Job Discussion Forums

[Mac]

Last week my FAO attended a meeting in Hangzhou in this meeting many colleges attended. This meeting was an agreement that the salaries would be lowered to the rule in Beijing of 4000rmb. I do know that colleges from Shandong province and from Zherjiang attended the meeting. I don't know what other province colleges attended the meeting. As far as I can see this spells trouble for us foreign teachers who make our living year after year teaching at a college or university. I would like to get your thoughts about this meeting.

[prof]

If you get any links for that meeting, please post them.

I could see it happening. It's a simple supply and demand situation for the authorities.

They keep getting their annual herd of language teachers without problems so why pay more?

There's always a group willing to work for 4000 RMB/month. Some might view it as a 'good salary', some might be using the classroom to perform 'movie magic', whatever.

But there's a face in the classroom for the students to see.

[Midlothian Mapleheart]

Edited to remove offensive content.


Middy

[prof]

[Midlothian Mapleheart]

Edited to remove offensive content.


Middy

[kev7161]

Backpackers? Missionaries? Perhaps, but I see newcomers also agreeing to that wage. The problem is that there are people that come to China for maybe 6 months or a year. Work a job that requires maybe 20 hours a week, then spend the rest of the time exploring this "mysterious" land. Buy up some silk and pearls and head back home. A vacation, in essence, and they got a little money for it too - - plus free housing!!!! Woo-hoo!

Then there are those, like me, that planned on only a couple of years. Find a job - - okay, okay, I'll take 4000 if I have to! - - and then moonlight with other income opportunities (sadly, I stayed beyond my planned time).

Then there are those that are here long term. Maybe wanting to buy a home, get married, have a child, buy a car, save for retirement. Often, but not always, these folks are decent teachers who, as the years go by, get better and better at teaching (or get more and more jaded). 4K is not going to cut it, but the higher paying jobs are fewer and farther between.

So, if the school has 10 applicants, who are they going to hire? The grizzled old-timer who's asking for 8K (plus other things) and knows most of the tricks and what to look our for? Or the fresh-faced "newbie" who sees that 4000 as a windfall? What do you think?

[prof]

"I can get all the work I want for 200-250RMB/hr. It's not an illusion."


Please give me some concrete examples of places offering that wage in Shanghai. Thanks.

[Voldermort]

[HunanForeignGuy]

All,

I was recently in negotiations with a top-20 university here in China.

When it came time for the money, they pulled out their copy of the newly-minted the "wage guidelines" to which you are referring. I saw it in writing in Chinese.

But it goes something like this:

BA, no or little experience RMB 1,500 - RMB 3,000

MA, experience, RMB 3,000 - RMB 4,500

PH, experience, RMB 4,,500 - RMB 6,000
or designation of special foreign expert status.

When this top-20 university told me what they would offer, I got up and left the meeting and told them to think about it.

They called me a week later and the offer did not go along these strict guidelines at all, not at all.

After all, this is China and they can do want they want. Sure, perhaps in Shanghai and in Beijing the supply and offer places limits but I have tested those limits in other major cities and not found them to stringent at all.

HFG

[Midlothian Mapleheart]

Edited to remove offensive content.


Middy

[prof]

[Leon Purvis]

I've noticed a rollback of wages in the middle provinces since 2004-- from 4700 to 4500 in some cases and from 4500 to 4300, and I've also noticed that some universities are farming their recruiting out to agencies as well. The Provincial Governments are under increasing pressure from the Central Government to control expenses.

Add to the mix the fact that that more and more westerners are going east in response to a flat job market for teachers and new graduates, and you've got a glut of applicants in some areas. Fortunately, most government schools understand the perils of hiring just out of school twenty-somethings.

HFG, I haven't seen any such schedule. I would know if there were one. I'm sl**ping with the head of my school's FAO, and she's an upper-echelon party member. There was talk and that's all. They may try to whittle down those with no experience AND NO DEGREE whose contracts are up for renewal, but there's little possibility there'll be any uniformity in demands for wage decrease.

There WILL be closer scrutiny of credentials to compensate for the general lapse in authentication and the fact that uni recruiting has been handled by unscrupulous recruiters who have not been held accountable for credentials.

[prof]

[Midlothian Mapleheart]

Edited to remove offensive content.


Middy

[Malsol]

The salary schedule is published by SAFEA and is updated every year.