Job Discussion Forums

[Zackback]

Greetings,

My wife and I are thinking of teaching in China perhaps next year. I have an MA in Education and have several years teaching experience in Korea (university level), Japan and the Philippines. I am from the United States while my wife is a Filipina and she has a BA in Psychology and has taught at the university level in the Philippines. Her English is excellent.

So I was wondering what kind of salary range should we be looking at?
We don't like big cities so can anyone recommend suburban or rural (clean) places to teach in China?

Thanks a bunch.
Zackback

[Zackback]

Anyone?

[daCabbie]

Your questions are a little to vague. China is a BIG place, salaries vary greatly from market to market. What kind of school do you want to teach at? What kind of climate? What is a 'big city' to you?

My advice? Teach at a uni in a second tier city. You will both get a job and a free apartment. Recruiters love to place couples. Most uni's don't care about race (they are not salesman the way language schools are). You can expect 5-7000rmb each but closer to 5 than 7. They might give you an extra 500 because you have an MA. A language school is twice the work and twice the money and twice the headaches.

My second piece of advice is come to China for a visit? I know its expensive. But China is not the same as Korea, Japan or the Philippines. Why come here when you can go to Korea or Japan and make 2 or 3 times the money?

Hope that helps? If you have more questions I will try to answer them. Good luck. Don't worry, it's only life after all.

[mouse7]

you will find that salaries and perks will vary according to province. if you are looking at having a large salary then maybe try for HK or macau. though they are cities, they also have lots of more picturesque aspects and there are islands which you could live on and commute from.

mainland wise i would look for smaller cities rather than rural- where pay usually seems less. maybe somewhere in the southern provinces would pay a little better as they are generally more wealthy areas. or look at smaller cities which are in the vicinity of big cities. for example try looking for somewhere near shanghai.

hope this helps.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

I will be unusual for myself and keep quiet except to echo Decabbie's comments about Korea.

I'd be there now but Korea's requirements have become so strict.

[platinum peyote]

The Korean EFL market is flooded now with applicants, that, and public schools have just stopped accepting applications for next year, as have most universities there. Don't forget that Korea and Japan are a lot more expensive than China too, especially produce and other foodstuffs.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

I don't know whether you recruit on the side for Chinese schools or not but I can tell you as a former English teacher in South Korea that there are no shortage of jobs there.

When I put my resume out there for jobs in China, and I specifically say "NO KOREA" I still get offers in Korea.

Also, prices in South Korea are comparable to Beijing and Shanghai. In fact, China is becoming so expensive for groceries that residents of Shenzhen are doing their shopping in cheaper Hong Kong!

China is not cheaper than South Korea any longer for a lot of things, not by a long stretch.

With a Master's in Education I'd seriously look at Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and be treated a little more fairly financially.

[Miles Smiles]

Though I don't endorse the website, abroadchina.org lists many available jobs offered by almost every conceivable kind of school that operates legally. You'll be able to search for positions in almost every (if not all) of the provinces in China. The listings will give you a good idea of the range of salaries offered by various schools in any given province.