Job Discussion Forums

[Ya-ta Boy]

I'm a first-time poster on this forum. I left Korea after 10 years intending to stay home, but unfortunately, my feet still itch.

I've applied for a job at Sheng Da College near Zhengzhou.

Does anyone have any experience at or knowledge about the school I should know about? Any horror stories?

How does Zhengzhou compare to other cities?

I saw some pictures of sophomores at the school. They look extremely young. How old are Chinese sophomores?

Mostly I'm looking for the kind of information about the school's reputation vis a vis foreign teachers.

Thanks for any information anyone might have.

[NateM]

Not sure if this is the same Sheng Da, but it might be a start:
http://p092.ezboard.com/fteachingenglishinchinafrm45.showMessage?topicID=17.topic

Also:
http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo/asia/sefer.cgi?display:1099493765-64324.txt
http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo/asia/sefer.cgi?display:1089095426-26228.txt
http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo/asia/sefer.cgi?display:1100335941-65644.txt
http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo/asia/sefer.cgi?display:1101044426-18463.txt
http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo/asia/sefer.cgi?display:1104665197-10940.txt
http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo/asia/sefer.cgi?display:1052559175-55982.txt
http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo/asia/sefer.cgi?display:1103439459-23747.txt

I hope that's enough info to give you a start on the school.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Thanks, NateM. It was a major help. (How people find these things, I'll never understand.)

Anyone else have a story to tell?

[NateM]

If you go to my site, www.ChinaSchoolReview.com, there's an index of reviews that people have submitted to my site, as well as a search tool provided by TESall.com that lets you search for school reviews from other sites. There's also a search function on this forum here.

(Beware, though, I'm trying to update my site right now and my crappy internet connection is giving me fits. It might be working a little better in an hour or so.)

[Spiderman Too]

In August last year I successfully applied to Sheng Da College. They offered me 4,000 RMB per month. I have a BA, TESOL + 8 years of TEFL experience. I asked them to increase their offer, which they did; to 4,200 RMB. Had they offered 5,000 RMB, I would be working there now.

From everything I have read and heard about Sheng Da I think it would be a good place to teach but I think the salary they offer is too low for experienced teachers.

[Kurochan]

I've had a friend who's taught there for about three years and really likes it. He's had no complaints, except for the low pay. The thing to remember is that it is in a VERY poor province -- a few minutes away from the school you can find people traveling by donkey cart. The school is like 40 minutes outside of Zhengzhou, in the boonies, although there is easy access to a minibus that goes into town. Zhengzhou isn't flashy or anything, but it's a livable city, and the other expats there seem like an unusually nice bunch. If you're looking for excitement, you'll be disappointed there, but if you're looking for a responsible school and nice students, from what I've heard, you'll be happy.

[amberrollins]

I teach at Shengda now. My husband and I have both been here for almost two years and plan on staying for another. I have no complaints, either. The money is perfectly fine for Henan, which is indeed one of the poorer provinces in China. We buy anything we want and still save about half of our salaries every month, if not more.

Zhengzhou is not anywhere near as cosmopolitan as Shanghai or Guangzhou and you will see donkey carts. But it has Western restaurants, stores where you can all the latest pirated DVDs, etc. Shengda itself is actually a bit outside of Zhengzhou.

The sophomores here are generally 19-20 years old.

Feel free to give me a buzz if you need to know anything. I wrote a review of Shengda for Nate's China School Review and also have one in Dave's in the Job Information Journal section.

No, I am not one of the recruiters.