Job Discussion Forums

[sojourner]

Scooby Rex,

Welcome to the forum !

You mentioned that you are considering a job in Wuhan. You should ascertain how far your school/college/uni is from Wuhan. If quite some distance, the school might even have provisions for taking the FTs to the city once or twice each week.Alternately, there could be provisions for the issuing of a bus or taxi allowance - ask about such provisions and , if possible, request an addendum to the contract.

Apart from the aforementioned local travel provisions, there could be some other non-salary provisions that you should be aware of,such as a utilities allowance and meal vouchers (at many unis, the former is more common than the latter).

Even if a local travel allowance is offered (for one or two journeys pw), you should also enquire as to whether your school/uni is located close to a town where there are at least a couple of restaurants and a supermarket, as well as to whether there are any proper restaurants (not just student cafeterias !) on campus.

You mentioned that you'll be flying to China from Australia.Has the school/uni indicated what the airfare reimbursement will be ? Usually, it is around 8 K RMB for a roundtrip. If you feel that your ticket will cost more, then you should negotiate for a higher reimbursement. In my last contratural negotiation I was able to convince the FAO to reimburse me 9 K !

It would appear that your contract will provide for only 10 salary payments - unfortunately, this has become very common in recent years. If you decide to stay on at your school/uni, apart from a salary increase, you should also request 12 monthly salary payments.

Re the Wuhan job, will it be at a uni, high school, language school, or what ? If a uni, what subjects will you be expected to teach ? Most uni jobs appear to involve merely Oral English.Sometimes, you might be asked to teach other subjects, such as Advanced Writing. Be aware that subjects such as writing will involve a lot more preparation and h/w marking than Oral English.If the uni wants you to teach writing and nothing else, insist that your hours be reduced ! Many FTs hate teaching writing.In my current uni job, I've got 6 classes pw (12 teaching "hours" - 3 classes in writing, 2 in Br/American Societies, and 1 in Intercultural Communication) - I enjoy teaching those subjects, but other FTs often don't.So, if you don't want to be over-burdened with work, ascertain what subjects you'll be expected to teach and, if necessary, ask if your class contact time be reduced.

You have also mentioned that you are looking for work in both Russia and Thailand. Is airticket reimbursement provided for the jobs in both places ? Re Russia, I have never worked there, but have heard that teaching English can be far more stressful than in China; as Russian students are often more demanding (eg, with intricate points of grammar, they will often ask the FT to clearly explain the pertinent rule of grammar - thus, if you don't know too much about grammar, you might have a few problems !

Another poster suggested that you undergo some TESL training before you start teaching.A v.wise suggestion.

Good luck with your studies ! If you decide to work in China, and enjoy the FT lifestyle, you might want to eventually consider doing an MA - would certainly enhance your chances of getting a job in the better 2nd tier unis. Being an Aussie, you should take advantage of Aust's wonderful HECS system !

As someone else suggested, be wary of moonlighting. Apart from the detrimental affect upon your studies, even a (seemingly) easy "2 hours on a Saturday" at a language school could well turn out to be four 30 minute lessons with a 1 or 2 hour (unpaid !) gap between each lesson ! Anyway, it's quite possible to live quite well in China on a normal uni salary. In my own case, I am able to live (only just !) on 500 RMB per month, and save the other 6 K ! . If you want extra money, you might want to consider a summer school gig.

Good luck !

Peter

[sojourner]

Someone has just mentioned economical ways to fly to China. I doubt v.much if there are any direct flights from Aust to Wuhan ! If you can get a reasonably cheap flight ( eg, through Student Travel or the Flight Centre) to, say, Shanghai, you'll then have to get a domestic flight to Wuhan. In such a case, check out the E-long site - they probably sell the cheapest domestic tickets in China.The only hassle is that they require copies of your passport and credit card.

Does anyone know of any online agency that sells cheaper tickets than E-long ?

Peter

[scooby_rex]

gday sojourner,

thats a marvelous effort that

i forget to mention a couple of things, im just about finished my tesol course, 120 hour one. sorry, i shoulda said that earlier, start up costs dont worry me, i have about 2k AUD which i can throw around if i want, they did say the accom. is on campus, which to me, is way better as i dont have to worry about travelling to and fro, but im sure there would be some cons as well as pro's about that. as long as it has dsl internet to access uni etc then its ok

i looked at google maps, best to fly ( cheaper too ) to shanghai, wuhan is 2 grand from brissy, shanghai is 600 bucks + plus taxes obviously, which is fine, cause i get covered for that

i cant get anymore hecs debts untill i finish my degree, but thats cool, there is a reason why only china or russia are on my list, because when i finish my ba im trying to get into a government department, if you follow me

thanks for all your comments tho, its just fantastic u take the time out for a new guy, probally cause im an aussie

i think im forgetting a few things but anymore info please send my way
cheers mate

[Hansen]

The class spread shouldn't be a problem if housing is on campus. When there is a gap just head back to your place and study until the next class. Make sure there are no "office hours" to waste your time.

Housing could be an issue. Some of these places are so noisy, doing any serious study could be difficult.

[YankeeDoodleDandy]

Try www.qunar.com Have a Chinese friend translate it for you. All the best.

[roadwalker]

http://ticket.9588.com/Bottom_E/UserAgreement.aspx This site has English and doesn't require passport copy, just passport number for reservations.

[rmcdougall]

Scoobs, that TESOL course is all you really need to get into a JV school in Shanghai/Pudong.

[scooby_rex]

cool, thanx

LUCKY i didnt go with those big private shools, aint NO WAY im doin 40 hours a week, if i was gonna work that much i would do it here for a lot more

[Sonnibarger]

hey scooby.... If you are thinking about coming to Wuhan.. you should check out www.wuhantime.com... maybe find some good info in the forums... If you have any questions about the school or city you can try me... I know people in a many of the unis here...

[scooby_rex]

hey sonni, thanks for that, its in xianching, is that near there?
its called no 37 middle school, so im just guessing this would be a highschool or something?

[Sonnibarger]

not sure about xianching... ill check with the gf when she gets home from work... prolly in Wuchang... thats the education district in Wuhan