Job Discussion Forums

[HaveAGoodRest]

....for example in Beijing, Shanghai, etc.

What's a median rate to charge???

200 kuai/hour???

More??? Less???

[johntpartee]

I'm in a city of seven million. I charge 200 RMB per hour for one to six students. More than that, I double it. One prospective client told me my prices were too high and I told her that was the normal rate. She said "Where? Beijing?". I said "No, for me". Regardless of what she thinks, I'm turning down tutoring sessions because I have too many now.

[caleypatrick]

If you're not in the big three, then 150 RMB for 50 minutes is fair. 200 is too much. Most will want you to teach for 100, but stick to your guns and do a good job and 150 will come your way.

[johntpartee]

With permission, of course. I refer all requests for private tutoring to the college administration for permission.

[HaveAGoodRest]

Thanks, this is very helpful.

I'm looking to do groups of 6-8 ppl. Seems I'll be able to bill even more for a group class than for classes with a single client.

The going rate in the larger cities (or higher-demand) areas of China seems comparable to what they're charging for private/small group ESL-tutoring in Chicago right no. And in China you get to have Chinese costs of living

[caleypatrick]

Please disregard any post that says they are making 250 RMB or more per hour for teaching. This just ain't happening in China. Some of the posters are under the impression that the students are paying big bucks to have a white face teach them English. It just isn't true. Most private tutoring sweat shops are charging students about 20 to 30 RMB per hour. A good rate for a teacher, I repear, is 150 RMB per hour. One poster says he got 375 per hour to teach a small group of university students. No disrespect, but I find this almost incredulous.

[caleypatrick]

Also, please don't be foolish enough to ask your university or school for permission to teach private classes, regardless of what the contract says. We have many teachers where I work and they are all working off campus and making 150 RMB per hour. None, and I repeat, none would ever think of asking permission from the university administrators. The university doesn't want a hassle of being involved in this. Some might very well want a cut, and some might want you to desist from such extra curricular teaching, so why ask when you know you're going to get this type of response. So, please don't get the misfits involved.

[johntpartee]

[creztor]

The biggest problem is people who state numbers without giving some idea of what class/how many students etc. 200+ is believable if they are teaching a large class with many students. The devil is in the details.

[donb2222]

I'm in a small city. Two classes on Saturdays, 5 students for 2 and 1/2 hours per class. 100 RMB per student = 500 RMB or 200 RMB per hour.
So, each Saturday is a total of 1000 RMB for 5 hours work.

A friend of mine in the same city, a non-native speaker, is teaching small children at 150 per hour with 5 students per class.

[Laurence]

@ the OP

[caleypatrick]

[donb2222]

[Voldermort]

[Trinley]

I'd work 5 hours for 1000 rmb. Though 100-150 is generally the going rate for one-on-one (at least in Nanjing), I think it's fair to charge less when there are several students.

For me, it also depends on what I'm teaching. If there's prep and travel involved, I would up the price. I would only charge over 150 for some kind of specialized courses that most ESL teachers aren't capable of, like accent training. If I took more than that to chat with someone and correct their mistakes, I would feel like this guy: