Job Discussion Forums

[Jess_Laoshi]

Hello all

I'm thinking of teaching in China after I graduate in December, and I have a few questions for you all. First off, let me tell you where I'm coming from with regards to moving to China. I lived in China for close to six months, between Feb-July of this year. I studied Chinese at Yunnan Normal University until my classes were cancelled due to SARS in April. From April-July I taught an English class at a private English (and Japanese) language school in Kunming. I didn't make much money, and the company wasn't the best, but I really enjoyed teaching English. While in China, I also met my current boyfriend, who is a Chinese national. He's finishing up a degree in English at a university in Kunming. I had planned on staying longer in China, but I decided I should finish my degree before taking any more time off, so I returned to Texas. I'm now starting my last semester, and I'm keen on returning to Kunming and getting a more long-term (1-2 years at least) gig teaching when I have my degree (A Bachelor of the Arts in Chinese and Asian Studies).

So first off, how realistic is it for me to expect to score a job in the city of my choice (Kunming)? When I lived there before, I got the impression that there certainly were jobs to be had (plenty of ex-pat teachers around), but I haven't turned up much on the net. I would consider living elsewhere, but since my boyfriend lives in Kunming, and I already have friends there (and even an apartment still rented!) I'd really like to live there, or close enough to visit on the weekends at least.

Second, with my qualifications, can I expect a reasonable offer? I don't posess a TEFL cert., but I will have a college diploma, I have taught in China before, I can speak decent Chinese, and overall I definitly don't feel like I'm underqualified to teach. I'd rather teach in a college, because (at least in Kunming) I found college students to be fairly motivated to learn. I'd love to teach more advanced students nearer to my boyfriend's level, but I know that might be asking too much to start off with. I'd rather not teach young children, as I feel I'm just more cut out for teaching older people. I've taught beginners in my classes, but I found more advanced students more fun, and I'd rather do that if at all possible.

Third, how do you think my school will feel about my relationship with a local? My previous employers were merely curious, but they were the type that didn't meddle much in general. They weren't providing me with housing or insurance or anything other than my 100 RMB an hour really. I've lived in the foreign student dorms at a Chinese University, and never really had problems with visitors, but I wonder how will it be different if I'm a teacher? Will my employers object to my boyfriend staying with me (keep in mind, he's Chinese.)? We lived together in Kunming for 4 months and I'd prefer to live with him again if possible (it was good practice for teaching for me, and good practice learning for him, aside from the other obvious benefits ).

One last thing -- since I graduate in December, I can't really start teaching until Spring term. Do you think its too early to start looking, and what are my chances of getting a good job mid-year?

Heh. I know that was long. Thanks for any and all replies. Just to reiterate, I'm serious about teaching English. I don't really care much about travelling, I've travelled a lot the past 6 months in China. While I'd like to see more, my primary goal is to live there again. I loved my life in China, loved the friends I made, the home that Kunming had become. I definitly wasn't ready to give it up, but that's life. Now I just need to get back!

Jess

[Jess_Laoshi]

Haha, your advice to hide my Chinese skills reminds me of when I first started seeing my boyfriend. He had no idea that my listening skills way outpaced my other skills and would talk about me in Chinese with his friends until I busted him by jumping into the conversation a few times. Luckily he never really said anything bad!

and yeah, I def. was teaching illegally. I wasn't on a student Visa per se, it was a visiting scholars visa (which is like a student visa, but different ... lasts longer for one), so I was allowed to "volunteer," which is what I was told to tell the police I was doing if they ever busted in. The school was pretty crafty and under the table. They tried to cheat me out of 200 RMB when I left, which is not much I know, but it annoyed the hell out of me that they tried. In the end I argued it out of them, but it was extremely tough (I made my Chinese friends proud though for sticking it to em ).

I'm not to keen on private schools, I'd rather go for a public uni (I'm eyeing a few in Kunming but don't really know how to approach it since they're not advertising for teachers). My boyfriend goes to a school I'd love to teach at, but if I ended up teaching him that would be too wierd, hehe. But in general a university should be within my reach?

Thanks for the reply!

[Roger]

Hello Jessy Laoshi,
I have just been to Kunming and had a number of deja vu experiences. Let me tell you I have been there half a dozen times spread over ten years. I know it is the preferred destination of many expats, but it would not be my cup of tea!

Why?
Walk down from the main railway station along Beijing Lu to the North station. How much has changed in the past ten years? If anything, for the worse. Go to the CUihu area - and all is spick and span. It is a lovely area, and many universities are concentrated there.
The Beijing Lu area used to be the backpackers' hanging-out area, but apart from the Kunhu Hotel, there isn't any place you can see any westerners any more.
Near the CUihu area there are dozens of nice and cosy cafes and even a youth hostel. English is not spoken widely, though - a far cry from the earlier heyday when Kunming was attracting thousands. But they do hold a crowded English COrner there, and any foreign national is a sensation.
That's auguring something unpleasant!
I once had an interview with the Dean of a local university. This interview lead to the second solicitation in my life of a bribe - the first one having been in a Congolese consulate when I wanted to get a visa for the country where my old man was born! The bribe suggested to me was a Calvin Klein gold pin or a bottle of MARTELL!
I was even so stupid as to oblige because the request was passed to me via a local friend of mine in whom I trusted - too much!
The job never materialised.
That was ten years ago, but it taught me a valuable lesson.
It is that in more retro places in China authorities spell their name with a capital 'A'. You never argue with them, and you never get what you need from them.
And, by the way, the PSB are in overall control of the place, that's very evident.
Some hotels refused me and my partner accommodation. Some did so because they did not know how to handle a western passport although they had bilingual registration forms that you only see at officially-approved tourist hotels (where foreigners are allowed to overnight). In one case, I was urged to write a Chinese name. The receptionist was upset when I refused, and she called the PSB to ask what to do. She told me if she made a mistake her establishment would be fined 500 RMB.
And another hotel turned us away because we had no marriage cert.
You must have been lucky with your boyfriend. In my experience spanning many years in China, the police take an extremely paranoid view of foreigners cohabiting with Chinese! In many places, they have become more tolerant, for instance in Lijiang, Dali and Zhongdian as well as in Guuyang.
But in Kunming, things seem to be frozen in post-Mao habits!

Anyway, I do not want to discourage you from trying to find a job with a college or university. Why don't you simply walk into their offices and request an interview?
That's what I did ten years earlier.
And, because so many westerners are doing this, they don't need to advertise.
And that's why they have the pick of those they love!

But I honestly wish you good luck!

[Jess_Laoshi]

Wow, I never really saw that side of Kunming. I knew some foreigners also living there, and no one seemed too troubled by the authorities (with a couple extremely notable exceptions!). I rented hotels in Kunming with my boyfriend without problems before we moved into our apartment, in Lijiang as well. Could it be that the city has changed somewhat and loosened up? It seems more and more foreigners come to Kunming. Westerners and Chinese seemed to pair up quite frequently, just in the usual way (Chinese girls with foreign guys) rather than our unusual coupling.

Anyhow, thanks for the advice. I'd given thought to the idea that my relationship with a local might cause trouble, but I hadn't really thought of it being more troublesome in Kunming than in other places. I'll probably persue a job there anyhow, just because I honestly loved living there, and I have so many ties there already. I have quite a few friends left in Kunming who can probably set me up with various waibans to get interviews, I just wasn't sure if it was done that way or not. Again, thanks for the honest feedback!

[arioch36]

First, you'll have no problem getting a job. Anywhere. But shacking up with the boyfriends can be a pain if you are living on campus, depending on the school. As Suni Sunaru said, just have your boyfriend or you walk directly to the school. I did this one year, and almost every school I stopped at offered me a job

I prefer teaching legit with a high school or university. If I get 3,000-4,500 12 hours, with all the benfits such a school provides...nice accomodations, washer/AC computer, internet, microwave, often DVD, no weekends, often no Fridays , this is a lot better deal then 9,000 working in a language school teaching 20-30 hours. (8 hours, 100/hr = 3,600 per month outside teaching = 7,500 for 20 hours, all accomodations provided)

Find a school that is willing to let you find your own apartment near the school. They can pay you an extra 500, but you are responsible for the furnishings. If your boyfriend already has a lot of stuff, this can be the way to go. I have no idea, but one school out of seven would let you do this, is my guess