Job Discussion Forums

[super-dave]

for personal reasons, i'm considering moving to dalian for a year.

what kind of jobs are the most common? kids, adults, universities?

what are ballpark salaries and conditions for the area?

i've been reading a lot on this forum (and searching) but the conditions vary so much from town to town.

i'm in my 30s, 12 years experience teaching, have a teaching degree. so i'd hope to negotiate a good salary.

basically, i'm hoping that some folks who've been in dalian for a while can help me out with some ground work.

thanks in advance.

dave

[China.Pete]

University jobs in Dalian typically pay about �4,500 per month, and include housing of varying quality. You can make nearer �10,000 a month (you must find your own housing) if you enjoy teaching the Web way for an abundant quantity of contact hours each week. An assortment of other language schools will pay you somewhere between these two amounts (with or without housing), often as not for teaching kids' classes.

There are a handful of bona fide international schools/programs in Dalian, offering a five-day workweek for pay that is slightly better than that offered by Web. The Maple Leaf School has a number of campuses in and around the city, for example, and, as an EFL teacher, you will be supplied with housing but few of the other benefits enjoyed by certified BC teachers. A licensed teacher should be able to at least double the top salary for EFL work.

Part-time employment for in-company training is also available. Foreign teachers can expect �100-150 per hour for such work (or whatever you can get). A few teachers even seem to make a living doing this, although you are definitely on your own for housing arrangements. I would caution anyone considering relocating to Dalian that the TEFL market, especially for the better-paid jobs, can be a relatively small one.

[Lorean]

I have visited Dalian. It's an nice place to visit, but I would not want to live there. The locals are jerks.

[Beyond1984]

Hi Dave,

What do you have in the way of degrees, certificates, certifications, etc.? What subjects have you been teaching, and at what levels?

I've been working in Dalian about 30 months and am very happy here.

As you may know, Dalian females are known for their height ... if you are exceptionally short they may look down their cute button noses at you. I haven't met any jerks yet.

-HDT

"How does it become a man to behave toward this American government today? I answer that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it."
-Henry David Thoreau, "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience," 1849

[super-dave]

thanks so much for the responses so far ...

LOL ... i'm not worried about local girls ... i'll take what i can get ... and i'm not exactly the tallest guy in the world. haha

i've got a teaching degree, 12 years experience, taught in england and australian high schools. taught all levels in korea, including university. very, very experienced.

actually, the reason i want to go to dalian is that there's a masters course i want to study there. so i'm hoping to study a masters for 12 months, and teach as well to make ends meet.

i'm not a big fan of hourly work, so i'd rather a regular gig that pays the bills and keeps noodles on my plate!

i don't expect to save or profit, but i would rather spend a year without digging into my savings. i'm happy to eat local food and drink local beer!

[super-dave]

hey, i just found out that my course would be fairly self-study based. so i wouldn't need to attend too many classes. maybe 1 a week.

so i'd be looking for a full time job.

what's the best bet? universities, adults, kids, schools??

i know they don't supply housing, but i was wondering if housing is easy to get in dalian?

thanks again, any useful comments are welcome.

[China.Pete]

"What's the best bet? Universities, adults, kids, schools?" -- Super Dave

As you're experienced, you might want to give the language schools a miss. Your teaching certificate could be in demand at the limited number of international schools, although they would also place considerable demands on your time. University jobs are more likely to offer free accommodation and plenty of time for study, if you can learn to live on the salary.

"I know they don't supply housing, but I was wondering if housing is easy to get in Dalian?" -- Super Dave

Actually, many employers do offer accommodation. The language schools are more likely to offer shared apartments; the universities private ones. There is no particular shortage of housing in Dalian. The only possible difficulty I can think of would be linguistic. Otherwise, you just walk into one of the many shop front Realtors, set up an appointment with the apartment owner, and sign a lease.

[super-dave]

thanks china pete

that was very useful information.

a university job might be tempting. less money is fine, since i can live fairly cheaply ... plenty of free time to study is worth the lower salary. and getting a free apartment would be a big bonus.

it seems my best bet is international schools and universities.

i know there's the dalian medical university, but i don't know any other schools in dalian.

i need to have a better look.

[Surfdude18]

I work for one of Dalian's International Schools as an ESL teacher, and while it's certainly not as good pay as the qualified/certified teachers get, it's still an excellent package by the standards of ESL in China:

4 months + paid holiday (all of January and February, and all of July and August, plus the national holidays, such as they are).
10,500 a month (after tax) in the first year, 11,500 thereafter, for a reasonable working week (I have 21 x 35 min classes).
Good flat off campus, free.
Medical insurance for the teacher, their spouse and child(ren).
Return airfare to the west for the teacher AND spouse (and half fare paid for kids). Made it cheap for us to have a trip home last summer after too long away from the UK.
Small classes compared to most Chinese primaries - about 20 kids in a class.
Pretty friendly office environment compared to other Chinese schools I have seen. The teachers actually say hello, how are you, etc in the morning.

I'm going back to Britain as I'm bored of ESL and am about to do a PGCE, but in my view, the combination of decent pay and long paid holidays makes this one of the better (primary) gigs I've heard of anywhere in China.

[Surfdude18]

Super-dave, with a teaching degree you are qualified to teach in one of Maple Leaf's full international positions. These offer similar conditions to what I described, but a salary of around 25,000 a month on top.

[super-dave]

good info surfdude. thanks ... i'll contact you via pm, i have some questions i want to ask.

[sde]

Surfdude, which school do you work for?

[Beyond1984]

"hey, i just found out that my course would be fairly self-study based. so i wouldn't need to attend too many classes. maybe 1 a week." -super-dave

Hi Dave,

I know from your posts that you're an experienced and savvy teacher who has been around and knows his way, so this caution may be unnecessary. Nevertheless, I'll offer it unbidden.

You're hoping to get a Master's after a year of study, but may be attending just one class per week ... If the cost of the program is nominal, it may be worth signing up ... but be aware that some hiring authorities, such as the MOE in Hong Kong, may ask detailed questions to determine if your MA/MS is "real." They look askance at online programs and "self-study" programs.

-HDT

"How does it become a man to behave toward this American government today? I answer that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it."
-Henry David Thoreau, "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience," 1849

[super-dave]

hey mate

thanks for the caveat ... actually, it's not an educational masters, it's in photography!! LOL ... the course is a sister program from a british university, it's project based (hence, few classes) and is a year long ... and quite cheap.

i'm not really doing it to become a better teacher ... i'm doing it cause it'll be mad fun.

i've been considering moving to dalian, because i've heard it's a great place to live ... so i'm killing about 5 birds with one stone!

so, if anyone has more info about dalian universities and international schools, i'd love to hear from you!

cheers

david

[Tayne101]

Is it possible to get a job teaching kids in Dalian with a TESOL + 1 years experience, but no degree?