Job Discussion Forums

[rivers]

Hi,

I have just been offered a teaching position at the above uni. Any info on it would be greatly appreciated. Is this a good uni to work for and how do they treat their teachers, I am being offered 4000 per month for 14hours/week (+ 1000 for own accomodation living expenses). I have a degree in commerce and a 120 hour tefl certificate but no previous experience. Is this a fair salary? any info is welcome....

The only negative aspect i have so far is that the uni is moving to lushan in march which is over an hour outside dalian so commuting might be a problem for me...

[M3tt]

Interesting, my boss said she heard they were moving a few unis out to LuShun. Right now it's just scuttlebutt as far as I know so I'm having a secretary check on it by calling around to the unis and her friends. Maybe it's an extension campus? Weird.
The students normally board at the school so maybe they're taking advantage of the cheaper land?

Anyway, 4000 for 14 hours sounds about right. 1000 for your own housing sounds a little low but can easily be done if you don't need a huge space. DUFL is a standard uni in that there are no horror stories coming out of there. The students are a bit more dedicated to real language study since it's not just another requirement as in other unis but is the base curriculum.

[tw]

DUFL is known as Dawai in Dalian. One of my friends in Dalian and my FAO contact here both graduated from there and they speak very good English.

In my opinion, the money is very good at almost 71.45 RMB an hour and my wife says you can probably find a pretty nice fully furnished apartment in Lvshun (旅顺) for 1000 RMB. Lushun is not a bad town at all, really. For one, you will be legally allowed to live there while other foreigners are forbidden to visit it because of the navy base there. Also, Lushun has this cherry orchard where you could enter for 50 RMB and eat all the cherries you want. The down side is that it is humid and you may have a problem in the summer. But it is a a pretty little seaside town.

By the way, there is a joke in Dalian about Dawai's female graduates. They all end up as working girls in hotels.

[M3tt]

Possibly not germane to your specific question, but I just got back from Dalian Software Park and got info on their expansion plans.

They're going to start on the new phase of the software complex near LuShun soon and a few of the Dalian universities are going to relocate there. It's not actually in LuShun but very close. This will be one of 6 complexes (complexi??) when everything is done.

So it looks like one section will be loaded with campuses (campi??)

[Malsol]

Dalian is definately HUMID!

Everything seems to be constantly wet. But that also goes for the available women so that ain't so bad. lol

[mondrian]

As one of the other writers has mentioned, several of the established educational institutes have moved or are in the process of moving part or all of the current Dalian city campuses to Lushun or the "Development Zone" (a nearby area).
One of these moves involves many of my last year's freshmen students.
The most animated discussion I had with them the entire second semester was about their future sophomore location (to Lushun). To a man/woman they all hated the prospect and for many reasons. The most important reason they gave me was the utter lack of campus and local facilities, compared with their current city location. As students they weren't even entitled to use the University buses to bring them back into the city. And anyway these didn't operate after 6 pm. The local buses are small, uncomfortable, erratic and expensive; and the journey takes about an hour into the city. To catch them back to Lushun or the Dev. Zone in the late evening is quite an "adventure".
Be aware, as one of the other writers has already mentioned, that Lushun is a military restricted area. This means you will be observed, and checked on at all times you are off campus. Do not expect to attend a local football match or go jogging around the beaches early in the morning without your credentials being checked, and if you can't speak Chinese, that checking is done at the local PSB Office (outing ruined!).
So, if you are a homebody and love on-campus life, you will pick up the standard wage for a FT in Dalian. And perhaps be happy?

[randyj]

In these situations where universities are enlarging or moving to new campuses, a big danger is the daily one-or-two-hour bus ride between teaching location and living quarters. Naturally a teacher would not be compensated for this transit time.