Job Discussion Forums

[markie700]

I'm an American looking for employment teaching English in Beijing. I have a question and would appreciate anyone who has experience and/or an opinion: is it better to hook up with a university or a language school generally. I would appreciate some info on why you have your opinion. Thanks to anyone who can help me narrow my searching. Mark

[tw]

This topic has been discussed over and over again.

Salary: Colleges and universities often pay quite a bit less than language schools do. But you do get vacation pay and only work 10 months out of a calendar year at colleges and universities. Many employers will even pay a full month's salary on top of vacation pay for winter and/or summer breaks.

Schedule: The workload at colleges/universities are a lot lighter (anywhere between 10 and 20 hours a week) and usually no evening nor weekend classes.

Accomodation: one of the best things about working for colleges/universities is that the accomodation is usually quite good because they do have to follow government regulations. The apartments are usually fully furnished and you don't have to pay for any heat, electricity, water, gas, telephone (in my current college I get a monthly telephone allowance), and things are repaired for free (you don't have to pay for it first and then having to get a reimbursement later). Language schools often put you in run-down apartments and sometimes you have to share with another FT. But living on-campus means no overnight guests and having a curfew.

Contract: Language school contracts often contain unreasonable clauses like office hours and the employers often violate contract terms.

Students: College/university students are often unmotivated (lazy is a better word to describe many of them) and their English proficiency can vary greatly in a class. You have to teach at least 30 students. Language school students (especially adult students) are more motivated and you can have as few as just a few students in a class.