Job Discussion Forums

[breacan]

Hi,

I am currently trying to decide between teaching in China and Malaysia. Can anyone give me a hand? I've had a couple people advocate for one or the other. This is also posted on General Asia.

Here is my information: I am 33, female, BA in history, MA in history/literature. I have experience teaching in continuing ed in two different countries. I want to teach at a university, hopefully literature/culture subjects. I also want to be near the sea in a warm climate.

I've had a look at different aspects of both places, but I keep wavering back and forth. Any information would be a great help! Thanks.

[flyingscotsman]

Malaysia would be my guess but China could be a good start ( or a bad start).

Mali is a more modern cleaner place.

Read about China before you come here.

Maybe easier to get a ( low paying ) job in China vs Mali.

Mali maybe has higher standards than China.

[Steve_McQueen]

Best advice that I can give to the OP: Pull the trigger ASAP.

Chinese unis are approaching the end of their hiring season. A few unis will still be doing some hiring towards the end of this month and in June, but the last couple of weeks is when the majority of hiring was done. Pull the trigger, make a decision. Once you do, find a city you want to live in. Go to Wikipedia. Find all of the unis in the city and send them your CV/Coverletter/Letters of Rec. Also try looking online for uni jobs. Try recruiters as well, tell them you specific/desired location. Remember, don't let them use you, you USE them. In the beginning they'll give you crap offers, but if you demonstrate yourself as a worthy candidate, then they might be able to hook you up.

Warm Location/Sea: Xiamen.

Steve M

[dog backwards]

It is highly unlikely that you will actually teach literature at a public university in China, even though you may be told that you will be allowed to do so. (Don't believe what the recruiter says regarding subjects to be taught). I have known western PhD.s whose doctorates were in literature who weren't allowed to teach literature. My observation is that this area is the domain of Chinese teachers.(Of course, this varies from school to school, province to province and minute to minute).

This is just one person's observation.

If you get a chance to sit in on a Chinese teacher's lecture on Huckleberry Finn in English, you may find the Marxist literary criticism quite enlightening.

There is a good possibility that you may teach western history at a public university. I have taught western history in China.

[breacan]

The issue seems to be that I would prefer to be in Malaysia but I cannot afford to go there for a vacation to check things out. Perhaps I should begin in China, where my airfare/housing/etc will be paid for?

I am trying to find a way to earn enough to have a decent standard of living and pay off some loans. I am completely unable to do that where I am currently, even with university degrees and years of experience.

I don't mind teaching English, even if I would prefer to teach literature or history. I did see a few ads for this kind of position in China but it pays 6000 RMB and I was not sure if that was decent pay.

All in all, I just want my experience and my degrees to have been worthwhile. It seems as though teaching overseas might be a good option.

[sainthood]

6000RMB is usually enough to live on in most places - but not so much the bigger cities. Also depends if accommodation is thrown in or not - if not, then it sucks. If it is, it's not too bad. (also, check the number of hours you're teaching...6K for 40 hours seriously sucks!)

Personally, I've got the MA as well, and the experience, and I won't take less than 9K.

I think pay for universities is going down (though I'm sure people will disagree), but all the money is in kids these days.

With what you've got, you should be able to find something that pays 13K with housing... though maybe not in a university

(ftr, I'm in the same boat...)

[breacan]

Hi,

Looks like it is for 14 teaching hours and housing is provided, located in Beijing. Here's the ad:

http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/china/index.cgi?read=22968

Thanks for the heads-up on the salary.

[Johnny_Utah]

IF the university is advertising for teachers here, they must be desperate. You need to think about why it is that they are forced to advertise on here, Beijing is flooded with foreigners so it's not exactly hard to find a white monkey.

[breacan]

So is the best bet to ignore the ads and just apply direct?

[Non Sequitur]

The bigger sites carry recruiter ads AND direct hiring.
But I agree that the uni cycle for Sept start is about over. You might need to grab something soon.
As to E Lit subject teaching, I doubt it. If you are teaching English majors they will be doing Lit, but it will be taught by a Chinese teacher.
In my exp the uni don't even see that the FT would be capable of input into the Lit classes.
I remember one of my v best English majors whom I taught oral E fronting at my apartment one Saturday afternoon with the question 'Hey what do you know about the character Shylock?'
She (the student) was surprised to hear that most native speakers of English could give some kind of account of Shylock.

[breacan]

I recently received an invitation to apply to teach literature, but for 4000 RMB!

If I wanted, for example, to teach at a university in Hainan, would I simply send in my CV even if they are not advertising? How likely am I to find anything that pays a decent rate?

[Non Sequitur]

A specialist Lit teacher should be capable of more than 4K.
What are hours and other package items?

[Trebek]

Most Uni jobs I've seen in China pay between 4 and 6 rmb plus housing. Hardly enough to pay back loans at home. I do know of one uni teacher who was able to temporarily halt paying on loans while she taught in China, since she was only making $750 per month, she had a masters as well.

If you want to get your loans paid off, you might find something in Malaysia, and they might give you an academic job considering your decent qualifications. What about Vietnam? Singapore? Brunei?

To pay off loans I would recommend "The country that we are forbidden to name", and fly to the warm beaches when you get time off.

Cheers,

Trebek

[Trebek]

There are places in the Middle East that would appreciate your quals as well. Most pay well and near warm beaches. U.A.E, Bahrain, Kuwait, ect...

[bradley]

Some universities in the south pay more than six thousand.