Job Discussion Forums

[flicknut]

I'm currently teaching at a Korean middle school, but I'm thinking about making the jump to Shanghai after my contract ends in February. I have some questions for the veterans here.

1. What is the apartment situation in Shanghai? How big are your apartments and how much do you pay per month?

2. What kind of money should I aim for in Shanghai? I have two years of experience, a CELTA certificate, and a B.S. degree in an unrelated field. I have about 3 reference letters from past teaching positions.

3. Should I look for a job before arriving in China? Is it too early to start looking for a job that starts in February?

4. Where are the best places to search for jobs? It seems that Dave's China board doesn't have much.

Thanks.

[lf_aristotle69]

For a newcomer it's probably a good idea to go with a school/program that provides free accommodation. You might have to pay some or all the utility costs though, or they might giv you a limited allowance.

Size varies. 30m^2 for a small studio apmt, up to 150+m^2 for a 3-4 br apmt.

Location also plays a significant part in the cost, but unless you're out in the satellite suburbs/towns then SH is generally quite expensive even for an older place. I imagine it's pretty tough to find anything under 2K/mth in a good downtown location. And, expect to be paying 5-6K/mth for something comfortable in such areas. It can go sky high if you want real luxury though.

Living in SH city proper it'd be best to aim for a salary of at least 8K (after tax, and 10K would be a preferred minimum). Also with free accommodation and an international return airfare subsidy. An annual 1 month bonus would be a nice extra.

With you B.S. you might try and get into teaching at one of the "Chinese" International schools, or on a university foundation course. How's your Math?

Early to mid-Feb 2009 will be when the semester starts for middle/high schools and university teaching positions. Lots of positions are being offered now. However, this is actually the off season in China, more positions are offered for September starts. For a Feb start, with the most choices, you want to be looking, applying and getting your resume/CV out there, now.

Quite a few recruiting agents are out there, some good, some lying scum...

Daves used to have many more positions, but it seems as though there're many more free options for schools now and they don't want to pay Daves' US$75 job ad fee. You can put your CV up here for gratis though. It will filter to other sites too...

Other recruiting websites are out there and easy to find with a GOOGLE of "china job teach school" type search.

Good luck,

LFA

[YAMARI]

Most of those jobs in Shanghai would be like hogwan jobs in Korea. Less pay than Korea with an more expensive city (Shanghai). Better to take a uni job if you want to relax or take a job in a Korean school in China.

I liked China much better than Korea but the pay sucks.

[Moon Over Parma]

Search for jobs: Google. "China jobs," "Chine teaching jobs," "Teach English in China," "China buxiban," "China university English jobs" and so on.

Consider another city besides Shanghai. Shanghai is truly sprawling, caters to expat yuppies or rich locals, and while a great city I do love, there are superior, second-tier cities that will offer you better opportunities since you are basically going to THE city most Chinese and foreigners zero in on.

Ningbo, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing are close enough for frequent trips to Shanghai, but have enough going on that you will have less travel, more job opportunities and enough western amenities that you will hit Shanghai for fun rather than filling every need and desire. Ningbo, Nanjing and Hangzhou have slightly cheaper costs of living.

Shanghai is great but overrated. Spend some time there (two weeks, for example) and you'll understand why I recommend an interesting, second-tier city. Your qualifications could put you in a better position in these second-tier cities. You will find that Shanghai is teaming with people with similar or better qualifications and the jobs only offer marginally better salaries, usually.

[flicknut]

Thanks for all the advice. I've decided to look for jobs all over China. It seems that most universities pay between 4000 - 6000 RMB. Is that about right? A recruiter asked me if I would be interested in teaching e-Commerce technology at a university in Guangzhou because of my degree in Computer Information Systems. The pay is 9000 RMB, but I really wonder how I can teach e-Commerce to students who probably aren't fluent in English.

[Moon Over Parma]

4-6K is average for 12-16 hours a week, depending on the city. 9K would do you nicely assuming they provide housing, but find out where the university is located. The handsome pay might be a way of balancing out total isolation, or they demand a lot of hours. If they offer 9K a month plus housing for 16 hours of work, and decent housing, then it might be an opportunity to pursue, depending on the location. Good luck.

[mondrian]

I did it and never regretted the move!
IMHO: The "women" (in general) in China may not be as "pretty" but they are much friendlier.
The main issue is to get enough money. With your experience you should aim for 10K RMB a month (or 8.5K+ with free accommodation) in a Chinese MS (which is not quite the same as a Korean one!)

[killian]

i bailed on korea about six months ago when the exchange rates started to get funny. kinda amazed anyone is still doing the esl teacher thing over there.

have never even once contemplated for a single second of returning to work in korea. lotsa jobs out there in all kinds of locations.

agree w/ the others on shanghai. it is toast. the factories are moving to other areas. find an up and coming area.

[qcat79]

i, too, am in korea at the moment. i know a guy who had spent time in a second-tier city in china. still bigger than busan, korea's second largest city, where i currently live. anyway, he said at the time he was there, there were only 250 foreign teachers in a city of 6million chinese. they basically all congregated at this one bar.

also quite important on the list is the female scene. almost all my friends that have been to china have said the chinese girls aren't generally as hot as the k-girls, but they have personalities you can deal with.

what's the deal with sending money home from china? is it quite easy or does the government only allow you so much to send away?

how hard is it to get privates? i personally have always found it hard here in korea, whereas some people can grab them up quick. are you more sought after for lessons there in the second-tier cities because there are less foreigners, or are there enough schools there to support the ones that are already there?

[jibbs]

I did that move four months ago after many years in Korea and do not regret it. I don't like my city very much but I love my job, and am not far from better cities. So far to my inexperienced eye I am not seeing a great deal of difference between Korea and China, though I know significant differences exist. I figure it takes a year or more to have a good feel for a country. Actually China is too large and various perhaps to ever really know well. Korea is like a province here.

[killian]

hmmm...korea does have its advantages vs. china: much better health care, US citizens tax free for two years, pension scheme.

has the won dropped enough to offset such? good question. any economists out there?

[waynehead]

I did two years in Korea before I came to China, and I'm soon returning to Korea after about 6 months here. I like my job and my co-workers here, but my city sucks and even with the crappy Won I'll still be making double in Korea (triple if I can get a few private lessons).

There are pluses and minuses to both places, definitely. One misconception I had about China before coming here was saving money - even though your salary might be a lot less day to day life is A LOT cheaper here, and long term you can still put away some cash. Socially I'd say the Chinese people (at least in Jiangsu where I live) are a lot friendlier than Koreans, whose trust you have to earn most of the time before becoming something more than cordial. And culturally of course China's light years ahead of Korea.

Still, for me, I have a little bit of buyer's remorse and wish I had just gone ahead and re-upped for another year in Korea. I'm looking forward to going back.

[Moon Over Parma]