Job Discussion Forums

[Kurochan]

So, I got an offer from East China Normal University. I wrote to them asking about the salary, and they said the pay would be 7500 if I lived off campus, but I'd only get 4,500 if I lived in the "free" campus housing! Is this insane? How do they get people this way -- hire mostly retired people?

How much would it cost to rent in Shanghai, like a one bedroom or studio? If I lived off campus, could I still have a decent salary, or would I have to pay 2 or 3 thousand a month for rent?

And if it came down to it, where would you work, a famous university with low pay, or a less famous university with high pay?

[jg]

K

I rent what I have been assured is an overpriced 1 bedroom apt for 2000 RMB a month. It is furnished, clean, near a subway station and perhaps that drove the cost up. You can do better though - pick a place on a bus line to your job, and you can easily find something for under 1500 RMB. Lots of foreigners and others will tell you it can't be done, but that is because a lot of foreigners here want to live like they did back home.

My apt is fine and dandy, and in fact not much different than something "back home". I could live in one of those semi-grimy (on the outside) 4 or 5 floor walkups and save and still be happy, I know many foreigners who do. I didn't pay a rental agency fee, I just got one of my Chinese students to help me, and we found it on the internet.

What is a name brand university anyway? All the students are cheating anyway! Quality of life is the key.

[struelle]

Jg has good advice about housing rents. Here's a further suggestion - try renting in semi-downtown districts. If you rent near a subway, the price is driven up, but you can get a place near a convenient bus line instead.

If you're teaching in ECNU, I'd especially recommend *Putuo* District. Look for flats close to the commercial hubs known as 'No. 3 Bus Company' (san qi gong si) or 'Wuning New Estate' (wu ning xing cun). Many buses route through there and either go downtown or hook up with the light rail that goes very close to ECNU. Some of the popular lines are: 44, 62, 562, 708, 742, 837, 838.

It is ludicrous that they want to charge so much for staying on-campus, and it's not free at all when they phrase it like that. So, tell them thanks but no thanks and get a place in Putuo - that's what I say.

Steve

[Yu]

Consider what your plans are when you go back home. If you are staying in the same field I would think a more prestigeous uni is better.

I was chatting with the director of my program when I informed him I was moving to China. I asked him about some different schools, and he told me that it would make a difference in his hiring if he had actually heard of a school and that langauge school teaching expereince does not really mean anything.

[eion_padraig]

Kurochan,

I think it's great that they actually give a off campus housing stipend. That's really what it is afterall. Many schools don't do this. I've live both on campus and off campus while teaching at Shanghai University (the BS campus) and living in an apartment is far preferable as far as I'm concerned. The hassle is in finding the place and dealing with the occassion problem that you can't immediately get your FAO to fix. Both these problems are minimalised if you speak Chinese or using your handy-dandy "Chinese Friend" TM.

The university student in China are streamed into a university by their "Gao Kao" exams, so if you teach at a prestigious university you will be getting students in the 95% + percentile, rather than the 55% percentile. It doesn't necessarily mean that their English skills will be better or that they'll be more intelligent, but on the whole they will be.

[tony lee]

You may have a 16 period load which often means lots of two or four-hour gaps. If you live on campus you have the option of going back to your apartment, but if you are half an hour away off-campus, you don't have this options.

The cost of an apartment is not the end cost. To this you must add travel (and don't forget the temptation to use taxis when the weather is bad or you are in a hurry. Then there is electricity. If you like your comfort then air-conditioning can add heaps to your utilities bill. Then there is internet access, drinking water and gas. Factor in the nominal cost of your time spent travelling to and from work and deduct saving (if any) in leisure time travelling. Add these up and see what your 2000 a month offcampus apartment really costs you.

naturally you have to compare like with like and I agree that some places expect you to live in a single dormroom with shared facilities, but those places are learning that they can't attract teachers. We lived in a 100 square metre three br apartment at one place and a newly refurbished and very well furnished 1br place in the other and 90% of the utilities were provided free.

as always your experiences may vary