Job Discussion Forums

[Edward-SoCal]

I am an American, about to fly to China with my family and a colleague, to lecture in a university in Guangzhou and it just occurred to me that so far I have no real proof of these people being who they say they are, and with a paranoid wife who's watched scary documentaries about China and organ/sex trafficking etc, I am now trying to clear all doubts.

So who have I been dealing with? Responding to a job post, my colleague/friend and I passed interviews with a man who said he was from the university (I prefer not to name it here). Then someone, who said in an email that she was the HR person at the university, took it from there. We signed our contracts and she was really helpful as we prepared to get all documents. But I never spoke with her by phone and a search of her name doesn't really bring anything useful. I can see the university link and a contact number at the bottom of her emails, but her email itself has a weird 126.com domain on it.

Now, after months of back and forth trying to get papers accepted by the Government, we finally have the invitation and we're about to get the visas to fly on the 3rd of September. The HR lady says she's the one who will pick us up at the airport to take us to the university and set us up with the on-campus housing.

Now, is there any reason to be concerned? How often do scams or worse (trafficking and what not) start out as university job offers?

[astrotrain]

The number one thing to do is talking with the foreign teachers currently working there.

I was and am in the same boat, I worked for 2 companies now in Canada that are over 100 years old each, needless to say getting shafted by them does not cross one's mind but applying to overseas companies that are barely a few years old with no physical contact and limited research capability due to language are major obstacles.

However, if the school have gone thru the trouble of applying for you the relevant documents for proper work permits and Z Visa then you know they have some monetary investment in you so that is a relative good indication they won't try to seek your organs. lol

If you gone on a tourist visa then you are screwed, there is no paper trail that can protect you and the school has not vested any commitments on your behalf so . . .

Having gone thru this last year and doing as much due diligence as possible with my former school, proper Z, interview with FTS there, and a leap of faith I had no major issues at all. It was a great experience.

Now this year is another new school, got all my papers proper, and interview with former staff there but still new boss, city, admin but this time my girlfriend and her family in China will look after my back in case of potential organ harvesters. lol I feel more at ease this time around with former expereince under my belt. If you got all the above done, don't worry too much and enjoy the ride.

[Edward-SoCal]

Thanks. I haven't talked to any of the other foreign teachers. Don't know how to find them and feel a bit uneasy to asking for contacts. I'm sure she won't appreciate me trying to check on her after all this time, and especially since she's apparently helping me while she's on holidays, to try and make sure I make it on time.

The problem is getting information about these universities (even major ones with 10000+ students) is touch on google. Sometimes all you get is the same poorly written description pasted here and there and one or two grainy photos.

[Kalkstein]

[Non Sequitur]

Go to the Wikipedia entry for your city and look for 'Education' on the sidebar.
This generally brings up the State tertiaries. Probably no link to the school website but you could get lucky.
If your school is on wpedia, then chances are it's legit.
No issues with a qq or similar email address. Most schools I've experienced don't have their own email address/server.
If you PM me the school name I'll have a former student who worked in Guangzhou check it out.
Best
NS

[Non Sequitur]

My PM doesn't seem to have left my box.
Here's the gist: "My former student has responded:
'Yes it is a state owned university. A bit small and old. Not the first tier university'.
'First tier' means nationally ranked and under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. Your school as expected is under the provincial administration.
These will be good-hearted local province kids but don't expect too much interest in philosophy. Expect large classes so writing involves a lot of marking. Getting Oral English in your first semester might be a blessing!
That said regard the gig as your intro to China. The job that gets you here is not necessarily the job that keeps you here".

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

Nothing sounds particularly out of the ordinary. Being handed off from one person to another during the hiring process is not out of the ordinary, even in the west.

126.com is one of the most popular email domains in China. It is common for Chinese school administrators and teachers not to use the school email system (or even the school internet) for reasons of privacy.

Long distance employment application is fraught with frustration, especially when dealing with China. You need to exercise patience. If your wife is already paranoid, life in China may exacerbate her fears. You may want to reconsider your trip or do a bit more research about China. You will be a long way from Kansas, but China is far uglier from the outside than from the inside.

What sort of scam are you worried about? Involuntary organ donation? Conscription into slavery? Until you get a handle on living in China, there will be many unknowns. That is the chief complaint that new FTs in China express . My experience in China is that people are not as forthcoming with information as they are in the U.S.. Part of this is a power trip. Keeping you in the dark keeps you dependent and controllable. Once you establish a relationship with Chinese people, life will become less frustrating and you will become sure of yourself. You will experience a greater sense of freedom and confidence. Making that leap of faith is difficult, I know.

If you received a letter of invitation from an organ of the Chinese government and have secured your visas from the consulate, things will be fine. When you arrive, you will probably be surprised by the offers of hospitality extended to you. Be grateful for the airport pickup. When you first step into China you will be pretty disoriented. You'll need someone to take you to your destination.

Good luck.

[Non Sequitur]

Good advice.

[Hermosillo]

The Z Visa is a huge source of trouble, time, and money. Most of the dodgy recruiters will tell you to come without one, and that is when the problems start. Pick your battles carefully, but the Z visa may be the top item to stand your ground on. Next, would likely be giving them a carte blanche to put you to work, when and however they feel (vague, one sided contract terms). Third, would be issues with the "free" housing, which most could imagine. If you have visa, contract, and housing sorted; consider yourself lucky and get to work. It is only a year. OTOH, there will be many, who just can't come to terms with not having Starbux or a "proper pot pie," or something else that isn't really that good to begin with. Those are the ones you will want to quickly sort out and avoid. Kidneys are only worth 600 US on the black market, so I wouldn't be to worried about that. Getting foreigners to pay for teacher training and then taking 2/3 of their pay is much more lucrative.

[Edward-SoCal]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I am not worried at this point. Everything is going well and I am about to fly in a couple of days. Looking forward to living in the capital of the 3rd world, for a year or two. I'm glad this forum exists. Would be nice to connect with fellow teachers from the West.

[Dream_Seller]

This will be my first time working in China and at a University.

Is paid vacation like Winter/ Summer listed in the contract? I thought some Uni teachers have 4 to 5 months paid vacation?

Some possible issues I see are:
- No travel allowance being offered by the university
- Saying you get winter and summer vacation but then saying your not getting paid during that time but you can stay in the apartment if you sign another year.

[Modernist]

[Dream_Seller]

Hey I appreciate the heads up...

School A) said no pay for winter or summer holiday, no travel flight paid, already added into salary. 7500-8000 (20)

School B) pays higher for the 10 month duration so the salary is still above average for a uni job even without winter/summer paid.


NO FLIGHT and NO WINTER/ NO SUMMER pay is what I am seeing. I'm looking at the benefits more than the listed pay now.

[Non Sequitur]

[Modernist]