Job Discussion Forums

[NorthofAmerica]

What up all. I have been reading through and still seeing a lot of different information (maybe I've been here too long but it seems nothing changes in Japan)

I know inflation is creeping up to like %10 percent (whatever that means, do you see it?) and I just read a post about jobs in Beijing offering 3500RMB as a wage. Is this serious? Can you live on that at all?

I plan on moving to Shanghai and am right now staring at a webpage application for Linguaphone that lists a 12,000RMB starting wage. THAT'S ALMOST 4 TIMES the wage in Beijing. What's up with that? Many other schools list 8-12k or lower ones at 5-6k. They ALL say they are negotiable.

I am not much for negotiating but it would at least help me if I knew what a reasonable starting wage was. Will I get laughed out the door if I ask for 12,000 at some other place?

I do notice though that Linguaphone does not mention subsidized housing or plane tickets. What kind of difference does that make month over month? I will make sure to ask if they will help me with housing. Any ideas how much to expect for an apt. in Shanghai?

I'll keep browsing the forums but any info is appreciated

[Anda]

Job offers mean nothing unless you talk hours. Most work here pays between 4,000 to 6,000 RMB for 16 class hours plus accommodation, airfares and limited holidays.

Institutes give little time off and expect you to put in lots of hours for what they pay. Universities and government schools give bigger holidays and shorter hours but low pay.

In a place like Shanghai accommodation ranges from about 3,000 to 7,000 for somewhere livable a month. If you don't want to commute then you pay more for central accommodation. In some small cities such as where I live a good apartment can be got for about 500 RMB a month.

In general you need 4,000 to 5,000 RMB plus accommodation to live a normal quite life here. If you want to buy stuff or socialize then you need a few thousand a month more which in general means that you need to work for about 25 hours a week instead of 16 hours.

If you have the skills then there is bigger money out there. You have to be tops but to get it.

[william wallace]

Well, in my antiquated, yet humble opinion, Beijing is now for youngsters to learn Mandarin ,and offset their costs by ummm, teaching English.That is why the salaries are low,cuz beer be cheap; or possibly to actually have the honour of staying in Beijing is worth 5-10 K RMB ?

[Anda]

Look there is a lot of money in a place like Shanghai but your costs are also high. Let's take private lessons for example. In shanghai you can get from 220 to 350 RMB an hour if you are good but your travel time and costs eat into this. Where I live even 100 RMB is out of the question. I teach part time at an institute in another city where students pay 10 RMB an hour. So most classes are for around 20 students and I get 100 RMB an hour. Chinese teachers get about 20 RMB for teaching the same students as what I do. My boss has plenty of overheads, he isn't making a killing.

Now there are institutes that employ foreign teachers and pay around 8,000 RMB per month for 25 hours per week where the maximum amount of students is four to a class. So in general if somewhere is saying so much per hour and so many students then it is what they can pay in relation to what they charge. They are not in business to pay out big money to foreign teachers as many seem to think.

We are not a scarce commodity these days as before. You have to be good to pull the better jobs. The top money is for company jobs but that is a field that takes a bit of time to break into.

Now all this s--t about inflation! Wake up, as it means that Chinese as a whole have less money to spend on things like English classes. To get customers who are experiencing lower spending power you need to drop your charges. So you expect bigger money from students that have less spending power than they previously had then you are dreaming. Expect bigger classes and the same money if you are lucky.

If one wants big money then go into business for yourself and see if money grows on trees. Soon those with a job will think themselves lucky. It is already this way here in China with most Chinese that earn anything over 1,500 RMB a month are normally not complaining about their wages. Sure there are Chinese on big money here but they represent a very small percentage of the overall population here in China.

[kev7161]

My school actually raised tuition prices in my department this next school year from 40,000 to 43,000. What's that - - about 7-8%? My salary went up by 5%. Not a load of money, but I'm happy. One thing to think about when they are lowballing you on these pay offers is that the exchange rate of RMB vs USD has risen so now $1.00 is about 7 yuan. Not so good coming into the country with a pocket full of US dollars, but much better when exchanging your RMB pay and sending money back home for safe keeping, bill paying, etc.

NOT that this excuses the ridiculous salaries some places are offering! If inflation is on the rise (which it is), then salaries should also be on the rise, not dropping.

[NorthofAmerica]

Before anyone makes any judgements on the quality of this reply I will state that I am highly inebriated on Japanese Happoshu (sp?)

I really don't know what 100RMB means. I can plug it into a currency converter but that only tells me half of what I want to know. Mostly I am looking at working 20-25 hours (but less is more if it translates to a good lifestyle) and am curious if 12,000RMB is a good wage. It seems high relative to many other jobs.

Anyone with experience in Shanghai or the other big cities care to tell me if this is a solid starting pay? I am not looking to roll in the cash but I live very comfortably here in Japan and am hoping to spend a year studying and working but not living in abject poverty. Is a big city and a big city wage gonna help me accomplish this?

[kev7161]

12000 is good IF you are not paying for your own living quarters, utilities, etc. If you do have to pay your own way in Shanghai, well it's much like any other major metropolitan city in terms of costs. 12000 is about 1700 USD so how well could you live on $1700 in Tokyo? New York? (and other huge city in the world)?

[Anda]

I'll make it a bit clearer. The cost to live in Shanghai is much the same as most big cities in Japan if you mainly socialize with other Westerners. If you live a quite life and buy your food from fresh food markets which here are not what you would call clean and cook at home and socialize with local ordinary working class Chinese then your living costs are way down.

Some of our lot make 30 to 40 thousand RMB a month teaching company classes in Shanghai so they can live the expat life here by your ordinary English teacher doesn�t period.

So if you want to see how expats live in Shanghai then go here:

http://shanghai.asiaxpat.com/


12,000.00 CNY = 1,738.78 USD
China Yuan Renminbi United States Dollars
1 CNY = 0.144898 USD 1 USD = 6.90140 CNY



...................................................................................

[Anda]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&newwindow=1&q=expat+living+costs+Shanghai&btnG=Search


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[NorthofAmerica]

Awesome.

Thanks a lot!!

[eslstudies]

[Anda]

Maybe eslstudies but if one has just arrived and is only going to stay a year and wants a few comforts in an apartment and is expected to dress well for work then settling in costs can quickly eat into what is left after having to pay for accommodation in Shanghai. Side work doesn't just plop into your hands either; it takes time to pick up. So a reasonable life definitely with a bit of socializing but not that much. Transport costs are not so cheap if you are living a distance from your work location.

[eslstudies]

Just going on my experience in SH, Anda.
Transport, taxis aside, is cheap, as are clothes, though I brought those with me. An employer supplied and equipped apartment took care of the other issues.
Anyway, set-up costs are a different matter to living costs.

[Anda]

.Well my next job is with a middle school which is spread over two locations. They have given me good accommodation in a central location near one part of the school but I could be working at the other location in which case I'll be up for 20 RMB in taxi costs per day.

These days with what baggage we are allowed free is now half of what it was when I started into this game. My first year here I seemed to be spending all the time on one thing and another around my apartment. It certainly has to be taken into consideration at least during the first year.

I had to buy a LCD monitor and spend some money on the old computer that they gave me when I arrived. I'm buying a new unit for my next job. At least NorthofAmerica will have a good idea after having worked in Japan for a year. In Japan you normally have to find your own place.

They said I'd have medical cover but all that amounted to was: here's a 1,000 RMB go find yourself an insurance cover! Caught a few bugs the first year that used to set me back about 1,200 RMB for an overnight stay in hospital etc.

Coming here thinking that you can spend nearly all of your wage on partying is likely to lead to disappointment