Job Discussion Forums

[LanGuTou]

[mike w]

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

[7969]

Jesus was a great teacher, philosopher, and human being. What school did he graduate from again

[mrbuzz]

I respect that strawberryfields "enough problems find properly renumeration" is a a qualified English teacher and doesn't want technically unqualifed riff-raff such as myself flooding the market. But it sounds like this is philisophical point rather than a legal one. Thanks to everyone for the support and advice!

[80daze]

There is one point no one here has seemed to mention.

I live in Guangdong and we had a visit from our local PSB to tell us that if we leave our small city (third tier) while the Guangzhou games are on to visit another city (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai etc..) and get stopped by police officers there; they will be required to ask our PSB to do a full check on us.

Now I have no problems as I have a degree and CELTA; however there are a few teachers here who have one or the other but not both. So I have now been banned from leaving my city for a month while the games are on. Apparently the same thing happened for the Olympics.

The fact is you might get a job but you will be looking over your shoulder ( a bit dramatic I know!)

[Kiwi303]

Just to pitch in, what I have been advised by others on forums, and by native Chinese language readers, is that the law laying out the requirements when it says "should have bach. degree, TESOL certification and at least two years work experience" uses the Chinese character that says "Should" not the character that says "Must" as used elsewhere in the law.

So basicly the higher up the tiers of the education requirements where their status can guarantee plentiful educators applying and they can pick and choose suitably qualified personnel, the more they will tend to interpret the "Should" as being a firm requirement. National and provincial govt educational bodies especially.

As you go down the feeding chain to the small fry at the bottom who have to take anyone they can coax to come to them, they have to take whatever they can get. So with a little networking with like minded officials, they interpret the "should" as being a general guideline of what is advisable, not a firm minimum standard. The lower the organisational unit responsible for the school, (municipal, village council, private schools) the more flexible they are liable to be.



Disclaimer, I can't read Chinese, and while I have read translations of the law, some say "should" and some say "must" in the English. so take this with the typical internet-y grain of salt.

[A'Moo]

[AnotherExpat]

[nickpellatt]

I know Im nit-picking, but if the rule is really 4 year degrees, than that rules out 99% of Brits, as our degrees take 3 years!

Anyway ... Yes, you can work without a degree. Yes, you can also work without a TEFL qualification of any kind. Should you is another question ... I would personally prefer to see teachers holding CELTA certs than teachers holding unrelated BA/BSc cert, but thats just me.

I would imagine the big cities and the big name language schools and Uni's are going to pass on a non-degree holder. Probably isnt worth the trouble for them as so many other candidates will be suitably qualified.

Apply for jobs in smaller cities and rural areas, and the chance of getting hired would increase. You may have to accept that your legal status might be a bit wooly. Finding an employer who can get you the full Z visa/RP might be challenging unless you are suitably qualified. That is something to consider.

Its unrealistic to suggest you go and get a degree ... but I dont think its unrealistic to suggest you go and get some recognised and worthwhile TEFL training like a CELTA course. Yes, it costs time and money, but it does help, and it could seem like money well spent in those first months in the classroom!

[DixieCat]

[Miles Smiles]

Perhaps a relevant follow-up question might be "If I do get a job without a documented formal college education, will I be capable of teaching?" I think that those who consider coming to China to teach but possess no relevant credentials should think of those whom he intends to help. (That IS our purpose here, right?).

It seems that similar questions about teaching in China without credentials leaves out one important factor: the student.

Sure, there ARE folks who can do a good job after several semesters of practice at the expense of the student. How many of US would want to be in a class led by a teacher who has ZERO experience and no formal education in ANY field?

[DixieCat]

[mrbuzz]