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weatherman
Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 10
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 Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:30 pm Post subject: Teaching online classes in China |
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I've got a Master's Degree in English Linguistics and I currently teach classes on the internet for a university and teach at a community college in the US. I'm interested in going to China for about a year, but I don't want to get dragged into a year long contract. I'm wondering how feasible it would be to simply go to China and continue teaching the online classes while I'm over there for income until I can make contacts and get a good ESL job. I can make about 2k USD from the internet classes.
Is this even legal? Does anyone know anybody who has done it? |
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Anda
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 2199
Location: Jiangsu Province
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:32 pm Post subject: Um |
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| The Goverment here has been playing around with hotmail so we have not been able to connect on and off. |
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weatherman
Joined: 28 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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but from a legal/visa perspective is it ok to be working for a US company while living in China? Do I have to do anything special or can I just come over on a tourist visa? Has anyone heard of someone doing something like this?
I definitly want to be in an urban area and I was thinking Beijing because I've got a good friend with family there who can help me get set up with an apartment and what not. How easy is it to get wifi access in Beijing? |
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Anda
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 2199
Location: Jiangsu Province
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:25 am Post subject: Um |
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weatherman
Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:28 pm Post subject: |
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| nevermind, I just found out that the university I teach for doesn't allow you to teach while abroad. I'm not sure how they would find out, but I don't think I want to risk getting stuck in China with no source of income if they did. |
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China.Pete
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Posts: 547
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:19 am Post subject: Finding Out |
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"I just found out that the university I teach for doesn't allow you to teach while abroad. I'm not sure how they would find out..." -- Weatherman
Not an uncommon requirement for online jobs. It might be designed to differentiate the employer's services from the deliberately outsourced ones. As for finding out, I don't know how sophisticated they are, but they could utilize some of the same techniques (checking IP addresses, etc.) banks and online retailers use to try to determine the physical location of their customers. |
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weatherman
Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:57 am Post subject: |
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couldn't I use a proxy to connect to the course website then?
This might sound dumb, but can you even use proxies in China? I'm a little ignorant of what kinds of things are allowed. Can you use VoIP? My students have to be able to call me without having to make an international call so I was thinking I could use Skype and get a US number, but I haven't really looked into it that much. I remember reading somewhere that you can only make computer-to-computer calls with Skype in China but not phone-to-computer calls. |
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China.Pete
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Posts: 547
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:08 am Post subject: Using a Proxy |
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"Couldn't I use a proxy to connect to the course website then?" -- Weatherman
Yes, of course. But then you're playing a game of cat-and-mouse with your employer, and involving your students in it as well. Just one complaint or comment "out of school" and you'd be found out. But the real value of a proxy here may be in coping with the intermittent or near permanent "inaccessibility" of certain sites like Wikipedia, BBCNews, etc. |
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Anda
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 2199
Location: Jiangsu Province
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 5:52 am Post subject: Um |
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| What's wrong with MSN mesenger as I'm using it and it's okay most of the time! |
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weatherman
Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 5:41 pm Post subject: Re: Um |
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| Anda wrote: |
| What's wrong with MSN mesenger as I'm using it and it's okay most of the time! |
It's just a requirement for the job that students be able to reach you by phone during certain times of the day. From what I understand, I can set up an account with Skype and purchase a US phone number and then I should be able to recieve phone calls from whoever dials that number as long as I'm logged in--regardless of my physical location. I've been told that this works when travelling within the US, not sure if it works when in other countries.
| Quote: |
| But then you're playing a game of cat-and-mouse with your employer, and involving your students in it as well. Just one complaint or comment "out of school" and you'd be found out. |
From a moral standpoint, I would feel justified in "tricking" my employer because I don't think they have a right to dictate where I live as long as I can provide the same service regardless of location. The only reason they should be able to tell me where I can't live would be if they had some legal obligation to only employ people physically residing the in the US. Which, as I understand it, they don't.
The students would have no idea. The discussion in classes doesn't get personal enough for them to verify where I live. As far as the students are concerned, I would be living in whatever part of the US I told them. So if a student did complain, it wouldn't be about my location.
As long as I do the job well, students can reach me by phone if necessary, I post class materials on time, and use a proxy to connect to the school website, then I ought to be fine. I can't think of how they would figure it out, but I'm still not sure if it's worth the risk of getting stranded with no income source. I guess the most important thing at this point is to figure out if the VoIP thing works the way I think it does. Anyone care to test it for me?
Also, I would only need to keep up the charade until I found a job in China. Given that I will have Chinese friends in the city who are willing to advocate for me, how long would you expect it to take for me to make contacts and get a respectable ESL job? I guess you'd need to know more about me to answer that. I have an MA in English Linguistics which means that while I tend to know a little bit less about ESL pedagogy than someone with an MA in applied linguistics or ESL, I usually know way more about the actual language. I also have experience teaching business and academic writing at the university level.
So I feel like the time frame would be 1-3 months to find a decent job, but am I just being overconfident? How common are university level jobs? |
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China.Pete
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Posts: 547
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| Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 2:55 am Post subject: Finding University Jobs |
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"...(A)m I just being overconfident? How common are university level jobs?" -- Weatherman
It's relatively easy to find a university job in China, especially if you've got lots of credentials. It's quite difficult, however, to find a school that will pay you much more than any other foreign teacher, credentialed or otherwise, could get--roughly 4,000-6,000 Yuan/mo. Your description of the relative merits of your particular MA will probably not register with the majority of bottom-line-oriented school administrators. You should also consider that teaching at most universities in China, whatever the status involved, may be more akin to working at a high school in the West.
Counting on reliable Internet access in mainland China for work purposes can be somewhat adventurous at times. The usual problems with bandwidth and broken transoceanic cables aside, if you have any experience with browsing from behind a corporate firewall (especially ones designed to discourage the employees from goofing off, etc.), then you can have some appreciation for what it's like to try and bore through the Great Wall of China. Sites such as Google, Hotmail and Yahoo, for instance, are periodically inaccessible. Who knows why.
The simplest approach, OP, might just be to arrange a job before you arrive here. At least then, you could find out a little more about the salary and working conditions you were prepared to give up your current job for. Also, you wouldn't lose any of the perceived advantage you may have to the more prestigious Chinese universities and international programs by way of holding a similar job in the West. Finally, the few institutions that do offer a premium for specific degrees or experience may also have additional benefits (airfare, shipping, etc.) that are not available to "local hires." |
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