Job Discussion Forums

bradley · Joined: 28 Mar 2005 Posts: 235 Location: China

and I admit that the starting salaries in Shenzhen are much higher than average...probably at 7,500 or so

cormac · Joined: 04 Nov 2008 Posts: 768 Location: Xi'an (XTU)

I'd highly recommend Xi'an to anyone. I've loved every moment of my time in this city. I'm not much of a tourist, so I'd give thumbs towards the Food, the few nightclubs (1+1 is overrated), a really attractive city at night and truely exceptional people.

waxwing · Joined: 29 Jun 2003 Posts: 719 Location: China

I'd add one vote for Kunming in terms of living, but not teaching.

I'd also mention Nanjing - I liked living and teaching there for a while. Nice vibe (although it's difficult to pin down).

I've only visited Shanghai, but I think that'd be a great place to be. A real energy to it. Beijing I like slightly less but obviously has its plusses.

Shenzhen is a bit soulless maybe but of course very modern and proximity to Hong Kong (rather wonderful in some ways) is not to be sniffed at.

Guangzhou is not as pleasant to live in as Shenzhen I think, but some people rave about it.

You should mention what features you look for in a city.

james s · Joined: 07 Feb 2007 Posts: 676 Location: Raincity

to respond to an earlier entry, the average salary for a university and low level language mill does not reflect the average overall salary. It (meaning 4-5000) represents the average low level job.

I was making 21000 per month, and had my highest at about 23500 for the total of a year, on 20 teaching hrs per week.

Once you get experience, your salary should go up (if you care about your job and network properly).

Moon Over Parma · Joined: 20 May 2007 Posts: 819

Moon Over Parma · Joined: 20 May 2007 Posts: 819

bish · Joined: 26 Feb 2008 Posts: 30

If you were to live in a "middle city" like Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Qingdao etc and had a main job earning around 7000 RMB a month then is there still potential to make more?

Are part time jobs easy to come by in those places?

bish · Joined: 26 Feb 2008 Posts: 30

If you were to live in a "middle city" like Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Qingdao etc and had a main job earning around 7000 RMB a month then is there still potential to make more?

Are part time jobs easy to come by in those places?

Moon Over Parma · Joined: 20 May 2007 Posts: 819

Of course. Sometimes your employer will present those opportunities to you. My former university used to hook teachers up with side work. Not all do that, but you'd be surprised. Usually it's done on behealf of a friend and as a favor, or they get paid for finding someone. The side job paid the FTs directly, so if the staff in the English department were paid, it wasn't cut from what you were paid.

If you do university work it is easy to walk into (often, literally) opportunities simply cruising around your city. I've been approached walking down the street, on the bus, in bookstores, at the computer market, and in eateries. I rarely take up the offers, but if you're close to a city, or living in the heart of one, opportunities for extra income are always there.

bish · Joined: 26 Feb 2008 Posts: 30

Thanks for the reply, very helpful. What is the legal situation regarding taking 2nd jobs?

Would you suggest that University jobs offer the most potential for extra work (+ earnings) despite their lower basic salary (provided you do the right networking of course!).

Moon Over Parma · Joined: 20 May 2007 Posts: 819

The legal situaton is gray, just like everything in this crazy country. Unlike Korea, the snitch game isn't in place here. The local governments don't have blanket rewards for turning in moonlighters.

University jobs simply offer the flexible schedules where fitting in side work is very possible. I have two colleagues that make their salary's worth in side jobs and pocket their actual, regular salaries for rainy days. My free time is more valuable to me, so I am not as aggressive about extra work. My regular job pays me pretty damn well. I came to China not to work 40 hour weeks.

james s · Joined: 07 Feb 2007 Posts: 676 Location: Raincity

No, it was not normal. Matter of fact, it seemed like it was well above normal for a new laowai. Me thinks it is a going rate question here, which leads u to think that this would be a market driven rate, but it is not in China.

They try to keep the averages low, but we cannot use the base pay offered by some more "famous" mills and low paying uni jobs as the average. There are just too many lesser known ones who do pay more who do not advertise as they do not need to coz their teachers do not leave them.