Job Discussion Forums

[DosEquisX]

When pursuing a job last year, I never saw a contract that contained a utilities allowance. This appears to be more common in contracts this semester. Normally, it's around 200-240 RMB per month. Is that enough to cover things like electricity and gas?

In my opinion, a major plus to working at a university is that I don't have to be a bean-counter when it comes to evaluating my electricity and gas usage. The university takes care of that on its own.

I am also seeing contracts with a probationary period in which the teacher is paid a lesser sum for the first month or nothing at all. I also don't see where that spare money they withhold gets reimbursed. I would expect this for private academies, but not universities.

Contracts are also less specific about these "events" you have to partake in such as speech contests and lectures to local teachers. They do not tell you how often you have to do them or if you get paid for them.

Some universities offer a table of salaries relatives to your average number of teaching hours. One I got goes from 12 to 20 hours. Is this chosen by the teacher or does the dean give you the number of hours? When I see a maximum of 20 hours, I automatically assume that I will be teaching 20 hours. Is this a fair assumption?

[7969]

[Baozi man]

Depending on your location and situation, winter heating costs can run into thousands of RMB. Either way, through electricty or the hot water wall heaters. I would not agree to a contract like this unless I was in a mild climate area such as Kunming. Summertime cooling costs can also be expensive.

The only reason contracts like this are offered is because people are dumb enough to sign them. In cold weather climates, your flat will be like an icebox. No insulation. Tile floors are like ice. The cold is actually painful.

Really that desperate?

[Tasmanian_Tiger]

I�m currently negotiating a contract to work at a private school. There�s a sentence that reads �The teacher must attend important school functions (without pay).� It does not specify how many or often these �events� are. I changed it to read that I would attend up to 5 events without pay and any additional ones I would be paid 120 RMB per hour. I just sent them the contract changes I would like to make and am waiting to hear back from them. I would definitely get the number of events quantified if you aren�t being paid for them. Good luck.

[jaydizzle]

If any school asks you to work for the first month or any probationary period for free, RUN. Do not walk. I mean, where else have you worked where you would put in a month of your life and receive zero compensation for it? Is this a joke?? They are just trying to see if they can get something for free, and if you give it to them, you're a fool.

Baozi man is right. Electricity can run into the thousands, especially in the weather, and he's spot on about how painful the cold can be. I would not sign on with a university that wasn't going to pay for me to live there. That's part of the upside of an ESL job. They are making a ton of money collecting tuition from parents who want their kids to be taught by a foreign teacher, far more money than you probably imagine. It is well within their budget to provide your living quarters and utilities, and though they will oft complain about any spending, they can afford it. Don't let them convince you otherwise.

As for school functions, again, I don't do pro bono work (unless I really like the student I'm helping.) If the school wants me to do it, it either needs to be in the contract, or I need to get broke off a little extra somethin'. My school has English Corner in the contract. I don't mind that. It's clearly laid out, even though the school rarely makes me go. I count that as part of the duties for my salary. Other things I will do if I so desire, and if I don't care for them, I won't do them. If my contract stipulated a lot of meetings each week without pay, I would just simply refuse to sign. There's no way I'd agree to that.

[Guerciotti]

[Tasmanian_Tiger]

That's 5 events for the length of the contract (one year)

[Guerciotti]

Thanks Tas.

As far as the escalation, perceived or actual, of contract requirements you, me and every other FT should say no or rewrite the clause to our satisfaction. There is no reason for an increase in duties without an increase in pay.

One unpaid (FREE) month of 'probation' is ludicrous. As another poster said, this is just giving away your time. This is a deal killer in my view.

I know little about utilities in China because I don't pay for mine. At a university I think they should pay all utilities. This seems like a way to shift expenses and effectively reduce your pay.

I recently noticed a uni position advertised with "holiday pay or airfare reimbursement". No. I admire the creativity, but I would look elsewhere.

Another uni job lists duties as among other things, the obligation to assist senior students with their dissertations. Imagine if only half of, for example 100 English majors ask for your assistance with their dissertations? I imagine a few will define 'assist' as "to write an entire dissertation for another".

Watch out for this stuff.

[Baozi man]

Incidentally, the month you are working for free, someone else is pocketing your pay. These arrangements are common among the Chinese. In a tough job market, a hopeful might work a few months on "probation" while their boss pockets their pay.

Selling a job to someone is common practice, especially if that position provides opportunities for corruption money. Suppose your salary is ~3,000RMB/monthly. You might pay 200,000RMB for a job like that in a good danwei. How you ever going to recover your money?

In the past, being a driver for a boss was a great job. The opportunities for grey income were countless. For example, your boss tells you he has a business lunch, asks you to arrange it. You shop the lunch to several restaurants to find out who will pay you the biggest fee for steering business their way.

These scams that schools are trying to pull on FTs are nothing new. They been doing these things to other Chinese for a "hella long time."

Beginners have to start someplace. People rarely start at the top in any job market. Plan to pay some dues but try to make it as painless as possible. My situation is almost sweet now but I went through hell to get here.

Figure on getting ripped off; however, minimize it. A Z visa to start should be a no brainer. Generally, that means the school meets some kind of minimum standard. Airfare reimbursement, whether you return home or not should be included. One school I interviewed with offered a 20% raise for a contract renewal and 2 year contracts. Their contract included a bizarre appendix which placed restrictions on what you could talk about even off campus. Don't agree to stupid stuff, plain and simple.

Watch out for split duties. One school recently offered me a job in which I would have to spend several hours a week shuttling between schools. Travel here can be hell and it is dangerous. I was nearly killed a few months ago in what would have been an accident which would have decapitated me. Thanks to the skillful Chinese driver who avoided the collision. A pox on the moron who nearly caused it.

Careful...

[Cairnsman]

[Guerciotti]

[Miles Smiles]

Utilities allowances aren't all that uncommon in contracts. I've never had one enforced. (Maybe I've never surpassed the maximum water/electricity coverage). I'm willing to pay overage. It irks me, though, when the school won't turn on the heat or the a/c when it's needed, even when such a clause exists in the contract. (My present abode has central air/heat for all of the FTs in the building, but it's shut off when it's most needed).

At two of my schools, English Corner was required by the contract, but FTs were never invited to them because they are run by the English Students' Association, and the association didn't want FTs to attend.

[jaydizzle]

[DosEquisX]

I am happy to see many of the weird and outright ridiculous clauses in contracts that have been offered to others. Have any of you been able to negotiate these out of your offers?

My fear is that I won't be haggled with because if I don't accept their conditions, somebody else will be stupid enough to do so. What needs to happen is that the collective labor force needs to collude to force wages up, but that's hard to do in a receding economic state (in America at least). It seems that lots of people are becoming desperate and accepting anything they can get without hesitation which hurts all of us who are pursuing teaching as an occupation.

[7969]