Job Discussion Forums

[Sinaman]

I was just wondering if officially a Community College degree (plus a TESOL cert) is enough for a working visa in China.

[thessy]

Your options are much more limited than someone with a 4 year degree (type of school, location, etc.) but you can most definitely obtain a legitimate teaching position with a 2 year degree.

[Hansen]

High schools, vocational colleges, and so forth. 4 year degree is much better in terms of options. Options don't mean pay. You may make the same amount as with a four year degree; however, the limited number of opportunities may mean that instead of working in Yunnan or Hainan, you are going to be working in Liaoning or Henan, or Hunan , or Heilongjiang.

Gets old after a while. Your employer also knows about your limited options; consequently, they are bargaining from a position of strength, you from a position of weakness.

[Sinaman]

Thanks but this is not for me, it is for someone else, and I was just wondering about the legalities of someone with just a community college degree (2 year associate degree) and not a 4 year Uni degree

[Lipps]

They wont qualify for the work visa. Has to be a four year degree. Anything less and you can be sure one has been invented for that person.

[LarssonCrew]

Can someone just clear up why US degrees are 4 years and UK ones are three? Is it a way of them extracting more cash from the already heavily in debt students?

[Hansen]

Lipps, You are wrong, just plain wrong. You don't know what you are talking about, unless, perhaps, you are referring to university positions only, which the OP was not.

[Hansen]

Perhaps the English educational system is superior to the American one. An American college professor, working on a doctorate at Oxford, informed me that the best scholars at Oxford are plucked from their studies to become teaching assistants [tutors] and then progress onward to lecturers, professors, whatever.

American universities usually prefer or require doctoral degrees; however, according to my acquaintance, one who pursues a doctorate in the British system is marked as inferior because he wasn't picked up during his studies for the TA [tutor], lecturer track.

Not sure is this info is correct. Any former Rhodes scholars, teaching English in China for ~4200RMB/monthly plus crap apartment and abusive administration, feel free to jump right in.

[DHAPhotography]

[Lipps]

Hansel-grettle-boy: I am absolutely correct. If this were any other province I would not be confident. For Hunan, I'm certain.

[thessy]

[Hansen]

Nicely crafted, Thessy. Had Lipps said in Hunan, things are such a way,no problem. He not only failed to do that but when called upon it, he resorts to name calling and self justification rather than apology.

Potato salad, anyone?

[Afroste]

Calm down guys LOL. Just a forum.

Anyways, someone working there needs a Z Visa and Foreign Expert Permit. There is no black and white in this as "require: BA+" to get these. It all depends on your employers connections - and I'll tell you why.

The REQUIREMENT is that your employer can prove you are a foreign expert in some capacity AND that they need YOU over someone else who is local/from China.

That's how it breaks down guys, and if your employer has it in real good with the government - they can get you in with all legal documents without a degree or anything.

You'll see on these job boards though that most place do ask for a BA as minimum. It's just way easier for them to get your documents. "He has a BA, he is native, he is white, we need him!" ACCEPTED

[Jayray]

[marina33]

an Associates (2 year degree) is plenty enough for teaching kindergarten. I have seen the ads for pre-school and elementary teaching in Beijing and Shanghai.