Job Discussion Forums

[USB cable]

Does anyone have any further information about this school?

I have read a few somewhat negative reviews but they all seem to be old / outdated. I am wondering if much has changed.

The Foreign Affairs Officer seems quite slow at replying to my emails... I have currently been waiting 2 weeks for information about my medical check I sent to them.

I have a couple of other positions "waiting" so should really give them an answer either way by Monday.

THANKS IN ADVANCE for any advice or suggestions regarding this school.

Barry.

[doogsville]

[kungfuman]

A friend of mine worked there for a long time - 5 years maybe. They treated him like poop and he left and worked at some other schools.

Salary is low - 6-7k a month. They will give you made-up bills at the end and tell you that you owe them electricity etc.

Better to try across the street at Jiangnan University

[rioux]

I worked there. The place is a disaster.

The pay is 5k a month and they deduct about 500RMB a month for some social insurance program. It was a real pain trying to get it all back at the end.

Before my wife and I moved in we were told that there would be no students living in the building but they started some program which allowed about 20 Indonesian high school kids and they put them right above us. Many late nights we went up there to tell them to stop banging things on the floor and running around. It got so bad that we had to miss quite a few days of classes because of only 2-4 hours a sleep a night. Of course management didn't care much about it but simply dragged their feet getting us a new room. We heard even more students are coming next year so we pity the teacher or teachers that will have to deal with that.

The people in charge of the apartment don't see anything wrong with simply walking into your apartment unannounced. I woke up one day and find the guy in my kitchen just roaming around and his excuse was that at least he knocked this time.

If you work overtime it is a nightmare trying to collect it. It got to a point where we told them we wouldn't work any more past our contract hours because it was just too difficult to get what was owed us.

I was fired last January and the reason for it was because they said I "just let my students go" when I had my one last night class a week.
I did let them go and it happened twice. The reason I did was that both times the door was locked. They never supplied me with a key and they specifically told me that I was not allowed to take my students into another class room. I wrote the person in charge of my department and her response was something like she would look into it. 2 weeks later it happened again so I sent another email which went ignored. 2 months later I was called in and was told that was the main reason I was being fired.

If you want to know more of the insanity of this place feel free to send me a private message.
I'll leave you with one more. The following about my "friend" really refers to my wife. They wanted her to work for classes in July even though her contract finished by the end of June.
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=1205438&highlight=#1205438

[JRJohn]

Oh no, Rioux, I didn't know it was as bad as all that! In 2010, I went to a private university in Henan province. The main problem there was that pay was usually late. So we foreign teachers-all 30 of us-had to go to the Foreign Affairs office together every month and complain until the problem was fixed. That's the only way to deal with these problems. All foreign teachers had to do it together, and be very firm, but not uncivil.

I actually enjoyed teaching there though. There was noise in the dorm I stayed in but it was intermittent. You are right to mention these problems.

My most recent job was in Beijing. It was in a public school, but I had to pay my rent, 4 months up front. I arranged an interview this month for a university job inside Beijing, and the university staff told me that actually they wanted me to work in a less prestigious college north of the great wall, in the middle of nowhere. The location would be a problem for me, so I am not sure about going.

In fact I am willing to put up with some issues, but it is always wise to get advice from western teachers who are working there now. They will point out the details that Chinese people might gloss over.

[3701 W.119th]

Sound advice. Timely payment would be a big red flag.

Definitely talk with some western staff.

However, the only problem with that is, at least half of all FTs I've met in China are total nutcases. I actually trust the Chinese staff much more.

[Listerine]

Not sure if my reply is too late to help with your decision either way, but I work at a different university in Wuxi with a handful of WXIT "refugees" including a couple of very good friends. They cited the school as the trifecta of shit - disinterested and low level students, seemingly scheming, lying, disorganized admin and old, run down, noisy housing. Apparently they used to have a pretty large contingent of FTs (15 or so) and it's now dwindled down to one or two. The crappest story I heard was them making verbal promises to a bunch of teachers to re-sign and extend their contracts, delay, delay only to tell them 2 weeks before the end of semester and visa expiration that they wouldn't be re-hired. Too late to find other jobs. 4,500rmb / month in a city as modern as Wuxi is pretty dire, too. Jiangsu has the highest GDP per capita of any province, and Wuxi has the highest GDP per capita in Jiangsu. On less than 800 bucks / month you're on par living condition wise with the WC cleaners. I'd personally keep looking elsewhere.

As the Kungpooter mentioned try Jiangnan across the road....aim for a job directly with the university (English majors and business students) rather than one of their nickel and diming joint programs teaching gross tuhao, mama's boys with Lambton College, Northwood Uni or UCLAN.

[USB cable]

Thank you for the advice, all.

As an update I accepted a different position with a university in Nanjing. Better pay and conditions.

2 weeks after I informed the Foreign Affairs Officer at Wuxi Institute of Technology, Doris that I wouldn't be accepting a job at that school I finally heard back from her that she could have my passport cancelled (lol) for "breaking our agreement" even though I had never yet signed a contract and she'd been totally ignoring my messages and questions for several weeks. I just deleted her and blocked all future mesaages. Thankfully my new FAO seems much more on the ball.

Again thanks for the advice, guys. Seems like it might have helped me dodge a big bullet.

[wangdaning]