Job Discussion Forums

[muubagsh]

I am now at a teaching job in Central Asia that I would like to get out of, and am looking into relocating to China. The teaching job market in China and the information about it that I am seeing, are a bit perplexing in terms of the huge disparities in pay vs. teaching hours between different jobs. I am aware that salaries (and cost of living) will be higher in the capital and major coastal cities. But are jobs that offer easy workload for huge salaries and only basic qualifications likely dismissed as bait-and-switch scams?

In particular, I am looking at a couple of jobs: one in Zhengzhou offers ¥18,000 for 20 hours a week and and a free apartment. One in Beijing offers ¥25,000 and free housing for less than 20 hours per week. It's not clear from the posts if they are coming from recruiters or directly from schools (they are posted recently on www.chinajoblist.com ) and they claim to just require a degree, TEFL and some minimal experience.

Before I spend a bunch of time applying to this kind of job, I would like to get an idea of whether they are likely to be legit at all. Any advice would be appreciated.

[dongbei united]

You need to show us specific offers, don't just reference a domain name.

Is this for English teaching only, or do they want math or science taught?

Next, you need to realize that salaries vary in China. If you work at a college you get more time off and might have a salary between 5-7,000 RMB.

If you live in a rural area the salaries and prices are lower, figure 7-9,000 RMB at your average language school.

I ate a Chinese meal in central Beijing 2 weeks ago for 20 RMB and it was crap, not even the Chinese liked it (they kept telling me to eat more). I ordered the same meal today in a rural district of Beijing for 12 RMB and it is the best I have had.

There are "Tier 1" to "Tier 3" cities mentioned, this means Beijing and Shanghai are pretty much the tops and maybe Shenzhen if you are a southern person. Tier 2 means better living conditions usually but not the amenities. Tier 3 are for the crocodile type who like to venture into "unknown land". I only lasted 3 weeks in one before the crap running down the hills, smelly sewer smell from the toilet, cockroaches at night, and sticky walls got to me.

If you can be a slave to the kindy students, go to central Beijing, maybe Shanghai. Rich folk will love you for your babysitting services.

The salaries you mentioned are high, so I question them.

"One in Beijing offers ¥25,000"

Teaching whom? Teaching them what? Usually, you are lucky to get 8,000 without much slavery. More than that, you pay housing and have 25 hour classes with 15 hour office hours.

Give us EXACT details of your dealio. This includes monthly salary, apartment photos, classroom photos, vacation information, airfare conditions, length of contract term (8, 10, 12, more?)

Remember, "'Only You Can Prevent Wildfires."

[Bud Powell]

I mean no disrespect, but it's advisable that one do his own homework. How do you know if the anonymous people on a forum are giving you truthful information?

[Hatcher]

The 25,000 RMB offer is from BJ High School 80... Big time program.

[Non Sequitur]

Just to clarify on Tier 1 etc.
Chinese car number plates incorporate a numeral 1, 2 etc which indicates the status of a city in the provincial pecking order.
For example in Liaoning, Shenyang plates have '1', Dalian '2' but just how far down it goes I'm not sure.
This is a bit off the thread but good to remember that Chinese municipalities are huge in area. This means that quoted population figures include people living in locations that are hours away by train.

[toteach]

18,000 to 25,000 for less than 20 hours with basic qualifications? Apply!

If it's for the coming semester, they're in a bind and need someone ASAP. But why? Maybe the location is remote or the job really is terrible. Still, at those wages it'd be worth looking into. (Is housing paid? Airfare? Legal working status?)

[Non Sequitur]

Too good to miss but maybe too good to be true.
I'd look at the thread Job Offer Checklist which was reprised a month or so ago and if it meets the those criteria + plus the 20K I can only say congratulations!

[Buckeye Bob]

[Bud Powell]

Bucko,

Since you have seen fit to defame a multitude of people in the industry, could you please publish your real name and contact information (email address, phone number, location)? I am sure that the recruiters you've done a hatchet job would like to talk to you.

Fair is fair.

[Buckeye Bob]

[muubagsh]

Thanks to those who offered useful replies. Maybe I should have been clearer, the gist of my question was not that I wanted a detailed analysis of if some job offers were scams, but simply to know if, in general, there really are deals that good floating around the ESL job market in China.

Regarding my situation, the school in Beijing never responded to me. The school in Zhengzhou offered me the job, but I backed out after reading about the air pollution there. I'm now negotiating with an offer for 13,000/month, 22 classes per week, in a small city in Gansu, and have had a few other offers in that range. (I have been frustrated with trying to find out more about housing. Some people have suggested you should get them to send pictures of the housing they offer, but all recruiters/employers I've been in contact with make excuses about this).

So far, it looks like the answer to my original question is "yes." I guess this is surprising to me, because the conventional wisdom is that if you want to make money teaching ESL, the Middle East/Gulf is your first choice, Korea/Taiwan are your second choices, and China is way down on the third tier somewhere. However, taking into account pay, benefits, hours, and required qualifications, I am not seeing anything in Korea, Taiwan or places like Saudi Arabia that is much better or even as good as what seems to be available in China. I'm still wondering what the catch is.

[toteach]

The "catch" with your current job offer might simply be the location. It may be very expensive to travel to your location, and once you're there, there might no be any option to leave... But the plus side is that Gansu is going to have a cheaper cost of living than Beijing.

Make sure that your contract indicates that all utilities are paid for by the school--including heat. It's going to be cold in the winter! Also, how many students are in your classes? Ensure that it's not 60!

[Shroob]

[toteach]

Why not tell the school or recruiter that you'd like so speak to a current foreign teacher before you sign the contract? It'll be inconvenient for them, but it's important for you to have someone answer your questions...

[3701 W.119th]