Job Discussion Forums

The Ever-changing Cleric · Joined: 19 Feb 2009 Posts: 1523

have you read the sticky on "Contract Questions" yet? noone's posted there for awhile but much of the info is still current/useful. maybe your post could be moved/reposted to the sticky?

evolving81 · Joined: 04 May 2009 Posts: 135 Location: Tampa

I noticed the sticky on contracts right after I posted that...sorry...

drjtrekker · Joined: 16 Feb 2008 Posts: 251

evolving81 · Joined: 04 May 2009 Posts: 135 Location: Tampa

I don't even make $12 an hour now working in the US so I guess 80 RMB sounded ok to me for China.

Now I have an offer from another school, pay is only 6000 RMB (not sure about the apartment situation) but this other school offers travel allowances and bonuses. The one above does not. All of these variables make choosing a school complicated. But I suppose at least there are offers coming in.

nickpellatt · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 1522

I would take a long hard look at the location, and the type of teaching. These two things are more important than salary to me, but each to their own.

A slightly higher salary with a student group I dont really enjoy, in a bad location. Salary and bonus etc can easily be compared....but being stuck in a location you dont really want with a group of students you dont like teaching would be a bad situation to be in IMO.

Miles Smiles · Joined: 07 Jun 2010 Posts: 1294 Location: Heebee Jeebee

It is a mistake to convert RMB to dollars then ask if 80 rmb for overtime is fair compensation. Your calculation puts 80 rmb at $12.00 per class. Is $12.00 per class fair compensation in the U.S.? Of course not. The compensation for an English teacher in a private college is roughly four times that amount per hour. Could you have a reasonable expectation of 4 x 80 rmb per extra class at a public university (or even a private uni??). I don't think so.

But you must put things into perspective. Eighty RMB will buy you a cheap, but serviceable DVD player in a second or third tier Chinese city. Could you buy an equivalent for $12.00 ANYWHERE in America? The last time I checked, the cheapest DVD player I could find online or in a big box store was one for about $29.00.

Probably anywhere in China, you could buy (easily) two days groceries for 80 rmb (excluding expensive things such as dairy items, cigarettes, imported booze or imported anything). How long would $12.00 sustain you anywhere in the U.S.-- and how well?

Eighty rmb PER HOUR of overtime is a reasonable (but not not great) rate of pay. If you must carry an extra four hours per week that would amount to about an extra 1200 rmb per month. If you are pulling down 5,000 rmb per month for normally scheduled hours, then that 1200 rmb amounts to more than twenty percent over your base salary.

Let's say that you're making 5,000 rmb per month over the term of a ten-month contract. That amounts to 50,000 rmb per year. Let's convert that 5,000 rmb per month to dollars. That comes out to $731.00 per month. How well would that support you in the U.S.

If one lives with his parents or has a significant other who makes considerably more than that, one could survive on that income. I couldn't imagine how anyone could be self-supporting on $731.00 per month. That wouldn't even pay for groceries, utilities, and rent in government subsidized housing.

That 5,000 rmb in China will support you much better than $731.00 will support you in America.

Back to the 80 rmb. If it is for English Corner on weekends-- or any other day of the week, then that 80 rmb per session is unreasonable. It should NOT be assigned to augment your schedule should it fall short of the normal curriculum schedule. English Corner is not a curriculum class. It requires special preparation, and a much different format than a a curriculum class would require.

Find this out UP FRONT. If the school tries to pull this stunt, avoid it at all costs. This will be just the beginning.

evolving81 · Joined: 04 May 2009 Posts: 135 Location: Tampa

@ Miles: Thank you for the detailed response. I do understand that 80 RMB in China will go further than $12 in the US. In my defense, I've never been to China and I have no concept of 80 RMB unless I convert it into US dollars.

@ Nick: I think the hours (16 teaching hours) and the pay (7000 RMB) is decent. I do consider the students, but at this point the only thing I know about them is that they are university students.

As for English Corner...I have no idea what goes on there. I assume it's a more conversational type activity? I thought it was normal for teachers to take part in English Corner though.

Thanks again for the information!