Job Discussion Forums

[China2]

Does anybody have any up-to-date information concerning the full time IELTS examiner positions at The British Council? I am thinking about Shanghai specifically.

Any information regarding - salary, location, hours, accommodation, holidays etc would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Non Sequitur]

I take it that you have read the material on the BC website?
As I recall, the nitty gritty is only made clear after you've started the online application process. I've never been interested enough to pursue it to that level.
I do recall that the Chinese have clamped down on BC's casual employment approach which presumably means a more secure career-type position.
I think the search feature will bring up some interesting stuff.
That said there is a tendency for job seekers to litigate everything through Dave's. Better make an application and then seek verification through
current tutors including ones who may lurk here.

[theoriginalprankster]

Whether casual or full time it is one of the most arduously boring and brain-destroying jobs in the world.

I did it for three years. Loved the pay cheque, HATED the job, the arrogant weasel examiners I worked alongside, the very dull 4.5-5.5 candidates, the travelling and the manner in which BC booted their casual examiners.

Hey, some people may love that kind of work. Not my cup of tea, and I haven't missed the work at all

Not hating, just saying.

[Colombo]

@theoriginalprankster.....

Right on....they just haven't managed to train up chimps to do it yet


C

[Volver]

China 2,

Ask yourself these simple questions: Do you like watching paint dry? Does the thought of watching underwater submarine races make your heart start beating quickly? Are you able to clear your mind of all intelligent thoughts for days at a time? Do you look forward to never knowing on what days you will be in your, probably tiny, apartment or working? Are you OK working for bosses and their underlings who will screw you over as frequently and severely as possible? What about traveling, usually behind schedule, on a plane full of locusts from one smoggy dump of a city to another? If you enthusiastically answered "H***, yes!" to these questions, then you are a prime candidate for the job of an IELTS examiner.

I did this job for 4 years both in China and in the States. It was great part-time, but no way would I ever work for the BC full-time. From what friends who still toil for them and the comments on Dave's, I can see that the job has become exactly as I feared it would. Besides, once you factor in the mandatory travel time, the hourly pay rate is not very good. Did I mention the cost of living in BJ or SH? My bad.

Having said the above, it might make sense to suck it up and do the job for one year. Use the BC (they will certainly use you) as a way to get your foot in the door and learn skills that will help you make real money in the future. I do side work teaching college students how to pass the IELTS test and make far, far more money than I ever did administering it. There are very few real IELTS examiners floating around and people are willing to pay a lot of money for what you know.

V

[Non Sequitur]

Don't our classroom jobs involve repetition?
My teaching role exists outside the repetition and in the realm of: 'How do I get this kid from where he is to where he should be?'
At my last gig I had 5x50-student classes of hotel management majors, all doing the same lesson plan. That was semester one. For semester two - rinse and repeat.
Mind-numbingly boring on one level but hugely rewarding as my students confidently gained placements for the 2nd (practicum) year.

[Elicit]

Extreme boredom notwithstanding, those so inclined could do a lot worse. Financial help with setting up in China, paid professional development opportunities, excellent medical insurance, and a good salary for this part of the world.

Get in, suck it up, and then get out again. It's only a matter of time before chimps or computers take over, as previously stated, so make the most of it whilst it's still around, I say.

Better to go to Beijing than Shanghai though. Supply and demand. Beijing office covers half of China and many examiners would prefer to be someplace else, i.e. Shanghai.

Beijing is not expensive if you're earning 30k+. Besides, the amount of work and therefore travelling those Beijingers do means they are probably on the road more than they are at home.

The job is certainly for a particular type of person, but right now those certain type of people are not at work, not in their lair in Beijing, and most probably not on this forum. They are most likely to be found soaking up the sun in SE Asia somewhere, or hunting orangutans in Borneo trying to discourage them from applying to join the China examiner cohort.

[Noelle]

I really appreciate whoever started this thread.

I've been teaching IELTS prep courses to students since 2011, both in the USA and in the Middle East. I've been wanting to train to become an examiner for years and the opportunity has just not come up. It's not a popular test in the U.S. (we use that absurd TOEFL) and in the Gulf region where I spent 3 years, there appeared to be more examiners than there were students who needed to take the exam.

Now I'm considering doing something I never thought I would do-- return to China. I have a great job in California, but the testing centers where I live are just not getting the students and everytime an opportunity to do the examiner training comes up-- it disappears again due to lack of demand. I want this training and experience under my belt.

My friend and colleague here is the supervisor of examiner training for all of North America and even she has said that China seems to have the most demand for examiners.

I've had a browse of the BC website-- could anyone forward me an exact link to their info on IELTS examiner training though? For whatever reason, I'm not seeing a lot of specifics...

[Non Sequitur]

[Elicit]

Noelle,

Just go to the BC website, select China, Examiner, Role Profile.

A friend is starting with them in February 2017, so they've been advertising recently. If nothing there keep checking back, because up-coming vacancies will appear year-round.

The contract is 8000 CNY for 6 days a month, last time I heard. You can then choose to work as little or as much as you like on top of this. 15 days' work will 'nett' you around 24,000 CNY. You should be able to achieve this and most likely substantially more if working's 'your thing'. This is for Beijing because there, so people say, is where the work is most plentiful. It is also the city that BC will want new examiners to choose (supply and demand), so getting an offer would be easier to achieve.

Whispers are that the current contract terms will change to a more fixed monthly salary type arrangement in the future, so now is a good time to get onboard before it does. You could then make the most of the current contract conditions for at least a year.

I would think very hard before applying if you have a family, because you will be away from home for three to five days at a time, perhaps three or four times a month. However, if the contract remains the same and you can hack it for a few years, a lot of money is there to be saved, although that's one if too many for me personally, and for perhaps many others too.

[The bear]

Just had a look at the BC's website for the job description and read this:

Speaking interviews CNY 122 ( On average an examiner conducts a maximum of 20 interviews per
day)
Writing marking CNY 31 per task (On average 60-80 tasks per day)
Second marking speaking CNY 88 (variable)
Second marking writing CNY 62 (variable)


The pay for the interviews seems fine, but being expected to mark 60-80 essays on a given day...seems tedious and for not much pay.

I don't know, I've never examined for the BC. I could see how it could lead to better things e.g. IELTS tutoring, as someone else in this thread mentioned. I can see the possibility of earning big money. Assess for a year, then move into tutoring.

[Volver]

Let me describe the writing marking for you so that you know exactly what you are in for: Everyone sits in a giant "L" shaped room. Your head is down, you move not a single muscle, and work like this for hours and hours and hours. The Starbucks downstairs does an incredible business as examiners struggle to stay awake. The essays, "scribblings" would be more descriptive, are probably the most boring and inane wastes of time you will ever encounter. The full impact of a garbage educational system will be on display hour after hour after hour and YOU, my friend, are tasked with scoring this junk.

Sound awful? It is going to get worse. Essays will soon be scanned and you will have to read this nonsense from a computer screen. This means that not only will your brain turn to mush, but so will your eyes. Plus, everything you do will be monitored down to the second so that your overlords will know who is fast and who isn't. I would bet my life that those who are fast will become the benchmark for how fast everyone must perform or you are out.

For a single person willing to put up with such nonsense for a year, this can be a good job and I would encourage you to go for it. The experience will be invaluable for future work as you will know exactly what it takes to pass the test and you can charge plenty for imparting that knowledge to all the now and forever 5s out there. For anyone with a family they actually care about, be careful. You will probably only be able to afford a very modest (I'm being nice here) place to live, and then you must figure out how to educate your kid(s). Decent (not public) education is expensive in China. You also won't see much of your family as another poster pointed out.

I wouldn't worry too much about getting hired. If you can speak in compete sentences and fog a mirror, the BC has a place for you. As for the big bucks, only a select few make those numbers, yet they LOOOOOOOVE to tout them as everyone's potential.

I will never for a moment regret having worked for them at one time. Thanks, BC, for giving me knowledge that has helped my earn a lot of money in this country. There are always openings as their turnover is high and that should tell you something about the job you are contemplating. Take the BC for whatever you can get out of it and then move on to something else where you can have a life. What you learn on the job will be invaluable and in demand for years to come. You can actually have a life and still make very good money without having to do such an awful job.

V

[Hatcher]

There are two reason to be an examiner - money and experience.

If you cant find another job that pays well, then be an examiner. The BC hired PT people in China, then went FT and from what I understand now has PT again. There is good reason they pay so much.

I worked as an examiner and now PT as a trainer. Decent money and lots of work.

Outside of Shanghai, there was a Polish lady and she wanted money... and more money... terrible to work with but they hired her... two feet and a heart beat gets you the job.

[Non Sequitur]

I thought the govt cracked down on PT because BC was complicit in allowing workers to avoid tax?

[Volver]

One-off deal in Wuhan and not likely to be replicated.

So many rumors as to why things changed and I don't think anyone, aside from the stuffed shirts at the top, really knows. It's gone and not coming back. Either you become a full-time wage slave or you don't work for them.

Someone posted about the insurance they provide. Take this with a grain of salt as decent, expat, hospitals in BJ are EXPENSIVE!!!! Way, way cheaper to fly down to Thailand to have anything major done.

If you want experience and so-so paycheck, come on down. Other than that, there are better opportunities here.

V