Job Discussion Forums

[gloomyGumi]

After a 45 minute phone interview (they called me) I was asked how long I would need to accept an offer from them based on the following email:

Pacican Academy specializes in providing English language training, professional skills training and international cultural and educational exchange programs. Between 2004 and 2011, our academy organized professional training for more than 6,500 Chinese teachers in Shanghai . There are over 12,000 primary-school students registering in Pacican Oral English programs in every semester. With its management members each having bachelor’s and/or master’s degrees in English, education and/or psychology from renowned universities in China and abroad, Pacican is well managed and enjoys a high reputation in the field of English education. Pacican has been awarded Five-A Ranking (the highest ranking) as Non-State-owned Non-Manufacturing Organization by the Shanghai Municipal Government for two consecutive years already. Pacican is authorized by the Chinese government to process Foreign Expert Certificate for qualified teachers, the only official certificate to legally authorize a foreigner to teach in China . Pacican maintains a regular team of over 100 full-time foreign teachers annually (more than half are returning teachers, a dozen have been teaching at Pacican for more than seven / eight years already).



Pacican provides many English programs catering to the middle-class Chinese families. 9-Year Pacican English Program (Pacican) and General Oral English Program (GO) are two of them. Designed and managed by Pacican Academy , Pacican (from Grade 1 to Grade 5 in primary schools) is a paid program to improve students’ oral English proficiency close to native speakers of their age when they graduate from the program. Pacican prepares teaching materials exclusively for the program. GO covers students in primary and secondary schools in Shanghai . This course is incorporated into the regular English teaching schedule. Again, textbooks developed by Pacican are provided for this program. There are about 120 schools currently participating in the aforesaid programs. Both programs combine the western methods of teaching and learning English that immerses students in a natural and fun environment with the Chinese ways of monitoring and evaluation. Such innovation has been well accepted by Chinese schools and students.



A fulltime foreign teacher teaches at minimum 26 periods of class every week in select public schools in Shanghai (35 minutes for one period in primary schools and 40 minutes for one period in secondary schools). The class size is no more than 20 students in one class for Pacican Program, and 40 or even more than 40 students in one class for GO Program. The students are between 7 and 15 years of age. The dress code for the teacher is business casual. Our academy provides textbooks, teacher’s manuals, flashcards and other teaching materials to facilitate teachers’ teaching at schools. The teaching is all in the day time and may be scheduled on Saturdays too (there is no teaching on Sundays, guaranteed). For teachers who teach in suburban areas of Shanghai , they are guaranteed to work in the day time from Mondays to Fridays only. Every foreign teacher is assigned at least one coordinator who is English/Chinese bilingual speaking and helps teachers for teaching and/or non-teaching related issue(s) in Shanghai .



The remuneration for the fulltime teacher is as follows:

1) Monthly salary of RMB12,000 (before tax) for a weekly teaching load of 26 periods of classes, salary increases in proportion to the increase of teaching load;

2) Reimbursement of two-way economy-class airfare between the teacher’s home country and Shanghai for one-year-long contract;

3) Reimbursement of the teacher’s relevant visa fees, work permit in China which allows the teacher to leave/re-enter the country multiple times, and one medical examination in Shanghai ;

4) Foreign Expert Certificate (the only official document which legally authorizes a foreigner to be a qualified teacher in China );

5) Free Comprehensive Accident Insurance for the teacher under the age of 60 for the entire contract period, which covers major expenses for hospitalization;

6) Monthly commute allowance of RMB150;

7) Paid sick leave and statutory holidays in China ;

Performance-based bonus at the end of every semester (maximum RMB3,000 for each semester);

9) Completion bonus at the end of the contract;

10) Free airport pickup;

11) Free temporary residence when the teacher arrives in Shanghai for the first time;

12) Parties, get-togethers and tourist trips in- and outside of Shanghai .

13) A special allowance of RMB 1500 per month if teachers teach in suburban areas of Shanghai.

[ResearchID]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=90969&highlight=pacican

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=97036&highlight=pacican

[kungfuman]

I posted on this once before and was interviewed by BKK. I turned it down.

You are spending the day traveling around shanghai going from one school to another.

regardless what they pay you the travel adds several hours a day to your life and it is unpaid.

You will work 10 hour days and get paid for 26 a week.

12,000 in Shanghai is peanuts and they don't pay your housing. The girl I spoke with said I would need to find other people and rent a room or share an apartment in Shanghai.

My coworker's son did it for a year. he hated it. He never had free time and was burnt out within weeks of starting work for BKK.

If I remember he said they gave him 150y a month towards public transport fare.

[LarssonCrew]

Agree, that's 12000 BEFORE tax, so what's that, just over 10,000? Take off 4-5000 for a decent house, you're left with 5,000 in Shanghai, for working 40 hours a week at least.

[GreatApe]

Easily 10 to 12 hour working days ... not to mention how many different levels of classes and students you may be teaching, which only add to your prep. time, your lesson planning and your overall work. Travel and getting to the teaching site on time only adds to your stress.

I did something similar during my first year working at a Language Mill in the PRC. 9 different levels of classes; 6 days a week. Headaches, stress, always living like you have "too much to do, and not enough time to do it!" And this was NOT in Shanghai ... it was in a small tier 3 city in Guangdong of roughly 1.5 million people. I made 6,500 RMB a month at that job and housing was paid (and the cost of living in the city is still pretty low).

I'd pass on it. I can tell you that ... after all the work and paying for housing, it's just not worth it, man. At least not IMO.

--GA

[inotu-unotme]

I wanted to write because I got a job offer from that school a long time ago. I wasn't able to go when they wanted me to. But, at the time they offered full time and teaching at one location all day. And if there was over a certain amount of students in the classroom there would be an assistant assigned to your room. And as I remember the hours were normal like 8 - 3pm with some saturday work through a special program.

I wonder if you can inquire if they have any set up close to that anymore if it may work better for you?

[choudoufu]

[inotu-unotme]

[gloomyGumi]

thanks to all---I have decided to NOT accept it. Too many obvious things wrong that I didnt note before your advice so thanks to all. Yeah, plus she was pushy from the start about getting me to verbally "promise" or make up my mind quickly if I accept it or not. Too many emails asking me if I have decided yet too. SCrew it. YOu have helped solidify my gut feelings. Thanks to all.