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Making it Work while Teaching on a University Salary
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 9:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

water rat wrote:
However, Muscat Gary, you can got to some other city. The Middle Kingdom has about two dozen cites with greater populations than Chicago - to say nothing of the hundreds that are smaller than Chicago. Most are polluted, but once you're away from the coastal and industrial east, it's not so bad. Everywhere there is the aforementioned readily available pork, beer and the very real possibility of dating, plus green trees and running streams -none of which you see much of in the Middle East. You ought to come here.



I've never seem so much beer as I saw in Oman and pork is readily available. The local ladies are generally not available but there are plenty of Filipinas around!
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water rat



Joined: 30 Aug 2014
Posts: 1098
Location: North Antarctica

PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, good. But I got you with the green trees and running rivers, didn't I?
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

water rat wrote:
Well, good. But I got you with the green trees and running rivers, didn't I?


Lots of trees in Muscat and Salalah and really nice beaches all along the coast. There are rivers when it rains!
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water rat



Joined: 30 Aug 2014
Posts: 1098
Location: North Antarctica

PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anyhoo, llamapirate, Muscat Gary, and anyone else: I won't say you ought to come to China, but China is here if you want a piece of it. It's not a bad place, and while there is a certain sameness, every bit of it is different. It's a vast land full of possibilities. One fourth of all the people who have ever lived are living here right now, today. All I can advise is that you do your homework and choose wisely. Keep talking to us at Dave's and read the great backlog of information, and keep your fingers crossed. There's something for everyone in China. If you somehow get in a bad situation, you can leave, you can switch jobs or wait for another year. China isn't as restrictive as some places. You can come and go as you please.
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Son of Bud Powell



Joined: 04 Mar 2015
Posts: 179
Location: Since 2003

PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

water rat wrote:
high school students are a lot more motivated and willing, while college students just want to coast - or so I hear from virtually everyone I talk to about it here in China.



That's not universal. All of my university English majors have been pretty aggressive in their study of English. It's probably more the case that the university FTs are more interesting in coasting.

I won't get started on University FTs.
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Deats



Joined: 02 Jan 2015
Posts: 503

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 12:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Teaching in a uni you will get $1000 on average. With free housing and utilities, visa, flights, insurance and for 12-16 hours a week and 4-5 months paid holiday a year, that ain't bad.

Like someone else said, if you are a good teacher the privates will find you. After a year I was comfortably earning over $3000.

And I wasn't even charging much for my privates (started out at 100RMB in 1st year, moved on to 125RMB in 2nd then 150RMB an hour in 3rd and 4th) as I lived in a 'small' city. I know people charging 200RMB per student and taking 6 students at a time! Not the norm, but massive money if you can get it - I actually wouldn't consider charging this as I think it's not morally right to pray on the desperation of people.

Beer was 5Y in a Western bar, food was incredibly cheap. Live outside the metropolis' and you spend nothing.
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hdeth



Joined: 20 Jan 2015
Posts: 583

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 12:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Son of Bud Powell wrote:
water rat wrote:
high school students are a lot more motivated and willing, while college students just want to coast - or so I hear from virtually everyone I talk to about it here in China.



That's not universal. All of my university English majors have been pretty aggressive in their study of English. It's probably more the case that the university FTs are more interesting in coasting.

I won't get started on University FTs.


Many University students just coast, but you should see what students are like at some private high schools...they know mommy and daddy can just pay to get the right SAT, TOEFL, or whatever score.

The main difference in COL between Beijing and 2-3 tier cities is the rent. Restaurants are slightly more expensive but not excessively so. Quality street food is harder to find in Beijing because they've been cracking down on it.

Beijing is WAY less polluted than Xian, Chengdu, or Chongqing (went to those during the winter break).
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buravirgil



Joined: 23 Jan 2014
Posts: 967
Location: Jiangxi Province, China

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Son of Bud Powell wrote:
water rat wrote:
high school students are a lot more motivated and willing, while college students just want to coast - or so I hear from virtually everyone I talk to about it here in China.

That's not universal. All of my university English majors have been pretty aggressive in their study of English. It's probably more the case that the university FTs are more interesting in coasting.

I won't get started on University FTs.

I think you just did "get started", to nitpick the hypocrisy of a colloquialism...

The small FT staff at our university speculates that the intense pressure of the GaoKao (if not unique, given China's numbers) produces a greater motivation in high school than university, but I'm not at a highly competitive university in a major city. The reasoning is that after finding acceptance among three tiers of university (to generalize), what socioeconomic standing a student will have is largely determined, hence the perception of "coasting".

That said, I concur with Bud Powell (and his son) that most of my university students are motivated when they understand the task. The exceptions are not a few, and sometimes surprisingly and firmly apathetic (to use an oxymoron), but less than a majority. Possibly an inference, but Bud Powell has worked at more, and larger universities than myself, and of a FT staff of about a dozen (across two campuses far apart in the province), not one is a slacker.

Excepting myself, of course.
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MozartFloyd



Joined: 12 Jul 2013
Posts: 66
Location: Guangdong, China

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 7:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Living well in a Uni has a lot to do with your lifestyle obviously; as has been posted on these boards numerous times.

I live well on half my 6K salary in a tier 2 city. Often you can forgo the "prestige" of a big city university realizing your cost of living ain't so great and you end up a number rather than front row service. If you want all the action, by all means go to Beijing or somewhere like it. Just make sure to pack your gas mask and realize you'll probably die 15 years sooner. Laughing

I do no extracurricular teaching, yet I'm continually asked to teach elsewhere. No interest. I have too many outside interests that occupy my time like cycling, playing music, girlfriend.

Living in a tier 2 city can be quite the adventure with everything you need available with a lot less people. I save half my salary and with the 4 months of vacation one gets at a uni job, I use some of that money to travel and see the world. I often go to SE Asia ... just spent 2 months this winter in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam. It all depends on what kind of lifestyle you want.

The free apartment, no utility bills, free medical, computer, wifi, cable TV ... bene's baby, and only in the Uni. BTW, I'm vacating my position in June. My city is #6 on the livable city index in China: mountains, lakes, rivers, clean blue skies. Message me if you want info.
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Emp1



Joined: 25 Mar 2015
Posts: 50

PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 2:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The key is to do little to nothing at university and stock up on language centre work in evenings and kindergarten/high school work in mornings/afternoons where possible.

Honestly for the university job I just put on movies, don't do any lesson planning or marking at all since that's time I could be using to earn more money elsewhere. Yeah I might get slated by some who think ESL teachers should be 'professional'...as though this were just like a real career back home providing stuff like pension plans, employee rights and increased salary for years of experience. As it's not however, I'll just do whatever I can to earn the most money now - myself and my family come way before any employer or their students.
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LarssonCrew



Joined: 06 Jun 2009
Posts: 1308

PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Saving 3000 RMB a month, $500.

So after 4 months you've got $2000.

Flights to a decent place, let's say Bali or something, maybe $500.

$70 a night for a decent hotel, $700, that's $1200.

Leaves $800 for doing stuff.

$2000 gets about 10 days of a decent vacation.

I'd rather work more and actually save a chunk.

Got a friend making 27,000 at an international school and he spends 7000 and lives it up, saves 20,000 RMB, that's $3500 at least.
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wangdaning



Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Posts: 3154

PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 7:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seems some great "teachers" post on here.
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Non Sequitur



Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China

PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 7:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Emp1 wrote:
The key is to do little to nothing at university and stock up on language centre work in evenings and kindergarten/high school work in mornings/afternoons where possible.

Honestly for the university job I just put on movies, don't do any lesson planning or marking at all since that's time I could be using to earn more money elsewhere. Yeah I might get slated by some who think ESL teachers should be 'professional'...as though this were just like a real career back home providing stuff like pension plans, employee rights and increased salary for years of experience. As it's not however, I'll just do whatever I can to earn the most money now - myself and my family come way before any employer or their students.


This is the saddest post I've read on Dave's Rolling Eyes
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mike w



Joined: 26 May 2004
Posts: 1071
Location: Beijing building site

PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 9:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Emp1 wrote:
The key is to do little to nothing at university and stock up on language centre work in evenings and kindergarten/high school work in mornings/afternoons where possible.

Honestly for the university job I just put on movies, don't do any lesson planning or marking at all since that's time I could be using to earn more money elsewhere. Yeah I might get slated by some who think ESL teachers should be 'professional'...as though this were just like a real career back home providing stuff like pension plans, employee rights and increased salary for years of experience. As it's not however, I'll just do whatever I can to earn the most money now - myself and my family come way before any employer or their students.


This is the saddest post I've read on Dave's Rolling Eyes



Especially for his 'FIRST' ? post.

I suspect the reincarnation in a new guise of one of our regular trolls.
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Non Sequitur



Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China

PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Probably right Mike
Best
NS
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