Job Discussion Forums

[wangdaning]

It is silly. If you look at most of these links, they all have similar names, they all have similar (many the same) information, most have no author or source for said information, and many of the websites were opened through the same private DNS service through Arizona at about the same time

They are making money off of this, adds on the link sites, trolling through your data they collect when you go to their site.

Funny that one of these aliases has said that posters here gather users email to filter through scams. You would have to be admin of the website/hack the website to do that.

[BlueBlood]

[roadwalker]

Red flags: constant linking to same old websites full of "statistics" and raw numbers unsupported by reality or reviewable data. Lots of "this is the only way to do it!" advice. The real world is full of mainly honest people and some scammers. Mainly honest people don't go out of their way to convince you of anything. China is no different, despite the flailing about of scammers warning you about other scammers and why you need protection from them.

This forum is full of people who work or have worked in China, and have discussed both good and bad experiences with their English teaching jobs. There are discussions of ways to try to avoid bad experiences but there are no guarantees. Kinda like life everywhere. Read through the threads as much as possible or post questions. Chances are someone will be able to answer them. Read as much as possible because experiences and attitudes vary. Stay calm, don't get swept up in the hype.

Yes you can get a job without agents or recruiters. Some schools use recruiters for various reasons, however. There is nothing wrong with using a recruiter to help you find a school, so long as it is understood that they are only there as a matchmaker and so long as only the school is paying their fee for the match, a one-time fee. Any long term contract with a recruiter or agent is a red flag. (If the school pays more to the recruiter, however, that is NOT your money. So long as YOUR salary is acceptable, and paid on time, don't worry about the schools arrangements.) No teacher should pay a fee to an agent, recruiter or 'scam-protector' to get a job in China. Period/full stop.

[BizLiz]

[wangdaning]

[choudoufu]

[BizLiz]

But the biggest issue as to "starting salary" still comes down to whether or not a teacher find their own gig or uses an agent. The difference is a haircut that can be as little as 20% or as much as 66%. So anyone that is dumb enough or maybe just too lazy to find their own job in China (not difficult at all) should at the very least use this form letter to make sure they do not get screwed over.

http://www.englishpost.com/data/attachment/forum/201303/15/172204rq6jrrzvqnnzhiir.jpg

Honest agents and recruiters that have nothing to hide will have no objections in filling in the blanks. Those that refuse to cooperate with this request for information are most likely dodgy agents, people who pre-plan to cheat you, or fronts for identity thieves.

[CFTU-Beijing]

Here's a chart form OCED that shows starting salaries from around the world: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/teachers-salaries_teachsal-table-en

Our China salary research from 2012 indicates the average starting salary in China is roughly $1,200 per month if agents are used, and $1,800 per month if agents are not used. Overall the average teaching salary in China is $22,500 per year.





Screeb Print No: ESLCAFE7-9.19.13

[choudoufu]

[Non Sequitur]

There are agents who charge a one-off finder's fee of about 1m salary. In my experience the school pays this and it has no affect on what the teacher gets. (This is pretty much the same contingency recruitment method found in the West).
In other words, where FTs recruited via agents work alongside teachers hired direct, their salaries are the same.
Where an agent collects an amount off each month's (or hour's) salary then it's very much like a contractor situation in the West. The worker is employed by the agency and is sent out to the nominated site to perform described duties.
Given the visa formalities I wonder if there is some kind of hybrid operating in China, where the agent uses the school name to get the visa process going, but in fact employs the teacher?
An overworked or inexperienced FAO may opt for this.

[roadwalker]

Actually choudoufu, my research reveals that the average new teacher in China makes about $840 per month. Here's a chart to show how not-bs my stastistics are:

http://www.statmethods.net/graphs/images/pie2.jpg

[choudoufu]

[BlueBlood]

[Non Sequitur]

[roadwalker]

Also Guangdong, as a general rule, pays better than other provinces, so RMB 6000+ to start is not uncommon at all. In fact, if it were less than 6000 and there weren't some special reason/other benefits beyond housing, I'd recommend passing on it (for Guangdong, and especially GZ or Shenzhen).