Job Discussion Forums

Volver · Joined: 27 Sep 2013 Posts: 181

¥30K net is quite good and I am not in any way knocking it. However, in addition to all the hassles of the job, examiners have to pay their own rent, utilities, and flights.

The allure of this job always was, and seems to still be, the money. I could never understand this given the amount of travel time involved in sitting on a train/plane and train station/airport. When I added this travel time to the actual work hours and divided it all by what a I had made, the result wasn't very impressive. The same thing looks to be happening with current examiners given travel time, the taxes they have to pay, and the cost of living in BJ.

Just to compare, I routinely gross and net around ¥25K per month, have two apartments provided by the school including utilities (apartment plus very nice private room in the teachers' dorm), and get my round trip airfare paid each year. The best part of all is that I do not work anywhere near as hard as it looks like examiners have to. I work a regular schedule and have (some) time left over for a social life. Even if I could handle the current examiner job (which I couldn't), I think I would actually net less than what I now get.

Always best, IMHO, to look at all aspects of a job and not just pay. How much you keep in your bank account at the end of the month is something I don't think enough people consider.

V

Elicit · Joined: 12 May 2010 Posts: 244

Elicit · Joined: 12 May 2010 Posts: 244

Sorry missed your posts earlier, but they were hardly worth reading. As you've addressed me personally on numerous occasions here, I will retort just this once.

Noelle · Joined: 26 Mar 2005 Posts: 361 Location: USA

Thanks everyone. This thread has helped me make up my mind not to apply for this position.

I will just continue to wait for the opportunity to do the examiner training here at home. Hopefully-- we will see more students in my city looking to take the exam in the new year.

I would never take a job that required that kind of constant travel, even for a year.

Thanks again.

Elicit · Joined: 12 May 2010 Posts: 244

Sounds like a wise choice if you hate the travelling as much as many do.

Hope an opportunity in the states comes up for you.

Volver · Joined: 27 Sep 2013 Posts: 181

For anyone who wants to compare job earnings with the BC or any other work, this is what I make:

Y15K at an "international" school plus apartments, visa, flight, insurance, vacation, etc.

Y6-8K with a private school that only teaches IELTS prep and we do a pretty good job of it

Y3K from a 10 year old girl (prodigy) whose parents want her to be fluent in English. This has been and hopefully continues to be long-term. This is one of the most enjoyable jobs I've ever had in my entire life.

The high school is one block from my apartment and 50 yards from the teachers' dorm, the IELTS job is a 55 minute bike ride from my apartment and I need the exercise, and the parents pay the round-trip cab fare (about Y50 each way) when I teach their daughter. This is a piece of cake compared to working for the BC and that is why I have always said the job was never that great.

I don't pay Chinese taxes on any of the jobs. No-one ever brought it up.

I turn down a lot of other tutoring jobs simply because I don't want to work any harder than I now do.

Why does this seem so unrealistic? I have lived in two cities and NEVER had problems getting lucrative side work. For me, that is one of the main reasons for coming here. Now, my qualifications are nowhere near as good as many people I encounter, but I hustle and look for opportunities. Jeez, they are everywhere and if you do not see them, then you are not looking very hard.

I have no reason to lie and my co-workers and I freely share what we earn on the side. Another FT is actually out-earning me. You will never find gigs like these outside of China and that is one good reason to work for the BC - you get over here and you get a lot of experience quickly.

V

currentaffairs · Joined: 22 Aug 2012 Posts: 828

Good example, Volver. I would like to ask - how many hours do you work in total during the week? Do you work in the evenings for the private school? I guess some of this work isn't all the year round, either.

jimpellow · Joined: 12 Oct 2007 Posts: 913

Elicit · Joined: 12 May 2010 Posts: 244

Volver,

If we take what you're saying as gosbel then with 6000 for a 1 bedroom apartment in Beijing or Shanghai it must work out to be about equal. We were looking for more lucrative work remember?

Now all things being equal I would not choose the examining because it's mind numbing, while I wouldn't do the amount of work you describe because it is mind blowing. I can confidently say I worked far fewer hours than you over only 5 days a week for the same money. Also had a week off almost every month, hence the slower months in my quoted figures.

However, this would not be the case if all of the side work was at 500 kuai an hour or more and consistent week in week out over the year(s). It would need to be at the aforementioned rate because if you do as good a job as you said you do there is planning time on top of the actual language school and private student's teaching hours. I have no idea how you manage all of this work but best of luck to you if you're willing to do it.

Earlier you stated you had a normal schedule for 24k but there is nothing normal and everything abnormal about your working time. A normal working week is 40 hours. A normal working week examining for me including travel / commute was around 44 hours.

All things considered, I wouldn't want your work schedule or the examiners' travel and boredom, so the two previous universities mentioned, or my soon to be new employer, for a fair day's money for a fair day's work it is for me.

Volver · Joined: 27 Sep 2013 Posts: 181

currentaffairs:

I work 12, 45 minute, classes during the week at the international school along with 1 office hour all spread over Tuesday to Friday. Then, a total of 3 hours per week with the private student on Tuesdays and Fridays. The IELTS school varies and, yes I do work a total of 3 evening hours with other hours on the week-ends. The work is all year if I want to stay during the summer. The FTs who do stay during the summer do next to nothing at school, but there is a huge amount of side work. I chose to go home during the summer. This year, I will be working all summer in a national park.

Since I have been doing this job for 3 years, lesson prep is pretty easy. I use what worked before and only put time into lesson planning when I want to achieve a different goal. Marking papers, thanks to the wonderful training I got from the BC, is a piece of cake.

I could work a lot more hours if I wanted, but I also have a company in America and this takes time to manage.

As for the 2 hour round-trip for the IELTS job, I welcome this. If I were not riding my bike, I'd be working out in a local gym. The only real drawback is riding a bike when the temps are around 20F. Of course, if you like sitting on a plane or train full of locusts, the examiner job is way more fun.

Remember that I do not pay any Chinese taxes and examiners cannot make that claim. I don't know why this is, but I am certainly not going to bring it up. Also, China is the most lucrative foreign country in which I have lived, but it is also, by a wide, wide margin, the most boring. Outside of a place like BJ, there is nothing to do. Online games or bar hopping, perhaps, but little else. I just figure I am here for 8-9 months to work my butt off and bank as much as I can. If I didn't have my business in the States, I'd be working a lot harder. One of FTs at school does work a lot more hours of side work than I do and she consistently makes over Y30k per month - 12 months every year. Her goal is to pay cash for a very nice home when she finally leaves this place and I expect that she will achieve her goal.

Hope this helps. There are some very lucrative gigs in this country if you look and hustle. IELTS is OK, but certainly not the bucks the BC would have you believe. Factor in the slimy bosses, taxes, living costs, flight, private schooling (if you have kids), untold hours of traveling, and it just isn't that good. Not to mention the sheer drudgery (one examiner likened it to the movie "Groundhog Day" every 20 minutes.) of the job. It is, however, a good way to get your foot in this country and get marketable experience quickly. Plus, some people claim to actually like the job and you may be one of them.

V

Ferto · Joined: 01 Feb 2016 Posts: 17

[quote="Elicit"]Every month is different with regard to hours, but it is safe to say that you will work for that money. No such thing as a free lunch. We are comparing earning potential rather than hours.

The two universities mentioned do present the opportunity to work less hours for a good salary, but there are many office hours spent marking assignment papers etc. In contrast, you have nothing to really think about outside of IELTS examining work, except the next dreaded train or plane journey. Also XJTLU are currently hiring and

'The salary range for the positions is 14,463 – 29,222'

plus benefits which include housing.

The figures quoted are gross I believe, so the highest number less deductions will bring you in about 24k nett plus a place to live.

However, I suspect applicants would likely receive an offer closer to the lower end. Perhaps, after a few, or many, years service they may approach the higher end of the pay scale. Ningbo pays slightly better and goes up to around 30 -34k gross but again it's unlikely an applicant would be up there on the first few years' contracts.

If somebody knows different and can prove it perhaps they could chime in, and if not we can discount these and look at other options, if there are any.[/quote]

For XJTLU, the comment about the time spent marking is accurate. There is a lot.

About the net salary, that depends on your country of origin. Several countries get a tax free status, so the offered salary and net salary can match.

For the salary offer, it will depend on your profile. Many go in near the top end of the scale, although I noticed that the top end appears to have been lowered slightly.

The bear · Joined: 16 Aug 2015 Posts: 483

Markness · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 738 Location: Chengdu

I've had friends who have worked for the BC and they say that work is similar to that of factory work, however, the pay is quite nice. With the quoted figures above, if you're averaging about 20k a month, that isn't too bad, however, you are traveling and are doing rather mundane work which is quite killer after a year or so. Repetitive tasks are brutal.

I am in a similar situation as volver, I work at an "international" high school, and pull in a similar amount (negotiating for a higher amount in a few months.. yay for 2 year contracts.. :s) and also do extra work that gives me more than that BC offer.

Highschool = 16k for 15 hours
Random training school = 10k for 20 hours

Total = 26000 +/- a couple of thousand depending on holidays/bonuses, etc.

If I can negotiate higher like for 20k a month from my high school, and get a better part-time job then I'd be laughing. 35 or so teaching hours a week is nothing to laugh at, and it is especially gnarly when you are only getting one day off.

It is all relative I suppose, but there are good jobs out there that don't involve repetitive mundane work. I would try to find an another "international" school job but it seems like they want you to stay there all day or only have primary schools kicking around.

I am picky but it has paid off. Never say yes to the first job you find here as there are so many rip-off ones that it isn't even funny. There are quite a few decent ones kicking around, but I don't think I'd bother with the BC job as I can't imagine myself sitting there for 5-8 hours at a time listening to the same answers to the same questions trying to differentiate between a 4.5 and a 5. I do weekly tests at my high school and it is brutal listening to students answering questions for an hour let alone 5+ at a time where there is little flexibility in what you can ask them.