Job Discussion Forums

[Cubism]

Anything on this place? 2008 said "give it a miss." Is it better now? And they offered 5000/mo for 18 hrs week. Is that enough in Suzhou or is it expensive there?

Thank you..

[Zero]

Well, you'll do what you want, but don't blame us if things aren't so great.

[maotouying]

Nice location actually. And no more expensive there than any other place. 5K a month I think you will survive.

This could be one of the luxery locations because of the rich history and the closeness of going to Nanjing or Shanghai are within stone throw in any direction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzhou

[wangdaning]

Don't know about the school, but I just returned from a trip to Suzhou. Though I spent almost that salary in a week, I was on vacation.

Looking at the prices there, it was not too expensive. I can only really compare with Chengdu, so Suzhou is a bit more expensive than Chengdu. Taxis start at 10 RMB, which gets you 3 Km, after that it is 1.5-2 RMB/KM. It is not a huge city, so getting places by taxi is rather cheap and quick. Meat and vegetable prices weren't that high. The western restaurants were a little pricey, but really good.

My judgment tells me that 5K would be doable. If you don't splurge all the time. I would personally look for more though. Hope that helps

[Big Poppa Pump]

How many working hours a week? If it is down around 12 to 16 and housing included I'd be ok with it.

You can pick up a couple private lessons here and there to make up the difference. Though, if it is a language center be careful, it is considered very naughty to compete against your own employer.

Though, if the teachers who work for me were to quietly come up and ask, "Look, Big Poppa, I got this sweet private lined up for an adult student, is that ok?"

I'm like, "Sure, we don't teach adults go for it."

So there are language schools who will let you do privates so long as you aren't poaching potential customers. Just suss it out a bit, you should be ok though.

[kev7161]

I usually convert "X" amount of my salary to send home and end up keeping about 5,000-6,000 rmb for my monthly needs. It usually lasts me right up to the next pay day (and sometimes even beyond) and that's with massages, haircuts, taxis, eating out, buying western foods, medicine, and other "this and thats" I may want or need. So I think you'll be okay, esp. if you are not planning on any sort of serious savings or if you don't have any bills to pay.

[wailing_imam]

Cubism, back in China? I thought you were in Delhi?

Anyway, I worked at this school for 4 months in 2005. I was working for a Singaporean school who take students from this school every year. I was doing the foundation English programme. I was paid a Singaporean salary but worked at least twice as hard as the normal teachers. Nevertheless, I saved up 40,000RMB in my 4 months so I was fairly happy.

The school is located in Lumu, about 6kms from the city centre. There is a daily bus. There are also plently of local buses passing the school. The school is rather nice, modern and I found it a good place to work. Suzhou is a fantastic city, full of all the weatern amenities you could need and only a 45 min trip from Shanghai. I recommend going to this school.

[Cubism]

[quote="Zero"]Well, you'll do what you want, but don't blame us if things aren't so great.[/quote]

Zero, are you spokesman for the entire board, or are you simply superior to everyone! Using the imperial "we"--

Drop dead.

[Cubism]

[quote="wangdaning"]
I can only really compare with Chengdu, so Suzhou is a bit more expensive than Chengdu. Taxis start at 10 RMB, which gets you 3 Km, after that it is 1.5-2 RMB/KM. /quote]

Since saving money is very important to me (I'm a writer -- published, but not enough) it's best to live somewhere where the taxi drop rate is 5. That is the best method for determining how expensive a place is to live. Lots of ft's use it.

Can't thank you enough.

[wangdaning]

I have to say though that 10RMB for 3 Km is not bad. Many places start lower but charge for anything over 1/1.5 Km. The most I paid for a taxi there was 25 RMB. My wife's hometown starts at 2RMB, but I would rather die than live there. Starting price of a taxi is not a good meter of a city.

Also, Chengdu starts at 5-7 RMB, but you have to pay more each Km. Along with this, the cheaper fares add 1 RMB for gas. Point is that in the end you pay about the same amount.

7000 RMB a month and housing and you would be fine. 5000 RMB and you might be pushing it.

On a side note, in Wuxi taxis also started at 10 RMB, but I am sure it is a cheaper city than Suzhou. Wuxi had seat-belts available, which takes it a step up in my mind. I would gladly start any taxi at 10 RMB if I can use a seat-belt.

Just saying taxi price is not a good measure, you have to take into account the local government rules on taxi price.

[wailing_imam]

Generally the higher the flag fall rate, the closer to civilisation as a westerner knows it Lone is. 5rmb towns in Hubei just ain't that much fun fir the average ft.

[Zero]

[maotouying]

Cubism or anyone else?

I just got this email from one Maggie

I don't quite follow this 40 hour work week but non the less I am posting it in case anyone is interested and it is on Zuzhou subject at hand.

I seriously tried to post it a few hours ago. But for some silly reason it was not posting .. ESL site was dropping my log in.

=================

86 13405060061
skype : ilovebluefish
We are one of the biggest and best Adults English training schools in China .

We are seeking 6 qualified teachers of English for our two locations in( Suzhou & Chongqin )for immediate employment.

Requirements:

Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

Native english speakers from UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, or the United States.

A university degree+2 years teaching experience in or out of China
A CELTA /TESOL or TEFL teaching certificate is not a must but preferable , age :25-60 yrs old


We give preferences to those who already have experience in teaching English as a Foreign Language to adults and who reside within or close to China , with work visa preferably

Salary and benefits :

1、 Competitive Salary 8.5K-9.5K Monthly for 25 class+15 office hrs/week (depends on the cities)

2、 Paid Holiday

3、 Work Visa sponsorship

4、 Comprehensive Insurance

5、 Pre-job Training

6、 Airfare Allowance

7、 Promotion Scheme

[igorG]

I only clicked on this because I am interested in Foreign Language Schools and Suzhou is really nice. What I see from the posts on is little about the job that original poster contemplates accepting. Forgive my observation but i thought looked like some school with as a sort of foundation program there. If so, you would probably have filthy rich 16-18 year old high school dropouts eager to travel abroad. If not, you would have some middle school classess of 40-60 teens that have had their parents enroll their kids for the name of the school, foreign. However, if it is what the last post here says and if it really is an adult center, then I have been misled by my dream when reading the whole thread.

[wailing_imam]

It's a massive K-12 school not a language centre.