Job Discussion Forums

[MollyBetty]

hey there.
i'm currently in Kunming and looking to settle down here for a couple months. i'd like to find a teaching job, but don't know where to start looking. i'm pretty easy-going as far as pay - just want to make enough to cover my costs of living.
does anyone know of any good schools i can contact for work? where should i be looking? any advice is greatly appreciated.
cheers.

[Volodiya]

I live in Kunming, but I can't really recommend anything.

If you go to the French Cafe, you will find some handwritten notes asking for English teachers. Some will be looking for one-on-one instruction- usually for "free", in exchange for help with your Chinese- but, occasionally, someone will be offering something like 20 RMB/hour. (There are sometimes expats seeking help for their Chinese girlfriends. I've seen these offering around 30 RMB/hour but asking for experience and other qualifications.)

At the French Cafe, you may also see something handwritten regarding teaching in a language school, and a contact number. They seem to be offering around 80 RMB/hour, but I've never known anyone who worked for them. I also doubt that anyone will be willing to hire you if they know your time commitment is so limited- and you will be in competition with a number of other people who are trying to "hang out" in Kunming for a couple of months, teaching English.

There is an EF in town but I don't think it's doing all that well. One person I know who worked there (university degree, experienced teacher, CELTA) was relegated to teaching kids who, as he joked, climbed him "like a tree". They had nothing else to offer him and he gave it up after a few months.

Kunming is a nice city but of serious teaching jobs- aside from the universities and international schools- there's not a lot, unless you yourself generate it. (Serious privates typically pay around 100 RMB/hour, if you can find them.)

I think this is a fair assessment. I don't know what no_exit will have to say about it, though.
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[As an aside, for those of you who have university degrees there are quite a number of universities in Kunming. They will need teachers for the fall. I don't know at what stage the hiring process is, now. When I looked at the ads a few weeks ago, there were several that were advertising multiple openings. More recently, they seem to have closed the process. I don't know if that means they think they've filled the positions, or what.]

[rickinbeijing]

Kunming is nice but vastly overrated in all respects.

However, if you want a brief sojourn, don't expect a good job as a minimum semester contract is usually required.

Best bet is Robert's School of Languages. Pays 5000 RMB a month with good working conditions and materials. Private, small classes. Owner is a Brit, I believe, married to a local woman. Good reports of them all around.

The colleges pay a pittance there, less than elsewhere, and usually require a one year committment.

Good luck.

[Volodiya]

As must have been obvious, I didn't limit my response to the OP's situation, qualifications, etc., but decided to try to offer up information that would be of general interest to the readers of the China Forum- regarding jobs in Kunming. It looks as though Rickinbeijing may have taken the same approach with his information about Robert's Language School. (Rick, you got any contact information that you could post for readers of this forum?)

I can't ever remember those of us in Kunming trying to give a comprehensive answer regarding jobs, here. Usually we just slam the job situation and move on. (Keeps the competition down, you see! )
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To clarify the situation, if I can, regarding pay at the universities in Kunming, since neither I, nor Rickinbeijing, gave a figure- 3,500 RMB/month, plus accomodation, is typical. (Ads I've seen confirm this, though a few pay as little as 2,500 and accomodations.) The first figure works out to around 70 RMB/class-hour, I suppose. Since the universities offer steady work, with paid holidays and accomodations, that's the way to go, if you can get on board.

I don't have the exact number, but there are actually quite a number of institutions of higher learning here, many of which have departments which employee foreign teachers. Perhaps a dozen or so employ FTs to teach English. Some employ FTs for other subjects, as well.

There are also a number of IELTS examiners who choose to be based here, conducting testing in Kunming and other cities, on weekends.

[no_exit]

If you're only going to be here a couple of months, your best bet is to pick up private students. Schools won't want to hire someone who is only going to be here for such a short time.

Robert's is a good school. I worked for them for one semester. Unfortunately, I am awful at teaching small children, and couldn't stick with it. They do treat their teachers well, and offer one of the best pay packages in the city, but they require a large time commitment in return. Teachers are contracted to work 18 classroom hours, and on top of that their are mandatory office hours, as well as weekly meetings and seminars. The seminars especially are kind of a pointless waste of time. However, they'll process visas, pay you on time, and pay you relatively well. They generally care a lot about the quality of their teachers and the reputation of their school, which is a good one. I believe the e-mail is [email protected]. They have a website too, I don't remember the address, you can probably just google it.

I work at a middle school, and there seems to be a growing trend here for middle school FTs. Mine pays me a decent salary, 70RMB per each 40 minute class. As Volodiya says, there are a ton of universities here in Kunming, and almost all of them have several foreign teachers. The pay is low, but the jobs are good and stable, and I think a nice place for new teachers to start. My first job in China was at Yunnan Normal University, and it was a good place to get my feet wet, although I don't think I would really want to teach at a university here again (the pay is just too low for me to live comfortably).

The questions about Yunnan and Kunming come up soooo often. We should think about compiling a comprehensive thread just for reference. Those of us living in km always end up answering the same questions (whether posted or PM'd) over and over again.