Job Discussion Forums

oprah · Joined: 26 Apr 2003 Posts: 382

Received email, it says: All the leaders and teachers in our school are quite satisfied with your work. If you would like to work for another year please sign another contract with the head leader. Does this sound like they are ready to negotiate?? or just the same contract. In our country we usually get a raise for good performance, (although it says satisfied).. I hear the Chinese teachers do not get a raise in pay. ?There are many other places in China to see, BUT the school has been very good to me..I am ready to negotiate.. can not continue here without added benefits.. What happened to you when you renewed your contract??

Guest · Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2004 9:07 am Post subject:

I am about to sign a 12 month contract at the same School I was with for 10 months last year. Nothing has been said about an increase, so I believe that I will still be getting 3,500 rmb per month. I am quite satisfied with that as it does go a long way out here in the sticks.

I know that is low compared to what most of you are receiving, but I only teach just over 10 hours per week, and I do not have any office time. Seeing I live in an apartment on the School grounds, I only have a two minute walk to my classes, so life is very easy.

latefordinner · Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Posts: 973

Your mileage will vary, so negotiate. My last school said the same things, but wouldn't budge from the previous contract. My reaction? Shopped 'till I dropped into the lap of a school that wanted me more.

My brother had a similar experience in Canada. He was promised a 6 month review. It was reluctantly granted after 8 months, and he was found exceptional in all categories. So they offered him a raise of $0.75 per hour. Someone else was offering him an increase of $5.00 an hour. Guess what happened...

Don't sell yourself short in an FE's market. If the market were to swing the other way, few if any employers would think of rewarding loyalty.

Chris_Crossley · Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2004 12:18 pm Post subject: Getting more money

I actually managed to negotiate a higher salary than what was being advertised even though I had never taught so much as a single lesson in the school where I am now. The original ad on the net said that teachers with a bachelor's degree could get a certain amount before tax, but I managed to get a higher amount with NO tax to pay by virtue of the fact that I already had a master's degree plus two years' teaching experience in the same city. Now, the school's updated ad actually quotes the amount I negotiated for holders of graduate degrees!

As for what one might get when one renews the contract, a colleague, who is now in his second year at the school, told me that he got an increase equivalent to very nearly what some of the Chinese teachers get in total salary per month. I imagine that I should be offered the same kind of increase if and when I renew my contract next Spring Festival. Having said that, though, I still intend to shop around for the best deal before deciding where to go next.

They say that one can get a much higher salary if one goes to an International School and has the recognised teaching qualifications like a BEd degree and government-awarded qualified teacher status (which I have), so I intend to find that out within time.