Job Discussion Forums

[EKGough]

Hi everyone!

I'm a UK native on a gap year before I start university in October 2012. I'll be in China from late January 2012 (I want to be in China for the New Year celebrations) and aim to be back in the UK by early July.

I'm looking for a teaching job because:
1) I think it'll be a good way of picking up some Mandarin
2) I need money in order to stay in China for a reasonable length of time (atm I could only afford about a months worth of travelling, and that wouldn't help point #1)
3) I'd like some (any!) work experience so that when I graduate in five years time I'll be a more attractive prospect.

I just completed (and passed, I think, although we don't have our certificates yet) a CELTA course. But I don't have a degree (obviously!)

With all this in mind, what advice do you have about looking for jobs? I'm really not choosy about where I work, as long as it's not *completely* grim. I also don't care about being paid a lot, just enough for accommodation and living expenses - I'm not looking to make a profit. I can also work long hours - it'll be good preparation for university!

I've been offered a contract by the recruiting agent ChinaESL (Rebecca Tang). Does anyone have any experience working with her?

That's all for now. Thanks in advance

[7969]

Without the degree and any experience you might/very probably have trouble getting a Z visa/residence permit, so your options will be more limited - to agents/recruiters/private schools that need someone/anyone at the last minute. In this situation you'll end up working illegally on an L tourist or an F business visa, which means if things go pear shaped you wont have any protection from the local authorities. This forum has more than a few stories of people who worked for employers on the wrong visa and got shafted. But it could work out for you as well, not everyone is out to cheat you.

Just start scouring the job boards and see if anyone will hire you.

Also be ready to take some heat on this forum. Illegal/unqualified esl teachers are sometimes the target of those who see you as the kind of worker that allegedly brings salaries down for everybody across the board. It's really every man for himself in this business and if you can make it work for you, then good luck.

[Miajiayou]

You can get a good job, especially for the spring term, without a BA. Have you been learning Mandarin at home? It isn't like going to Italy and learning Italian, I can assure you of that. If one of your main goals is to learn a second language fluently, I would advise you to pick a different country.

[EKGough]

I have studied some (very basic) Mandarin, and am currently studying from various teach yourself books. I don't want to be fluent, just to absorb some useful phrases.

[LanGuTou]

You may find Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) here quite a let down. It isn't as people imagine it. Bars close, restaurants close, the streets are often deserted, little or no public transport options over the main few days and massively congested public transport in the lead up and conclusion. The Chinese all head home to their families. It isn't like mass celebrations in the streets. Unless you can hitch up with a Chinese family and really indulge in the festivities in a traditional Chinese way, CNY can be really dull and uninspiring.

Learning mandarin to any degree of usefulness for most foreigners takes years and not months to accomplish. If this is a key goal, maybe you should consider one of the many immersion course options offered throughout China using part time teaching to finance it. Without specialist tuition, you are unlikely to make much progress in six months.

Usefulness of teaching ESL in China for CV/resume? That one is debatable. If it really is only a gap year thing, maybe. Over longer periods, teaching in China is often (maybe not always) seen as more negative than positive to prospective employers.

[vikeologist]

You'll find it very difficult to get legitimate work in China because

a) you don't have a degree
b) nearly all employers want people for a year
c) presumably you're too young; 18/19? Many police offices want you to be at least 23.

These 3 factors mean that it will be very difficult to get a work visa. Not impossible; China's very big and there's not a rule that you can't find an exeption to somewhere, but still pretty close to impossible.

It's not that employers wouldn't want you. but the chances of you getting a visa to work here at my Uni for instance for the above reasons are
a) absolute 0%
b) maybe 1%
c) maybe 1%

giving you the cumalative viability of a hell-visiting snowball.

If you worked illegally, (ie on a tourist visa) then you'd probably be able to pick up some work, but as you can imagine there's downsides to that. Apart from anything else i wouldn't try that unless you have a nice stack of cash behind you.

I'm sorry to be so negative. On the whole, China expects foreigners to fit into it's shape. It's not going to adjust to yours.