Job Discussion Forums

[jmac78]

Hi,

I'm considering teaching in Asia, possibly China or Thailand. Whilst I'm not a qualified teacher I have a degree, celta & a little experience, so would be aiming to work in a private language school.

Would I earn enough to support myself and my daughter (currently 3), or am I dreaming?? I'm a New Zealander so I'm accustomed to low wages / high cost of living.

[tttompatz]

[naturegirl321]

It might be hard to support a child, but it is doable. But you'll have to think long term: for example: do you want yourchild to go to local schools? because on a local salary, intl schools are out of the question.

[nickpellatt]

Are you looking at moving to said country long term?

Short term living things would be pretty easy IMO, if you worked at similar places in China to the ones I have worked in. Long term would be a totally different matter IMO.

The two places I have worked in whilst in China have had workloads of 12 and 15 hours respectively. Accomodation was provided and utilities were paid....this is pretty common, but the suitability of housing may be an issue if you have a small child.

In my first job, I shared a 4 bed house with one other teacher, and lived next door to an American family with small children. Another American family with a young disabled child also lived in the same block of houses...so it can certainly be done. However, rats in the house were common, and they werent exactly comfortable homes.....you need to remember that the standard of housing probably wont be like housing at home.

In my last job, I shared an apartment with two others...we had private lockable rooms with our own WC. This is also a common arrangement...might not be suitable for you though. Other teachers may not want a family moving in with them either. This is another thing to consider!

As far as childcare....assuming you have similar hours as I have had, in similar locations (not big cities)...it would cost very very little to have a Chinese carer for those few hours per day. Even on a low salary, childcare for 3 hours a day wouldnt cost more than 15%-20% of your monthly salary IMO. You might need a good employer to help you find someone though. It would be affordable, but quite a brave step to take...Im not sure I would have left my son with a random Chinese person when he was small TBH.

If you are ready to live in slightly shabby housing, have local help...and you dont have a plan for local schooling for your child....I reckon you could manage OK.

If you want a bilingual housekeeper/nanny, with certificates etc, and a nice, clean modern apartment, and local schooling.....hmmmm. Thats much less likely

[Zero]

I like nickpellatt's comments. I would mention the thing I always mention: health care. Basic care, for most of the things you'd encounter, is affordable and, if you make wise choices, probably more or less adequate. (Surely not as dependable as in New Zealand, though.) But if, God forbid, something catastrophic happened, meaning a severe illness or an accident, you could find yourself in over your head very quickly. You would either need lots and lots of cash or else decent insurance in order to get top-level care in China. You could go home, but the questions are, does New Zealand let you rejoin the national system right away after an absence? And would that kind of travel be possible, in the case of serious illness? The problem is that in China, top-level care is not always available. When people of means hit truly dire straits, they head off to Hong Kong or Singapore in very short order. To make a long story short, you need to budget for a good health insurance plan. And even then, accept that if times get tough, things may not go as well as they would in New Zealand.

[Chamomile]

Having worked for a few years in Asia, I would hesitate to take children there if I couldn't send them to an international school or homeschool them. Physical discipline is still very common in the local schools. Even if you find a school that doesn't hit kids, there are still other forms of physical punishment (such as shining laser pointers in their eyes) that scare me.

And the hitting can be pretty bad. It's a lot worse than the physical punishment back home. Teachers regularly hit the kids with sticks, sometimes in the head. And I've seen older kids (teenagers) beat repeatedly with clubs big enough to play baseball.

I'm sure it varies country to country, school to school, teacher to teacher. Maybe someone who has sent their kids to the local schools can share their experiences with discipline.

[jmac78]

Cheers for the feedback / info.. it's certainly given me something to think about!!

[rap60]

not sure where you are with the decision making on this but my wife and I have just negotiated a contract with a (we are told) rich kids private school and have got free kindy for our 4 year old, on top of that my wife will work in the kindy so she will be close at hand. we have all the same concerns as you, we do have the support of each (and of course a double wage) but DEFINATELY negotiating a job with kindy facilties is achievable especially as you have a degree and they are now getting desperate for teachers. also negotiate the wage and the fare re-imbursement. also important is knowing how close the nearest hospital is, it seems china doesnt do ambulances like we do here in Australia so in case of emergency you need a contigency plan. wish you well.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

A kindergarten is one option. It would be easy to negotiate free admission as part of a contract.

I know of single mothers (and fathers!) working in China with kids of all ages and all levels of success.

Success is what you make of it.

Good luck.

[rap60]

I am cautious of the advice from anyone who uses the words 'easy' (or 'simple') in a subject referring to China. It may seem 'easy' when you have been there a number of years. But it actually isn't easy to negotiate free kindergarten facilties to go with a teaching job, infact a lot of establishments won't look at parents with kids because they perceive potential problems with the FT's kids keeping the FT from doing their job well. Success is what you make it ? hmmmmm, perceived success is overated. Many times going out there and giving it a go is a success in itself, no matter the outcome.

[naturegirl321]

Though keep in mind that it's all about how things look.. Many, many English kindergartens would LOVE to put a white face on all their publicity and show parents that their kids would have a better chance of lenarning English since not only are there foreign teachers, but also foreign students.

Little do they know that the foreign kids often pick up the local language pretty quickly.

[rap60]

I know this is true Nature girl, but won't they be a little surprised when we turn up and enroll our little girl who speaks perfect english, but was born in guangzhou and we adopted 2 years ago. She does have a killer Aussie accent though.......