Job Discussion Forums

[MsBlackcurrant]

Saving money is a routine topic on this forum, but I don't think my precise question has been asked, so I'll go ahead.

According to a Polish traveller-teacher called Agness it's possible to save 'up to $18,000' in a year of teaching in China. (This comes to over £10,000 in sterling). She prices it all out carefully, and her plan involves earning at least RMB 9,000 a year on a teaching contract, while also offering private lessons and working at winter and summer camps.

I suppose my basic question is whether this very busy scenario is likely for a teacher who's new to China, or whether it would take longer to achieve. Secondly, although this lady's blog focuses on teaching children at a private language school, I'm aware that some posters on this forum base themselves at universities and build up various income streams from there. A university would be my preferred setting, but I'm trying to weigh up whether I could earn the same amount of money in the same amount of time there as I would in a private language school.

Obviously, China is about far more than money, and I am curious about Chinese society and culture. Professionally, I'd be best suited to a post that offered the option of teaching literature as well as oral English. But I'm also at the stage in life where I need to be saving some money. The plans I have would require me to save from £18-20,000 over two or at most three years. Is this likely? Would it be a good idea to spend a year in one kind of post and one (or two) in another? Thanks for any advice or suggestions!

[Simon in Suzhou]

It's possible, but not likely.

Keep in mind that what people post anonymously on an internet forum about their income may or may not be true. Most probably the latter.

Getting a job making 9,000 a month to start with is possible. Having extra time and energy to do private lessons with said job is less likely. It's possible, but once you get above the standard university pay scale (i.e. private academies), you will get worked HARD for the money you are making at your first job.

Secondly, private lessons don't just fall into your lap. Well, sometimes they do. But usually it takes TIME to build up relationships to develop this second income stream. Private lessons are notoriously unreliable. Students cancel and quit and want to have lessons at times and places that are not convenient for you. You can't count on them.

Winter work is possible, but there are actually very few camps at that time. MOST students are at home enjoying the Chinese New Year with their families.

Most places in China are not interested in you teaching literature. There are heaps of Chinese teachers with advanced degrees teaching English lit everywhere. Aside from international schools, you are valuable for your native accent and maybe as a cultural curiosity. That's about it.

China is an interesting place to teach, live, and explore. I wouldn't want to be here with the pressure of having to save a lot of money. Better to go to the middle east for a year, put away that cash, and come to China for a year or two after that, IMO.

[AEON2007]

I think I did that when I first came to China~ or could have if I hadn't gone on holiday!

If you're really serious about saving money, go for a high paying language school at first~ I started on 1600 pounds a month and probably spent about 700 pounds on rent and living costs~:saved the rest.

You can pick up privates here and there but I agree they're unreliable. ..

[PBirm123]

I believe that it's incredibly easy to save $18,000 a year. Hell, I saved $14,000 this year(as a first year teacher) and I'm only making about 11,000RMB per month through my salary and privates, teaching only around 20 class hours per week. I eat out every day but only go to the bars maybe once or twice a week.

I'll save ~$20,000 next year without breaking a sweat, mainly because I'm switching from a training center to a public school, which will allow me to triple my privates. I'm sure many of the veterans on this forum are saving $24,000+ a year.

[buffalobill12323]

[Mr.Engrish]

I last year i saved 20k but that's including bonuses. This year I will save about the same and next year 25k or more.


My goal is 100k in 5 years. After 5 years if I can have that 100k USD in my bank account I will be happy.

[Non Sequitur]

9000 RMB per year on a teaching contract?
More like US$9000.
Getting rid of expenses like uni contracts that include accom & utilities plus say RMB10000 airfare allowance is the first step.
You can save money on a deal like this which means your privates add to the gravy.
As someone has mentioned privates can be seasonal, so factoring them as a 'given' could be risky.
The other point is exchange rate and I'm sure we all regard 'saved money' as what we tuck away at home. 'Foreign currency' fees also add to the pain so factor these in as well.
Remitting money home is a well-worn topic so use the search facility to get this aspect sorted.

[D-M]

It can also be location specific. My first location in China, people would knock on my door seeking private lessons ... my second location, no-one approached me for private lessons in 2 years.

Its also worth considering this question: Are you any good at teaching English? If you are good, have proven and well prepared material you have a far better chance. Many new teachers spend more time preparing lessons than they do teaching them ... that eats into the private teaching time quite easily.

[LarssonCrew]

I read that women's blog, and the problem I had with it is that she only factors in food and travelling.

For the travelling she factors in train fare[no thanks!] a 100 RMb a night hostel [I'm not on a gap year with sweaty 21 year olds, thanks], and moving around involving public transport. If I have travel plans when I arrive I'll take a taxi, not a dirty public bus with farmers galore, thanks.

The problem with her thinking is that she only factors eating, what about fun? Transport?

You can't take the bus everywhere, and she's living on 50 yuan a day or less, what happens when she's late for a private and needs a taxi, and suddenly that's 25 gone?

You CANNOT live day in day out on Chinese 7 yuan food. I can't even eat cheap cheap Chinese food, if I go for La mian, it's 18 for a main dish plus a side dish of 12 plus a drink, so about 32-33.

If I go to eat chao cai it'll be close to 100, so split with a friend and her 50 budget is blown.

Heck even a McDonalds budget meal is like 25, plus say nuggets, 35 just spent. So she's basically saving she's living exclusively on cheap food.

She goes for kao rou, well, there goes 100 rmb, which is more than two days of her budget.

Goes to the cinema and pays 60 for a 3D ticket? Entire budget done.

[thebroformerlyknownaschou]

i posted this on one of the bs threads; so insightful it needs to be reposted!

according to my records, 2-1/2 years with the standard contract at a
vo-tec college, and with no side work, i've swifted back $23K to stash
in my retirement fund....let's round it up to $25K after 6 semesters of
part-time work.

save money working 12 hours/wk at a uni? US$8,000/year.....easy-peasy!

that means........after 5 years working at a standard university, assuming
no big bonuses or raises, NOT working privates, AND living comfortably, AND
taking long vacations.........you (single dude with no wife or kids, no student
loans, no mortgage) can easily save US$40,000....you've invested
that of course, and should have around US$50-60K in your brokerage
account by the time you're sent packing due to the 5-year rule.

winter and summer vacations are paid (3 months), but that cash is
typically spent on 12 weeks of vacation (cambodia, thailand, singapore,
malaysia, laos, vietnam, myanmar, deng deng).

after subtracting vacation outlays from the remainder, average expenditure
(including taobao purchases!) is slightly under 1500 rmb/month. my sources
tell me that's an average of about 50 rmb/day. of course, as well all know,
if you're on a budget you can easily get by on half that.

here at the uni, accommodations and utilities are paid, there is no commute.
taxes are negligible; my salary is for fun.

our town is moderately small, possible to walk most places. will take the
bus if carrying groceries, or if i want to enjoy the 2-kuai air conditioning.
hardly never take a taxi.

for travel........bullet train to the airport. (or 180 rmb taxi the 110 km if
taking my bicycle) i take the budget airlines via singapore to southeast asian
destinations. once there it's cycle touring.

if traveling within china, usually take the train (bikes on planes can be
tough) to/from starting and ending points. city-to-city i'm on my bike.
no taxis, no trains, no buses.

100 rmb hotels? why pay so much! it's not that difficult to find single
rooms in decent hotels for 60-70, even in larger touristful cities. you might
have to check 2-3 places. in a word, don't just walk into the flashy 大酒店
directly across from the train station!

for those of y'all that can't save money here, can you guess whom's fault
it is? people who say "i can't live on chinese food!" or "i would never take
a crowded train, no thank you!" or "ya won't catch dis bro on no stinky
ole chinese bus!" are often the ones who complain they can't afford to
live on teacher salaries in china. (not always, of course, and if perhaps
you maybe wrote that in your post, please don't take offense at being
exampled......)

[likwid_777]

I guess it all boils down to: if you can be a full on tight arse at home, then you can probably be one in China too. This is especially when you have a pad "provided" by the school.

I personally find it a little offensive that people are going to a completely different culture just to clench their buttocks and save money.

I guess though, hats off the those who can get by and experience another culture without "splashing the RMB" like I did. If I go back, I won't be as bad... maybe. But, I had fun.

[NoBillyNO]

[tyroleanhat]

My extremely low expenses in China stem from the fact that my students constantly fight over inviting me for meals.
I also teach teachers in my University, and they even bring me to posh places. The left-overs are enough for another 1 or 2 meals at home.

So my expenses are about 1000 RMB each months, which could be even lower if I let go of the taobao goods.

200 transportation and the occasional taxi
100 fruit, eggs, bottled water and other groceries
600 western food from taobao/metro
100 3g phone data

With my salary of 11000 RMB that is a solid 10000 RMB net profit, which is 20k USD a year. (28k if I include the privates)

I am in a different situation because I am not an English teacher, but still, everybody could save loads of money by playing one's cards right with the students.

[thebroformerlyknownaschou]

[bestteacher2012]