Job Discussion Forums

[elbelz]

A school just offered me a position teaching English at a University in Nanjing. The school looks very legit and it was arranged through Angela's Esl search. I really want to teach in Nanjing because I really love the city.

However, I don't want to accept the contract on the terms they have offered me:

They offered $600US in round-trip airfare. Isn't round-trip airfare standard? $600US is about $300 short of my ticket's cost.

The stated teaching load is light ("You will teach 16 periods per week,and one period lasts for 45 minutes.")Although the ad stated the salary was 4000 RMB, they said in an email that they would only give me 3000RMB but when I said I wanted more they said that it is "negotiable."

The other benefits are medical insurance, an apartment, compensation for gas/water.

They invited me to check out the school, apartment (I'm already in China), and figure out the terms of the contract.

I have a B.A. from a top-tier university in America, no TESOL/TEFL certification, and no teaching experience. What do you think I ought to expect in terms of salary and how should I bargain for more?

[Super Mario]

3000 gives you a fair amount of upward bargaining to do. You'd score that in a rural Hunan middle school. Angela's ESL obviously intends to cream off 1000 per month!. OK, uni salries and hours are quite low. 16 hours is about tops. 4.5-6 is what you should go for. 3 is criminal.
Try talking direct to the [or any] school. Give recruiters the bum's rush.
As for coming from a "top tier" US Uni: useful there, but in China, it counts for nothing.

[no_exit]

If they're offering 3000 your chances of getting 6000 out of them are probably low. However, the school is in Nanjing, it isn't the countryside, or a poverty stricken province. 3000 would be on the low side even out here in Yunnan, so definitely push for at least 4500.

Like Super Mario said, they don't have any concept of what a top rate university in the States is. Your lack of teaching experience is probably what is pushing your salary down a bit. In a year's time you'll have more to bargain with.

[HunanForeignGuy]

Nanjing is the ONE area of China that for whatever reason actually has an oversupply of foreign teachers. Additionally, there are numerous "volunteer" programs in Nanjing that send foreign teachers to Nanjing for a pitance.

It is a known fact that wages for FTs in Nanjing are on the low side. Nonetheless, RMB 3000 is completely out-or-order. The going rate in Nanjing at government schools is RMB 4000 for newbies and those with no experience. Good luck in trying to push it higher.

As for Angela's, they have always done well by me, and by all of my friends that I have sent them. If anyone needs a personal contact at Angela's, just PM me. They are the biggest in China for reasons that I will explain in a PM.

And no, they are not skimming RMB 1,000 off the top every month. They are NOT that kind of an agency. They have been around a long, long time and with good reason. It has more to do with the salary situation in Nanjing and the OP's lack of China experience.

[no_exit]

That would put Nanjing in the same boat as Kunming, basically. We've got waaaay too many FTs here, and more arriving every day, from students looking for part time work, backpackers who decided KM was chill and decided to stay, to missionaries looking for an excuse to get a visa, there are plenty of people ready to take work here, no matter how low paying it may be. 4000/4500 is pretty standard and there ARE jobs paying less, as well as people taking them ...

I gotta say I get a bit annoyed by all the posts that seem to imply that 6000RMB a month should be a standard salary, regardless of experience or location. There are plenty of schools out there paying way less than that and it is misleading to insinuate to newbies that they are getting ripped off if the salary doesn't meet a standard that might be impossible given the circumstances.

(not directed at you in particular Super Mario, just in general).

[adamsmith]

I was offered a position in Nanjing back in January. With a masters and 5 years experience in Asia teaching plus experience back home all they wanted to offer me was 3500 - they would not even negotiate higher. Needless to say I decided I would only visit nanjing - no need to work there. Actually found in my research that this seems to be a standard in this city. As someone else said - I also believe there must be a glut of foreign teachers wanting to go there and work. As in basic economics if supply exceeds demand the price (price in this case being wage) will go down. I myself know I am worth much more so I took a job elsewhere.

[frank d]

Basically � with the exception of the discussion regarding Angela�s ESL agency (I am not familiar with them) � I agree with everything the previous posters have been saying about Nanjing. I have been living and teaching in Nanjing since 2003. I have always worked for training schools, or other types of for-profit English language service companies.

I�ve always wanted to teach for a university in Nanjing. This summer, I was conducting a new job search and a round of interviews, with a few universities included. There were two universities I was particularly interested in working with, mostly due to their location. The job ad for one of the universities stated �4000-5000RMB, depending on experience.�

I have two masters degrees, several years teaching experience in America prior to China, and of course now, three years teaching experience in China (mostly Nanjing). I also have lots of letters of recommendation from former students in Nanjing. During the interview at one of the universities, there was the usual �You�re the kind of teacher we want: experienced and dedicated to his students,� etc.

The Head of the English department and another faculty member and I enjoyed a friendly and productive discussion for almost two hours. I also said that I could offer some special courses and topics (based on the subject areas of my masters� degrees) above and beyond standard English teaching. I did this for three reasons: 1) as a genuine benefit to the students; 2) as a way to enhance the rather dull English curriculum; and 3) as a way to possibly raise the salary above the 5000RMB level. I told them not to make a salary offer that day, but to ponder my suggestions and contact me a few days later with an offer.

Two days later, I receive a message offering me 3600RMB! When I expressed my great surprise that I wasn�t even being offered the low end of the salary scale of 4000RMB, they came back with a new offer: 3800RMB. Forget it! I also asked them if someone with my educational background and years of experience (in America and China) can only receive a salary offer of 3800RMB. Then what kind of teacher �qualifies� to receive the �High-End� salary of 5000RMB??? They never replied.

Training school salaries in Nanjing are plummeting as well. When I first arrived here in 2003, a training center would automatically offer the foreign teacher (with little or no negotiation) 8000RMB per month, plus 1000-1500 monthly housing allowance (to teachers with or without previous experience). Today, most training schools will offer 6000-6500RMB to folks with or without experience.

Indeed, there is obviously a glut of FTs in Nanjing. I wish, for the universities especially, that FTs (experienced or not) would refuse (and walk away from) any salary less than 4500RMB (the standard university salary in 2003). If people keep accepting such laughable wages to live and work in a city like Nanjing, the trend will only continue� Universities need to feel the pinch when its time to begin a new semester and they find themselves without a foreign teacher.