Job Discussion Forums

TingBuDong · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 9:39 am Post subject: Tutoring in Shanghai

Next term I plan to study Chinese in Shanghai at a university while tutoring English on the side. A few questions:

-Approximately how many tutoring sessions can I expect to set up per week? Obviously this will depend, but what is a typical tutoring load for people who do this?

-How much should I charge per session? I am a young American native speaker with a TEFL certificate and two years of experience teaching at a university in China. I also have a few months of online tutoring experience in America (though no tutoring experience in China). How long is a typical session - one hour?

And any advice on how to go about finding students, etc. would be appreciated. I would love to have an idea of about how much I can expect to make tutoring per month while I plan the next term.

eslstudies · Joined: 17 Dec 2006 Posts: 1061 Location: East of Aden

Tingbudong, I've hung off on replying because it's difficult to give a straight forward answer.
Firstly, you'll need contacts and connections that can't be made from where you are now.
Secondly, a client base is usually built by good old word of mouth. You have to impress your initial students - or their parents - to attract more.
Finally, what you charge will depend on factors such as the students themselves [eg business people or university students?], the area you base yourself in [SH is huge; you can't go everywhere] etc. For EG, working with Taiwanese or Korean expats could be very rewarding financially. Teaching middle school kids in a working class district not so.

What's your preferred age group? How would you feel about adult total beginners/ 5 year old kids?

Me? I'd look at the business advanced speaker group. They want to be able to socialise and discuss work and world events with their clients in China and OS. When I did tutoring I preferred this. They paid well, were civilised, and were a loyal clientele. My wife preferred middle school kids. She had to turn away many potential customers.

A first step in my plan was to score a company class: through a recruiter or agent if need be [I didn't need]. You'll make your contacts. Phone numbers, business cards, emails will be exchanged - if you're any good. Then you're on your way.

But all of this will take time, so don't rely on making a living from it in the short term.

Best of luck!

TingBuDong · Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:57 am Post subject:

Thank you for your answer. If I have a roommate and only spend 1500-2000 RMB/month on rent, and spend perhaps 1500/month on food and other expenses, is it feasible I could cover those costs just from tutoring English?

foreignDevil · Joined: 23 Jun 2003 Posts: 580

eslstudies · Joined: 17 Dec 2006 Posts: 1061 Location: East of Aden

Just as an idea as to how profitable business classes can be, I was getting 300 RMB/hour for a 6 hour Saturday class with one company, coaching them in the TOEIC. That's most of your Saturday gone, but your money woes are gone with it! In fact, you could afford a night on the town and still come in under budget.
BTW I made the contact for that one through "That's" magazine on-line; don't know if it still exists, but there are other expat publications on the net. It was a competitive position, and involved the only thorough interview I ever underwent in China, but such jobs are out there!