Job Discussion Forums

[parvati_overdrive]

sorry for so many posts today -

could someone give me the general trend of jobs in guangdong, yunnan, fujian? expected pay per hour on a 10-15 hour per wk class load in uni post. i hope to shoot for 100-150 -first time to china

*1.5 cumulative exp in tefl (korea, cambodia, thailand)
*ba in history from good us univ, awards, hons
*tefl certificate
*5 years technical trainer
*4 years sub. certificated from state of california
*can teach: lit, tech english, western civ

thats the basics...

i need to be in warm weather, i can deal with the heat no problem. its the cold i cant bear. i can live like an asian, travel for days by worst transport - but the cold just sucks for me (plus, i have to have more clothes [stuff!] ).

it seems that recruiters are not the way to go, or so says the board. it is also my personal sentiment BUT...so many sites are recruiters! im also interested in teaching at a university - so what seems available generally speaking? so, all you old china hands take a job from a recruiter lately?

im fearful of private schools/recruiters -such a bad scene in korea.

thanks

[writpetition]

There are many job opportunities in Guangdong and perhaps, some of the other places you've mentioned. However, things have changed in China over the past couple of years and about the only thing that's a must is a right profile (physical, I mean )
With your background you probably won't have too much difficulty landing a job. I suggest you travel to China around the end of Feb, get yourself a local mobile number and go into an application overdrive. Remember to add you're in China and list your mobile number.
Sending out applications via the internet may not work for you while you're still in some other part of the world. It hasn't for me despite my three-years' esl experience in China.
Please PM me if you need any info. I can help with that but not much more.
Best of luck!

[no_exit]

Hi there

I work in Yunnan (Kunming). Most people who work here will tell you a couple of things about the job situation.

First of all, the pay rate here isn't high. You can get lucky and find higher paying jobs at schools (100ish/hour), but the jobs are not usually stable, visa providing, contract jobs. They are part time jobs which come and go at the whims of the employer/market/students. For private lessons folks usually charge between 80-100 an hour. I have one abnormally high paying job which gives me 150 an hour. This is really really unusual for this city. I've never heard of another job here paying that much, but again, the job is teaching a private IELTS class. Who knows if the job will still be around in 3 months, or even 3 weeks. The thing is, there is no real lack of people looking for work here (plenty of transient backpackers), so the schools can find teachers willing to work for less, which drives down the overall pay rates.

As for universities, don't expect that much. When I taught at a uni here about a year ago, the highest paid teacher was still making just under 4k a month, with a master's degree. Salaries got a bit of a raise the following semester, but I still very much doubt anyone has cracked the 5k mark. Hours will be between 12-16 a week, all classroom hours. The school will provide things like housing, which can be an on-campus apartment, or, in some cases, they will provide a housing allowance (a couple of unis here refuse to do this because they don't want teachers living off campus at all). They'll give you a bit of an end of the contract bonus, but nothing huge.

Anyhow, Kunming is a good place to live, but the job market isn't at all comparable to a place like Guangzhou. People choose to work here because they like the city and the province, not because of the amazing work opportunities. The cost of living is also fairly cheap compared to other places, so it is easier to make a small salary stretch, but still quite hard to save money. If I were you, I'd come to China, visit the places you're thinking of, and then make a decision. Maybe you'll fall in love with this city, like so many do, and take any kind of job just to be able to stick around and make some cash while you're at it. Good luck with your job hunt in any case!

[parvati_overdrive]

hi thanks to you both -some good advice.

actually, the tefl is is progress. i had taken a 24 hour course in 1994. so i want to go back, refresh to gain my confidence back -korea was a crap scene.

but i digress...i think i actually might like yunnan better (food closer to thai/lao/khmer and i speak some thai/lao which ive heard might be of use [??]). ive read on the board many teachers like the place and it is a backpacker center for china (good or ill).

guangdong/hainan:warm, tropical (me likes), modern, well paid for china, tech corridor, close to hkg.

writpetition-ill pm you, im interested in the fact that youve found no work in the area -both of you point out best to have a look about. my concern is the high cost of digs in china. no reason why i should not be able to find a decent us3-4 guesthouse. im hearing scary stuff like 10-15-25 for low end 'foreigners hotels' (which are se asian 3-4 fleabags i presume!).

ill back off on the pay thing, i think youre both correct. ive a friend up in harbin, says i can get the money.

[Roger]

Guangdong was shooting too high a couple of years back, or a year ago, mainly because of the Sars crisis, I suppose. Now it is well saturated. It does have the most locations, though; cities along the Pearl River. Farther away is not recommended, except in Zhanjiang (not my cup of tea), Zhaoqing (nice, very nice) or Shantou. The Pearl River delta cities are, howevert, under a permanent pall of smog. Last year we hardly had any sunny days! Transport also is becoming a daily torture of ever longer trips.

Fujian is another good option; many people ignore it, but it has some nice landscapes, is less heavily industrialised, yet economically hyperactive too. However, it is a bit colder in winter, and winters are longer there than in Guangdong.
Last option: Hainan. I need not go into details, I suppose.
Guangxi to the north of Hainan and W of Guangdong is extremely idyllic, though I don't like its big cities - Nanning, Liuzhou, not even Guilin.
Yunnan: you said you want a hot climate - then you must write Yunnan off! Except in summer, it gets pretty chilly there!
Guizhou is another option, though, not too hot in summer due to its elevation, but overcast throughout the year due to its topography. I was astonished to find out that Guiyang is home to several expat teachers. Hardly anywhere else, though.

[parvati_overdrive]

Thanks for the insight Roger - duly noted. I was not aware that it was as cloudy as you say. hong kong can often be quite nice weather-wise.

I wont rule out Kunming and I've always thought by research on Internet that Fujian could be an option as well, looks like a cool place to live.

But im humbled in that China has so much pollution, industry and growing pains - not unlike the rest of Asia.

I'm just looking for a proper school, decent administrators and morning/afternoon hours.

thx again -m

[no_exit]

[Roger]

Since Xishuangbanna has been mentioned - yes, you can hopefully try JINGHONG, capital of this prefecture in the deep south of Yunnan and next to the Laotian border. Farther west is Burma. The whole area is relatively tribal land, with interesting architecture though on the food front I doubt you will recognise much you might be familiar with from Thailand.
As for JINGHONG, it is another box house Chinese "modern" town with a few afterthoughts paid to the local traditions (you will notice the odd gabled roof on top of official buildings), but on the whole it is very, very Han-Chinese, and Chinese is the only lingo officially known there. The savages, sorry, local natives, live in outlying villages.
It has an easy-going way of life, and it didn't get too cold last winter when I was there. The temperature was always above 22 degrees in the coldest season; I have no experience with it in summer, though. MIght get very soggy there though not as bad as Guangdong,I reckon.

There are a number of backpacker hangouts that swap books and offer great international food.

As for WORKING there, I had a contact number of someone and was reliably told the local university (or was it a college?) had 2 foreigners under contract; one was reputed to be Spanish.
I also heard - and I quite berlieve that - you will enjoy it for a while but you will quickly tire of the tiny city and its human fauna. They are nice but you will always bump into the same people. There are a lot of guesthouses and typical Chinese hotels that you will wish to avoid.
In Jinghong I noticed a lot of Burmese; they occupied an entire street and ran their precious stone stalls there. At first I was thrilled to come across Indian-looking "locals", but their constant asking me "where you from, Mister?" eventually began to tear on my nerves. They were not in the mood for chitchat though a few volunteered to say they were "political refugees".
Which shows how relaxed this part of China really is; imagine you can talk to North Korean refugees in Dandong!!! Unimaginable! And yes, the cops at the local PSB were really helpful and friendly!

[parvati_overdrive]

thanks again to no exit and roger for the insights.