Job Discussion Forums

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

I got a great offer from a middle school in Anhui province. The man sent me photos of the school and it looks wonderful.

Here's the problem, there have only been three FTs at the school, it's only 3 years old. And the man has lost contact with two of them and the third email doesn't work, so I can't ask any FTs any questions.

Should I just accept the job? I mean, if the school can get me a Z visa it can't be that bad? The two jobs I had in China before I wasn't so worried about. But this one would mean dragging my husband halfway across the world, leaving our house as well. We want to leave, I just want to make sure the school is ok. Any tips?

Leon Purvis · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:00 pm Post subject:

Ask the school to request a letter of invitation from the provincial government. From there you'd submit the letter of invitation to your local consulate along with the other paper work it requires. Then your local consulate will issue the Z visa. This is the ONLY way in which you can guarantee receipt of a Z visa. If the school is authorized to hire foreign experts, your local consulate can issue a Z visa to teach there.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

I'm pretty sure I can get a Z visa, I just hope the school is as good as it sounds. And if it is, I wonder why they don't have tons of FTs there.

randyj · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 10:05 pm Post subject:

Accepting without some words from current or former foreign teachers is too risky, in my humble opinion. Pass.

clark.w.griswald · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 2056

The schools claims of not being able to contact previous teachers are possible and therefore there may be nothing to worry about.

However this could also be a cover by a school not wanting you to make contact with past teachers. So perhaps it is best to be cautious.

In the past I would have said to post the name of the school here and see if anyone has had any experience with it, but considering that there has been at least one case on this board of a member stealing a job from another member after just such an enquiry, perhaps you are best not to reveal the name.

So that leaves you with independant research. See what you can find out for yourself on the net. If the school is only three years old then information will likely be limited but you may find something that either reinforces your hopes or dashes them.

Finally, in the event that no further information comes through then perhaps you can just give it a go. If it turns out to be terrible you can always resign and at least you will be in country legally so will have a better chance of finding another job.

Worldly · Joined: 04 Dec 2006 Posts: 74 Location: The Cosmos

AussieGuyInChina · Joined: 23 Nov 2006 Posts: 403

Go with your instincts.

john_n_carolina · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 700 Location: n. carolina

...nope, logically, posting the name of the school won't work. there won't be anyone that knows about it, or who has worked there. the only way is someone who has works there now. also, someone from 3 years ago, times could've changed, ....

having said that, i still say go for it. salary is the key. work out the rest when you get there. if it gets so bad that it's not worth the salary, then hand in your resignation letter.

but still, it'd have to be a very very high salary to go 15,000 miles around the world and leave your husband's family / house.

therock · Joined: 31 Jul 2005 Posts: 1266 Location: China

Considering the school has only be operating for 3 years I wouldn't be too concerned about not being able to contact previous teachers. I would say accept the position if it goes bad you can always change employers once you are here. China is a FT's dream market.

jeffinflorida · Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 4:54 am Post subject:

From past experiences the photo array of a school and / or city is absolutely no indicator as to how good a school or a city is. Don't pay any attention to those pictures of beautiful buildings or smiling kids...

And neither is speaking to previous teachers... They left for a reason. Typically a happy FT stays for a while in the same place... High turnover = THERE IS A PROBLEM somewhere...

The place I am in saw 29 out of 30+ teachers leave after ONE semester... ( this means only one stayed, the rest spit...)

So far this year one has jumped ship after only a few weeks and other are grumbling...

So my advice, you really won't know till you get there... And you can always leave and move on if it ain't working for you.

Tarheel 13 · Joined: 02 May 2007 Posts: 44 Location: Outer Banks, NC

Sure, accept the job. Once you're here, and they're jerking you around, just tell them that they have to fix whatever problems you have in 24 hours or you're going to take another job that you've been offered in another province. There's not a damn thing they can do about it, and they'll come around very quickly with apologies, money, whatever. It's the Chinese way.