Job Discussion Forums

[jcl]

hi there people, I'm planning to teach in hong kong and just wanted to ask if you guys think it would be easy for me to get a job. I'd graduated with a bachelor degree and have been working as a kindergarten teacher and private English tutor here in Manila, Philippines for 8 years. I'm currently taking up my tesl online course. Hope you guys can help me thanks

[11:59]

I'm afraid to say that I do not think it would be at all easy. On the contrary, assuming you are Filipino, I suspect it would be nigh on impossible to get any form of teaching post here in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the HK Chinese believe that Filipinos are in some sense sub-human at worst, and definitely further down the evolutionary scale at best. Filipinos in HK only get employed as 'maids/domestic helpers/amahs' (the current politically correct terms for slaves) and houseboys. I personally know of one Filipino lady who has a (full-time, on campus) MSc from a respectable university in the States and the best post she could secure here was operating the till in a coffee shop for, wait for it, a whopping $3,000 HK a month.

[jcl]

actually I'm a pure Chinese who was born here in Manila, so I'm a Filipino citizen. I can speak fluent chinese. So what do you think? is it still hard? hope you can help me..Follow up question... If ever I apply for a teaching job online, how long usually does it take before I can hear a reply from the employer? thanks again

[11:59]

I'm afraid to say that the further information you furnish us with only makes it even less likely that you would be able to secure employment within the teaching field in HK. Whether you are Filipino in terms of race, or Filipino by passport does not really enter into the equation. In the otherwise vacuous minds of the HK Chinese it's all one and the same. In fact, a Chinese-Filipino would be regarded with downright suspicion, in my experience.

Also, you mention that you can speak Chinese, but is that Mandarin or Cantonese (or one of the other countless varieties)? If the former, then the Mainland is right next door with some 1.4 billion native speakers so there's hardly a shortage, and if the latter then, again, there are 7 million-odd native speakers in HK already (and most really are rather odd!).

I don't know what sort of posts are advertised on-line, but, in answer to your question, how long is a piece of string? Many of those jobs don't actually exist � it's just chancers trying to build up and pool together a portfolio of potential teachers which they in turn can take to prospective employers allowing the CV collectors to become a go-between, raking off 20% or so of the salary. In the SCMP, for example, you see countless advertisements with a Yahoo email address requesting people to send in their CVs. They don't even have their own email domain. My advice would be to avoid them like the plague.

Sorry I couldn't be more positive, but life in HK for Filipinos sucks to the extreme. To your average Hong Konger, a Filipino teacher would be regarded as an oxymoron.

They value Filipino maids' (very real) abilities in English as it can give their offspring an English-speaking environment on a daily basis, but they are not prepared to pay for it. I know of many Hong Kong Chinese who openly � and unashamedly � confess to employing Filipino maids exclusively for the language input for their kids. It never occurs to them to pay more than the $3,000 HK a month though. After all, it's only an accident of birth that they can speak English, right?

[jcl]

though I'm a little disappointed with your reply, maybe its better for me to accept that racial discrimination is still existing... thanks for the help friend but I'm still going to try it, I want to prove to them that we Filipino citizens have our ability. Thanks again

[Pieface]

jcl,
Don't become too despondent just yet. If you have the qualifications required to get on the government NET scheme, then by all means apply. You might just surprise yourself
By the way, it is not the end of the world if you don't get on the NET scheme. If you really want to teach in Hong Kong, there are other places to work (albeit at a ratjher lower rate of pay - but providing valuable experience nonetheless!). These include: Chatteris (www.chatteris.org.hk, Children's English centre and the Wall street institute. I'm not sure of the web addresses for the latter two, but I believe they recruit all year round and often advertise on www.TEFL.com.
Good luck!
Pie

[11:59]

Whilst I'd agree that it pays never to become despondent, I cannot agree that Wall Street could be recommended. They pay $18,000 HK a month (compare with the housing allowance alone of NETs which is a few dollars shy of $13,000 a month) and for that they demand 36 classroom contact hours a week (6 hours a day) plus a few 'social' hours with students a week. They claim they offer a 5 and a half-day week, but the 'half' day still has 6 one-hour lessons, it's just that they are back to back!

No, my advice for what it's worth would be to steer well clear of firms like Wall Street and go for a small private training centre instead.

[jcl]

thanks guys, your advices make me feel much better now, if luckily I can get a job, I'll tell you guys, wish me luck thank you, and so glad to have friends like you

[once again]

One of my collegues is Chinese but born and raised in the Philipines. She has no problems at my school whatsoever. She is loved by the students and well regarded by the administration. Don't listen to the doom and gloomers. Apply for jobs and see what happens.