Job Discussion Forums

[nicdoering]

I worked for Buckland for over a year, in Hunan and Henan and overall had a reasonable experience. From a teacher's point of view I found Owen and Jennifer to be very supportive. I didn't like the way they treated the schools though, I thought they charged them too much money and they often told me not to tell them things - seeming to disregard the fact that the people at the school were my friends (yes, FAOs don't have to be the enemy!). And don't believe any promises of training - if you don't have experience now the first you'll get is on your first day at school!
The wage is 4,000 a month plus 8,000 flight bonus which the school decides when to pay, and most of their schools are in small towns, which I found great for seeing the 'real' China, with the most genuine people I've met in my time here.

If you don't feel guilty about the fees the school pays and you keep your wits about you, you could definitely do worse than Buckland.

Good luck!

[oprah]

So what is the fee that the schools pay Buckland? I never thought that was any of my business, just that I got paid and was treated good.

[LaoMa]

The thing is, if you're a teacher, and you're being "sold" to schools then you are inherently caught in the middle. Some agents are reputable, but most are not. They are in the business for the fee that they extract from schools, and they squeeze the schools for every drop that they can get. They also seek to maximize the number of schools with little regard for the quality of the post you'll end up with.

The schools in turn, often try to extract themselves from the arrangement but hold onto the teacher....so that they can pay a more reasonable fee.

In the end, teachers often feel dirty from the whole affair.

That's not to say it's a bad way to go, just that the teacher always has to take responsibility for the quality of the posting....sometimes hard to do when applying from overseas. You can also look for organizations that manage their own teachers internally. This leads to consistency, but again, you have to make sure they have the bases covered...sometimes these companies are spread a bit thin.

If you go with an agent, in many ways you have to cross your fingers. If you go with an institute or larger teaching organization, you should get feedback from teachers already placed .... sorry, my thoughts got a little bit broader here than just the Buckland Group.

[SusannahLT]

I worked for Owen and Jennifer year before last, and it was alright. I taught at two schools in Guilin and made a base salary of 2500 yuan, and a bit extra for every hour over 20 per week. (I'd like to meet this person claiming to make 6000 in Yangshuo!). If I were ever to return to Guilin, though, I definitely would not seek employment through the Buckland Group again. I have enough contacts at this point to get a good job elsewhere. Almost every other foreign English teacher I knew in Guilin made a lot more than I did and worked fewer hours, and I had more teaching credentials than they did, too. I didn't like the way Owen always showed up without warning or changed things with no notice. And his brother Odar (I think that was his name) who runs the Omeida school in Yangshuo... don't even get me started. After teaching for him for a week (at his request) before I moved to Guilin, he refused to pay me, saying that was just my "practice" teaching. He finally paid me when I refused to leave his office until he did so. It was only 800 measly yuan anyway.