Job Discussion Forums

[bombay_kitty]

Hello everyone~

I'm a Chinese-Canadian who is currently teaching English in Japan. I've only been here for about 5 months but I have been enjoying the experience overall. Soon, however, it will be time to make a decision whether I want to stay in Japan longer or pursue other job opportunities and I have my sights set on China.

Being a Chinese-Canadian, I can speak Mandarin quite fluently, although when it comes to being an English teacher I don't know it that will be beneficial or not. When I applied to teach English here in Japan I had a feeling that the company I applied with wasn't particularly interested in people who can speak Japanese fluently. I looked on some websites regarding teaching in China and it seems there are many ways to go about finding a job, which has me somewhat confused to be honest.

I found that when it came to teaching in Japan most people go either 2 ways, through the government-sponsored JET program or a private EIKAWA. I'm wondering what is the most common way for someone to land a first job teaching in China. Is there a government-sponsored equivalent of JET in China? Are there things similar to the EIKAWAs? I'm not too keen on teaching at another private company institution as I really dislike the sales aspect, so I may be more interested in teaching at a public school, such as a high school. How might I go about finding that kind of work?

Qualifications wise, I have some tutoring experience from my university days. I graduated with a bachelors last year in political science. Once my contract in Japan ends I will have taught English here for 1 year. I don't, however, have any teaching certificates or such.

I'm thinking that if I choose to leave Japan after my 1 year contract I would like to get a teaching job in China that start around April or May. Are teaching jobs fairly easy to find around that time and how far in advance would you suggest I begin to apply? My current plan if I leave Japan after 1 year is to visit and live with my family in China for a few months after leaving Japan and then start teaching, so will it be easier if I wait until I'm actually in China to start looking? Or should I start ahead?

Any help you can provide to me will be highly appreciated. Thank you all in advance

[mnguy29]

It may be a problem trying to teach English in China if you are Japanese. The students and administrators like to find caucasian, western faced foreign teachers there. I taught there for two years and I heard it all the time. I dont know, maybe you can convince them somehow? As far as jobs in May? There will be none in the public schools of course as the school year will be winding down. You could apply at the private training schools such as Web, EF who are always in need of teachers. But, you will have to work long hours, evenings and weekends, with very little time off. The training schools are a business with only one thing in mind-MONEY!

[The Great Wall of Whiner]