Job Discussion Forums

[Mark Johnson]

Are they university jobs that only require 1.5 hours of work per day and offer 4 months paid holiday?

I see these guys posting about their wonderful lifestyle. Are they in the boondocks or what?

What is the strategy for find these positions?

[drjtrekker]

[direshark]

I could be wrong, but I don't think many contracts will set your max hours at less than 16 hours/week. That said, a public university might have you on contract for 16 hours/week, which is more like 3 hours/day, but due to class scheduling you might only have a few hours per week. This semester I've only had eight 16hr weeks - the rest have been lower. Either way, the strategy is "public university."
But then there are a couple universities in my area that pay a base salary + hourly, allowing you to choose how little/how much you want to work.

[RiverMystic]

I was offered a job recently at a decent university, 6500 a month. When they sent the contract I noted no pay for the two months summer holidays, which effectively bought the pay down to a bit more than 5000 a month. Then there were twenty hours of teaching, plus two office hours which could include English corner and so on. I passed up the offer.

I still have fantasies of the perfect uni gig: 8000+ a month, nice apartment, no more than 16 hours teaching, long paid holidays. I'd sit back and chill for a year, doing my writing and research, get a nice lady... And turn up for class, of course.

[Non Sequitur]

[Bud Powell]

[Non Sequitur]

At my last vocational my workload was almost entirely freshers.
I had one Year 3 class in the first semester but this fizzled about 2/3 of the way through.
Our students spent the 2nd year of their 3-year course on work experience.
Most scored jobs as a result of that placement and the college had no particular interest in having them back at school.
The school has responsibility for filling your schedule Bud.
But then attitudes change when money is concerned.
At my last school the FAO Assistant was an amiable guy but he couldn't get his head around counting out 10K in 100s as my airfare refund.
I kept telling him 'I've already spent over 10K on my airfares'.

[Bud Powell]

[Non Sequitur]

My vocational experience was overall my best in China.
It was the FTs that caused most problems.
My students were headed to the hospitality industry and knew they had better score well.

[roadwalker]

[Bud Powell]

OP:

If a story sounds like BS it probably is. You can have a high-paying job with a heavy workload and a schedule that screws up your afternoons and evenings, or you can work a moderate work load and get moderate pay with normal working hours during the day. You won't find too many jobs that give you the best of both.

This is a good time to begin watching for jobs for a Fall 2015 start. I've always consulted abroadchina.org just to get an idea of what is paid to various schools and various TYPES of schools across China. Subscribe to ESLJOBS.com to see a plethora of jobs offered at all sorts of schools.

There is no strategy for hitting the jackpot or for doing better than the next guy. Do your homework. Read the forums to find out what kind of school you want to work for and are qualified to work for.

Form your own opinions based upon your reading about others' experiences.

Take into consideration which provinces and cities are most popular among FTs. You may not want to be part of a large expat community. Not all of the expats you'll meet will be FTs in the larger cities. Some will be employed by western companies (and on the whole, those folks are no less problematic that FTs on the whole).

In short, do your homework. I just gave you two good sources of job listings. That's a start.

Good luck.

[Non Sequitur]

Again
Rather than look for the mythical 1.5 hours per day for RMB10K pm look for the least downside position.
Time enough to look at other situations in Y2.

[Listerine]

Most uni jobs specify 16 hours max per week + a couple of hours additional BS (English Corners, editing or something). It's kind of a standard contract. You won't know the reality until you both talk to current teachers at the school, and the day or so before the semester starts and you get the actual schedule. Sometimes even the school themselves won't specifically know until they find out how many students enroll in the elective classes a few days before you are due to start teaching. My contract says I should teach 14x45 minute classes a week, but this upcoming semester I think I'm lined up for 12.

The French guy at my old school was on 14 hours a week last year...this year they got very few new students so he is on a whopping 4 (!)...cushy gig, but his likelihood of having his contract renewed perhaps isn't the highest.

The ultra low hour jobs are out there, but it'll be a combination of both due diligence and luck to find them. Bear in mind also the hours aren't everything. I've taught at schools with 8 hours per week before with the laziest, most deadbeat students imaginable...literally talking to the wall, counting the minutes until the bell. Flipside I've also had english majors who are uber-interested, try hard, listen and make an effort, but the hours are triple those of the potatoes and it's been way easier.

Sometimes you've just gotta jump in the deep end and find out for yourself what you're going to get.

[Bud Powell]

If he does find such a position, I wonder what the OP intends to do with the rest of his time after he leaves his home country to live in a culture which is (presumably) foreign to him. Will he then try to find yet another job to take up the hours?

I doubt he'll find such a teaching job that is more than a temporary situation.

[Non Sequitur]