Job Discussion Forums

Shroob · Joined: 02 Aug 2010 Posts: 1339

Hi everyone,

I would like your advice on how to start a TEFL career, as well as your personal experience.

I am commited to being a TEFL teacher, not just a 'gap year teacher'. I've enrolled on a CELTA course and have limited experience of teaching English in a voluntary capacity.

However, as everybody soon realises, the TEFL job market seems full of people aiming to scam you, which concerns me greatly. If I knew anyone who has taught abroad before, and could recommend a reputable school I would be more at ease, however I know no one.

How did you first start your career? Did you reply to an advert on this website and take it from there? Or did you have contacts in the region?

Also, what is the 'typical' recruitment process? I presume you reply to an advert, the employer likes your CV, you may have a telephone/internet interview but then what?

Finally, what would be a realistic salary for a person in my shoes, BA History (First Class with Honours) and a CELTA (hopefully Very Happy

)?

Thanks for your time,
Shroob

The Great Wall of Whiner · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 4946 Location: Blabbing

I'd say an international school, but History is the ONE THING they don't want you teaching here.

I'd say anything over 8k a month for starting in a smaller city and 12k+ in a larger city is a fair wage for 20ish hours a week.

That would be about 100 RMB an hour for smaller city, and a bit more for larger cities.

The problem is that there are a lot of teachers that will work for less, and they drive the wages down.

Go with a Shanghai / Beijing mega school as a start (EF, etc.) or even Tianjin seems to offer a decent salary and housing.

Shroob · Joined: 02 Aug 2010 Posts: 1339

Thanks for the reply.

I thought China might be sensative when it comes to history/politics.

With regards to wages, they seem to be higher than the ones posted in the job section of this sight (I realise the majority of those might be the most desirable institutions to work for). Would I be better emailing universities/employers with a C.V., or wait until I see a job advert I like the look of?

I would also prefer a smaller city to start with than Beijing, though I wouldn't rule it out completely.

Thanks again,
Sam

MisterButtkins · Joined: 03 Oct 2009 Posts: 1221

Timer · Joined: 24 Oct 2010 Posts: 173 Location: China

I got my first job via knowing someone who worked at the school and was still in contact with the staff there. I have recently gone through the whole process properly so I'll give you a short run down of what I experienced (and presume is the standard for most jobs).

First you reply to a job ad, sending your CV and whatever else they ask for along with a short cover letter (most schools probably don't even read the letter but it doesn't hurt to write one).

You then get a reply from them to set up a phone/skype interview. This is a good chance to ask them any questions as their side of the interview is often short (I think they mainly want to hear your voice to make sure you don't have some sort of bizarre accent).

If they like what they hear they will offer you a position and send a copy of the contract. It's then up to you if you want to take the job or not, and you can negotiate any details in the contract or whatever.

Once you accept the position and send back the signed contract (and some sort of medical form depending on what the school requires) the school will start on the paperwork involved in obtaining a work permit and invitation letter. They send this to you, you send it to the embassy and you get your visa.

If the school asks you to come on a tourist visa then decline their offer as it's illegal to work on a tourist visa and you don't need the hassle.

As for the actual teaching part, the CELTA course will help you out quite a bit (I did my first job without knowing a thing about teaching and it was rough at the start) so don't worry too much about that.

Salaries vary quite a lot. Keep an eye on the job board to get an idea of the salaries on offer and do searches on the forum to find out if those salaries are actually any good. It's hard at first because there is just so much information to take in.

Do you have an idea what age range you want to teach and what kind of setting you want to teach in (private "language mills" or public schools)?

Oh and do what MisterButtkins said and carpet bomb the job board. There's so many jobs to choose from it's kind of pointless waiting around for just one.