Job Discussion Forums

[TingBuDong]

My advice for those thinking of coming to China for a cultural experience and not to make money: be adventurous, and consider some more out-of-the-way places with fewer foreigners. There are better places to make money; this is a country where the poverty line is set at around $81 US per year, and more than half the population in some villages in my province live below that. I�ve been working for 3 months now at Hexi University in Zhangye, in Gansu province in the northwest. This is my first job teaching English (and first real job out of college), and I�m enjoying it very much.

I came through a small group called OWDC, who I would definitely recommend. They are a very honest New Zealand family who check out schools and place people in China. They charge the school a fee and I haven�t given them any money, and Su has been very straightforward and helpful, including giving me a lot of helpful resources. I think many would laugh at my salary: 3000 RMB per month, and most but not all of my return airfare covered for a year�s contract. A trainer on my TEFL course scoffed at the offer, and said he wouldn�t work in China for less than 12,000. However, considering I eat out twice a day (haven�t cooked once), don�t watch my money and still save two-thirds of my salary for traveling, and that my best Chinese friend is a primary school teaching who gets exactly one-third of my salary (and unlike me has a teaching degree) for working many more hours, I feel over-paid if anything. The university actually takes students out of class to clean the campus so they don�t have to hire someone to do it. My apartment, for which I pay no expenses, is nicer than I could afford in America: two bedrooms, dining room, kitchen, veranda, living room w/tv and dvd, a computer room w/internet, etc.

Especially if you make the effort to learn the language, people are extremely welcoming and generous to the foreigners here. There are 12 foreign teachers in the city, which has a population of perhaps 200,000, so we are a novelty. I�ve already attended a funeral, taken second place with a friend in a large music competition, made Chinese friends and generally been more involved in Chinese life than I would in a large city. The teaching is good, and the first job I�ve enjoyed. Lesson planning and office hours included I put in no more than 20 hours a week, and the better classes are truly enthusiastic and enjoyable to be around, though some classes can be frustratingly quiet. Zhangye is a small but charming city, walkable and certainly bikeable with some really old buildings, good walking streets and town square, and plenty of good restaurants.

Obviously, there are drawbacks to being so remote: limited number of native speakers to talk to, lack of dating options (dating = precursor to marriage here, and the two foreign females are twice my age), long distances when traveling, and lack of access to things like decent music CDs, movie theaters, or Western food (haven�t really missed it actually). And you should be aware of the most common frustrations of life in China before coming (difficulty of being informed, last-minute changes, poor quality of generally most products, getting asked the exact same set of questions when people talk to you) and be able to find humor in them. But I would do exactly the same thing if given the choice over again. After reading too many negative posts on this website I almost had second-thoughts about coming, so I wanted to put in a good word for China. The people really enjoying themselves usually aren�t the ones spending the most time on internet message boards, and most of the people I�ve met in person have enjoyed China and are staying longer than expected (14 years in one case). Finally, for those interested in this area of China I do keep a weblog here: http://danteachesenglish.blogspot.com and pictures here: http://photos.yahoo.com/dajo999.

[Super Mario]

Maybe this would be better placed on the Newbies Forum, with a caveat.
3,000 a month?

[dajiang]

Good post and great attitude!

I'd love to see Gansu man. Actually I'll be there next Juli bringing a tourgroup along to Xiahe and Lanzhou. Gotta be gorgeous.

Take care,
Dajiang

[woza17]

Good on you Ting
My first year in China I had a similiar experience and was earning 2.500RMB a month and never gave it a thought. I totally enjoyed the experience.

[themanymoonsofjupiter]

funny. i lived in a remote place last year and that's why i clicked on this thread. turns out i worked for the same university last school year that you do this year. i had a generally positive experience as well. the people were more friendly than here, the town is totally walkable, and the food there is the best i've ever had in china.

anyway, sounds like you've settled in well, but if you're wondering about anything in the town or around there, feel free to give me a PM.

by the way, TingBuDong, your yahoo photo album isn't public so can't be viewed. i was hoping to see some of my old studes.

[TingBuDong]

yeah, many teaching here are through groups like amity and the peace corps and earn less than me, but overall the foreign teachers here enjoy it. the only short-term (six month) teacher just extended his contract, and i'm thinking of staying longer as well. i almost changed my mind after seeing posts on here saying things like "i wouldn't work for less than 8,000!", glad i didn't.

[cowsuitlover]

Dan,
I just checked out your blog and it has gotten me really excited to teach in China. I just sent in my confirmation letter today and I am not sure where I will be placed yet. Thank you for all your vivid descriptions. Best of luck!
a random fan in berkeley

[Meleefracas]

It sounds like a wonderful place to live and teach. Good luck.

[TingBuDong]

it's a funny life being a foreigner in a place like this. at dinner tonight the staff (usually about twice the people necessary) got quite a kick out of us and gave us all little heart-shaped gifts at the end for no real reason. we had two visiting foreign teachers and were discussing how four of the five of us have been on tv. before coming i was afraid of having so few foreigners to talk to, but now i find hanging out with a bunch of foreigners too ordinary and in the back of my mind i was curious what my chinese friends were up to.

[TingBuDong]

It seems my school wants to find one or two more foreign teachers for next term. I have described the teaching situation a little in my first post above and the weblog I keep, but again I think this is a really good place to work. Though it's remote, there are actually at least four foreigners I'm friends with and see on the weekends, which is plenty. I'm extending my contract for another six months or a year. If anyone (who is genuinely interested in China and serious about teaching) is interested and wants to know more, you can send me a message.

[Malsol]

The remote places are always more appreciative!

The people are real!

The hospitality is genuine!

I second your emotion!

[jeffinflorida]

Life without a McDonalds???

OMG sounds like hell...

[no_exit]

Good for you TingBuDong. Posts like yours remind us that the most important thing about being China is enjoying your time here. Like some others, my first job here in China was with a public university and I too was making only 2700RMB a month. It was enough for me and I was happy with it at the time, even happier than I was at some other higher paying jobs later on.

You have a great attitude and it is refreshing to see someone like you come on these boards and admit to making a lower salary and enjoying it. As our students like to say, there are two sides to every coin, aren't there? I'm sure that before long one of the usual suspects will come along and claim you're being cheated and are a fool to work for less than 10K a month, much less 3K, but in the end, what really matters is that you're happy where you are -- little else, even loads of money, can top satisfaction.

[kev7161]

[clark.w.griswald]

It's good to see a positive post. Let's hope that we see more of them to bring balance to the forum here.