Job Discussion Forums

lebsam11 · Joined: 20 Dec 2008 Posts: 4 Location: Washington, DC

Hi everyone,

I'm new to these boards and was hoping I could get some feedback from anyone who has had good (or extremely bad) experiences with certain schools in Qingdao or Hangzhou. I've decided I'd like to teach in one of these two cities, with Qingdao being my first choice, and I'm trying to figure out which schools to look at. I have a BA and will probably have a TEFL certificate by the time I head over there, but I don't have teaching experience. I'd like to make at least 6000RMB with housing but might consider a little less under the right circumstances. Thanks a lot.
-Sam

lebsam11 · Joined: 20 Dec 2008 Posts: 4 Location: Washington, DC

Anyone? I know I've seen some people on here with experience in those cities.

kungfucowboy83 · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 479

well my advice for Qingdao is forget the universities. From what i heard they really suck and won't negotiate the pay (no first hand experience with them though). There are a few mills here that are ok James S has experience with many of them but it's a bit dated now (about 1 year). I had a good experience with Amio but i'm not sure if they are hiring right now. You could try some of the international schools as they aren't always as picky as they would like to be but they all seem to have one (or more) of the following problems

1) long hours on campus
2) korean office politics in the extreme
3) a requirement that you are a certified teacher or teach a hard to fill subject.

Qingdao may be considered a small/medium sized city but it's pretty expensive so don't fall for the 4500/5000rmb a month is a lot of money line in this city that places like e900 or EF will try to feed teachers.

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

Agreed Qingdao unis pay quite low considering the expense of living there

lebsam11 · Joined: 20 Dec 2008 Posts: 4 Location: Washington, DC

what about kindergartens or elementary schools? i'm much more interested in teaching children.

kungfucowboy83 · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 479

a few of the mills are geared toward kids there are also the korean academies and the international schools. I'm not sure about chinese elementary schools though. check out myredstar.com and thatsqingdao.com for some listings of the various schools.