Job Discussion Forums

[ozman]

why do you post on this forum if you don't want to listen to any advice? People here have given you a fair opinion and suggested that you don't take this contract. if you do, then you are crazy. NETS live in decent modern flats with lifts, pools, gyms, kitchens, bathrooms etc. ok they may be small but they are ok. there is a possibility you COULD get something at a local government school after chinese new year. listen to the people on this forum. they know what they are talking about. you will get screwed by this company if you take this job.
ozman

[lambada]

They are going to screw you into the ground and it is so unnecessary. Just walk away. Ozman is right. You have no idea how miserable life can be here if you have to work with people like this. It is not the same as our culture. They screw each other into the ground and they think it perfectly ok to do the same to you. How will you feel if they don't pay you for 3 months or start changing the rules. They obviously intend to. HK is desperate for qualified and committed NETs. You don't have to go through this nonsense and what's worse you are encouraging them to try to screw other people. Send me a private message if you decide to come to HK to look around.

[once again]

Whilst not sharing lambadas overly negative views of Hong Kong, you would be an absolute fool to take up employment with these people. It seems to me they have no intention of paying you any form of bonus. I work outside of the Net scheme at a local school. I have bought a large flat with three bedrooms, by the beach, pool, gym etc. Your qualifications make you very desirable as a teacher in HK. Apply directly to the EMB even though they have closed the process. They are desperate for NETs. You should also apply directly to many schools. It is very easy to do via the internet. If you see this job as a way into HK, then that is possible. But I wouldn't expect to even get paid.

[lambada]

Hey, do I come over as negative. I love HK but I try to tell it as I think it is. It's got to be one of the most fun places on earth for single folks assuming you are earning a reasonable amount. I just think the public education system is a disgrace and that ultimately the system is designed to crush creativity and alienate all but high achievers (particularly primary boys) and is thus screwing many of the next generation out of a quality education. Add to this a ruling clique who send their kids to International schools, know how it is but haven't the balls to fix the teachers or the education system. There is no excuse as there is so much money floating about. Tax cuts, really, what a nonsense with 1000's of families with children who are too poor to benefit fully from the pubic education system. There I go again. Better keep my mouth shut......

[bellabella]

are you sure that wasn't just your bedroom in the photo? and they just didn't include pictures of the rest of the place. also your bedroom will be tiny - places here a really small. an apartment should have a kitchen. if it doesn't then this is another example of how these people are ripping you off. unless they have increased your basic salary to above 15,000 i don't understand why you are coming! adn the fac t that things keep changing in your contract should be really worring to you.

[11:59]

Not all places are so small. You can choose to live in a shoebox in an overpriced gweilo filing cabinet downtown if you wish, but it doesn't have to be that way. HK has something for everyone, especially when it comes to accommodation. I live in the NTs and my pad is 1,500 square foot (I know people who live in flats as small as 450 square foot). Mine is a two-floor place with the roof near Ma On Shan and costs a mere $7,500 HK p/m (some of those I know with gravy train ex-pat-type deals who live in the Mid-Levels pay as much as $40,000 HK p/m!). I have a nice kitchen, a large lounge/dining room, a balcony, two bedrooms (one en-suite), a staircase going up to the roof from my lounge, and a nice conversatory-type room up on the roof where I can have 'Be-Be-Qs' with my wife and kids. It's got the full mountain and sea view and it's only 20 minutes to Sha Tin KCR station in one direction and 15 minutes to Sai Kung in the other.

[gryffindor]

[lambada]

It was a quote from Hobbes about early capitalism if my memory serves me correctly. It was a little tongue in cheek but what I was alluding to is that the lower you are in the pecking order, the more work you are given. i.e. teacher assistants, manual staff at schools get really awful pay, short holidays and long working hours. Local teachers are at the mercy of their Principals, often work long hours, doing a lot of mundane and mindless tasks. My teachers spent their CNY break checking their marking before the Principal checked it. We're talking primary school English! Suicide and nervous breakdowns are not uncommon among teaching staff. Young, able teachers seem to be quitting to enter other industries. At a more general level there is a cultural attitude that relaxation and the good life is something that you do when you get old - assuming you get to live that long. That's all. Just my opinion of course and what do I know .