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Maple Leaf
Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 2
Location: Montreal, Canada
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 Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 10:59 pm Post subject: Job Availability In China |
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Hi, I am in my first year at Mcgill University in Montreal, Canada and I am majoring in East Asian Studies (concentration in China  ) and I am planning on taking a year off starting this summer teach EFL in China. I'll have a TEFL certificate, High School Education, and 1 year of University including courses based in Chinese culture, but obviously no degree. Do you think that I will have a problem finding a decent job anywhere in Eastern/Southern China? I am also taking Mandarin 5 days a week, will this beginner knowledge of the language help at all to get a job?
PS. I am SERIOUSLY interested in this, not some backpacking party animal, I want to get into teaching as well.  |
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Roger
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 9138
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 12:44 am Post subject: |
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wait and see,
drink some tea,
summer is next year, and by then, another SARS epidemic is scheduled to have happened.
Try to find a job in 7 months from now! |
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Wolf
Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 1245
Location: Middle Earth
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 2:00 am Post subject: |
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| Some unis will need to hire mid-year replacements, I'm sure. "New Year" for Chinese universities will be Febuary or so, and some positions might be avialable by then. |
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Maple Leaf
Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 2
Location: Montreal, Canada
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 2:37 am Post subject: |
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| Thats good to know. I guess more specifically though, in your opinions, will my not yet having a degree, and only holding the TEFL certificate plus High School, hold me back from getting a job? |
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joe
Mod Team
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Posts: 50
Location: Elsewhere
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 3:19 am Post subject: |
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| You could just lie and say you have a degree, it makes things easier, and nobody seems to care. They might not even ask you. |
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shenyanggerry
Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Posts: 619
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 3:56 am Post subject: |
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| I had to email my degree and TESL Certificate to China and then present them at the embassy to get my Z visa. |
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enigma
Joined: 22 May 2003
Posts: 68
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 4:44 am Post subject: |
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| I doubt you'll have a problem. There are several foreign teachers here at my school who are no more qualified than you are. You won't have a lot of sway for negotiating salary, but if it's the experience you're after, I think you can get it. |
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Roger
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 9138
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 11:57 am Post subject: |
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| As a matter of fact, the kind of lessons we are made to perform don't really require any education. Anybody can talk, and if that's your job description tertiary education is an over-qualification. In other words - you are in for some boring jobs here, and impossible demands, yet many hirers want to check on your credentials, especially if you are applying from outside of China. YOu will have to upload your picture and copies of your degree, references and so on - AND YOUR STUFF WILL BE READ BY AN AGENT! |
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struelle
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 2372
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2003 2:49 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
wait and see,
drink some tea,
summer is next year, and by then, another SARS epidemic is scheduled to have happened.
Try to find a job in 7 months from now! |
It's doubtful that the government would hide any new epidemics, as they now have activated an extensive monitoring system. All the counts at '0' right now 
Last year the SARS epidemic was a problem, but a bigger problem was SARS-phobia, i.e. the nerves and jitterness surrounding the disease. This anxiety had huge repercussions, far more than SARS itself. Already, I can feel the jitterness and high tension in the air again as the cold fronts blow in from Siberia.
Needless to say, SARS-phobia has negative consequences on the job front, from English schools that don't get enough customers, employers who are reluctant to hire, office politics that become escalated with the anxiety, and more.
Steve |
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Dalian Veteran
Joined: 30 Oct 2003
Posts: 219
Location: U.S.A., formerly in Dalian, China
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| Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2003 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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It's doubtful that the government would hide any new epidemics, as they now have activated an extensive monitoring system. All the counts at '0' right now
Last year the SARS epidemic was a problem, but a bigger problem was SARS-phobia, i.e. the nerves and jitterness surrounding the disease. This anxiety had huge repercussions, far more than SARS itself. |
Good point. I'm probably veering away from the topic here, but the SARS crisis exposed the undoings of Jiang Zemin's clique and elevated the political status of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao. Hu and Wen are going out of their way to set a good example for the bureaucracy at all levels, and they will not let a new epidemic be handled in the way that it was. Provided that Jiang still has enormous influence from behind the curtain, Hu and Wen have really risen in popularity among the Party and masses. And since the crisis, the media in China has really changed in the way it conducts its reporting. If you compare the media today and the media a year ago, there is a significant difference.
But anyway, my advice to the original poster, I would wait until you are either later on in your university studies or already have the BA before teaching in China. The reason? Many parents and teenage/adult students have negative perceptions of "unqualified" young teachers. For me, it was difficult, because although I went to China in my mid/late-20s with a B.A. degree in hand, my "baby face" made some people think they were getting screwed with another 19-year-old kid who can't teach. If during my last year in China, students wouldn't believe me when I told them I was 28 years old, because I look younger than I look. Traditionally, in the field of education, many Chinese parents and students like "mid-career professionals" in their late 20s or 30s (even though must people in this category have too many debts and bills to pay in their home country to accept a teaching job in China). However, the reality is that most ESL teachers in China are either fresh out of college or old retirees.
However, if you teach children, especially like in a kindergarten, your age will probably be no problem. |
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cherubim2003
Joined: 23 Oct 2003
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 10:19 am Post subject: you can have a job |
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| I attended a summer camp last August and one of the teachers there was a Canadian, too. He was 20 yrs old and a high school grad, no TEFL, no college experience even but has been teaching here for 2 years already. So, I guess, you can find a job somewhere (or anywhere) in China. Some (or most) schools don't need your credentials as long as you are WHITE and a native speaker. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2003 9:20 am Post subject: |
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| We have 6 foreign Teachers here and EVERYONE is leaving on the 30th June. I am the only one so far who is coming back in September. So, there must be a lot of other Schools where the teachers are all disappearing in the middle of the year. I think, from what I have seen, that there is a constant demand for "teachers" in China and as long as you look right, you should have no problems finding work. |
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Minhang Oz
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 610
Location: Shanghai,ex Guilin
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| Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2003 10:24 am Post subject: |
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".....wouldn't believe me when I told them I was 28 years old, because I look younger than I look."
How is this possible, DV? Please tell me where I can buy this drug.
Maple Leaf, Summer camp would give you a reasonable taste, without letting the fucking swine rip you off too much. Then, after you graduate, come back and look for a real job.
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Super Mario
Joined: 27 May 2005
Posts: 1022
Location: Australia, previously China
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| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 12:54 am Post subject: |
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| joe wrote: |
| You could just lie and say you have a degree, it makes things easier, and nobody seems to care. They might not even ask you. |
joe from "The Mod Team"? Inspirational! |
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pc-pocket
Joined: 05 Nov 2005
Posts: 218
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| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 2:04 am Post subject: |
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| joe wrote: |
| You could just lie and say you have a degree, it makes things easier, and nobody seems to care. They might not even ask you. |
Is this is out off line or what ???
Ho~~~well, this is Dave�s after all... |
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