has BA degree and some teaching experience, we can pay you 11000 Yuan/month no free accommodation, or 8000 Yuan/month without accommodation.

What do you guys think? Is this a good offer? Enough pay to live in Beijing and save some money, as well as being able to have a little bit of fun? It's cool that they offer free accommodation but, I dont know what quality that would be like. Could be a hell hole. Could be decent. Even with free accommodation, wondering if the pay is still enough. I was interested in the first deal, the one were you teach kids 2-12, cause that's what I'd like to do is work with little kids.

Opinions?

Thanks in advance, the insight is appreciated.

[SH_Panda]

[jesso92]

I guess they mean 8000 with free accommodation yea.

Oh crap, the apartments are shared? Is that very common?

[Shanghai Noon]

They say they don't care if you have a degree or not. The job is probably illegal.

[Jmbf]

As noted above, this job is probably illegal as there are minimum requirements now in order to get a working visa.

Considering that another poster asked about surviving in Beijing on 13K (without accom) and many people were replying with negative comments, I would guess that 10K would be very marginal indeed.

[jesso92]

What do you guys think of "Foshan,Guangdong?" got an offer in this place too, but, I was looking to go into one of the big cities. I wouldn't want to go to a city with no foreigners to speak English with.

Any of you been to Foshan? Can somebody tell me if it's a foreigner friendly city? I'm trying to do some research on it, but, at the same time, I'd like to hear from somebody personally.

[Markness]

Just look up some cool cities that you would like to go to. There are lots of jobs in any of the big cities. The ones that aren't as mega-big as the ones like BJ/SH/SZ, etc., still have lots of jobs available. Choose that city and go for it!

[jesso92]

Thanks for the responses guys.

After researching a bit about Foshan, it seems like a pretty cool city with lots to see in it. So, say if i was getting paid 9000-10'000 yuan, and provided free accommodation, do you guys think I'd be able to save a decent amount of money? Probably, throw in a few private lessons each week too.

[Markness]

I am not 100 percent sure on foshan, but if it is your first time in China I would recommend heading to a biggerish city. Things are pretty backwards (I mean it in the nicest way possible), in smaller cities. Getting stared at, spitting, babies shitting everywhere, people bumping into you, and staring more, and very little English, and yelling "Hellllllloooo" at you all the time. I really recommend checking out a "tier 2" city. Check em' out on wikipedia, they're not as big as the biggest cities in China, but still friggin' big. Much better then heading out to the countryside.

[jesso92]

Wait.. Foshan is country side? I thought it was a pretty decent sized city. Oh man, this is so confusing.

Edit: Another quick question about china and its cities. Should I be concerned at all about the air pollution levels?

[Markness]

Definitely not countryside, but I haven't heard a lot of it. Anywho, I think I am full of beans because I checked out my regular job browsing websites and found quite a few jobs in foshan, like a lot. I think you'll be good to go there.

I would say off of their job boards the average job salary range offered is in the range of 8-15k. So that is the ballpark average! Base it off of that, lol!

[roadwalker]

Foshan is right next to Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta, the most developed, wealthiest area of the wealthiest province. There is a lot of industry in the outskirts, so when it's not raining or windy, the air pollution levels could become a problem. Luckily it rains a lot in Guangdong.

If you want the excitement of living in the big city, be very careful to determine just exactly where the job is. City names are often given for approximation or to give the impression of an urban developed area. In China, the city names often include large areas beyond the downtown core. Like 'greater metropolitan area' when comparing city populations in the west, but also including strictly rural areas.

The provinces are divided by main cities and the cities are divided by districts. If some location is called 'county', that probably means a rural area with few foreigners and few amenities for foreigners. You should definitely ask current or former teachers about location and transportation options, in addition to your concerns about pay, hours, working conditions etc.

[creeper1]

[jesso92]

[JamesD]