Job Discussion Forums

[Miguelito]

A number of schools in China seem to advertise summer programs that sometimes last only a month. They say they will pay for airfare, housing, etc. But for such a short time, is it even possible to be working under a legal work permit? I don't understand how they could offer decent salaries on top of compensating for everything else too. Anyone know what's going on?

[China Pete]

A normal rate for a foreigner taught English class is 20 yuan an hour.
20 yuan an hour X 40 students in a class= 800 yuan an hour
if you teach just 20 hours a week (normal or low for summer positions), then in 4 weeks, the school makes 64,000RMB for EACH TEACHER that works 20 hours a week, maybe more depending on the rates they charge, and depending on if they have Chinese teachers as well. Some schools pay a chinese teacher 10 yuan an hour to teach some classes so the students pay for 3 hours a day, and only 1 of the 3 hours is with a foreign teacher. This makes the profit tripple for each foreigner- 192,000RMB. of course there is a little overhead. Building, Power, Chinese teachers salary, advertising... but still thats nothing compared to the profit.

Think about it, 5 or 6k yuan for airfare and 5k a month isnt much. Whos making money here?

[MyTurnNow]

China Pete's observations are dead on.

I'll address your other concern...the chances are slim to none that you will receive a legal (Z) visa to work here for one of these short-term program. Very few if any locales will offer a Z visa and accompanying documents (the Residence Permit is the real key) for anything under a year, and the cost of getting these docs is pretty high. As Pete pointed out, these short-term Summer and Winter sessions are highly profitable for the schools, and you can bet that these profits will not be invested in keeping your butt safely legal. They'll say nothing to you of the risks being run and leave things purely to chance and to the owner's assessment of his ability to bribe the local officials.

These short sessions are a bum deal anyway. One prominent advertiser here offers 12000 RMB for a session of 7 30-hour weeks. Sweet, huh?

No.

The same advertiser pays full-termers 6000 RMB for a month of 4 25-hour weeks; this equates to an average 60 yuan per class hour. The short session comes to 6857 yuan for 4 30-hour weeks, breaking down to 57.14 yuan per hour. So you're really getting paid less to teach a schedule that quickly comes to resemble the Bataan Death March- an endless daily chain of unpleasant kiddie classes.

But wait! The full-termer will also get things like a bonus and medical insurance and a Z visa, and these things are a big Mei-You ("not available") for the short sessions.

So, these sessions are your big chance to earn less and become an illegal migrant worker while the school owners pad their pockets. Oh Boy!!!

MT