Job Discussion Forums

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

Hello OP.

1. No, I disagree -- RMB 6600 is not on the high side in Beijing anymore. It is very middle, middle. I wouldn't even consider that kind of money in Beijing.

2. The previous OPs are correct. I had several friends who worked for Shane in Beijing and they were farmed out all over h*ll, to put it not so politely.

3. This bit about a SAFEA number is meaningless and it is a waste of time to pursue. If your contract provides that you can be placed in a secondary place of employment at the behest of your employer, well, I hate to say it, but that is legal in China.

4. Many of the posters don't know this but for those without a university diploma the easiest way to the big bucks if you can handle is through a language mill that will employ you as a language consultant under an F visa, which of itself is perfectly legal and occurs frequently, and then you are farmed out ad infinitum to the ends of the world.

5. Your housing allowance is ludicruous -- as a previous poster mentioned, it won't get you anything in Beijing, not even one month's stay in the Baggage Room at Beijing Station -- and Shane knows that. My friends who have worked for Shane in Beijing have usually received RMB 8000 per month, from which they must pay their own housing, leaving then with an in-pocket amount of RMB 6500, and even less after taxes, for all of that running around, etc, etc.

6. The biggest complaint that my friends have had about Shane is the inconsistency of hours from week-to-week since they have been farmed out.

7. However, if you can find yourself a nice roommate, and if you are flexible enough to live with it for a while, it might be a good way to get yourself into the Beijing job market.

8. All things being said and done, I would still rate Shane higher than EF in any case.

Caveat emptor here.

SnoopBot · Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 740 Location: USA

james0 · Joined: 23 Jun 2007 Posts: 29

Is this what you mean by 'farming'?:

"we have school bus available for the teachers' transportation and offer free travel card for teachers to take the subway or train when necessary. It takes 30-40 minutes from Shane to get to one of the state school with longest distance, the other school is within 15-20 minutes distance."

Does this sound like bushit? I wanted to bike from place to place, could that be more efficient than bus (or whatever is being referred to in those estimates)?

james0 · Joined: 23 Jun 2007 Posts: 29

"Our teachers have been teaching in one primary school with 3 different locations, the time schedule is normally set for one school term, and teachers will teach in one school, but depends on the time table, we may also ask them to teach in another school in the afternoons."...

william wallace · Joined: 14 May 2003 Posts: 2869 Location: in between

In 1995-6 You'd get about 80-100 RMB per hour,packages at private schools were from 2,000-3,500, and the laughable "universities" paid from about 1,200-3,000.Taxi's (miandi) were 1 RMB. Many private schools paid for the fare, though in time they got picky over cost of fare, destination to and from the school. In that time,it was advantageous to work freelance, and to give you an idea on traffic then- Most students referred to cars as "private cars", as so few people had them.

Jump ahead...........

In 2006-7 You'll get between 80-150 per hour,packages at private schools are from 6,000-11,000(12,000 at Wally Street ? Used to be 15 in 1999/2000).The salaries at "universities"are about 3,000-8,000(and I'm guessing as I've never been hoodwinked into thinking I'd be like a professor here,and boy oh boy,will that look good on my CV!

Freelance now ? Miandis are gone, the traffic congestion is legendary, and the private schools have smaller blocks of time (In 1998-9 I could get a 4-6 hour block at one school), so I don't think it's very feasible now. The city is saturated with many nationals trying to get a foot in China, and will work for less and less. I think even disregarding my history here, Beijing as just another ESL destination is slipping towards the bottom.

Why ? The simple answer is : That they can,because the world is beating down the door to come to this country, and Beijing is one of the main gateways.

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

vikuk · Joined: 23 May 2007 Posts: 1842

SnoopBot · Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 740 Location: USA

Freelance now ? Miandis are gone, the traffic congestion is legendary, and the private schools have smaller blocks of time (In 1998-9 I could get a 4-6 hour block at one school), so I don't think it's very feasible now. The city is saturated with many nationals trying to get a foot in China, and will work for less and less. I think even disregarding my history here, Beijing as just another ESL destination is slipping towards the bottom.

Why ? The simple answer is : That they can,because the world is beating down the door to come to this country, and Beijing is one of the main gateways.[/quote]

This is pretty much my observation too, I arrived in 2003, which is not that long ago, but long enough to see salaries drop and traffic get worse. I do know Wall Street lost many of their teachers last year due to longer hours and salary cuts.

In my opinion, Beijing has a lot to offer but you cannot afford to do much if your salary is around 3000 RMB a month these days.

This is ok for the newbie, high school graduate type, or short time backpacker. It is NOT worth it for most professional�s teachers who are looking for a career and professional development.

You cannot afford to spend too long in China unless you plan to live in China. Sometime, you will need to return to your home country. I have met many young people who have spent their best years in China with nothing really to show for it. Once you go back home with little savings and over age 40 to most companies you are considered unemployable. I do not trust any Government Social Security program either. The years from 25-35 are your career determining years. If you do everything correctly, those years pay off with hopefully a good position in your 40's +.

I feel teaching in China is good for a stepping-stone for a better career or opportunity to do something else. Time is short, I know China will not change, and the conditions for a teaching career will continue to get worse.
I also know ESL teaching was never a big bucks career. However, it has to be better than working in some brick kiln.

I dread going back to Beijing after my vacation is over. I will probably head to either another country, job field or at the min another province area that has the same low salaries and BS but not the crowds, traffic jams and pollution Beijing has.

It is a stepping-stone, but unless a person is retired with at least +4000 USD a month + teaching salary/or an Expat job, I think it has lost its luster.

My wife is Chinese and she earns +5000 RMB a month teaching English too. Therefore, those stories about Chinese teachers getting peanuts while we make the big bucks are not correct. She has received a pay raise each year with a 15% one this year. Other teachers are paid the same.

She just finished teaching a Summer Camp and was paid 150-200 RMB an hour depending on which groups she had taught. This was the same I got teaching business related MBA prep courses at a big company.

The money is there, but just not going to most FT's. Most of the Chinese we know earn 16,000 + RMB a month and often I am embarrassed to discus my salary with them.

I have a good reason why Chinese universities pay low and how we are torn between the old concepts of Marxism and western capitalism (work = fair wage)

That could go into another worthy thread.