Job Discussion Forums

JacobTM · Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 73 Location: New York

I'm seriously considering moving to Shanghai to teach English.

I have a Bachelor's degree (not in Educatino), a CELTA, more than 1 year's teaching experience, and English is my native language (I'm from the U.S.)

For those of you who are there, or have been there, what is the best way to earn the most in Shanghai for someone with my qualifications?

I have seen posts in the jobs section on this site that offer around 10,000 RMB per month, with a housing allowance of around 4,000 RMB a month. That doesn't seem to be too much, considering the costs in the city.

What strategies have you guys used to make things work in Shanghai? Thanks for any help.

Miajiayou · Joined: 30 Apr 2011 Posts: 283 Location: Nanjing

The only way I know of to earn good money in Shanghai is to work on an F and get 200-250 an hour. Most of the 10k+ salaries are for way too many hours. There are so many foreigners on the ground who don't need a RP and accommodation, it is hard to find a legit job for a newcomer in Shanghai. Maybe try to find temporary work in Kunshan or something, build connections.

YMMV, of course. This is just my experience.

Lobster · Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 2:58 am Post subject:

As I see it there are really two ways, but they both require working your butt off.

1. Demanding mill jobs like Wall St. or Web and put in as many hours and OT as you can.
2. Take a uni job with low hours and teach corporate English/do privates on the side.

I personally think that option 2 is the best bet, particularly if you have a business background. You don't have the quals to get into an international school, so hitting the 20k mark will take a lot of work.

RED

Mr. English · Joined: 25 Nov 2009 Posts: 298 Location: Nakuru, Kenya

The third way, as Miajiayou mentions, is to work on an F visa, private tutoring full-time. You will need to start out with another part-time job, as it takes time to build a student base, but if you are going to stick around for at least a few years it is definitely the way to go as far as I am concerned. Private tutoring is by far the most enjoyable work, as well. You can have mostly one-to-one classes with interesting, motivated people instead of a bursting classroom with many students who couldn't care less.

Lobster · Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 2:39 pm Post subject:

Note that this way of working (privates on an F visa) is not legal. It's also not so simple to start up private classes when you are new in town. So yes, while it's not a bad way to earn money I still think that, before you start freelancing, you'd be better off with a legal job that supples the required working documents,

RED

LanGuTou · Joined: 23 Mar 2009 Posts: 621 Location: Shandong

Freelancing on a 'F' visa is certainly illegal and not good advice to follow. People who do this are not just breaking immigration laws. Freelancing in this manner is also tantamount to operating an illegal, unlicensed business. The distinction here is very clear. In China, to operate on a self employed basis, you must have official, government issued company stamps (a.k.a chops) and you must present tax returns at the end of every month. Thus, working as an illegal freelancer also makes you a tax evader.