Job Discussion Forums

[ginneyl]

got back from an interview and have mixed emotions about whether or not i should pursue teaching english in hk. i'm a chinese canadian, raised and educated in canada. i speak perfect english (no accent) and have no problems written or oral. however when i get called for interviews, the interviewer always has a problem with me being asian. so far i've had 5 interviews for teaching english. in 4/5 interviews i got told "because you're asian, you're not good enough" (won't get the high pay, i'm not the "right" person, my english isn't good enough). i suppose any where you go, you'll find prejudice but i didn't expect it from hk. is it that difficult to find an english teaching job, while being asian in hk? what's the "equal opportunities" government campaign all about then? it's really depressed me. any advice?

[munasa]

It's very discouraging, however some Asians are NETs in HK.

My two schools have stated outright that they won't interview Asian native English-speaking teachers. It's their loss.

Coming from countries with huge immigrant populations we find it hard to understand, but that's HK for you!

I don't think many schools are interested in non-Caucasian NETs, sadly, but some Chinese NETs are here from places like Canada, so it is possible to get a job, but not easy. It is not considered an advantage if you speak Cantonese.

These days there is a shortage of NETs, so one would think you'd have a chance. I don't know what to advise you, though. Have you tried any other countries?

[ginneyl]

i taught in japan before but with a big corporation that hired teachers overseas. of course, they encourage a mix of different teachers but they also use asian teachers as a selling point. i was used to do sales to clients who were afraid of foreigners or were really nervous. of course this was mostly to help the company make money and not to really judge the english level of the client.

i interviewed for NET as well but the interviewer was so frustrated for some reason she yelled at me. "do you want the job or not? tell me what you want."

i suppose it is their loss when there is a big supply of people who are willing and can do the job but aren't offered the opportunity. it's a pity.

[anninhk]

Don't give up - there are a lot of Canadians here from Asian backgrounds in the NET scheme. Yes you will probably face some prejudice but schools here want blonde females from the UK! - and there aren't many of those! If you really want the job and have the qualifications and experience they will count more than your background.
Good luck!

[once again]

OP,,it would help if you posted your English language teaching qualifications for us to offer some more advice. It is perfectly possible to get a job here teaching English for any nationality. You just need to hit the right market! Let us know and we can help.

[ginneyl]

i've got a BA and a TEFL certificate, as well as a year's experience teaching english in japan. i suppose pretending that i don't know chinese would help as well?

[anninhk]

To be a primary NET you should ideally also have some educational qualification although I have heard they are taking people without, but be prepared to be on a relatively low salary especially as you have only had one year's teaching experience
You will be OK for Secondary if your BA is in English.
There are lots of language schools and for them the CELTA is usually the minimum qualification.

[starfall]

Not all schools are anti-asian. A small minority are in favour but few and far between.

I am asian and it wasn't an issue with my schools three years ago. Saying that, I wasn't offered as many interviews from other schools as caucasian NETS when I applied for two new schools.

However, I did finally get an offer from two prestigious schools in the end. Although, I had to decline,the NET they eventually employed was also Chinese.

There are also rumours going round that some schools want to hire Overseas Chinese teachers in the belief that they will toe the line and be more subservient.

Somehow, I think they may be disappointed.

[poof]

I started working at Debs recently. At least, it's a branch owned by the Deborah group. Not quite sure of all the business intricacies...

Although I may be speaking too early... (hope not!) it is the easiest job I have ever had, and I can't understand for the life of me what everyone is complaining about. I don't think other people should be put off by these moaners. Come and judge for yourself what it's all about.

Of course, no school system is ideal. But, I reckon this kindergarten chain has to be comparable to others I've seen around HK. Admittedly, it might be somewhat of a shock if you've come from teaching secondary or uni students. Also, I'm not totally enamoured by the head teachers and some of the tasks I'm assigned to do, but I'm getting paid relatively well for relatively light work. I'm glad of the simplicity of life in the Deborah world. Heck, the local teachers get paid a fraction of what I do, don't get the accommodation, and still have to do twice as much work as myself. They do employ mult-racial staff. Many of the parents take an actively constructive interest in their child's learning - more so than in other countries I have worked in.

I have great coworkers, am in a super-duper location (although appartment admittedly is not wonderful), and am getting paid to live here. Not bad, in my opinion. I can't yet say how long I will last here, but I'm prepared to take any orders from the ranks here in the meantime. I can urge anyone wanting to start out in HK to try here.