Job Discussion Forums

[NF]

Sichuan is my destination of choice for the next school term. I'm hoping to secure something at the college level. So far I've heard from Sichuan Commercial and Vocational College in Chengdu and Tian Fu College in Mianyang. Any info on either of these schools. Any leads on colleges that that might be hiring would be appreciated.
BTW, I'm already in China, completing a ten month contract way up north so I'm experienced with smaller settings.

[ChineseChris]

You need to read the thread about Panzhihua as they are hiring and stay clear from what the thread says.
Do not know about the other schools personally but did have a friend some time back who worked in Chengdu and said he had a great time there.

[Steppenwolf]

Chengdu would be my choice though I don't know anything about that particular employer. I just love CHengdu. Panzhihua seems to be much better than first seems, but Mianyang is a big and industrial urban wasteland I wouldn't want to get off the bus!

[lionheartuk]

I taught in Mianyang and although it is a very clean city it is quite noisy and the people are not as friendly as in Chengdu. The city is a high tech place where the Changhong televisions and some computers are made among other technological items.
There are a couple of good schools but Mianyang foreign language school is not one of them. I wont go into details but I was glad to be away from there and the city.

[HunanForeignGuy]

I just saw this thread.

I was offered a position at Tian Fu College, which is actually part of a larger university in Mianyang, Sichuan.

The living conditions are atrocious, or at least what was shown to me. The foreign teacher has a choice between an abominable 2 1/2 star residential hotel room or a shared apartment with a Chinese teacher. Neither are anything great and considering the nice apartments that I had when I worked in Chengdu before.

The Foreign Affairs Office at the College is neanderthal at best. I had to submit my papers two-or-three times because they kept loosing them.

Additionally the salary is low, even by Sichuan standards and Sichuan salaries are already the lowest in China.

And I agree with Roger -- it is a little industrial city without much to recommend it except that ChengDu is indeed within driving distance.

As for the Technical and Vocational College, ChengDu is nice living except for the Seattle-like weather but if one likes rain, then one will be happy there. The salary at TVCD runs between RMB 4,000 - 5,000 per month and according to someone I knew who applied there, they generally require a four-year university degree but then again this is Sichuan and all things are possible. RMB 4,000 is not a great salary in Chengdu but it is higher than some of the other uni's. RMB 5,000 a month in Chengdu will provide an OK lifestyle.

But perhaps some of the posters who are on this Board who are living in ChengDu now might be able to provide a more up-to-date assessment of the cost of living, etc., etc.

Additionally, both are far from top-tier institutions and unless one has experienced vocational students in China, one may wish to avoid that situation if another presents itself.

[voodikon]

ooo, ooo, i just saw this.

if the sichuan commercial and vocational college you're talking about goes by SBVC or 四川商务职业学院 and you're in touch with a company called xinlung, i can tell you aaaallllll about it. i was employed with them from sept. 2005 to aug. 2006. i would not say it was the best of experiences, although they didn't majorly screw me over or anything. there were a handful of inconveniences and annoyances; however, they did refuse to give my two coworkers who had completed their contracts the international airfare that was specified in the contract since they hadn't actually flown home during the term of employment, which i thought was cheap and shady.

i am not really keen on xinlung, either, the company who manages the english department on campus. i find them to be a shady and ruthless operation out to turn a profit at whatever expense to anybody else. none of us FTs opted to renew our contracts with them for a second year, and of the six chinese english teaching staff employed by xinlung, three of them also left after the first year (two of them before the first year was even over).

i also had this unpleasant experience with them. (scroll down to the bottom.)

[Papa Bear]