Job Discussion Forums

[Indiana Jones]

Hola,

I'm looking at a promising job advert (here it is --> http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/index.cgi?read=10007 ). Qingdao is next to Beijing on my city preference list, for many reasons. However, I know nothing about the E900 Language Center, and their use of "franchise" scares me. Well, it could be a good thing (at least at McDonalds, you know what you're getting).

Has anyone worked there, or have stories to share? I'll be much appreciative.

Ta,

Rick
Melbourne, Australia
(p.s. I'm still trying to get to Japan, but if by August Japan is still a closed door then I'm off to China).

[jg]

E900 - that sounds like a friendly robot or a Mercedes Model number. Perhaps this school will pay you in gigabytes or megawatts.

Was that helpful? I am bored. Sorry.

[NateM]

I wasn't able to find any information about that school in particular, however, they probably named that franchise after English 900, and absolutely abysmal set of textbooks that were considered old and outdated when most of your students' parents were in school. I know because this is what I used last semester.

That said, I don't see what's so promising about their offer. 4,600 RMB for 22 hours a week doesn't seem like a whole heck of a lot, especially when you consider the fact that it looks like they don't even include airfare for a one-year contract, (5,000 RMB travel allowance is about half of what they usually offer for airfare reimbursement).

[Indiana Jones]

Thanks anyways, Nate. A little info is better than no info. I won't be applying for this job, but it's nice to have options.

So 4600 RMB for 22hrs/w is low? It's promising because it's my first time looking for such a job! Beggars can't be choosers, as they say.

One thing I've been meaning to ask on these boards is why are jobs in Beijing so rarely advertised? I'm guessing it's who-you-know in Beijing.

Thanks again.

[Roger]

They have advertised for years - whether that means they lose their teachers all the time, or whether that means they are successful.
But the conditions they offer are not top. I suppose they are just a training centre.

[NateM]

I would say you should expect around the following:
3500 (low)-5000 (decent) per month for 16 Teaching Hours (45 minutes each), per week. You'll probably want more if you go to Beijing, but in most places this will be survivable, if not ideal.
Round Trip Airfare for a 1 year contract.
Apartment
Internet
TV and VCD/DVD player or Satellite
There are a lot of jobs that offer less, or the same for a crapload more hours, but this is kind of standard for a decent university job. For 22 hours a week, you should be making 6000 or more. There are jobs that offer a lot more, but they aren't as easy to get, especially if you're not already in China and don't know people/can't visit beforehand.
If you're looking for Beijing jobs, www.ThatsBJ.com is a pretty good resource. They have a lot of decent jobs, but there's also a crapload of competition for them, and they go quickly.

Don't be surprised if you have to apply to a crapload of places before you get a good offer. It's difficult, sometimes. I think I ended up applying to 30 or 40 and still didn't get that great an offer. You're starting early, though, so that's an advantage for you. I bumped up my departure time by 6 months and didn't have as much time to look for stuff. Good luck to you.

[Indiana Jones]

Thanks Nate, what you said is a great help. Especially when it comes to applying -- it's definitely the more jobs you apply for, the better your chances of landing one.

Thanks again.

[bexely2000]

Hi there.

I taught at E900 one two seperate occasions, and would go back again. Its a small school itslef, but most of the teaching is done at the various Schools and Unis around Qingdao. Journey time is typically quite short. Mostly tyhe teaching is excellent to ok. Some is crappy and difficult, but find me a school where it isnt.

The accommodation is ok. Not the best in the world, but by far not the worst! It really close to the school, and its was more than fine by me, though some older teacher moaned.

As i m sure you know, EVERYTHING depends on the people that you re with. You can be in the greatest place in the world, but with a load of wankers, its crap. At my time at E900 i met fantastic people who i m still in contact with years later. So the odds seem good to me!

Qingdao is an awesome city. You ll be 30 seconds (literally) from a lovely beach and two fantastic bars (Jimmy's and the Soccer Ball). the food there is amazing, and cheap.

i loved my time there, though i do know people who didnt enjoy themselves.

i overwhelmingly advise that you go to E900. I imagine that the money is essentially the same as everywhere else.

Email me if you want. Good luck.

[sfarkas103]

I was in Qingdao, E900 Language Center, from November 2004 until February 2005. The staff is wonderful, Jeri, Mr. Sun, Helen, are all tops. They don't lie to you and they pay you on time. The house is located in Badaguan area, the nicest in Qingdao, being the old consulate area. In fact the home is the old Dutch consulate. Alas, you will have a small room, share bathroom with maybe as many as 4 others, toilets can't flush paper, so it tends to smell. Share washer, kitchen, shower, internet, TV room as well. The hours suck. Work 6 days a week, and you will have to travel up to an hour and a half one way for some jobs. No travel pay is ever seen. You pay a portion for electricity, gas, water, etc. No airfare reimbursement, etc. Small chance to get to know your students as you work at whatever school the get a contract with. You don't get the nice summer/winter breaks as in a university as they have contracts with business and they don't take that much time off. In short, they are the nicest people in China I've met, but the job and living conditions, unless they have changed in 4 months, sucked. Happy to tell you more if need be. You can do better. Trust me. Happy in Yantai with 16 hours a week, private fully furniched apartment, living on the sea. Maybe I am jaded, but think before you leap.

[zooey1901]

i have never been to e900, but i did contact them in my search for a job for next year. i have decided against it 1. because i saw nothing in the contract about airfare and 2. you'll be living with other people in a dorm-type setting. that's my situation this year and it's terrible. and here i have my own bathroom, when you'll have to share with e900. look a little more around qingdao. there are plenty of schools, and it is definitely a great city. if you like the ocean, definitely go there.

[Robbie]

Don't go to E900, they are basically a rip-off agency. The charge out rate for teachers was 250 RMB an hour, two years ago. Their hourly pay rate was 46 RMB, plus their wonderful (sic) accommodation. There is a very good chance of catching some kind of chest infection in the accom, so if you suffer from asthma, hay fever etc, definitely DO NOT GO THERE!!
Our dehumidifier extracted over 5 gallons of humidity from our bedroom overnight, which meant getting up 5 times to empty the container whilst avoiding the rotten plaster that was crumbling around us.
The only pleasant memory we have is Jimmies restaurant/bar and his variable quality pizzas.
The beach is beautiful in a local sort of way. The teaching is mostly in middle schools with class sizes of about 60 plus, so not much teaching gets done.
If you get to teach in E900's own premises, the stench from the toilets is enough to make you want to vomit, but the only place available to do such a thing is the toilet that caused the problem in the first place.
Oh, and yes, if you are black, coloured or Chinese looking, don't bother applying as they are tend towards racism in their recruitment practices.

[tw]

[feijiaxi]

Okay, I just finished a five-month contract with E900 that I chose not to renew, but I disagree with most of its detractors.

E900 is the perfect place for a short-term, first teaching experience abroad. The location is GORGEOUS. It's just between TWO seperate beaches, near a great homestyle restaurant, next door to the office where multiple bilingual people will help you in any way they can, and you will need help at simple things your first months. The pay and hours definitely aren't the best available, but they're not bad. If you're looking for the best pay available as a foreign teacher, you should be looking into Japan or South Korea, anyway. You'll be making more at E900 than a Chinese judge does.
The nice thing about the travel and the wildly changing scheudule is that you really get the breadth of teaching experience. Yes, E900 is raking in a mint on your hard work, and YES, the travel time, odd hours, and changes in scheudule with no warning (and no chance to say goodbye to students, or to know when and how often you'll be teaching them) is wearisome, but it's worth it. And while they're shipping you off to a bunch of different schools in split shifts you can make hundreds of connections for future jobs.
The location, the breadth of teaching experience, the helpful and friendly Chinese staff, and the (slightly shabby) house in a perfect location, with many colleagues from across the English speaking globe are all great reasons to work for a SHORT (3-4 month) contract with E900, then move on to more stable, profitable, or simply controlled-by-you things.
And they aren't racist. Give me a break. Perhaps the institutions they send their teachers out to are, but E900 is distinctly UN-racist in their hiring practices... many foreign teachers from English speaking Africa who were turned down for jobs all over Qingdao because of their nationality were my colleagues there.