Job Discussion Forums

confu13 · Joined: 22 Jun 2010 Posts: 1

If you guys think EF is bad, stay away from this spin off of EF which hopes to be the new EF but has no business plan and has horrible management.They even tried to name themselves Outllook English before lawyers said cctv5 would sue them, so they became Optimum English. I went to work at an EF because they hired quickly, but while I was at a branch in Ji Nan, they decided to break their contract with EF and go independent. No one knew what was going on with the turnover, 3 months later books were not in place for students or teachers, they screwed us out of holidays and there is no center branch to complain to, and they didn't give pay raises. As an example of how bad it was, the last day of EF there were 14 teachers working at two Ji Nan braches. Of those 14, there are 7 left after 4 months, with another two or three planning on leaving after contracts are finished. I have many more horror stories, just stay away from OE. And if you are looking in Ji Nan, Boya english looks good, just opened as I left.

Galileo · Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 63

Does anyone know about Liaocheng Optimum English School? The pay is 5,000 RMB per month for up to 40 working hours per week (which includes 20-26 hours of teaching). They say they've had a ton of people applying for this position.

rottenflesh · Joined: 22 Apr 2010 Posts: 32

That's a pretty horrible offer (based on the salary alone, not to mention other aspects of the contract which might be iffy as well). 5,000rmb is a bottom of the barrel salary (which is okay in some instances such as universities where your teaching hours are 12-15 hours and your salary is generally paid on time).

20-26 hours will generally mean 26 hours and the additional office hours (which you aren't being paid for) is ridiculous. There are tons of better positions on this website and every board out there. PASS.

Galileo · Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 63

Thanks for the input. Is it possible to fly to China, find a job, and then visit the Chinese embassy in a nearby country like Japan to obtain a visa? I'd feel more comfortable meeting a potential employer and visiting the school before deciding to sign a contract.

rottenflesh · Joined: 22 Apr 2010 Posts: 32

Read up the sticky thread: Z Visas and Resident Permits.

People have talked about being able to get their visas converted in Hong Kong and in some instances, certain cities within China as well such as Shenzhen.

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Look at current thread 'When is FEC obtained' for other chat about this topic.