Job Discussion Forums

[isaacovitch]

Hello friends, I am a none native, not from EU currently in china. Have been looking for teaching job but the agencies that i talked with said that it is not possible to get a proper job in my case !

Need your point of view .. Is that the fact or I should continue to try ?

Your answers will be appreciated

[Elicit]

The agencies would be right. It is most probably very difficult, if not impossible, to find an employer that can set you up in a ‘proper’ job. If ‘proper’ job is defined as with a valid work permit etc..

There are improper jobs that people get. This is done by the teacher, or an agent, acquiring an alternative type of visa/stay permit. The few teachers I have met in this situation got by, but there are many stories of others that have not. Are you feeling lucky?

[wawaguagua]

You could try looking in smaller, less-desirable locations. In my five years of experience working in China, I've met nationals of Nigeria, Russia, Philippines, Thailand, and India working as English teachers with valid residence permits, in both private and public schools, even in public university positions... All of them were in backwoods areas.

Xinjiang used to be one location where this was possible, but it recently closed the doors to all foreign residents. You might consider poorer provinces like Henan, Sichuan, Gansu, or Guizhou... The smaller the city within such provinces, the better odds you have. Realistically, you won't find work in big cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen, or Beijing... If you're comfortable in remote locations where the foreign community is minimal, most people can't speak a lick of English, and you'll be uncomfortably stared at by passers-by everytime you step outside, then try it out.

've lived in such remote areas and there are some good parts. Amongst all the curious gawkers and photo-taking opportunists, you'll find quite a few very welcoming friends who will go out of their way to help you and show you hospitality. You'll also quickly be familiar with your surroundings... The nearest supermarket, the best barber, the best restaurants, etc.

[teenoso]

I have worked in public unis with an uzbek, a philippino, a russian , an iranian, and a dubai national , so it's (or was) definitely possible. In fact all of these were well-established at their school and sometimes in 'management' positions
.
But the one thing they had in common , I believe, was very good english education/efl qualifications , possibly at masters level.

[cormac]

Teach what though? Why bother teaching English at all? Teach your native language at college/university level.

Since the relatively recent changes to Visas I wouldn't hold out much hope of getting a decent English teaching job while abroad. It's definitely possible if you're in China and have a different visa type, but I'd never recommend that kind of set up.

Just teach something other than English.

[Non Sequitur]

How 'white' you are will be an issue.
exceptions cited are likely to be established teachers. New hires won't get the same treatment.

[nomad soul]

[Trevor Wadlow]

Until recently, Shanghai Ocean University had a Nigerian teacher. The Director of Studies is a Fillipino.


CIP at Donghua University, Shanghai. The English department consists of two Fillipinos.


So the answer is Yes.

[jimpellow]

I think the current correct answer is likely yes in more and more jurisdictions.

As you my know, it was not legal in many jurisdictions for non-natives to teach pre 2013-14, albeit some would look the other way and grant the visa. Then the masterminds of China decided to redo the visas and forbid teachers except for those from but a handful of native speaking countries. They also increased the enforcement of ensuring that teachers possessed the proper papers.

Fast forward to the last year. The masterminds made it so onerous for the desired native speaking teacher to obtain and maintain the proper papers (along with the direct and indirect dampening effect that the new social tax has had on salaries) that China has experienced a net loss of native speaking teachers. In the ultimate act of irony, it appears that the directive now coming out of Beijing is that native teachers are only "preferred", but "qualified" non-native speakers can obtain the proper papers. This will take a while to work its way into all the jurisdictions, and for many recruiters to realize the change. Yet I feel you have a good chance depending on your qualifications and to an arguable degree the color of your skin.

I see a time in China's not-so-distant future where their actions will lead to a vast majority of teachers being non-native speakers. Any attempt by Mainland Chinese to improve quality almost invariably ends up the opposite.

[Kalkstein]

No, the regulations still state it's impossible. It used to be that non-native teachers would be kept on and visa renewals were possible but now in the last year you can clearly see more people mentioning they are being laid off even for jobs they already had.

It might change in the future but as of now the answer is no and if you want proof of that try applying to jobs and note the outcome. I wouldn't hold out hope for applying in in the poorer areas either, I know Henan, Shaanxi etc... all don't hire non-natives and I've got Filipino friends who have lost their jobs in these areas.

[jimpellow]