Job Discussion Forums

[Vanica]

Does anyone know of this agency? They have ads for a middle school in Weixin, Zhaotong. I saw both positive and negative comments on ESL Teachers Board.

[no_exit]

I don't know much about the company. I live in Kunming, and this is the first year I've seen them advertising for teachers in those cities. They've been putting up ads locally as well.

Zhaotong and Weixin are poorer areas of what is already a pretty poor province. You'll probably encounter decent students, but the conditions won't be ideal. Zhaotong isn't really known for anything besides poverty, and Weixin is smaller even than Zhaotong. They offer decent salaries, probably as compensation for the location. You certainly won't need much money in those places, and could save a lot. It could be an enjoyable experience, but you'll be roughing it. No KFC, no Wal Mart, probably no Western food at all. Dirty, poverty stricken, landslides (it seems like you hear at least once a year about a killer landslide in Zhaotong, earthquake prone -- it definitely won't be a cushy place to spend a year.

[Vanica]

I think they just had an earthquake last week. The BBC mentioned one in NE Yunnan.
How can they offer higher pay because of the location? I mean, who is paying? It's not like an oil company that offers high pay because they are making so much money -- this is a poor district. Who is subsidizing the higher pay?
The recruiter I spoke to was so sweet, but he promised the world (hence the name?) and that made me nervous. They want someone for this week, which is too fast for me.

By the way, would that area have the same climate/temperature as Kunming, as in the eternal spring? Maybe not because it is obviously mountainous.

[no_exit]

They offer higher pay because the location is crap and they know it. It will take a lot of money to get foreign teachers out there. If they offered less it would be harder to get teachers to take the job (unlike Kunming, where they can offer less because so many people want to work in the place), because Zhaotong is pretty much a hole. If they have contracts with several schools or businesses, which they most likely do, they will still easily make enough money to be able to pay your salary. Just because the area is generally poor doesn't mean that there isn't *some* money there, just that the people without outnumber the people with.

I'm not saying it would be terrible. The money is very good for Yunnan, and although Zhaotong is completely backwater Yunnan, some people really like living in the sticks (although Zhaotong is probably one of the less picturesque parts of Yunnan -- compare what they are offering to what is being offered by the school in Lijiang, and you might get an idea of how the desireability of a city correlates with the salaries offered there), but I wouldn't sign a year long contract. See if they'll do six months and see if you like it or not first.