Job Discussion Forums

Mjrose514 · Joined: 07 Nov 2014 Posts: 29 Location: SC USA

Ok so I have recently started looking into positions in China and one almost immediately came up for 10-16 teaching hours at a vocational school near Shanghai teaching a subject I'm really passionate about and would LOVE to be able to teach. My problem with it is that the salary is listed as 6000+/ month (housing provided) and that is NOT enough. I need to make about 2.5x that much at least to meet my financial goals, especially with my husband to bring over.

So the question, is it typical to get multiple jobs at once? Do you take one and get over there and then find others, or do you arrange it ahead of time? I mean 6000 is great for only 16 hours (assuming it is...), but not enough for us to live on.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

buravirgil · Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 4:54 am Post subject:

It sounds as though you have yet to go through the process of acquiring a residential worker's visa. Any enterprise (public or private) that affords the time/expense and paperwork necessary to bring you over doesn't encourage moon-lighting. They are your "host" employer. In fact, a contract may expressly forbid it. However, it's common for teachers with a position like yours (low contact hours and pay + housing) to tutor for extra pay-- but 2.5 X isn't a goal I've read readily attained. What's been communicated to me is any outside work is illegal, but tolerated if it never interferes with your primary classes.

Depending on how "in demand" you are as a native-speaker of English, trouble can arise if you teach at, say, a language school and leave it for a competitor for a higher wage. You can be reported by the school you've decided to leave to prevent its competition from an advantage.

To meet the financial goals you've expressed, I've only ever read of couples working two and three language schools at a time, all hours and 7 days a week. If you have a k-12 teaching license, International schools offer a pay you're seeking.

tldr: You're correct about first taking a "host" job and finding extra tutoring work after arrival, but with some risks, and falling just short of your financial goal.

doogsville · Joined: 17 Nov 2011 Posts: 924 Location: China

It's possible, but by no means certain. Assuming your not doing weekends at the vocational school, you could find a language mill to work at. Keep in mind though that there will be weekend makeup classes at the vocational school to cover classes that were skipped for national holidays, so you need to be clear with the weekend job that your weekday job takes priority. Another possibility is to find some work doing business English on company premises during the weekday hours you're not working for the VS. That being said most businesses want their employees working during the day, so the classes may have to be in the evenings. Similarly with one to one's or 'privates' as their known. Most people don't have free time during weekdays, so most of those would be in the evenings and weekends. If you're lucky you might find a group of rich Chinese wives who don't need to work and will be happy to learn English during the week.

However it pans out, there are no certainties. You may find extra work, you may not, and in any case you should factor in that it could take at least six months after you arrive before you know the place well enough to pick up the extra work. You might find it sooner, but it's safer to hedge your bets. Can you afford to live on your 6k salary for a while until the other work comes in?

Then you have to ask yourself if working your ass off in China, with all the uncertainty of finding and keeping the work, as well as the fact that you will be breaking the law on an almost daily basis, is really what your looking for in life, just to make some money.

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

I would doubt you could add more than 30 percent to your 6000 base in your first year and as doogsville rightly says, don't count on any extra in the first 6m.
I may have misread your posts OP, but your husband's earning potential is what exactly?
I wouldn't look to China to meet financial goals such as yours, although getting a bog standard tertiary job with housing and those sort of hours is the right first step.
Best

Bud Powell · Joined: 11 Jul 2013 Posts: 1736

I would doubt you could add more than 30 percent to your 6000 base in your first year and as doogsville rightly says, don't count on any extra in the first 6m.

Actually, I found it to be surprisingly easy in one city to regularly add 50% to my monthly university pay. The work came to me. It wasn't that I am special; my colleagues in my school and FTs at other schools were notorious @sshats.

Be careful about working in a language school. You can accept off-site work without too many problems, but working at the school itself can be a risk if area Chinese teachers work there. They won't appreciate the competition and may cause trouble for you if they contact your FAO or boss.

Mjrose514 · Joined: 07 Nov 2014 Posts: 29 Location: SC USA

So here is the answer I got....

" So most often you will teach outdoors in base or sight spots.
- You can take part time job as long as it doesn't interfere with the work, but should inform company in advance and get permission from Haida (company).
- The salary is 6000yuan. But you can speak frankly how much do you expect to get . Similarly, I will try my best to ask my boss for a raise in salary.
- Because it is a public high school,so two days off are weekends.
- The contract begins from 1st March of 2015 to 31st January of 2016."

Sounds to me I'd have to get it in writing.

Mjrose514 · Joined: 07 Nov 2014 Posts: 29 Location: SC USA

oh and she said it's 10-16 teaching hours TOTAL, so I'd have plenty of free time especially as 3/4 of the curriculum is practical hands on classes.

asiannationmc · Joined: 13 Aug 2014 Posts: 1342

You only have the right to work for your sponsor. I wouldn't put anything down on paper that could be used to prove a violation.

Mjrose514 · Joined: 07 Nov 2014 Posts: 29 Location: SC USA

wow really? I've asked two different companies about it and the language school said yes as long as it wasn't another teaching position and of course the one above.... I don't want to get deported or anything...

asiannationmc · Joined: 13 Aug 2014 Posts: 1342

Generally, it works the same as the U.S. although I know a lot of students who teach/work on a student visa...so far none of them have gotten in trouble. My guess, with the new restrictions more and more students will take the place of those who could not qualify for employment in Beijing. Job offers are coming fast and furious, 300+ per hour seems to be the starting point now. By the way, I would not believe anything anyone tells you in China.

Mjrose514 · Joined: 07 Nov 2014 Posts: 29 Location: SC USA

that certainly makes things difficult lol.

ESL104 · Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 108

Surely to god 30% increase is a bit pessimistic? That's 1800 a month, or 450 a week.

That's only like 2 or 3 private classes. Couldn't OP just wander into any language school and ask for some weekend classes? They always seem to be hiring.

My friend in Shenzhen says at the place he's working at now, they had someone just walk in last week and ask for some classes, and pretty much straight away they gave him 5 classes on a Sunday for 900rmb. Couldn't OP just go to his local training centre and get something similar?

kungfuman · Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:44 am Post subject:

Bud Powell · Joined: 11 Jul 2013 Posts: 1736

Markness · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 738 Location: Chengdu

Op, you'll be fine, just worry about your z visa being proper. Once you're in China, it's up to you how much you want to work. The part time places only care that you have a degree or something. Never have been asked to produce a passport. Training schools are always hiring part timers. 150 is the rate in chengdu, and higher at some other odd schools. I'd imagine in Shanghai it would be closer to 200 or 250 an hour. You'll be fine.