Job Discussion Forums

[Tamil_Tiger]

Hello. I am interested in teaching in China. My motivations for coming to China are firstly to learn chinese and experience first-hand what I've read of China in history,film and in translated Chinese literature. I would however like to come home with some modest savings. I'm thinking about $10K US a year would be fine with me. I've read on these forums that some of the more frugally minded have been able to save about 75% of their RMB wage. I've never been a big barfly nor have I ever had a penchant for western food necessarily though a good sharp cheddar on crackers is nice from time to time, so I think if others can save it, I could also. With that in mind I'm wondering how feasible it would be with a 5-6K RMB job with 20 or so contact hours to pick up OT hours or private lessons to pick up an extra 3K RMB a month? I don't mind long hours as long as I'm being compensated for them. I've heard in China that there are many hidden hours disguised as "fun" or as "english corners." Also I received a reply that often the overtime hours are not compensated at the overtime rate but rather at the regular. Have any fairly fresh teachers managed to secure enough OT and private lessons to secure this rate of pay? Will it drive a person to the edge of insanity or would it be at least tolerable if not a little hectic?

Oh, one more question, though not exactly related to the topic of my post. Some of the jobs advertised come with free chinese lessons. How useful are these classes in reality? Somehow I suspect that many of these classes are perhaps just survival mandarin and not necessarily like a chinese course. If I tried to earn a higher wage would I be in fact cheating myself out of chinese language study time and cultural immersion time to dampen my experience to the point that I should just forego any idea of coming home with any savings? Are there any good cheap Chinese language courses that one can do while in China and still be able to teach?

[eion_padraig]

Tamil,

wanting to save US$10K a year is possible, but it would depend highly upon the two things you've noted. That is, not spending much money and doing extra teaching with good pay.

The paradox is that the best places too make big bucks are in the larger cities: Shanghai and Beijing with the possiblity of second tier cities like Chong Qing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Dalian, etc. However, the bigger the city, the more expensive it is and the more temptations to spend one's money arise. Also the more Chinese you speak/read, the less often/likely you will be cheated or overcharged on things you buy. Or on a positive note, the more you will be able to figure out how to buy things at a lower price by knowing where to go or how to bargain.

So OT isn't generally going to pay anywhere near what private lessons do. However, it will generally be more reliable. Private lessons or side jobs may be more difficult to find and will be less reliable, but with the right people (business folks), it can pay quite well. It may take a little while in a place before you understand how to come by these jobs. In Shanghai I've found most of my good private jobs through word of mouth from my foreign friends whose business contacts are looking for English teachers. These are 200 RMB to 250 RMB/hour and there are ones that can be higher. I don't think you can find these jobs in smaller cities, maybe not even outside of SH and BJ. Being young doesn't necessary keep you from getting these jobs. Looking "foreign" by Chinese people's definition will probably help.

If you are working more than 20 hours a week in your first year here and you don't already know Chinese pretty well or atleast are accustomed to living abroad in Asia, I think you might feel a bit overwhelmed. This can depend a lot how you deal with culture shock and a new job.

As for the free Chinese lesson, usually it will be one of their other employees either forced or having volunteered to teach you Chinese. They may be a good teacher, they may not be. They may be happy to teach you, or they may haved been pressured into it. I had a pretty good teacher that the school provided the first year, but later I hired a second teacher who was a graduate student studying teaching Chinese who had experience working with foreign students. That went pretty well.

Be forwarned that the culture ones reads about in books and sees in movies, etc. may not be what you get in China. For example, I know a lot more Chinese people learning Taekwondo (sp?) that are studying a Chinese-style martial art. Living in Shanghai, I think this is particularly true. I don't think this means that China no longer has it's own culture, but it just may not be what you might expect. If you're been to China already then, perhaps you're familiar with what i mean.

Good luck with your search.

Eion