Job Discussion Forums

[aotearoa]

Okay...

I came up with this totally crazy idea for making *LOADS* of money doing EFL work. It's a really simple idea and I don't see why it wouldn't work, its not outright illegal or anything like that. But I want to put it out here to see what everyone else thinks of it.

Let's say someone decides to do private ESL tutoring. They have four one-hour sessions each day for five days a week on Mondays through Fridays. They take five students for each session and they charge each student 100 RMB per session. Assumming the most ideal situation where you would have five students for each session each day of the week for all four weeks of the month you would be making MAJOR AMOUNTS money...

* 5 students per hour at 100 RMB an hour for each student = 500 RMB for each hour.

* 500 RMB per hour times 4 hours each day = 2000 RMB for each day

* 2000 RMB times 5 days of the week = 10,000 RMB

* 10,000 RMB times 4 weeks = 40,000 RMB

As of this posting 40,000 RMB is somewhere around abouts... US$4,800 (That is NOT a typo!!!)

As long as the tutor could provide a high quality service (e. g. 100 RMB WORTH of tutoring for EACH student for each hour) for the price for EACH AND EVERY student in their private 'class' then I do not see how doing something like this could be considered unethical. Of course, the local authorities could find out about it, and then they maybe would try to stop it from happening.

Like I said before, this was just a crazy idea I thought up. What is everyone's thoughts on this? Do you actually think it could possibly work if I could get enough Chinese students interested in/involved with it?

[ChinaLady]

nice idea, good math but wrong country. in ROK this would work, and I did it for two years. but, well, example. . . I was asked to teach a group of private business people - maybe 20 people. twice a week. I said, "sure, 200 an hour." that is like 10 a person. follow this? the training director said, "too high." second example . . . private lessons with a Japanese wife. 150 an hour at my place, 300 an hour at her place (she lives about a 50 minute cab ride away) she took it, at my place. twice a week. another? well, you get the idea. unless you live in an upper middleclass Chinese area, the money is NOT there. maybe in another year or so. but again, this is not South Korea, where there is money to be made, if that is what you are after. I was tutoring a government official for 150 for two hours, and he thought I was to high and, as he drove away in his Mercedes, he found a tutor for 50 an hour, with tea.
make to much and all the flags, buzzers and bells go off. in South Korea I could send the extra cash to my home bank in the USA, here, well, I spend it because I make so little. my students are great - which is why I stay. no attitude, as yet, like the South Korean or Japanese students.

[Roger]

It is overly simplistic and too optimistic.
First of all, who would pay 100 RMB and have to share the teacher with 4 other students who pay such a high tuition fee? Most students that I have taught insisted that they pay as a collective, as if they were hiring me together. I can't say their attitude was unreasonable!

And, if you seriously try to do privates only, you would have a hell of a logistical problem, with timing never going to be perfect to suit everybody as Chinese just can't stick to appointed times!

Besides, this is a fairy-tale scenario in which the authorities - PSB, taxman - play the roles of Santa Claus.

[senor boogie woogie]

Hola!

The figures that you state are way too high. To do this, you have to get 20 students that will pay 100 RMB apiece for five days a week, then expect that student to share with three or four other people. Not going to happen.

Now, I charge 100 RMB an hour plus taxi. If there is three people, this is only 33.3 RMB, not much for them. Then, I am going to charge 25 RMB a head, four students 125, five 150, and so on. If you meet two groups (10 people) twice a week, you will make 2400 RMB a month or about $288 USD. This is for eight hours of work a week. Of course, you can do this on a Monday and Tuesday only, which frees up to 5 more days to make money, so if you hustle and make your rounds and have good "guanxi" with the people, you can make 4000 to 5000 RMB a month. This money goes into your pocket, not to EF, Telfort, Shane, or the Jiang Zemin taxation collection service. Also, of course, you need to be living in a city on the Eastern seaboard only, not in the interior.

I love Chinese people. I am married to one. But, Chinese are cheap people. They will bargain and negotiate with you on price. You wont get 100 RMB an hour per person, much less 10,000 (1200 USD) a month. Hell, I worked my tunkus (Yiddish word for butt) off in Korea doing privates and was only making about 125 USD a week. If you want to hustle privates, go there.

Good luck,

Senor

[zacharybilton]