Job Discussion Forums

[blueberrymango]

Hello all,

If I were to get a job in Hangzhou or a city of similar size, and was making 20,000 (I'm a certified teacher and would be at an international school) would it be fairly reasonable to hope to save up a sizeable amount to put in a US account? Any problems there?

I lived in Changsha with my boyfriend (now husband) in 2010 and made 4000 a month, and I think spent around 2000/month. My husband and I are considering coming over for a year, and maybe he would be working towards an online degree and working at another school (not international). Our end goal, financially, would be saving a bit for a down payment on a home in the US.

Additionally, any opinions on life in Hangzhou? It seems nice, from what I've seen. Also, I think we could improve our very limited Mandarin. We want a place where Mandarin is spoken, rather than Cantonese. Another option is Chengdu.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[blueberrymango]

I'd also love to hear from anyone who has worked at an international school regarding their experience. When I was at a public school in China, I worked 15 hours a week, which was quite nice in one hand, but on the other, it was almost too much free time. I know that I'll be working a solid 40 at an international school. Not sure if that's a positive (more money, more duties) or negative (less time to explore). I also really enjoyed working with local kids.

[Non Sequitur]

From my observation 20K plus accom/airfare is certainly do-able in a true international school.
My only question is why did you go to a public school in the first place?

[blueberrymango]

[Non Sequitur]

I understand. My best exp was at a provincial level vocational. Av 50 per class all in customer service disciplines.
They knew they needed oral English and we had a blast.
Most of my best class resources date from that time.

[Big Worm]

Oh hi. international school teacher here. Dont know anything about Hangzhou except its suppossed to be a really nice place to live.


My two quai. And to qualify, all schools are different, so may be talking out of my side, but....you should plan on worki g at least 50 hours a week. Ten hour days are pretty standard for "Real" intl school jobs. Also, and yes, there are regional differences, but 20k sounds kinda lowball. A certified teacher in an international school shou,d be more around 30 with housi g in my limited experience. 20k is like a bit short of 40k usd. Its not chump change, but kinda low end for a proper teacher in a proper intl school.

Also things like, how long is the contract? Gratuity after a year? Opportunities for pd? What curriculum are they using? If they are getti g good results, its a different situation than everyone half assing it evryyday.


edit. To address your question, after taxes that should be around 16 or 17. If you life frugaly, you can prob save 2k us a month(13k rmb), if housing and bills are paid. of course travelling, nights out will eat into this. A lot of saving is up to you, but china can still be done on the cheap if you eat like a local.

[jimpellow]

Pay seems low to me too as others have stated.

And Hangzhou is not a cheap city either. It is considered one of the more desirable cities in China to live. So much so that rich Chinese will often buy a house there as a status symbol even if they never stay there. The location is great for exploring the region and a good amount of Western amenities.

It is a steam bath in summer and the main attraction West Lake will disappoint with all the commercialization which has occurred. Take a trip to the limestone caves past the famous hills, which serve as the backdrop for countless paintings of West Lake and serve as a great source of national pride, and marvel at Chinese greed as the other sides of the hills have been eaten away by some gravel company.

I should also note that I believe Hangzhou is a city which actually encompasses a small region. Hence, the international school may be quite a distance from the city center.

[LarssonCrew]

I was offered 19000 and housing for 16 IELTS classes a week [16 hours]. So 20,000 sounds pretty poor. My friend with one year experience is making 28000 teaching history in a school in Beijing and he also gets a sweet apartment thrown in .

[SH_Panda]

[3701 W.119th]

I want to be friends with him. Even just being around him makes the magic happen.

[max71081]

[Non Sequitur]

You forgot to mention that Air Force One is his personal transportation and that Michelle O is his personal Trolley Dolly.

[blueberrymango]

Thank you everyone! It is helpful to know I may be able to find better pay. 20k just sounded like so much to me.

Many of the jobs include a housing stipend of around 4000. Is this enough, and is housing difficult to arrange? I'd prefer housing was included.

[blueberrymango]

[SH_Panda]