Job Discussion Forums

[Louis]

I've been contemplating going to China for months now... A job conflict caused me to miss the September semester. Now I was all set to go in February, but my contract fell through.

(YAKUP international? They said I would get my faxed invitation in early Dec., said it *had* been faxed in late Dec. Still waiting...)

So recently I've been trying to line up other prospects, and so far it's pretty disappointing. I only have 2 years of university under my belt, so most of my offers have come from recruiters (not interested) and private schools...

I *really* want to go to China, which is why I'm almost considering the following offer:

Deyang (just outside Chengdu) Primary School
starting in March, with 25 hours/week and 6 days/week.
4000 rmb/month

Now this seems like a lot of work. They seem willing to modify the contract to 5 days/week, but still 25 hours. Would this just be too much and make me feel miserably overworked? Am I better off to burn a few thousand $ in airfare to shop around on site for a better job? What are my chances of success in this without a BA or TEFL/TESOL?

Your comments are appreciated.

[taschenrechner]

25 hours a week of actual classes? That seems a bit much for 4000. If you shorten it to 5 days a week, that's a whole lot of teaching in one day. You'll need that extra day off to recover.

[Roger]

Considering it's a primary school, the workload is almost normal, though I don't envy the fellow! It's plain humbug to practise spoken English with kids this young. DOn't forget class sizes - minimum 45 pieces!

But 5 periods a day is just bearable. I wouldn't want to do it, really! However, a period has 45 to 50 minutes; you can potentially do 4 periods in a morning (more likely 3), and run some social gathering ("English Corner") in the evening. Afternoons are normally off.

4000 is a tidy sum of money in China, but you can make more in the same time working in private schools. However, you stand to enjoy more holidays. Do you get paid holidays? How many? The term ends end of June or middle of July!

[Louis]

Well, this is getting a bit more complicated now. I just received my travel invitation from YAKUP, but no word on where I would be teaching (no contract either). From what I've read on other posts, this organization is known for breaking promises too... So my new question is: if I apply for a Z-visa with their invitation, am I at their mercy once I land? Or could I conceivably arrive with the Z-visa and have it transferred to another employer? Many thanks again for your expertise.

[joe]

You absolutely must get the name of the organization you will be working for before you get on the plane. If they will not supply you with this, it should be clear to you that something is amiss -- and fly to China at your own risk -- with the knowledge that you might have to find employment on your own because Yakup will break their promises.

Yakup is notorious.

[Roger]

A work visa is employer-speicific as well as location-specific. I am surprised to learn that Yakup can invite you to China on a work visa; if this is true then you should be working at the place where they are based.
Working in a different school is as illegal as working on a tourist visa.
In any case, they should tell you.

[Louis]

I had the documents translated. The school is Xishan Senior High, in Wuxi.

Everything seems legit so far... though i'm not barring any last minute surprises. Has anyone ever dealt with this school, or been through Wuxi? From what I've heard, the best thing about it is that it's right next to Suzhou

Cheers, thanks for the tips.

[MyTurnNow]

This, at least, is good news. Wuxi is indeed a quick train ride over from beautiful Suzhou, and is itself a rather nice little city...downtown is clean and prosperous, and there are a lot of little foreign goodies for a town its size. You can get to Suzhou in no time and Shanghai in little. I dated a girl there and spent some time there...before I met the current Senora Raoula, of course.

If you get in a jam with these Yakup yahoos and need to bolt for better dealings, you should make a beeline for Hong Kong to get yourself clear of the Yakup-attached visa. Come back in as a turista and let your new, improved employer redo the funky Z thang.

MT

[gerard49]

Well Lois, we had the misfortune of arriving in Beijing at the invitation of Yakup and then being offered positions in upper Mongolia. NO thanks!! Luckily we had a previous offer to go to Suzhou and with more luck than good management eventually had a marvellous time. See our photosuite of Suzhou at http://community.webshots.com/user/gerardd49. Listen to the other posts, they (Yakup) will not tell you where you're going. Try asking them to put you in touch with a foreign teacher at the school before u come. They will ignore the request.
Actually We will be neigbours as we have an offer to go to Wuxi also.
xiage yue jian, zhu nin hao yun

[Guest]

I came with Yakup 5 months ago with a Contract and with no idea of which school or area I would be teaching in. It all turned out fine. I flew into Beijing and spent 3 nights there (at Yakup's expense) while he sorted out where to send me. I ended up only about an hour from Wuxi actually in Zhangjiagang and I could not be happier.

I only actually teach for just over 10 hours per week and I am now on 3,500 per month. It is a clean and tidy City compared to the surrounding ones I have visited (although the pollution is very bad here also) but the School and the administrators are great.

I have had no problems with Yakup Intetnational. Some of the things he promised me did not materialise but in the scheme of things they were only minor.

[shenyanggerry]

Rhonda, I also had a pleasant experience with a recruiter. The important things I was told were true. There were things I wasn't told that made things even better.

I lived with a headhunter for years. There was a clause in all her contracts that stated if the candidate left within a specific period, usually four to six months, the recruiter wasn't paid.

I wonder if age is a factor in our getting satisfactory positions. We're both of an age where people expect us to have the resources to say 'sideways' and walk if conditions warrant. Headhunters like to get paid!