Job Discussion Forums

[dimon879]

Hi, this is my first post.

I was offered an online teaching job at Meten English. I have some experience giving classes via Skype, but I've never worked for a company as an online ESL instructor. They ask for my passport ID page and other documents. Is work like this legit in China? Do such private companies hire online teachers officially or just pay them out of their pocket not bothering about taxes. Can this potentially come to light and create any problems if I actually come to China to teach on a Z visa in future?
I asked a lawyer but he seems to have no idea about how this works in China.

[CNexpatesl]

I know Meten is a legit company, because I almost got hired by them to teach in person at one of their locations. I didn't know they hired for online teaching though. But yes, some companies do hire online teachers, but the pay is generally low from what I understand. That said, you never know if it could be a scam and someone trying to steal your identity.

I'd try to find out if they're legit first, check out their website, view the contract, etc. Just out of curiosity, where did you find the job? What website did you apply on?

[jimpellow]

The pay is lower with the Chinese companies but the big names are legit. You may want to see if you can work from a company from another part of the World and double your wage. The biggest potential roadblock being how the firewall affects connection speeds and reliability.

[dimon879]

The matter is that I sent them my application for the position of an in-center teacher at the beginninng of May and nobody responded. The other day I got an invitation for an interview from somebody using a public email. I replied to that email and copied their HR, but they got back to me using the public email again. I'm going to talk to them on Skype and hopefully get a better picture of who they are. Anyway, I never send my documents to public emails especially when somebody emerges from nowhere with attractive offers.

[jimpellow]

I can vouch for a Chinese online company called EnglishTone being legit. I did a review on them for someone here if you search the forum. I should add that I worked for them when I was living in the Philippines as the better companies from better paying countries blacklist such countries for bad internet. I still had to quit due to the Internet, despite the fact my "high end" connection cost me more than it would have in the States. I ran into a similar issue living here in Mexico with my online Saudi job that payed well.

But the point is if you have a good connection you can find ample opportunities for teaching online. It is becoming more accepted. I think the market in China is going to be huge with the ever increasing demand for English instruction from native speakers but a decreasing supply (caused by the cost and difficulty of the visa, stagnant wages, and increasing awareness of issues such as pollution and unethical treatment of foreigners).

It does seem that getting your first online job can be the most difficult. Hiring managers, who often seem to suffer from excessive narrow mindedness, seem to seek out and prefer those with experience in the online field.