Job Discussion Forums

[Bertrand]

Why would anyone ever work in China? I mean, just go over into Hong Kong and salaries for primary or secondary NETs begin at 20/25,000 HK dollars plus (up to a maximum of) 13,000 a month for accommodation and hours never exceed 15 or 20 a week. Why, when all of you are talking about 3, 4, or 5,000 Yuan a month and 30 or 40 hours do you work there? Just wondering....

[selmo]

Why do some people do voluntary work . Why are you posting such a stupid question , because they want to maybe

[Bertrand]

[Minhang Oz]

Well Bertrand, you old Sinophobe, as none of my reasons even get close to your list of priorities, which seems to consist of lots of money and short hours, I doubt that we have any common ground for discussion.

[noodles]

As this qeustion was posed to sound like you are curious it has made me think of something i am curious about. For someone who seems to hate China so much and have such negativety towards it, i am wondering why you spend so much time in the China forum. Just curious

[senor boogie woogie]

Hola!

I truly believed that some of us first came to China just to see the country, and there was something that has kept us here for longer than we originally planned. Maybe it is because we found someone to love here (I did), some like the cities we live in (I do.), and quite possibly we enjoy our employment status. We have made friends here, lovers here, have bonded with the locals.

My father has a nice amount of money, but he lives in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis is the Detroit of the south. I hate the place (except for Elvis and BBQ) He and my mother could live anywhere in the country they they choose, but they live in Memphis, because their friends live here, it is familiar to them, they know their way around and that is their choice.

(If I have one), my child might grow up to hate the mainland. He might not like the pollution, the idiocy, the bad driving, the people spitting everywhere, the one party system, and all that jazz, and might move to somewhere boring and predictable like Singapore or Canada and love it. Different strokes for different folkes I guess.

Personally, I don't want to live in HK, because to me, it would be expensive and too high stress. My wife lives here in Zhejiang and she would not move. China operates HK as a country (almost) so to leave there, one has to get a visa for China or anywhere else in Asia. When I leave the city, I would have to change currencies. Also, HK has been the home of some ugly viruses, SARS and the Avian bird flu.

Hangzhou is cosmopolitan, modern, yet cheap. I can pick up work like a head cold. The locals are decent, cool and laid back. I can freelance if I like. I know my way around.

My city is two hours south of Shanghai. If I want the big cosmo city feeling, I'll go there. Don't get me wrong, I want to see HK in the future, it is an incredible city with wonderful sites. I love big Asian cities and the funkiness that they offer and HK fills the bill.

SENOR

[struelle]

[kimo]

Hmmm! If it's money you're talking about, I know of some folks who pull down about USD2,500, for 20 hours of their teaching time. Of course, a beer costs them RMB1.5, about USD0.16. What does beer cost in HK? As well, they live in spacious apartments, commute ten minutes to work, eat where they want and leave the country for two or three months a year. They are happy here, too. Not bad, I'd say!

[Bill Shagley]

here's why:
(1) I am comfortable and get respect in my job.
(2) I make about 1750 us dollars per month for a short working week and save 60/70% of it.
(3) I am learning a language.
(4) I pay no rent.
(5) I can do this in a small city where all my friends are close yet I live a few hours away from a big city and I can get all the modern stuff I want.
There are other reasons too. However, I take your point. Most teaching jobs here are rubbish and most schools are a joke.

[David Bowles]

Isn't Hong Kong quite small? It's probably not advisable for everyone teaching in China (or most other places for that matter) to go there and teach. I'm sure everyone could make even more money if they dropped teaching and did business degrees, or robbed banks or something...
I would question using the word 'voluntary' for lower-paid work in China. Any non-slavery work is voluntary in that you choose to do it- but using the word suggests all kinds of nice philanthropic ideals, as opposed to teaching the richest kids that the People's Republic can deliver, which most teaching involves.

[Anne-Marie Gregory]

I rapidly moved out of teaching in the private sector in China, into a government college. In doing so I accepted a pay cut and classes up to four times the size of the ones I previously taught. My students come predominantly from very poor rual backgrounds, and only a couple of students in the whole year I teach had ever had a conversation with a native speaker before the FE programme was set up here last year. The municipal governement is unlikely to fork out 25,000HKD for a teacher in the near future.
Admittedly my background is in rural development work, but, if I wanted to earn big money and have an expat lifestyle, I'd have joined a multi-national straight out of uni and now be on rather more than 25,000HKD (as one of my friends did).

[Roger]

Bertrand,
if your question was not "stupid" it was certainly provocative. You seemed to be deriding those of us who opt for a lower-paying job.

You made a false claim: Minimum pay for NET teachers is set at HK$ 17100, not 20'000 or 25'000! To this you can add 13'000 in housing allowance. GOod money? Probably yes. Worth your effort? It is up to you! I do not fancy teaching in HK ANY MORE - I did it from '98 to 2000. I made an hourly wage of up to 400 HK4, teaching expat kids and spoilt brats from Hong Kong's richest CHinese.
I like the hinterland of HK and the islands, but I do not like the hectic and unfriendly urban sprawl between Shatin and Aberdeen! I particularly dislike the boorish and often overt racist attitudes of Hong Kong people. Just keep abreast of how HK-Chinese continue to search for means and ways to harass their Filippina domestics.
I also dislike HK's gross, crass ostentation! Just read the Sunday Post magazine! It's all about making the most extravagant, yet so ordinary fashion statement!
Ok, I should not go on ranting as you did not ask for that. As said above, there are things in HK that I like, including my former landlady and a few friends. But I chose to live in the mainland, and when I came here, I did not expect to be staying here for more than three years.
Meanwhile, it has become more than eight years!
I can only say, those have been extremely interesting eight years!
My salary in my first year was - fasten your seat belt, Bertrand! - 1300 RMB for 16 periods of teaching a week. I loved that job although I ran into formidable mental stumbling blocks and hurdles. These days, I always juggle two or three jobs, making around 8'000 to well above 10'000.
But, I can live comfortably here on a mere 3000! It's laid-back and very, very sociable work! FOr three times this amount, I have to put in a few hours of commuting, and that's the worst part of my job, but in HK it certainly would not be the worst!
If I chose to uproot myself again, I would want to live in another place that's in a category of its own. I mean it should exercise a strong pull over me, an attraction, prompt my feelings for it. I admit HK did that to me - before 1997. China still does that, mainly, I suspect because it is daily changing, improving, becoming more like what I am used to or expect from a civilised place; HK, on the other hand, is daily changing for the worse, becoming more parochial, introverted, more "Chinese" in the bad sense.
Since the handover of HK to China, HK has become a lot more like backward China used to be, and the rest of CHina has become a lot more sophisticated, cosmopolitan and open-minded.
That's what I like about this place and its people. Money? If I was here for the salary only I would think it the biggest mistake in my life!
But it is good enough - the money, I mean! I can afford to buy luxuries without feeling guilty!

[Peter]

It is quite pointless to take income as the sole point of being somew here.

HK is one of the most expensive places on earth.

It is more to the point to consider what is left over at the end of the month.
I compromised; I live in Shenzhen. make 10.000 as a rule.
Since Im married, my partner pays for the running of the place, so the 10.000 is for the both of us as savings

We have a family of 4 plus insurance and mortgage: 8000 per month

[oprah]

I thought the education requirements for Hong Kong and China were different. In China you can teach without a degree but in Hong Kong you need a degree??

[MyTurnNow]

Why do I stay here?

Personal freedom. Employment/economic opportunity. Beautiful girls. Adventure. Intriguing companionship. Great food. Cheap and excellent beer. Recently love was added to the list, too.

I've found all these things (yes, including the first 2) in vastly greater quantities and qualities than I ever encountered in America.

MT