Job Discussion Forums

[Libertas-MMXIII]

I am thinking about working here. Does anybody have any experience with this company and location?

Thanks

[Daphne]

Do a keyword search for this god-forsaken outfit on this forum and you will find dozens of previous threads.

[Libertas-MMXIII]

[Javelin of Radiance]

Like many English schools in China, Aston is a franchise operation. Some of them will be well run and others won't be. The key is to find the ones that have good management and happier employees.

As for the location, I've never been to Guiyang, but Guizhou is one of the more scenic provinces in China. Do an image search on Google or Yahoo and you'll see what I mean.

[Daphne]

Do the said search my dear Libertas and you will find more than enough details (from yours truly and others).


Also compare what they are offering you in terms of pay, housing and so on with the other Chinese chains and the negative differences will be rather palpable.

[Libertas-MMXIII]

[rogerwilco]

[Denim-Maniac]

[roadwalker]

Another thing Libertas, even if a search on Dave's may not bring results, wikipedia has information about almost anywhere in China. Look up Guizhou (Special Autonomous Region, i.e., province) and Guiyang, it's capitol. I've often thought of making a trip over there from Guangdong Province, but the main barrier is time: unless one flies, it takes over 15 hours on trains just to get to Guiyang. There are no fast trains there. If you go there to enjoy the physical beauty of the place, you will pay for it in lack of convenient transportation, at least by eastern Chinese standards.

Another way to research places in China are the travel blogs that are sometimes posted by teachers, but even if they are posted by tourists, you can get some idea of what a place looks like. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guizhou/Guiyang/ .

The other thing to note is that it is considered a poor area: it's one of the few places in China that has American Peace Corps volunteer teachers (Guizhou, not sure about Guiyang). So overall infrastructure may not be as convenient or comfortable as other parts of China.

[jaffa]

I'd recommend Guizhou as a place to live and work as it's one of the most beautiful provinces in China. I spent two years teaching in Duyun then 10 years going back and forth to China working in the travel business. It was always a huge relief to get away from the main cities and their inherent problems - vast numbers of people, traffic, pollution, greed - and into the green Guizhou mountains.

Guiyang is a funky little city but recently almost demolished and rebuilt. The smaller places are way better. Find a decent school/college and you'll have the experience of your life.

[Libertas-MMXIII]

Is it a good place to set up shop ?

[jaffa]

It's a place to have a good look at China, away from Starbucks, hamburger, Irish pub, techno club China that simply apes the West. You won't make as much money as in Beijing, Shanghai, etc, but you won't spend as much either and the levels of pollution will be way less.

[Daphne]

Most chains are now offering a 5-figure monthly salary, and the free housing with Aston usually means shared.

The prior threads tend to be general threads about working for this outfit, there very well may not be one about the Guiyang branch in particular.

[tesolmaster]

I am an African-American man, interested in returning to Asia (primarily Singapore) for my Master's degree. I was considering other areas of Asia (e.g. Taiwan, China, S. Korea) - to visit and possibly teach before making my return to Singapore. (This is before I kind of solidified my goals for grad school).

I emailed Mr. Karl Shine about his current post on Dave's ESL Cafe that offered free Chinese lessons, free TESL certificate, free placement after the 8 day stay in China if we were to keep with Aston, questions answered about locations and the company, etc. (Obviously, it sounded too good to be true).

Yesterday evening (probably morning in China) I got an email from Mr. Shine to follow up with him via Skype. However, reading the negative reviews of Aston online, not too mention reading the varying degrees of experiences working in provinces in China....I'm trying to figure out how to decline nicely and professionally. (Of course, I can just ignore the emails and go about my way... )

[Daphne]

No worries, tesolmaster. There are quite a few eager and desperate "teachers" born and educated in places like Kyrgyzstan and Burkina Faso who will be offered your spot by Mr. Shine in no time at all.