Job Discussion Forums

[Unrung School Bell]

So I could work at IMUN (Inner Mongolia U. of the Nationalities) in Tongliao or The U. of Jinan -not to be confused with Jinan University- somewhere in Shandong. IMUN pays slightly better with only 18 hours instead of 20. Of course neither pays very well, but this is where I am at in my life right now.

I have been accepted by both and merely have to consent and enter into the contract. I don't know which to choose.

I am not particular about being in or near a large city, and Tongliao probably has the better environment despite the cold winters. However, UJN seems to be a busier and friendlier campus with plenty to do, restaurants, etc.

I would appreciate any information or recommendation any one could make on which place would be more pleasant.

I would like to give one of these unis my decision by Monday afternoon.

[Deats]

If you know both offers suck, then why would you even take one of them?

[Unrung School Bell]

I don't think they suck exactly. I thought my present, much better paying position was assured for as long as I wanted it, and the other day I was summarily told it would be no more. The program is being 'restructured' and I am out. Now for a variety of personal reasons I have little motivation to plug away at some language mill job that pays way better than a university, and even though I appreciate that I would not be a university professor per se, I fancy being a college instructor. I enjoyed the almost non-existent interviewing process, and I like that I can just move into a modest apartment, have campus stores and restaurants nearby and teach students who are possibly a bit more mature than what I have been teaching.

So can anyone tell me why I might prefer one of these uni to the other? Thank you.

[Deats]

Can you give a little more info about the positions?

Salary?

Hours? 16 max is normal for most unis.

Utilities paid?

Airfare reimbursement?

A 'normal' uni job should be a MINIMUM of 72,000RMB a year + house + utilities + MINIMUM 8,000RMB airfare.

Anything less isn't worth getting out of bed for as there are plenty of unis offering this package (and a lot more).

http://aqicn.org/city/jinan/ Jinan's air quality is moderate to unhealthy for the last few days

http://aqicn.org/city/china/tongliao/tongliaobinguan/ Tongliao is good to unhealthy for the last few days.

I lived in Heilongjiang for 4 years and I can tell you the winters are bloody freezing and the summers are incredibly hot and often humid. Be willing to spend a large chunk of your salary on going abroad on holidays - the problem with Tongliao is you are a long way from anything so will spend extra time/money on making your escape each year

[hdeth]

Inner Mongolia would be more of an experience I would think...I've always heard it's one of the most different parts of China. Jinan would probably be significantly more modern, more western amenities, but also more pollution. Jinan is the transportation hub of Shandong so it's fairly easy to go on short vacations. The weather there is supposed to absolutely suck, but the same for inner mongolia.

Check the winter temps...that's what really drove me off. Most universities there offer nice packages as I suspect it's hard to get people out there...I would expect to get paid similar to Shanghai or Beijing but maybe a few more hours.

[doogsville]

If the jobs are much of a muchness, then it's probably down to environment and climate. Check out the AQI for both to see which has the cleanest air. Check them out on Google maps or similar to see which is the greenest and find as much info as you can about the quality of life for foreigners there. Then make a choice.l

[mackidrei]

which did you choose? curious to know as i work at ujn.

[3701 W.119th]

Polling a board that's full of oddballs, to decide your next career move, is a bit strange.

Hope it works out. Fair play to you.

[Unrung School Bell]

[mackidrei]

i don't check this board often so i didn't see this until monday had passed, otherwise i would've. i've visited inner mongolia and it was beautiful, don't think that's a bad choice at all if you're picking based on the environment. i had a great time while i was in hohhot. jinan definitely doesn't win when it comes to air quality.

when it comes to working conditions, you won't know until you're there. i'm happy with my uni in that regard and happy with jinan aside from the pollution. plus it's easy to travel other places from here. but if imun offers more money for the same hours, i see why you chose it. best of luck.