Job Discussion Forums

[chacma]

Has anyone heard of this school? I found them through www.abroadchina.org. It's located in Xianyang, near Xian. The pay is pretty low but so are the hours - 14-16 p/w.

[Moon Over Parma]

Don't sell yourself short with the, "well the pay is low but so are the hours." You can probably find a comparable job in other parts of China with the same (or fewer) hours and better pay. For every blowhard that pontificates about waiting for the relatively few, obscure 10K Uni gigs working 14 hours a week or less, etc. for teachers right off the plane there are folks who sell themselves short by justifying small salaries, and Shaanxi Polytechnic Institute are offering inexcusably pitiful wages starting at 3500RMB a month. You can find schools offering starting wages of 5K RMB (and up) for 14 classroom hours (which can actually mean "45 minutes" rather than 60 minutes) in other, equally interesting cities.

[arcueil_1]

I totally agree. Don't sell yourself short. My second and third years in China were spent at two schools out of the beaten path (but pretty good schools nonetheless, even with the usual problems) and the first paid 5K for 16p and the second paid 6.5K for 16p. This was years ago, so these days anything less than 5K is simply not right. If you have a good degree and experience, you should be able to get at least 7K. Shop around and/or negotiate.

[roadwalker]

On the other hand, just because they advertise a ridiculous salary, doesn't mean they have recently even paid somebody that low. It may be wishful thinking on their part. It wouldn't hurt to contact them and let them know your salary requirements and find out if they are still interested.

[arcueil_1]

That's right. A very low salary in an ad does not mean that that is indeed what they offer. Like with everything else in China, you have to negotiate. But like I said before, with a good degree and experience, you should get paid a *minimum* of 7K for 16p. Keep in mind that Shaanxi is not exactly a place known for high wages though. You may have to negotiate hard. Nevertheless, 6K should be no problem.

[YankeeDoodleDandy]

I have been working in Xi'an for nearly two years., I make 5,200 per month for 14 classes per week. I get paid 200 RMB for attending English Corner for one hour and forty five minutes.The other teachers I work with make 4,500,5,000 and 5,700 RMB per month for the same number of classes per week. I make my money on overtime, where they pay me 100 RMB per class. A few of the other teachers that I have met get paid between 4,500 and 5,000 RMB per month. I don't know about the number of classes they teach, but I would assume it the 14 to 18 classes per week. Hope this helps. Five years ago when I came to China I wanted to work in Chengdu and see pandas. Ruide offered me 3,500 per month and when I balked at the low offer, they told me that living expenses were lower in the western parts of China. I have a few part-time jobs and I make between 75 to 150 RMB per class which ranges from 40 to 50 minutes.

[arcueil_1]

I have to update my profile... Chengdu... Chengdu...

I worked in Chengdu for a year. That city is a cool place to live but salaries are generally quite low, rarely above 6K, and usually somewhere between 4 and 5. I lucked out with a pretty good salary in that city a few years back because I had two and a half years teaching in China under my belt, but the vast majority of laowai teachers in Chengdu don't make very much, unless they are basically overworked.

In fact, you're much better off working in less well-known Sichuan cities. Those cities are usually nothing to write home about, but they often pay much higher and accommodation can sometimes be better as well (but be aware that these cities sometimes have infrastruture issues that can cause more utility outages than normal). My theory is that some schools are perfectly aware that few foreigners want to teach in such places, so they try to make sure that the offer/conditions are good. That's what I did for two and a half years prior to going to Chengdu. It was OK.

Regarding what Ruide told you about living expenses being lower in the southwest vis-a-vis the east or south, that is only partially true, as the cost difference of most goods is in fact very small and sometimes non-existent. For example, I just finished in Changzhou, Jiangsu (a booming city that is one hour away from Shanghai), and the cost of living there was the same as Chengdu, and said costs are stable (i.e. negligible inflation) . The only thing that was significantly more expensive in Changzhou was eating in restaurants. Even good apartments were essentially the same cost (but much nicer). Only the true primo Chinese cities in the east and south are significanly pricier than the southwest.

The bottom line is that recruiters, schools, etc. try to justify the often meager wages/salaries in the southwest by using the "southwest is cheaper" mantra as a crutch. In fact the meager salaries are due to the provinces themselves being much poorer (i.e. less funding, etc.) and sometimes just plain greed or ignorance.

That said, it is not *too* difficult to earn salaries in the southwest that are basically the same as the east or south (except those offered by the "finest" schools).

[chacma]

Thanks for the replies. I've looked around for better paying jobs but I can't find anything over 5,000 for a similar position. And this is my first job in China.

I'm still looking, though. I won't take this job, but so far I haven't seen anything substantially better. Sooner or later you have to take something, or you're just sitting at home doing nothing.

Regarding 10 months salary, is this the norm?