Job Discussion Forums

[rottenflesh]

My girlfriend and I were hired for a Sept start date at a eikaiwa in Japan, but got placed in separate cities, far away. They told us to wait a few months and they'll try their best to place us together, but they've notified us that they don't have anything for us.

We're now trying for China but are running into visa troubles for the lady. I'm a Canadian citizen with three years experience, so don't have much trouble finding something decent for myself. My girlfriend is a German citizen, graduated from the UK this summer, and has a 120 hour TEFL certificate. She also has taught two summers at Summer camps in Shanghai and Taipei. Plus, tutoring experience with refugee kids during high school, but don't think matters much to employers.

We're interested in Shanghai, Chengdu, and possibly Beijing as the potential for part time teaching is quite high (money needed for grad school). Had an interview with a school directly who were interested in hiring us but said that visa would not be possible to get (I said that TEFL certificate should replace the two year requirement, but was told that it would be true only for Native speakers). The school said they could have offered a job with a different job title (German teacher, Marketing Manager, etc) but the fact that she graduated this year means the 2 year post graduate requirement won't be met.

Had an interview with a recruiter yesterday for a position outside Hangzhou (in Haining) who assured they can process the visa for us (perhaps Zhejiang province has easier visa laws), but money was low and recruiter vibe wasn't that great (pressing to give an answer ASAP, not needing to interview with school and getting hired, etc).

Girlfriend has an interview for a college position teaching German on Monday for Shanghai, so maybe they can use some guanxi to get the visa? We'll see. Does anyone have any advice or options that could allow us to work in the big cities? I'm sure there must be something we could explore before settling to work somewhere in the boonies for a year. Thanks in advance!

[Foo_Fighters_Dave]

From my understanding, to legally teach English in China, you need 2 years experience and/or a TEFL degree plus be from a native speaking country. I have heard that China is cracking down on this. Good luck!

[nomad soul]

Also keep in mind that job ads that refer to a "teaching couple" generally mean husband-wife.

[Non Sequitur]

Look for Foreign Languages Universities. There's one in (near Dalian). A couple covering 2 languages could be of interest.
There are other similar schools but Google 'China Foreign Languages Universities'.
Dalian is close to Japan.

[nimadecaomei]

Yep, her best shot is at teaching German. The experience thing is still there though.