Job Discussion Forums

[CountryClub]

After many months of lurking I am now prepared to pose a few questions to you seasoned veterans. I know these are newbie questions but since they relate directly to China I thought I would go directly to the experts.

1. What exactly is the travel allowance mentioned in many job ads? Often, this seems to be in addition to paid airfare so I am a little confused.

2. When does the fall semester at Chinese universities end and when does the new one begin? I would like to teach at a university and I�m hoping that I don�t have to wait too long. Do I stand much of a chance of getting a position in the next few weeks?

3. Is the use of the term �university� regulated in China or can any school simply call themselves a university if they so desire?

Any help is greatly appreciated and thanks in advance for your constructive responses.

[Roger]

1) Travel allowance is, indeed, an extra to cover holiday trip costs, and it usually gets paid out at the end of the first term, that is, in answer to your other question, in January, before the spring festival holidays, traditional holiday season in the PR of C.
The amount seldom exceeds 2200 RMB. It nowadays is hardly enough to pay for your hotels and train fares.
2) The second term commences a month later, about mid-February, and lasts until end of June or middle of July.
Your chances of finding an university job right now are dim.

3) "University" in China is a vague term. Although it's fair to say it's a tertiary institution, few unis compare to universities elsewhere. There has been a lumping-together of colleges and universities of late. Many institutions were merged, becoming huge and combining different streams that formerly would have been college and university streams.
To give you an idea - I worked at a "college", and had to meet requirements for employment at a university; my students "studied to be secretaries" (whole classes majoring as "secretary").
I would call that school a 'vocational college", and even so, I think the students lagged far behind students in Hong Kong or a western country in many ways
Of course, this only made my job more relaxed. I quite liked the students, though the administration was a very different part of the equation.

[CountryClub]

Thanks for the reply Roger.