Job Discussion Forums

teachtravel80 · Joined: 20 Jul 2009 Posts: 5

I'm certified in the states to teach Elementary Education and ESL, and I have a year of experience teaching in Korea. I want to fly into Shanghai on October first and hopefully find a job within a month. I have an apartment lined up for 2000 yuan a month and I need to make around 10,000 a month. What are my chances of finding a teaching job that pays at least 10,000 within a month?

Any information will be appreciated.
Thank you

emh · Joined: 08 Sep 2009 Posts: 8

This is pretty much what I want to do as well.
Except I'm not sure what the best route to take is.
Should I just keep applying online to all the language schools online and hope to find one that will offer me a Z visa? I'm sure that is the safest bet.
However, I have read lots of stories of people who fly over on tourist visas and apply to the schools, and the schools help them convert their tourist visa to a Z visa.
More to the point, I am under the impression it is far easier to get a job when you're actually in the country.

Some input on this specifically relating to shanghai would be great.

China.Pete · Joined: 27 Apr 2006 Posts: 547

If all you want is to work in a language school, OP, you could probably find a job that met your salary expectations within the first week. But if you want to tap into a market where your teaching certificate actually means something, then you will need to be a little more patient. International schools in Shanghai will easily pay three times what you are seeking, but they may prefer to hire through an agency or at international job fairs (though there's no harm in trying the direct approach). The school term here is pretty much what it is in the States, so as you can imagine schools have more or less completed their recruitment for this year. You might find something for the second semester, but most schools will hire teachers for the full year at least, on one- or two-year contracts. Even if all you want to do is teach in a regular K-12 school or at a university, you'll still find the same hiring cycle in effect; but this would be kind of a waste in my opinion with your credentials.

emh · Joined: 08 Sep 2009 Posts: 8

Bendex · Joined: 04 Sep 2009 Posts: 18 Location: China

I got my last teaching position via an agent based in Shanghai. Though I had not specified Shanghai as one of my targets for my jobsearch, I'd reckon said agent will have many useful contacts there. He had done well to find me four job opportunities, of which I took the most suitable one. Compared to other agents I was using at that time, he turned out to be the best by far. MOD EDIT

teachtravel80 · Joined: 20 Jul 2009 Posts: 5

Thanks all for the information. I'm still on the fence between Seoul and Shanghai.

China.Pete · Joined: 27 Apr 2006 Posts: 547

"Even though it's late in the game, could a person still do this [teach at a language school] right now? Or do you mean in January?" -- EMH

Yes, language schools recruit pretty much year-round. But regular schools are locked into the academic calendar, and will normally only begin to start thinking about recruiting for the term starting in January or February (it'll be later this year) in about a month or two. There are exceptions, of course, but what I have described is the norm at schools I've worked with.