Job Discussion Forums

[killian]

just got an offer from beijing. let me know what you think:kindergarten
40 hrs a week (25 max of which will be teaching) for 8000 RMB. cannot work for anyone else on the side. free housing, etc.

seems to me that 40 hrs a week x 4= 160 hours a month.
8,000 RMB divided by the 160 hours= 50 RMB per hour.

[therock]

Earning 8000RMB for teaching 25 hours a week on the surface sounds pretty good. However then they have added the office hours. Being in the school for 40 hours a week does sound a bit heavy. I guess it depends on what you have to do for the other 15 hours. Maybe you can just sit there and use the computer during that time or plan for your lessons. However maybe you will need to go around advertising and promoting the kindergarten. If this is your first time teaching then the offer sounds reasonably. I personally would try to bump the salary up to 10,000RMB, that sounds fair for 40 hours a week in Beijing. But like I said all depends what you have to do during those 15 hours and how experienced you are.

[william wallace]

It's low, but I don't think you'll do much better. I hope you're frugal!
Cheers

[SnoopBot]

It's typical but you must clarify exactly what you will be doing those extra hours (40 hours)

Some just sit in the office, and help out or prepare lessons with no teaching involved.

Others live at the institution and 40 hours = they just must be located near the institution for emergency recall. These people basically would sit in their provided housing, sleep, eat, watch DVD's ect. The extra hours were "on campus ones"

Now with this said, other were told to go assist other foreign teachers (non-teaching) which means still being in the classroom. (often involved with classroom management issues)

Much of the salary depends on your qualifications, if you have good qualifications you can try for a higher wage.

One thing about high qualifications and good quality teaching.

China often has the old Marxist attitude, which is:

Being the best, getting long hours and getting extra work for doing a good job equals , "Serving with honor for the State."

This is a common mentality found in the older generation i.e. DOS, senior teachers.

Insure they are not going to make you do actual teaching work during these off hours.

For 25 hours a week, Many universities will load their best and most experienced teachers with 20-25 hours for only 5000-6000 RMB a month.


Beijing salaries have really took a dive as many are flocking to Beijing these days for the Olymoics willing to accept low salaries. Many are not qualified and have a fake degree that Chinese officials never check.

I found out my university in Beijing contacted me (I am in the USA now) to look over 50 applicants for a sister program starting in another city.

I was supposed to give them my 2cents worth for creating a shortlist.

1. Most were not Native Speakers , some had Passports that indicated they are citizens from a Native Speaking country but birth certificates had nationality from Africa or the Middle-East (many UK applicants had this)
That's ok but their CV's were written so bad, I could not put them on a short listing.

2. Many applicants from the Philippines , many with teaching degree at the masters level + experience and willing to take a LOWER Salary.

3. 20 year olds with a masters degree and teaching experience, a few were 24 year old doctorate degree holders. (must have started the university at age 12)

4. Fake degree copies from well-known diploma mills. + a few fake ESL qualifications (one still had Sample Copy still on it)

5. Ivy league graduates and missionary types. Well-Qualified IF true

These are the people they could pick, if it means getting a cheaper FT to cut costs, so be it.

Therefore, wages are low because everyone wants to attend the big Olympic party.


With all this said, consider you will got over 5000 RMB a month equals an honor these days.

[Shan-Shan]

[tw]

[william wallace]

Snoopbot: Great observation about the oldies and Marxist ethics.
TW: You'd think so,eh ?

[Anda]

Apart from one job here I can only advise from South Korean experience being that generally if you are well prepared to go into your classes they in general don't care if you are in the office or not after a while. There can be traps however as posted above! The one thing with institutes for small kids is that they will want you to help with encouraging mainly mothers to sign their kids up. So recruitment time you could be quite busy after signing such a contract.

[OGFT]

This kind of job will keep you on campus at your desk in the classroom for 40 + hours per week and then you would probably have parent meetings and a sport day, especially if connected with a primary school. My best guess is that you will be unhappy with anything under 12K RMB per month and even then, it is on the low side.

[vikuk]

OP you need to give one essential detail -
- are you expected to teach at just one kindy or are there others?
this of course makes a big difference with traveling - but also makes a huge teaching difference - because unless you're really clued up on pre-school English - 25 hours/week of being expected to give classroom style lessons (check out to see what kind of teaching your employer�s expect), to the same classes (day in day out) at this age group can be a real killer. If it is only one kindy then you'll be expected to come up with new lesson plans day after day - and remember with these kids you can't teach in the normal EFL manner - like pulling out a new topic from the net and have a classroom discussion. Some try and overcome this problem with lots of songs � but Shiite there are only so many songs kids want to learn each month � and that kind of show may soon get mighty boring for both kids and FT. In these circumstances just trying to create an English environment in your classroom is a good idea - getting the kids to carry out some task (drawing, a game, sports - and its hard enough getting new ideas for this each week) - but many Chinese employers/parents don�t like this - they want a lesson - and they want a product � which usually goes in the form of memorised English (good ol� songs again and the deadly memorised English sentence). The worst employers may issue a quota of how many songs and sentences are taught/learnt/month - and subtract money from your wage if they feel you don't meet it. Also in this kind of environment a knowledge of Chinese (or at least a willing and talented assistant) is essential otherwise both you and your kids will often find yourselves walking in some kind of language no-mans land � and you can�t then berate those small kids for not doing their home English study, or not looking up words in the dictionary � after all when you were 4 years old did you give a F@$* about learning a second language?????

So my advice - check up on conditions and what's expected of you -'cause in the kindy game, if these are bad - then even big wages don't seem to bring that much job-satisfaction!!!!!

[SnoopBot]

[Shan-Shan]

Yes sad but true. The real kicker is when they tell you these Marxist ideals and how your sacrifice is for the greatness of the state.
(I've been told to "ask to be paid for weekend English corners" was selfish and not Chinese cultural (marxist) thinking.)

All told to me with someone driving a Black Mercedes Benz living in a new Beijing Villa.


Parallels those advertisements stressing the "poverty" of the city where you will be employed, and how the average monthly income is only 800RMB, and why your 3000RMB is really a gift, a financial package people in the town can only dream of one day attaining.

Then, upon arrival, you see how cars are gobbling up every inch of pavement, restaurants are packed, and people are walking about, plugged into an innumerable number of gadgets, with plastic bags full of colourful plastics.

Suddenly, that 3000RMB a month aint so much, and all you can do on a night out is to "watch" others, like fat belly pork-chops rolling up and down KTV steps with frantic, staccato chicken claw "clickclickclickclicks" trailing not far behind picking up and stashing away the RMB falling out of bottomless pork pockets. Such is the zoo, the expensive zoo.

After reading about Snoopbot's encounter, I now realize that part of our FT role is to remind the Chinese of their Marxist roots, help them remember, through example, the personal satisfaction one can revel in when doing something -- a lot of something -- for absolutely nothing. Just might make Vice Principal Wang think twice the next time he bargains an out of town virgin down to 8000RMB from ten thousand.

[killian]

never mind. just another group of chinese who didn't know what they were doing. they sent me a job offer/ contract. told them i was going to to chicago to get the visa. two days later they called back to say "nevermind" as they lost the service contract for that scholl.

jeeze- every job i scratch the surface of stinks.

[william wallace]

"every job i scratch the surface of stinks.", that's why I literally get nervous when I "scratch".

[flutterbayou]

Hi there:

I have seen salaries as low as 5,000 in Beijing, so let's look at a hypothetical rubric. You haven't mentioned your credentials, but if you are a certified teacher, you can do much better working at a Montesorri school or one of the international schools.

8,000 will slip through the fingertips pretty fast in Beijing, because Beijing is the place to shop 'til you drop.

If you are not a certified teacher but have three or more years' experience teaching, then you could do better.

On the bright side, if you have recently graduated or you are changing careers and you want to establish yourself as a teacher, then I would suggest that you realize this offer is higher than average in China, and if you are loyal to the organization, the next job in two years down the road will pay you much more.

Best wishes to you. Hope this msg didn't arrive too late to accept the job.