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Holyrain
Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Posts: 8
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 Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 3:30 am Post subject: Discouraged by Beijing |
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I'm feeling pretty discouraged right now. I was teaching in China from September 2004-June05 in Wuhan, I'm a 4rth year 23 yr old University student, but no degree yet. I have a TESL certificate. Last time I came via an agent in Vancouver and it was pretty easy to get the job. I gave my transcripts, some english awards I got at school and the TESL certificate and the papers were there in a few weeks. When I was in Wuhan I was pounded with job offers and got my roomate a job out in Wuhan for a few months too. I did some part-time work to make extra $$ and it was good. Job was at a College, and I enjoyed teaching there.
Now I want to go work in Beijing for a half year contract starting in January. I posted my resume and pic up here and have gotten NO replys. I sent out to two recruiters and no success. One didn't get back to me and the other one said she will look. Whats going on? From being bombarded with offers I am now literally ready to beg for a job. Tommorrow I am going to scan the extra papers I have and start e-mailing every and any agent I can and see how it goes, and try and contact my old agent. Is Beijing simply a dry market or is it because I don't have a full degree yet? I am planning on distance ed next semester, I have about 1 year left. I would think this goes beyond the 2 year dip. Now this may frazzle some but I'm half Afghani, half Persian, Canuck born, so my skin isn't the beautiful pasty white and my name is mmmm exotic  , could it be that Beijing people are more picky about that?
What do you think it is based on your experiences? I am truly curious. |
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Keath
Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 129
Location: USA / CHINA / AUSTRALIA
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 4:20 am Post subject: |
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From my Experience -
Beijing jobs are coveted positions. Schools in Beijing usually hire from a pool of degree'd candidates many of which have master degree or higher.
Also, most schools in Beijing prefer 1 year contracts.
Good luck, |
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nolefan
Joined: 14 Jan 2004
Posts: 1458
Location: on the run
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 6:00 am Post subject: |
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check this website for current openings:
http://www.thatsbj.com |
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nolefan
Joined: 14 Jan 2004
Posts: 1458
Location: on the run
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:02 am Post subject: |
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| Keath wrote: |
Beijing jobs are coveted positions. Schools in Beijing usually hire from a pool of degree'd candidates many of which have master degree or higher.
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my experience is the exact opposite. Schools in Beijing don't bother advertising because of the abundance of local candidates. Their salaries are below par most of the time and no one would apply most of the time when offered a 4000RMB job in a city like Beijing for 25 periods a weeks.
Also, most of the universities there get their "supply" of FT from agreements with foreign universities. This allows them to dictate the terms better when it comes to "visiting" faculty members. |
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Keath
Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 129
Location: USA / CHINA / AUSTRALIA
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:07 pm Post subject: |
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| nolefan wrote: |
Also, most of the universities there get their "supply" of FT from agreements with foreign universities. This allows them to dictate the terms better when it comes to "visiting" faculty members. |
This is definately true.. But I am still trying to understand how your experience is the exact opposite? |
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nolefan
Joined: 14 Jan 2004
Posts: 1458
Location: on the run
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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| I was referring to the bit about the schools folks with master degrees or higher. |
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Roger
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 9138
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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Time to renew my old mantra: there simply aren't as many positions available as some would like to imagine.
China's TEFL job market is extremely volatile, and since we are not exactly wanted for our professional input but rather for added marketing value, we are taken on board when it seems helpful for the business, and we are not taken on board when we are perceived as mere cost factors.
SOme of us draw too good salaries, and that has helped push the numbers of vacancies down.
See what's going to happen after the Olympiad! The jobs will become fewer... |
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Holyrain
Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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Hmmm. I agree with the volatility but I don't think it has to do with a lack of demand, but more with a lack of long term sight/planning skills on the parts of most Chinese schools, and the inefficiencies they create. Case in point: I told my old College in Wuhan that if they needed teachers for next year, let me know and I could give them a hand. Being a bit of a capitalist I knew what agents were paid and told her I'd take half of that. She said, 'ok we'll see, if I need any I'll e-mail you'; it was a typical blow off type of response. Anyways I didn't think of it anymore until an old teaching colleague shoots me an e-mail in September saying that the College is desperate for foreign teachers. So I send the woman an e-mail and she says OK but we need people in the next week blah blah hurry hurry. I told her it wasn't reasonable to expect someone to just leave in 2 weeks for 10 months but I'd try. She sent me over a copy of the contract... it was just horrible compared to ours (45 rmb an hour overtime pay!!) and I told her to make some reasonable changes. Wouldn't do and now they are still stuck without teachers. Apparently they have hired a 16 yr old girl and her mother I have been told by a student. Another colleague who taught with me offered to go back again for a 1500 rmb increase in salary and they flat out refused. It just blows my mind how some places stay in business not because they are 'bad' or 'dishonest' but because they are incompetent.
Thanks for the weblink and info, appreciated. |
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7969
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong
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| Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:07 am Post subject: .... |
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| Quote: |
| but I don't think it has to do with a lack of demand, |
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| She sent me over a copy of the contract... it was just horrible compared to ours (45 rmb an hour overtime pay!!) and I told her to make some reasonable changes. Wouldn't do and now they are still stuck without teachers. |
| Quote: |
| Another colleague who taught with me offered to go back again for a 1500 rmb increase in salary and they flat out refused. |
contrary to your first quote, there does indeed seem to be a lack of demand. they didnt want to offer more, you declined, your former colleague had a request for a pay rise refused, therefore the school chose to do without the FT or they found someone else (woman and 16 year old daughter) to work for less money.
if indeed, we're only used for marketing value, which in many cases is probably true, then we are very easy to replace. or easy to do without if need be. |
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