Job Discussion Forums

[sheeba]

Lobster and chufeng are spot on .

I would definitely get your degree before coming and concentrate on linguistics.

[samhouston]

I guess I'll use my first post to ask a question that the degreed teachers on here will probably have a big problem with. How feasible is it for Synopsis or anyone else to teach in China with a Photoshopped degree? I am not advocating making fraudulent documents, I'm just curious how smoothly this would work. Apparently people get away with this with alarming frequency in the US, and I suppose that any of the normal (non-university) teaching jobs one could get in China would certainly not attempt to validate the degree.

Take a friend's degree and change the name and dates to suit you. I guess you could get one of those mail order degrees, but that seems even more dicey. There might be a big difference between securing the job with a fraudulent degree before you go, and checking out jobs once you are already there.

Once again, I'm not advocating doing "bad things," etc. It's just information, and I'm curious if anyone on the board has had experience with this.

[clark.w.griswald]

The problem with working here on falsified documents is not whether you can get away with it or not, but what the repercussions would be if caught.

If caught working here illegally you would at most likely be fined and deported.

If caught for passing off fake documents you could be charged with fraud which would be a much more serious offence and could possibly even involve prison time if you were really unlucky or tried it out in the wrong place. A pissed off school could claim that you obtained benefit through deception which is a criminal offence in most countries including China.

I have not heard of anyone being imprisoned for false documentation so I am not trying to blow it out of proportion, but I think that it would be a genuine concern and therefore something to consider before going that path.

Honestly, if you don't have a degree but are determined to teach English here you are probably best to just find schools that employ on F visas. There are plenty of them out there and the repercussions of getting caught are currently far less severe than criminal activity.

[samhouston]

Thank you for the response.

I assume the alternative you suggested would be more difficult in Shanghai than in the smaller cities.

[cj750]

Remember in China it is much easier to get forgiveness than permission....
fact is many orgs and schools..both private and public falsify paperwork....but as to the legality of the falsified paperwork..some FAOs have insisted to me that unless it is an official paper (therefor a copy is not bogus paperwork)..if cannot be falsified..depends on the law...
Now fraud is another thing to be considered..and I have never heard of anyone being charged with false diploma paperwork fraud...but with the amount of fraud committed by schools in china..it would seem to me..that if it was going to happen ..it would've by now...

One other thing..if the government accepts a document..then by virtue of chinese law..the authentication of that paperwork is established by the government agency...so that may help ...
For example..documents incl. degrees on file with Beijing office of foreign labor are considered official, once accepted as legitimate by that agency.....

It is always best not to tell a fib..but there are a lot of fib makers working in china...

Now when I came over..the department of education did check my degree/credentials and issued their own honorary teacher cert...