Job Discussion Forums

NathanRahl · Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 509

I negotiated a contract with this group, a group I ain't sure about yet cause of visa issues. Anyhow, I wanted to know about the pay. It is 5,000 rmb month, for 20 teaching hours and no office hours. Now, I was even told that it may be even les, and the last fellow taught 16 teaching hours a week. Is this good pay? I am a good teacher, they loved my first classes, but I also no they pay as high as 6,000, I am feeling like I am not making as much as I should be, so, am I. It is my first time teaching in China, but I've beena teacher in america for 13 years. Is this salary an accurate reflection of a good sa;ary, or should I be making more? Also, it turns out I will be teaching two grade levels, which means two lesson plans, did not know about that before, extra time there, should mean extra money in my opinion. Also, since my contract is not legal yet, since no proper visa, could I, or should I, try and renegotiate now that I know more, or suck it up and wait until I have taught a year, and see if I want to come back, and renegotiate then?

NateM · Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Posts: 358

If you've been a teacher in the U.S., why not get internationally certified and teach at an international school? That's where the big bucks are, if that's what you're after.

NathanRahl · Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 509

I am new to teaching outside the US. How would one go about becoming internationally certified anyhow? Also, could someone answer my questions asked, though I would like to know more about international certification, thanks.

Outsida · Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 6:21 am Post subject:

Just an aside...

I don't "no" if you could get 6000 a month. Depends if your skills are up to par, you "no".

5k is great. Enjoy it.

BlakeS · Joined: 07 Aug 2006 Posts: 87 Location: Xian

Along Outsida's lines....

You really must watch your grammar, spelling and sentence structure when making a post about your teaching abilities. We all make mistakes but there's a time and place for them!

5k, depending on location, is reasonable. I wouldn't except it but that's me. I wouldn't settle for less than 6k on a 20 hour contract. If this is in Beijing, you should be getting double. If this is in, say, Xian....it's reasonable. But once again, I wouldn't settle for less than 6.

saint57 · Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:45 am Post subject:

I don't believe that there is such a thing as "international certification". If you want to teach at an international school you'll have to be certified in whatever they teach. For example, if you're at a British international school you better be qualified to teach in the U.K. My school and others that teach the Ontario curriculum require you to be an Ontario certified teacher.

I should make a correction. If you're teaching I.B. I think you need some special certification.

5,000 is pretty crappy. I taught 18 classes for 5,500. Later, two teachers came in and got 7,000 because the school was desperate.

andrew_gz · Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Posts: 502 Location: Reborn in the PRC

Blake wrote,"You really must watch your grammar, spelling and sentence structure...I wouldn't except it " Very Happy

BlakeS · Joined: 07 Aug 2006 Posts: 87 Location: Xian

Steppenwolf · Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 1769

Many Chinese English teachers with better English typing skills and mastery of the grammar get only a fraction of 5000 a month!

BlakeS · Joined: 07 Aug 2006 Posts: 87 Location: Xian

NathanRahl · Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 509

Hey now,
Give me a break, I am rather tired, getting over some nasty sickness and a four day headache, so if you could give a man a break here that would be great. I must say, attacking someone when they are down, very bad pool.
As for my teaching skills, I am a superb teacher, and to down me just because of a bad posting is just not right.
Anyhow, it seems there are widely varying opinions about what is good pay, and what isn't.
I just discovered though that even the best pull the old bait and switch, and that they have scheduled my classes so far apart that it will take me over seven hours to teach three classes. Basically I will have office hours, which I was told before hand would not be the case. In fact they told me that there would be a 10 to 15 minute gap between classes, not 4 hours. I am not happy about it, and if they can not reschedule classes to be more back to back, I will definitly demand more pay, as this is a breach of our agreement. Hell, I had an offer that payed almost double, which I turned down to take this job, because they wanted me to work a lot of office hours. to be honest, I'd rather teach then just sit on my ass, atleast then I would be making more money.
Thank you to those few who actually stayed on topic and answered my question, though with the widely varying answers it is still not so easy to postulate a conclusion.
Oh, and to the Genius who said there is a time and place for mistakes, thats a fallacy, since by their very nature mistakes can not be controlled, if they could, we would not make them. Take care all.

HGLTsuperstar · Joined: 07 Aug 2006 Posts: 28

Have you signed a contract that states no office hours? Also was there a clause about the school reserves the right to reschedule etc? Finally, and don't be oversensitive, you probably a superb teacher in the US, but that's not the same as being a good teacher in China and the ones who judge you are the ones who pay you. As for demanding a pay rise, I think its more like try to negotiate, if they dont want to give you one you're stuck.

NathanRahl · Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 509

Hmm, well I have given several classes, with both the schools headmaster and other english teachers present, and it was their words that I am a superb teacher, the ones who pay me, not mine, so the ones who pay me obviously think I am Wink

And yes, I will negotiate of course, and no, the contract said nothing but "no more then 20 teaching hours a week" however the assistant headmaster and person who is in charge of foreign teachers told me straight to my face there would not be, and there was no wiggle room in the contract for extra time. Also, no, there was no clause about the school reserving the right to reschedule or anything of that nature. Actually it was pretty straight forward and specific, with no vague area's that would allow misinterpretation to slip in. I do not care that I can do whatever I like during those inbetween hours, I am certainly not going to schedule my whole day around 3 classes, that's absurd, clearly these quailify as office hours, extra work hours for sure. There was no clause in the contract for any of that. I am thinking with that amount of time that 6,000 yuan would not be unfair. Take care.

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

no_exit · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 565 Location: Kunming

Don't believe employers who make promises that seem to good to be true. Make sure that those little perks are included in the contract. If they refuse, then you have a good idea about what those "promises" are really worth.

It is difficult to say what a "good salary" is, because it depends on too many factors to just say that there is an across the board standard. I would agree with the others, that if you can manage to get a job at an international school, then you'll make a lot more money. Like they say, if you are certified in the US, then you are qualified to teach at an American school, if you're certified in the U.K, then at a British school. You should do a search for international schools in China and send out some inquiries.