Job Discussion Forums

[hip-hop boy78]

Hi,

I am thinking about teaching English in China, and would be grateful if anyone could offer some helpful advice on the pros and cons and/or answer some of my questions.

A little about myself: I have a BA and an MA in non-TEFL related subjects and seven years TEFL experience between Japan, South Korea and Italy. I am presently leaning towards returning to Korea, however, with the Korean market having become flooded with new teachers and more paperwork being required to obtain a visa, China is starting to appeal to me a little more.

Therefore:

1) What kind of salary could I realistically expect with my experience? What should I be asking for?

2) I realise that it's too late now to find a good university job, so I'd be more or less restricted to working for private language schools. As such, can anyone recommend a good chain that operates in most of the larger cities?

3) Is it absolutely necessary to undertake a health check at home before being granted a Z-Visa, or is it possible to have the health check done in China? If the former, what tests need to be done?

4) Once I find a job and sign a contract, how long does the actual visa process usually take? If I started looking for and found a job within the next two weeks or so, would it be possible for me to obtain a Z-Visa and be on my way to China by early November?

5) I'd mostly be interested in teaching in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Qingdao, Xiamen or Guangzhou. How competitive are jobs in these particular cities? Would you highly recommend any other cities, particularly ones that have a high standard of living?

6) I'd rather avoid having to use recruiters, but if necessary, which recruiters would you recommend from personal experience?

7) Which websites other than this one would you recommend for my job search?

That's about it for now. Many thanks for any help offered.

[johntpartee]

[xi.gua]

As said in other threads, the avg salary can range from 4 to 6k per month. If you're in a big city you can expect higher, and in big cities you can always expect a lot of competition.

You shouldn't need a health check prior to coming to China, I never have and even if you do your school will make you do another one anyway so there's no purpose.

Assuming you find a school and get the invitation letter within 2 weeks, you'd be able to get the visa and off to China before November I'd say.

Honestly, all these questions have been answered many times before. Use the search function.

[johntpartee]

[Lamentations]

Besides the original "One & Only - Dave's ESL Cafe", you might want to look at www.eslteachersboard.com and www.chinatefl.com for jobs.

[Kysorb]

[nickpellatt]

If you are looking at the big language schools, then I dont think you have any need of recruiters, and so I would avoid them altogether. I browse TEFL.com and the big names always seem to have positions advertised, and you can contact them directly. Reviews tend to be mixed at best on those employers though, with most China FTs favouring the low hours (and sometimes low expectations) within Universities.

Best thing would be to apply to the employers as above, and perhaps post a request for information on said school if and when you receive an offer.

[bulgogiboy]

[johntpartee]

[hip-hop boy78]

Thanks for all the responses.

I'm aware of the seach function on here and have used it in the past. However, it's not the best and often takes a while to find anything of use, if at all.

Regarding payment, I know that China TEFL wages are on the lower scale of things, especially when compared to Korea and Japan. I was curious to know how much someone with my experience would be able to ask for or expect in the bigger cities at one of the private language schools. I wouldn't really want to earn less than 8,000RMB a month, preferably with free housing or a housing stipend thrown in, as I'd like to put something aside every month. Granted I don't possess any teaching qualifications, but surely seven years of TEFL experience should count for something.

Regarding the health check, I would prefer to arrange the Z-Visa in advance and read somewhere that a pre-China health check may be required by the embassy before they'll stamp the visa into your passport. Any thoughts?

[Greg 09]

[hip-hop boy78]

Thanks for your input Greg. Is there any way of knowing which provinces require a health check upfront and which don't?

[Lamentations]

Sorry to tell you, Mr. Boogie Woogie but -

"...surely seven years of TEFL experience should count for something..."

That and a token will get you on the bus.

Good Luck.

[Greg 09]

[Miles Smiles]