Job Discussion Forums

Milo.Minderbinder · Joined: 20 Dec 2004 Posts: 10 Location: Beijing

Major Chinese Internet exec in Beijing looking to attract a heavy overseas investor for his company needs an English tutor to help him with the English skills necessary to do so. Pay; 120 yuan an hour. If this isn't enough, he actually found someone who places such a low value on their time and worth! Hope he gets what he pays for (and cancels every other class to boot)! Geez - I used to get RMB 200 for mid-level managers from foreign-owned companies - to come to my home! C'mon people, it's NOT that cheap here and don't you notice the daily increase in Cadillacs and Lexuses? Try this, pretend you have a family emergency and need to go home TOMORROW! Call the airline company and find out how much someone/some organization who knows the value of their product places on it. Time to go home I guess. Thought I might make a career out of teaching English but my parents and I didn't spend tens of thousands of dollars so that I could compete with dumpster-divers for RMB 100-120 an hour joke jobs at joke schools. Get a grip (talking to myself there)! In my humble opinion if we don't start reviewing our negotiating skills we will be paying them to teach them if we aren't already. My tactic, if the pay isn't there - DON"T DO IT! Not to say that I won't help out a needy person or friend but there's money to be made here, it's not cheap here and it sure ain't Paris.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

I suppose a dumpster diver (sic!) is worth what you made it out to be; a genuine dumpster driver probably gets RMB 200 a... ah forget it!

Sometimes it pays to take a spelling course before one embarks on a TEFL career! Your students deserve no less than that.

brasilstu · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 271 Location: China

amandabarrick · Joined: 30 Dec 2004 Posts: 391

While it is important to have good negotiating skills, it is far more important to have good teaching skills. I often read on this site how angry some teachers are about the teachers who take lower pay and are driving down the wages for the rest of us. But in every culture same rules apply, you get what you pay for. If we increase our teaching skills and become better teachers, we can command higher wages if that is what we seek. Don't people pay more for better service in every industry? Why should teaching be any different? Perhaps the trend that we should really be concerned about is not the poor negotiating skills but poor teachers.
AB
[The cat doesn't even have thumbs Focker!]

badtyndale · Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 181 Location: In the tool shed

Have we got our wires crossed?

Forgive me if I'm ignorant of the 'real' meaning but I thought a 'dumpster' was a large bin (garbage container) on wheels with a lift up lid that's left in back alleys behind bars and restaurants etc.

Thus, I'm interpreting the OP's description/analogy of 'dumpster diver' to mean those unfortunate enough (or otherwise 'crazy' enough) to seek a living from the rubbish bin (trash can).

If my interpretation is in line with the OP's thinking then a valid point is being made, albeit with exasperation.

Fact is, many of these "high flying executives" in need of personal tuition will, in line with the general Chinese business ethic, look for the cheapest deal. Thus, confronted with a choice between qualified/experienced tutors asking for 200ph, for example, and unqualified/inexperienced tutors happy to accept half that, many (most?) go along with the latter.

It seems to me that there is a grave misconception about the relative earnings of professionals in major Chinese cities (and I have to say that these misconceptions are frequently fuelled by job advertisers/recruiters). However, I do accept that there are many issues regarding what constitutes 'professional' status in respect of the FTs here.

In a previous post, I mentioned that there was something akin to a "someone else will do" mentality in the English teaching job market. I stand by this statement (for China) but would also add that in the land of 'guanxie' it is possible to chip away at this notion. Unfortunately, many (most?) FTs don't have the opportunity to do this, either because of time constraints or 'social' constraints - i.e. contracted job/duration of stay/location etc.

(Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.)

ouyang · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 193 Location: on them internets

It's Dumpster Diving Heaven here in Fujian http://www.dumpsterworld.com/. Actually, many streets are just long stretches of dumping grounds. It's like living in a land-fill.

A chinese "businessman" knocked on my door about a month ago, and declared that our meeting was fate, yuan fen. He then started emailing me application letters to Irish schools submitted by his "cousins" that needed correction.

I was intrigued by the unorthodox methods he had devised for his english school and his publication plans. I corrected a couple of letters for his female "cousins", but I eventually told him to leave me alone. The guy could never even bring himself to offer me any money when he was in the business of writing letters for non-english-speaking chinese, who were paying big money for the necessary documents to flee the country.

Milo.Minderbinder · Joined: 20 Dec 2004 Posts: 10 Location: Beijing

Didn't realize that the term was American. Yes, a dumpster-diver is someone who scrounges for aluminum cans, etc., in rubbish tips. Is that the correct spelling of 'tips', us Yanks don't use it (the word not the bin)? Perhaps in PC British English I should say 'gleaner'? Absolutely right on the mark about improving skills - but does it pay? In my experience I'd sadly have to say that no, it doesn't. I've decided to get my Cambridge certificate but have serious, serious doubts that it's worth the bother. Probably better to go over to Sanlitun and buy some hash and smoke it before class. Here in my thirty-something state I thought I was past that but...

lagerlout2006 · Joined: 17 Sep 2003 Posts: 985

Enjoying the fattie Milo? (Or is it a fatty? Mad

)

Yes China is expensive--even small towns are getting pricey. But people are only willing to pay so much for English classes. They can always get a Chinese with good English to help. And how much are you willing to pay for Mandarin lessons. ??

As for CELTA I think they are a money grubbing racket. A 1 year B ED makes sense. From an old school money grubbing institution.

Milo.Minderbinder · Joined: 20 Dec 2004 Posts: 10 Location: Beijing

Excuse my ignorance but what's a B ED? Thanks

ShapeSphere · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 386

william wallace · Joined: 14 May 2003 Posts: 2869 Location: in between

Nothing to say.

tofuman · Joined: 02 Jul 2004 Posts: 937

Friends,

A dumpster-diver is just that. A person who dives into dumpsters. He/she is not a "driver" of dumpsters. These people enter dumpsters to look for food, drink, or valuables. Since dumpsters in the U.S.A. can be close to five feet in height, people appear to be diving into them. You might just see a pair of feet sticking out.