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claka77
Joined: 21 May 2015
Posts: 39
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 Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 11:39 pm Post subject: Taishan University, Taian Shandong |
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I just had an interview with someone from this college and I have a contract on offer. I was wondering though if anyone has worked at this university (or lived in Taian)? I've previously only lived in big cities (Shenzhen and Guangzhou) and sworn to never live in a smaller city. Is it easy to get around with minimal Mandarin skills? Is it easy to get a train/bus to Beijing, Jinan, Qingdao, Weihai, etc.?
The pay is good I believe but only because the teaching load is heavy for a university (I think it's around 30 hrs per week, I've only ever done 18-20 hrs previously at uni). I'd be interested to hear from anyone who's been to Taian. |
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The bear
Joined: 16 Aug 2015
Posts: 483
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 11:58 pm Post subject: Re: Taishan University, Taian Shandong |
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| claka77 wrote: |
I just had an interview with someone from this college and I have a contract on offer. I was wondering though if anyone has worked at this university (or lived in Taian)? I've previously only lived in big cities (Shenzhen and Guangzhou) and sworn to never live in a smaller city. Is it easy to get around with minimal Mandarin skills? Is it easy to get a train/bus to Beijing, Jinan, Qingdao, Weihai, etc.?
The pay is good I believe but only because the teaching load is heavy for a university (I think it's around 30 hrs per week, I've only ever done 18-20 hrs previously at uni). I'd be interested to hear from anyone who's been to Taian. |
30 teaching hours per week is a real red flag. That's a huge amount for a university job. Not saying it's impossible, but the pay better be very, very good for that many hours. The cynic in me would say it's because they are short of teachers so try to dump all the work on one instead of spreading it over two.
One of the advantages of uni work is the free time to seek more lucrative private work. I doubt the university is paying that well to make 30 teaching hours worthwhile financially. May I ask what they are offering? |
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Blistering Zanazilz
Joined: 06 Jan 2018
Posts: 180
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| Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 12:05 am Post subject: |
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| Trains seem easy enough to get. You can check the frequency of departures to/from various cities on sites like Ctrip, among others. |
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claka77
Joined: 21 May 2015
Posts: 39
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| Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 1:20 am Post subject: |
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| Good point Bear, 30 hours is a lot for 1 teacher at a uni. I guess I'm considering it as I think the offer is 14000-15000rmb with free housing. As you say, it's probably better doing less teaching hours + privates when I have time (which I did in Guangzhou). |
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geosmiley
Joined: 25 Jan 2016
Posts: 62
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| Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 1:55 am Post subject: Couple of Thoughts |
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| Usually when there is one red flag, 30 hours, there are others lurking around if you look. It's also been my experience that people tend to wear out over time with this kind of load and then do a hasty departure . What happens if someone gets sick or leaves? Have you spoken to other teachers there, really looked at the contract etc.? I just don't see the pay and location adding up to a good job. I would also be interested in class size and type and the comfort level of the apartment as well as pollution levels. |
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teenoso
Joined: 18 Sep 2013
Posts: 365
Location: south china
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| Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 4:18 am Post subject: |
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I have only visited there several years ago to climb the mountain , but it seemed like a nice small place, with plenty of tourists (quite a few foreign tourists too) and things like coffee shops and pizza places, not your typical back woods small town in China. Taishan is one of the big four or five mountains to climb in China, so attracts plenty of people.
From memory , it was on or just off the main train route, but Qingdao is still a few hours away.
I could never do 30 hours , that's 6 hours a day , teaching , but maybe they include office hours ? |
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