Job Discussion Forums

[Johaun]

So, was just wondering for negotiation's sake, what i should be looking at for as a first-time ESL teacher? Graduated from Ohio State with a Bachelor's in English, currently getting my TEFL 120hr certification on-line, am of Chinese-American descent. i'm looking at Shanghai and Beijing, but am open to suggestions (looking for a relatively large city, good night life, some Western accessibility). most ads that i've seen advertise around 8000RMB, with an option for an additional 1000RMB if i decide to go after my own housing. some have said that in a city like Shanghai, this is living in "relative poverty."

[Johaun]

is it possible for you to elaborate? as a college student i was easily able to live on around $1000US a month. i assume the cost of living in China (even Shanghai) is still cheaper than here in Columbus, OH.

[cj750nomad]

8k is just not enough in Beijing....the Telfort boys use to bit ch about their 8K pay that they had no money to actually do anything...and that was before the games rased the cost of living...

for example 1000 housing is hard to find...more like 3K and the 3 RMB noodle places are fast disapearing from most of the cityscape...to be replace with "Noodle love Noodle" "Noodle Face Noodle" chain is around 27 RMB...up

[JohnC]

[Zero]

If housing is provided, one could make it on 8k I think ... The Chinese make it on a lot less. You would probably want to pick up some part-time work. And you probably would have to live more like a Chinese, less like a westerner.

[North China Laowei]

Shanghai is probably the most competitive market for foreign teachers in China.

That being said, this is China and all things are possible. It will depend upon the chemistry, the right place, the right time, the right school. There are a lot of variable here.

Shanghai tends to be more expensive than other cities in China but with a little bit of looking it is still a city where a lot of bargains can be hand. It' a commercial center, after all, based on the axiom "the price is right" .

I do not know whether the Asian-American factor will come into play in Shanghai or not. Again, it's six-of-one, and a half-dozen-of-the-other.

More importantly, do you have two years worth of demonstrated experience in the field?

[Eyrick3]

[bradley]

I can tell you about Shenzhen if you want. Just pm me. I guess Beijing is similar to Shenzhen in that you can live like a westerner or like a native and the amount you need will vary greatly. You can also get some private tutoring on the side and use that money for extra expenses.

[gregmcd101]

[brsmith15]

Greg is correct about the (sad and wrong) discrimination business. Most schools want a white face -- and some will hire on that basis alone -- because the kids and the parents somehow equate whiteness with proper English. Seeing an Asian face makes them think the school has hired local help who learned their English as a 2nd language.

I have a Chinese-American friend with a PhD from Columbia and over 20 years of experience, and he's run into the discrimination bit himself. Be especially leery of schools that ask for a photo. We all know what they wan that for!

[North China Laowei]

I love Nanjing. I think it is a great city -- it has a lot of nice beauty to it, too, and of course the weather, well it is hot and cot but the people are really much more laid back than Shanghai or Beijing.

And you can live well on that amount of money.

As for all of these RMB 8,000 - RMB 10,000 per month jobs around, there aren't that money unless of course you go the route of the "mills" which is a step-above or below being an indentured servant.

I make less than that by much but I am paid 12 months salary every year. I have almost four months paid vacation and my overtime, which they give me on 16 + hours per week, kicks in an at almost a Shanghai rate. I have a huge, compared to what I have had before, apartment, everything but everything is paid, very decent airfare reimbursement, meal allowance, all of the usual travel perks but two additional very nice trips paid to the mountains and to the seashore twice a year, my own private shopping car for 5 hours each, two Saturdays a month, full medical insurance, etc., etc. I save about 3/4s of what I make - -and the city has Walmarts, Auchans, Carrefours, Papa John's, Subways, Pizza Huts, etc., galore but a nice but small selection of Latin American food.

I just do NOT accept the Asian-American discrimination thing -- the schools that will discriminate against you you would not want to work in.

Any further questions, send me a PM.

NCL

[kev7161]

My school here in Suzhou has a Singaporean lady teaching in our International Dept. She is a great teacher and is bi-lingual with an excellent command of the English language (maybe better than mine!). The only very slight problem is her accent/pronunciation but that's so minor I probably shouldn't even mention it. I have no idea of what the school offered her as initial salary but I'm sure it's probably more than or at least 8K a month plus the basic FT "perks". I'm urging my school next year to actually hire Chinese (or Asian) who are conversant in both Chinese and English to tackle our first grade classes. They really need someone who can teach almost wholly in English but translate naturally when needed.

I echo NCL in that Suzhou is also a nice city (although quite a bit torn up right now as they are building a subway) with lots of western amenities and good bus lines to get you from one end to the other. It's close enough to Shanghai and other locales so you can spend weekends or holidays there if you'd like but then can escape back to the somewhat less crowded, less noisy, less polluted Suzhou.