Job Discussion Forums

[ryleeys]

Okay, first off, a bit about good ole Ryleeys.

I'm a 23 year old American currently looking for a job in Guangzhou/Guangdong. I have a degree in International Relations from the University of Maryland as well as a year of teaching experience at a hagwon in Korea. I've been actively looking for a job in China (I specifically want to go to Guangzhou because my best friend's family is lives there) for about a month now, here's what I've got:

With my degree and experience, I've been offered everything from 3,500 to 8,000 RMB per month with everything ranging from 12 to 20 hours of teaching per week. Also I've been offered to teach from younger than kindergarden to adults.

To say the least, it's been a wide variety.

The lowlights:

An institution by the name of Guangdong Industry Technical College offered 4,500 for 16 hours per week. Sounded okay (I'm not really coming to China for the money, I did Korea for that)... but I did some research. The only website I found mentioning this school was a dud, decent layout, but no working links and no information. So, I had my girlfriend in Guangzhou check out the school... the info she got was that it was a former high school that had moved up to college status. Fair enough I guess. But then I emailed the school and asked if they were in fact Guangdong Petroleum Technical College and they said that was them. Anyway, the whole situation set off red flags to me, just cause I'm skeptical like that. Then, after having received only the initial contact email and the email about their name, the said, "Welcome to the college, please sign a contract with us tomorrow!" Huh? Nope, not happening. I figure at best they are guilty of poor management (and in desperate need of hurrying) and at worst, trying to con me. So I've declined that... I recommend anyone who is contacted by them do some research before signing a contract.

Another school offered a very nice 8,000 per month for kindergarden (I like kids, so kindy isn't a problem). The problem was that it's for 25 hours a week of 30-40 kids per class with no co-teacher. That just sounds like a recipe for ryleeys goin' bonkers. So we're declining that one too.

The highlights:

The strongest offer so far has come from another kindergarden. 16 hours per week, 7,000 RMB per month. Furthermore, this school has done an excellent job of answering every question I've asked, including providing the email of a current foreign teacher there and pictures of the apartment. Very classy stuff for a school I think. The main issue here is that the work week is Monday-Saturday. I'm not too keen on that... I'm not going to China for the money, but for the experience... and if I'm working Saturday, for even just one or two hours, that means I can't travel anywhere on weekends or spend time out with friends on Friday night. Plus, teaching kindy is hard work sometimes and two days a week to recooperate is pretty reasonable I think. So, it's on the table, but I'm holding out a bit longer.

Another offer recently came in that is offering 8,000 per month. It's not actually a teaching job... the position is to sit in the lounge and just chat with all the employees and answer questions and such. Hours are 9-5 (I'm not at all opposed to a 9-5 job) with an hour for lunch... Monday - Friday. I requested more information from this job, but it has a drawback immediately too. It's in a town right across the border from Hong Kong, which is two hours from my girl's home in Guangzhou So that's a consideration...


Anyway, if anyone actually read all that, it's where I stand. I've gotten a bunch of offers in between the lows and the highs as well. I'm not rushing into anything and now that I've gotten registered on this forum, I'll try to ask (or answer) questions about this job search process. I'll post emails of contacts later for jobs that may not be right for me, but may be right for others.

Anyway, hope to get to know some of the people around...

Have a good one,

Ryleeys

[burnsie]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with the job search.

There should be plenty of jobs coming up around now for the new year so just take your time and look for the right one. You will always get positive and negatives about a certain job so come here with your eyes open and know that things will change along the way. You are obviously doing your research that will help alot for the final decision.

I ended out going to a school which had alot of bad comments but generally I knew what I was getting into from the start. I have found them to be quite responsive but there have been times that decisions are made with no thought at all.

Whatever you do - be patient. The one thing I have learnt is that you need to be top negotiator when coming to China. If you are not one then you will be one by the time you leave!

[parvati_overdrive]

is this for spring semester or asap?? sorry.

welcome, nice post. take what sits best with you - my only advice.


i went to school in washington and have family in md. pm me if you like. cheersa and good luck.

[Roger]

YOu look like a guy that's way too choosey. Sorry, but I have to say you need to take the plunge and accept a job that comes with warts.
There is nothing wrong - to my knowledge - with that first "college' you mentioned in Guangzhou. It has been known for a while. That schools pass themselves off under different names - don't take that as an attempt at being dodgy. IT's how they tanslate their Chinese names that gets in the way of communications with the anglophone world. Every university I have been to is often known as a "college". schools may call themselves officially as "polytechnics", then they may resort to using the moniker "Univrsity of technology". What's the deal? Zero.

As for kindergartens, you need to enquire about the number of periods you are supposed to teach, and you must know that a period at a kindy is 30 minutes at the most. THus, if they say "25 hours" it is imprecise.
I personally found kindy work the most fascinating and would enthusiastically do it again. Jobs pay around 8000 for 20 hours a week, but those 20 hours are 40 periods. No prlbem. yes, I don't like Saturday work either - but this is often part of the deal. Co-worker? You will need an assistant to maintain discipline, but you won't need a co-tacher. Normally, a kindy has groups of up to 25 kids; each of these groups is under the leadership of an adult person 9don't know how to call them here, but they ain't techers!). You wander from group to group and do your gig. Don't use CHinese! Don't ask anyone to translate! Be imaginative, enthusiastic, playful and mobile.

What's wrong with a job in Shenzhen? You might have touble seeing your girlfriend in Guangzhou within under 2 hours on the road! Traffic chaos is so bad during rush hours you get stuck for half an hour on the same spot sometimes. There is a network of underground railways, but they don't run near every school...

[ryleeys]

I'm kinda of looking for ASAP, cause I'd like to be in China for New Years... but realistically, I'm teaching here in the States, so I'm not in any hurry to get crackin' on a job. I've got plenty of time to sort things out.

Yeah, I'm being pretty choosey... I figure I paid my dues leaving it up to the hands of fate and recruiters when I went to Korea. Now I'll be a bit more selective.

[anthyp]

Drunken Rambling Post #3:

Perhaps I should stay out of the Jobs - related Forum in my current state, but I'll venture a response here anyway.

I too feel you are being a bit picky. That first job you listed as a "lowlight" doesn't sound sketchy at all. I still have no idea what to call my own school, it's been referred to as a "college," "polytechnic," or "science academy" all in one breath. As Roger pointed out, the translations can be a little tricky.

What matters most is the details in the contract, really. It's true that some schools will try and cheat you, but I don't think it happens with really reputable institutions. So you can investigate a school before taking a job with them, and if there are no negative reports on websites such as this, well that's not a bad thing. Public schools are less likely to cheat you.

You say that you are being choosy now, but I wonder ... a year of experience in Korea should prepare you mentally for the experience of living here, but it's not much. With just a BA, and restricted as you are in your search to Guangzhou (AKA "Worst City in China"), I think you will have to settle eventually. There are a billion foreigners in China now, many of them have good credentials, and many don't. The point is very few of us are afforded the luxury of selecting from the really attractive positions.

Anyway good luck and keep up posted. Remember you can always ask about schools here, so with a little luck and research you should be able to find a satisfactory position!

[kev7161]

Wow, 8,000 per month to just sit around and chat (read: answer questions)? That sounds like a pretty cool job to me. Weekends and evenings free - - do they provide housing and all the standard contract extras? Where do I sign up?

[ryleeys]

Maybe I am being too picky... oh well.

For anyone that is not made uncomfortable by the situation I described, feel free to contact the people hiring for Guangdong Industry Technical College at [email protected]


And yeah, I've heard that alot of people don't like Guangzhou. Actually, to me it's a bit more comfortable than the city I was in during my time in Korea. The town I was in, Koreans described as a small farming town... of 150,000. But to me (I grew up in a town of a few hundred), this town was huge. So how can I handle Guangzhou? Well, when I visited there, it seemed as though I didn't have to deal with the entire city at the same time. I could deal with small neighborhoods... whereas in Icheon, you had to deal with the entire city (if any of that makes sense). Plus, the first 3 months I was in Icheon, I didn't speak to anyone really. I didn't know any foreigners and didn't speak any Korean at the time. At least in Guangzhou I already have an extended network of friends and such. Plus, (one of the reasons I don't want to work on Saturdays) I think Guangzhou can be a good springboard to doing some weekend trips to some really interesting places in Southern China. So, I'll take my chances there...

I guess if I had to lay out what I'm looking for:

20 hours or less per week
6,000 or more per month
Monday-Friday work week
Apartment (with at least two rooms... my place in Korea was a 10x10 foot concrete box... no windows even), visa arranged, some form of airfare reimbursement
In Guangzhou or close enough I can pop in for dinner without too much trouble
I'm not overly picky about what age to teach. I've taught everywhere from kindergarden to college in both Korea and the States
And most importantly, I guess I just want to have a good feeling about the contacts. I'd take that one kindergarden job if they didn't have Saturdays for work, since they have answered every question in a friendly manner and provided pictures of the apartment and people to contact and such. Seems classy.


Hahaha... just tryin' to be happy!

[NateM]

Just so you know, http://tefl.cc is the website of the infamous Alin Buuer. Keep your guards up.

http://p092.ezboard.com/fteachingenglishinchinafrm50.showMessage?topicID=7.topic

[ryleeys]

Still looking... and looking... and looking.


How's everyone else doing?

[ResiWorld]

Hurry! Hurry! You're gonna miss New Years! See ya in Hong Kong!

[amandabarrick]

Is it a total waste of time to be looking for a job during the Chinese New Year???? Does anyone work in China during the entire month of February?? Everyone I contact via email tells me they will reply me after the Spring festival. Some even tell me they will not be accepting applications for Fall semester until APRIL...
AB

[gmat]

Rylees:

Do as most suggest in Korea. Come to China and then find your job. Guangzhou is the pits I hear but there should be lots of work there. It is a huge city.

[ryleeys]

Doesn't going to Guangzhou first and then getting a job make for visa issues?

I know in Korea, you can do that and the school will pay for a visa run to Japan... but what would they do in China? The max airfare reimbursement I've seen won't hardly cover one way from my hometown, much less a visa run...

[ryleeys]

Update:

Okay, after looking for quite some time, I've finally decided to accept an offer. I'll be working with a company called Cheiron Academia. It's part-time teachin, part-time curriculum design. They called and interviewed and also have alot of nice things in place to check and make sure I'm a good teacher. This in turn implies to me that they're good to work for (aside from the nice conversations), since they're showing some caution in the process. I got scared by schools that took, "Hi, my name is Ryan." as enough information to offer a contract.

So, we're working out the details and I should be arriving in Guangzhou within a few weeks and am lookin' forward to it.