Job Discussion Forums

[krista08]

Hello!
This is my first post here so I am a total newbie! I am graduating in August 2010 and I am really interested in teaching English abroad. I received an email from my faculty adviser about an opportunity to teach English in China. I have been in touch with this couple.. (they taught at this school for 3 years) and am just wondering if anyone knows anything about the WECL in Xiamen or in Guangzhou? I was sent an email with these basic details and was told to send my resume, certificate of health etc..

If anyone can provide me with any information they have on the WECL, or how this contract info sounds that would be wonderful!

2. CONTRACT
-5 months=$1000 a month roughly depending on qualifications and a one way plane ticket paid
-1 year=$1000 a month depending on qualifications and the flight there and back paid plus 1 month paid holiday in Jan.or Feb. depending on Chinese new year
3.WORK DAYS
-16 to 20 hours per week
-2 full days off per week
-1 week holiday in Oct. and 1 week in May
4.COURSES
-oral and written English
-vocabulary and pronunciation
-business English
-some geography and history
-all textbooks supplied
-the college stresses oral commnication skills
-ages range from late teens to adults
5. ACCOMMODATION SUPPLIED FREE OF CHARGE
-single person-private furnished living room,bedroom,shower, internet, t.v.
-couple-2 bedroom furnished apartment-kitchen, shower,t.v. internet
6.HEALTH CARE PACKAGE PROVIDED
7.PICK UP AT AIRPORT


Thanks

Krista

[Moon Over Parma]

Google "WECL + Xiamen." There are horror stories out there.

[Halapo]

$1000 is $US right? Better to get that written in Chinese Yuan, if only so there is less confusion on pay day.

20 hours of work a week? You are going to have some free time, maybe ask for some travel money, I get 3000 yuan every term (so not enough to cover a week in a 5star hotel, but more then enough to pay for the local plane ticket, train or a whole lot of bus rides).

Or if you are not going to travel, how about school for you, either Mandarin class's or art class's, or something.

Or the freedom to have another job? That will always be the hardest item to sell to them, they will never believe you just cant live on what they give you. Even when most Chinese people spend nearly 14 hours a day at work/making money.

I would say the deal is pretty average. I am guessing you are not a teacher in your home country ( if you are, you could do better in China, and for the record I am not a teacher back home ). The pay is more then enough to live in China on. However expenses can differ greatly from city to city, teacher to teacher.

Single accommodation doesn't have a kitchen? It says the couple's will have one... Is it an in-school apartment? Most young Chinese teacher live at the school their first couple of years, pretty much like students themselves ( slightly better conditions, namely they get more privacy), so most schools have a room they think you will live in.

However a light workload isnt always a good thing.
You could very easily have two jobs like that, if both schools would let you.

The other thing you want to know is if you are talking with the school or a recruitment agent. The school is going to be the one with the most influence on how happy you are. Plus, they want you to be happy, or they will care a bit more about how you feel. The agencies just want money, they live on first time teachers, very few of them can get people to sign-up for a second term.

The trick to knowing if you are dealing with an agencies is how many contacts they pass you from. They never want to tell you they are recruiters, they will make it sound like they are part of the school. If you are dealing with the school itself, you probably only need to talk/email with one person (when you get there they will introduce you to anybody else). The recruiters will pass you along 2, 3 or 4 times till they work out the details. Lastly, recruiters have Presidents, CEO's, Chairman's. Schools have Headmasters, Foreign Affairs Officers (FAO's), Department Heads. So based on the signature, you can learn a little as well.

It is not very luxurious, but it is pretty close to my own contract (as I said, I have no schooling as a teacher, just a university degree and I don't ask for very much. As long as they give me time for my books and time to travel into the bigger cities to buy books, I am happy to live like a hermit. Most months I only spend about 1/5th of my pay, and I never feel like I am trying to be cheap).

But a final point, the contract might be fine, but the city/location and you have far more of an effect on how happy you will be.

[krista08]

Thanks for the replies. No I am not a teacher- just going to graduate in August and am really interested in getting into the ESL World.

Yeah I am a little weary of the people who I have been in contact with... they are past teachers, don't have any other contact infos they can send me...

The $ amount I am guessing is in Canadian since the couple I have been in contact with are Canadian as well.

They also said that I don't need any ESL training.. I was planning on taking the CELTA course in September.. I definitely think I will need the training.

Anyways, I think I am just going to see what my options are closer to graduation and go from there!

Thanks a lot for your help!

Krista