Job Discussion Forums

[bigtops]

Hi everybody,

After 20 months overseas I've been back home a little while and can't wait to get back to China... I'm gonna lose the language if I stay here too long. I'm hoping to work in Beijing and, for a couple of reasons, would probably prefer to work in a university setting starting next semester. I got my last job through a friend who was in the Peace Corps in Guizhou, so I'm figuring this go-around with no Beijing connections it could be a bit different. Couple questions if you all have time to help...

-Is it generally worthwhile to try and find email addresses for university English department heads and start hitting them with employment inquiries?

-What time of year, if any, do most of the university openings start to get listed for the Spring semester in China?

-Do the university jobs tend to get listed on one particular website or are they scattered around?

-Are the standards for teaching in BJ much, much higher than elsewhere? I am sans TESOL for now and won't go ahead and get one till I find out if I land a China Government Scholarship next year. But I've got one semester teaching in China and about six months teaching/tutoring in the US and a BA from an internationally recognized US university... That likely to be enough for the competition?

-Anybody have email addresses to people in good English departments they wouldn't mind PMing to a perfect stranger?

Sorry if my questions seem dumb or already answered. I have lurked here for a good while before being able to register and used that search function a bit before posting, but eh, I'm sure I could have missed the answer sitting obviously in front of me. Many thanks for any help!

[Anda]

Just do a search and start applying.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=universities+positions+Beijing+English&btnG=Google+Search

[JohnC]

[fitzgud]

[quote=
Think about how a student would feel knowing their university 'professor' didn't even have a TEFL cert?![/quote]

I would tend to think that the students do not know or care what a TEFL certificate is.

However, the vast majority will cherish a professor who does not make any outrageous demands of them, such as they are expected to work.

[JohnC]

[fitzgud]

[Shan-Shan]

Unless universities in Beijing are paying FTs 12,000RMB per month to teach ten hours of Oral English per week and nothing else, I can't imagine not possessing a Masters degree or higher would really hinder one's search.

The sheer numbers of those "wanting to get where the action is" -- that's the barrier.

[cj750nomad]

The requirements of the institution are secondary to the requirements for the FE Bureau which has begun to require a BA along with the accreditation and expeience.... that is not to say that some without a degree don't get by but normally they have had a RP before.

It is truly doubtful that any Chinese student considers their oral English teacher a professor and after dealing with a few Chinese professors, I just as soon keep it that way.

Now some of the language schools are paying 150 per hour and providing RPs, and I have known them to hire without the required degree. With weekend work, and some get 8 hours per day, you can do nicely. Not much weekday work though a University may pick up the slack you have to offer and then the whole education thing becomes a moot point.

[randyj]

Cold e-mailing is worthwhile, in my opinion. After schools return from the New Year holiday, department heads and administrators will begin in earnest to seek teachers for the coming fall term. It is my belief that academic rank of the university, rather than its location in the bright lights of Beijing or Shanghai, indicates the aspirations of the program.

[bigtops]

Thanks for the replies. I've sent a few cold emails already and actually heard back (they're not looking at the moment, but it was nice to get a response).

I understand the 15-years-late thing is a big issue for those who want a prestigious post, great money, and good hours in a big city. All I'm looking for is the latter--enough hours to pursue learning a few things I'd like to learn in Beijing. Don't need or want much money. Is finding a job like that possible in the city still for instructors at a university level? Heck, not every university in BJ is all that prestigious.

Perhaps a public high school would be a better option... I'm not even wildly opposed to private schools, but I've been looking at everything I can find to read about the Beijing job market since late August and I've seen too many, "I stepped off a plane into the world of a duplicitous, exploitative, threatening private school," horror stories to want to take my chances if I can get a government job. Perhaps I am being overly cautious.

[bradley]

In Shenzhen it is more common for universities to hire MAs and more and more Phds....