Job Discussion Forums

lchazl · Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Posts: 27

Hi there,

I have gotten a job offer from Shanghai University. First off I have a BA and 2 years exp (no cert).

10 month contract (paid in Spring Festival)

4500-5200 RMB per month (depending on qualifications) Low no?

16-45 min teaching hours per week (not including prep time of their curriculum, exam creation/grading). Other activities will be paid. Overtime available.

Free accommodation at University "hotel" (thing that gets me is shared kitchen, is this standard for university accommodation?)

3000 per month for renting outside (is this fair?)

Has anyone heard anything about this Uni?

P.S. I have tried searching on here for info on this university but none can be found, I guess the problem is it leads to generic search results.

Thank you very much,

Chaz

evaforsure · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 1217

lchazl · Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Posts: 27

Thank you for that, a little insight would be great too.

Raindrops · Joined: 18 May 2009 Posts: 142 Location: PRC

5200 for Shanghai U is a complete rip-off, you should also know that Shanghai is one if not THE most expensive town in China.

Again, no one should ever work for a major U for less than 8K + (nice) apartment.

Adeem · Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 9:53 am Post subject:

My friends who works for an institute which is part of Shanghai U gets a better salary, but more importantly, a bunch of extras like the accommodation money, travel money etc. As a base salary, that tots up to about 4-5000 more than the offer you mention above.

JGC458 · Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 248 Location: Shanghai

Ichazl, if we start with the premise that China is not a place an FT comes to make money, and that you'll be working for about 14 hours a week (I've worked more than that in a single day in the West!) then 4500-5200 RMB isn't so bad. Factor in that you will get 2 full months paid holiday and your pay rate goes up.

Of course most people want as much money as they can get, but if you want more you can always give some private lessons in your spare time.

And remember that along with more pay you'll often get more work, responsibility and stress.

How much money do you really need, and how hard do you really want to work for it?

Hotel and shared kitchen not so good though...

Just thought I'd offer a different perspective (...no need to flame me people, your views are valid as well Very Happy

)

lchazl · Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Posts: 27

brsmith15 · Joined: 12 May 2003 Posts: 1142 Location: New Hampshire USA

Which SH uni? There are several that use that appelation. If it's SH-UFE, take the offer. If it's SH Inst of Tech (just guess what their initials are?), RUN!

lchazl · Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Posts: 27

lchazl · Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Posts: 27

JGC458 · Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 248 Location: Shanghai

Ichazl, you've given more info and it looks like you could be doing more work than uni teachers here usually have to do.

Usually I've only ever needed to prepare 1 lesson a week for all my (conversational English) classes. Also I don't give homework, so that means I don't need to mark it - aside from the fact that there were always a lot of students who didn't do the homework, often with the lamest of excuses ("Sorry teacher, my computer don't have pdf reader [so I couldn't read the homework you sent]" Rolling Eyes

).

If your classes will require a substantial amount of preparation work - because of the material or coz the classes/students are so varied - or you will have to spend a lot of your own time marking written work, then you might decide that the pay isn't enough.

Some people also factor in commute time. Though for me, in any large city people often spend a lot of time traveling to and from work. And you can always take a book, your mp4 player, sleep, other.

It's up to you what you do. If it works out fine, all the better. If not, then it's experience for the future.

Btw, have you asked to speak with (over Skype for example) or email other FTs who currently work there? It's notoriously easy to get other people's contact info from a Chinese person, so if they don't give you it you should ask yourself why.

lchazl · Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Posts: 27

JGC458: I see what you mean, looks like I have a few more questions to ask her about lesson prep.

I asked about getting other FT contact info but she says that she can't because:

"i have received so many candidates' materials. if i give the contact information to all the candidates to our foreign teachers, they will get more work to deal with besides their teaching work."

I promptly replied that if I don't get the contact info some time before I ink a contract then I must withdraw my candidacy.

Waiting for a reply.

Robin53 · Joined: 24 Oct 2008 Posts: 74 Location: New Zealand

I took my first ever uni contract 6 months ago after more than 4 years in China. It has been a pleasant surprise with the same conditions you mentioned, and a similar low salary but within the range of salaries for my province.

The only thing I don't like is the 10 month contract which is mean. The idea is you sign a second contract after the first year to get the second lot of holidays - with a 10 month contract you only get one lot of paid holidays. I've also been offered cash if I want to live off campus.

Apart from that, I have only 12 classes, so lesson planning is minimal. Also, the department keep offering me part time work which is a pleasant surprise. I find the people in the department professional, intelligent, and normal. I use that word normal on purpose, as it hasn't always been the case with colleagues or people in charge of me in the high-schools and colleges where I've worked before. Also the waiban (Foreign Affairs Dept.) is the best and most efficient I've ever had anywhere.

My advice would be to find another FT who is working there and talk with them about what its really like. Before I signed up at my university I did that and the reports were good, so I went ahead and signed the contract.

brsmith15 · Joined: 12 May 2003 Posts: 1142 Location: New Hampshire USA

Ichie,

I had first-hand experience teaching the "students" from SH Inst of Technology on Cao Bao Lu in the Caohejing district about 7-8 years ago. It was once called something else, but I can't remember the old name.

Although technically university students, they're at the bottom of the barrel: lazy, uncaring, inattentive and have taken cheating to the pinnacle of dishonesty. I caught one girl with an open textbook on her lap during an exam! I thought folks could be a little more creative and secretive than that.

The Chinese "faculty" consist mainly of overage, overweight under-educated time servers. I met the dean a few times and all I could figure he was good for was drinking tea, chain smoking, and ogling the pretty gals.

dialogger · Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 419 Location: China

It's the hotel-type accomodation that worries me about this deal OP.
You can't be outside your home socialising and sitting around in your bedroom with friends isn't the best.
Make your mind up based on the allowance for an outside pad and what that would get you in Shanghai. I don't know about rent levels in Shanghai.
I turned down a gig at Dalian U of Tech because of accom. One FT who did join DUT hung out at KFC nearby all winter because he was going stir crazy in his room.