Job Discussion Forums

[killian]

WEB in dalian has a a very pretty office located very near the train station.
that counts for something? no?

[Adeem]

Web is fine for a bit of extra cash, but the pointlessness of the teaching and the lack of holidays would certainly grate before long.

The right branch can treat you ok though.

Certainly not bottom of the list, and the teaching is not difficult with the poor but usable pre-planned lessons, but I don't reckon it is much of a life.

[YANKEE]

Having taught in China for 10+ years, I've heard too many horror-stories.

Althought I've not worked at WEB, I have heard too-many bad comments from those who have.

Best choice is to not become one of the newest horror story 'tellers'.

Look into larger Unis.

[robotmonkey]

If you are in any doubt whatsoever on how dreadful a company Web is to work for, just do a simple search on these forums, as well as others elsewhere on the Net. Yes, I am one of the whistleblowers, but looking around, I seem to be one of many. We can't all be wrong.

[evolving81]

Thanks for the informative posts. You guys & gals scared me right out of an interview. But, at least I didn't waste my time.

[Menino80]

I have a friend who works there and the says it's long hours, but he likes the job. I think there are too many Easy Rider-era Peter Fondas on this board who discovered that there's an entire generation of people under them who don't give a crap about their special life adventure and just want them to work.

[robotmonkey]

It might be a good idea if the previous poster read all of the posts here and elsewhere about Web and didn't just rely on the words of one Web employee who might be satisfied with what s/he's got, possibly because they couldn't find anything better?

[vikeologist]

I went for an interview at the local Web, and it really wasn't for me, but I think it's entirely posible that it may suit some people if, and this is the key thing, they find a good school. Disclaimer, the Web school and manager I visited may be unrepresentative.

Generaly speaking, the plusses are as people have said. You get a good salary, maybe 3 times what your Chinese fellow educated citizens will be making. You can save lots of money. Also, I would hazard a guess that you don't actualy need to be a particulaly good teacher, though I'm sure it helps. I think if you are professional and hard-working, then these would be the most important things. Thy don't ask teachers to do demo lessons, even if they are already in town. I know teachers who would be unhappy to be asked to do a demo lesson, and feel that havng to do one would not accurately represent their abilities. I myself can't take a school seriously if they don't want to get at least an idea of what my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher are.

The negatives are long hours, 40 a week, and you have to be in the office for that time. I don't think they offer any real professional development or provide staff with a sense of being valued. If you only want to save up some money, maybe there are more lucrative countries than China. The pay per hour is not going to be the best.

But honestly, if you want to live in China and earn good money, and you're not scared of hard work, (and I think you'll be working less hard and less hours than any Chinese friends that you'll make) then as long as you ask the right questions and find a good school, then for some it may be a reasonable option.

[portslee]

I worked at WEB in a smallish city, and I liked it a lot.

The lesson plans are all provided. Some of these are pretty lame, but if you have a bit of experience you can easily adapt it to something more interesting on the fly. This basically meant about 5 minutes prep-time for a 55 minute class for me. I thought it was an easy gig.

I was paid 8,000 per month plus 1,500 housing. I had a large, clean, well-furnished 2 bedroom apartment for 1,000 and pocketed the rest of the housing.

The Chinese staff at my branch were very helpful and easy to get along with. The students, too, were cool. I remember one time I was sick and three of them came to my apartment to see how I was and bring me medicine.

As for the 'dreaded' Social Club lessons that somebody referred to, well it's not everyone's idea of fun, I grant you. However, I loved those classes 3 times a week! I had anywhere from about 10 upto maybe 30 students show up. Most of them were a good enough level to understand what I was saying. I used powerpoint and talked about everything from the Battle of Britain to Italian cuisine. It was a blast, and I certainly didn't have to act like a clown.

That's my experience of WEB. As somebody said, every branch is different, I guess I just got a good one.








BTW it was Xuzhou.

[askiptochina]

I had a walk in interview. It wasn't for me. Long hours, false impression of the school, and broken promises. When I questioned them on their "dream job" offer, they started with teachers being with them for 10 years to finally admitting I would not get reimbursed for transportation as they originally stated.

Be hard with them in the interview. Make sure when they promise something you see it out to the end. Question them on it. If they pull the same crap they did with me, I suggest you move on.

I work at a better school, less hours, and I can easily work an extra job to make up for the "15" non-teaching hours Web International slaves are stuck in the office for.

[mdoor]

Good view points on a current employer, nice to see people sharing info. I helped me, thanks!