Job Discussion Forums

[SearchingChina]

Does anyone here know what sort of credentials you need to get a job at a uni/college in Shanghai? On most online job postings universities seem to want a BA and sometimes a TEFL certificate, but I've never seen any that say theyrequire an MA or above, and very few seem to need prior university teaching experience.

But then again I've not seen many job postings for universities in Shanghai, which on the face of it seems a bit strange as there's quite a few places there. Are unis there a lot more competetive than elsewhere in the country and thus require higher qualifications, and when people get the jobs they don't leave them quickly so there's low turnover? That would explain the lack of job postings I've seen for uni places there.

I've got a BA, native speaker, TEFL cert, and in April I'll have completed 2 years of teaching at a Hagwon in Korea. But I'm tired of teaching kids and having little in the way of vacation time. If I went on the universities webpages and tried to find a contact person to send my resume to, and contacted as many universities in Shanghai as I could, is there any chance I could get a job offer? Or for the big city do you need MA/prior university experience?

[roadwalker]

Shanghai has plenty of foreigners and university jobs are perceived as better than language school jobs (by me, among others). So the universities there don't need to advertise often, as positions are probably filled by someone who knows someone. And since they have a larger pool to choose from, they probably have more MAs than in many other areas. Still, it couldn't hurt to apply. You never know when suddenly they need someone. In April, when you have your two years in the bag, try applying for September starts. (The academic year is roughly September 1 to mid July.) The spring term begins usually in late February. You might get lucky and find a university that needs a replacement of a teacher that didn't return for spring term.

Alternatively, there are many cities within a couple of hours on a high speed train to Shanghai. If you just want to be within striking distance of Shanghai, that might be an option for you. Search china trains online and you will find websites with train schedules. Look for trains beginning with a G or a D for the fast ones, and follow the lines until the trip is too far. In Zhejiang Province, this would include Jiaxing, Hangzhou and Shaoxing off the top of my head. In Jiangsu Province, Suzhou and a few more cites that I haven't been to are easily accessed. They all have university jobs too.

[SearchingChina]

[roadwalker]

You might as wel. It could help you or hurt you, but you'd also get a look at different places and see where they're actually located. They may round-file your resume too, if they don't like your looks, manner or whatever. Early or mid April would probably be the best time. (Avoid Qing Ming Festival time, April 4-6 this year.) Good luck.

[SearchingChina]

[toteach]

My personal feeling is that you'll save MORE money if you're outside of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou. The cost of living is sky-high, plus there are lots of western temptations around and places to enjoy spending money in the Big Three. You'll be making a bit less, perhaps, in a slightly more remote area, but the cost of living will be far cheaper, so you'll save more.

There are people interested in private lessons everywhere. (And with fewer western faces in these smaller towns you might be more in demand than in a city with thousands of other foreigners).

IMHO, of course!

[SearchingChina]

[Listerine]

Don't be *too* fixated on Shanghai unis.
toteach is right. It's the temptations in Shanghai that will get you. Foreign restaurants and bars in China are expensive...not just relative to the pay, but genuinely expensive. You're coming from Korea where Western stuff has been around for decades mostly catering to poorer US military dudes who want to eat well and cheap. You can get decent foreign meals (Mexican, Indian etc) in places like Itaewon or Songtan for 10 bucks a pop there. Beers in bars for $2. Same thing in China will often be twice that. It's still new and considered luxury.
One thing to be a stinky hippy with the whole "You're in China man. You've gotta embrace the local culture!" which to an extent is right, if ya wanna stick to the Tier 3 places, but living in Shanghai the "local culture" includes German microbreweries, Michelin starred restaurants, food from all over the world. Way more imported stuff than the Korea. It's predominantly locals buying and eating it, too. I remember reading some interview with some Shanghai princesses...
"Where do you most like to go to eat?"
"Blue Frog" [a moderately pricy trendy Western bistro franchise]
"What food do you most hate?"
"Blue Frog food"
Haha - they just go to be *seen*.
I had a point before downing a bottle of jingjiu....um....
Oh yeah...sucks to be living in Shanghai and making prole $ eating head lice soup and pustule laden baozi. Friends will want to hang out in some fancier places, dates will want to be spoiled a little. 30USD to get to the top of the Shanghai World Financial Center to check the view? Yikes. How many day's pay is THAT?
As per Roadwalker's recommendation, I too would look to the satellite cities. In Jiangsu in order of distance you could check Kunshan, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, even Nanjing....all are accessible enough to Shangers, most within 30 minutes to an hour and you're out of the maelstrom of expensive nightly temptations, horrendous crowds, trash etc. Those big Jiangsu cities are modern and wealthy as shit, too. Wuxi for example has a GDP (GMP??) per capita which is almost twice that of China as a whole, and actually higher than Shanghai....loads of rich people, prospects for high paying privates with the advantage of trees, mountains, dozens of parks etc. within the city limits. The other Jiangsu cities are similar.
I love Shanghai, but also love leaving. Five minutes transferring at that People's Square station leaves me ready to start pushing people in front of the next train, but I loves me some Carls Jr!! There are much better places to live within stone's throw in my opinion....get the best of both worlds.
Good you're doing your research anyhow.

[likwid_777]

[SearchingChina]