Job Discussion Forums

[chelsea]

post deleted

[eric the king]

Some.
Maybe, maybe.
Yes.

[MyTurnNow]

Beijing is a great city but be advised that it can be MUCH more expensive and complicated to live in than other cities- even places like Shanghai.

Be prepared to pay something like 4000rmb a month or more for most decent apartments. Sure, people find them for less but they are very, very lucky. I was given a filthy, decrepit, unfurnished, bug-infested hole in the middle of nowhere for 2500 RMB.
Beijing is a sprawling monster- be prepared for a much bigger taxi tab than in most other cities here.
Beijing has some of the coolest nightlife, restaurants, and other entertainment in all of China....and they are EXPENSIVE.
Beijing is uniquely obsessed with TEFL certificates. If you aren't willing to go spend a few hundred USD to outright buy what is all too often a meaningless piece of paper so you can get jobs that often don't pay any more than others, in the case of Beijing you'll be locked out of some of the decent jobs there.
Getting a Z visa is really tough there unless you teach for a university. A lot of people are running around there on tourist, student, or business visas. Common but it's ILLEGAL to draw a salary in China without a Z visa.
When you look over Beijing job ads, note how many of them want part-timers and how few of them offer apartments or z visas. The ones that do offer these things also offer laughably small salaries. There's a REASON for this- the schools don't want the trouble and expense of having to take care of you. I found the Beijing schools to be dominated by very low-grade institutions. I especially suggest steering clear of Modern English- the biggest gang of crooks and idiots I've ever seen. Bad even by English-school-in-China standards. If you can get a university job things might be a little better. Maybe.

In other words, if you go there, hold out for a good salary and package. Insist on at least sponsorship of a Z visa. I don't advise you take under 7000-8000 RMB with an apartment (apartment, not an allowance), or 10,000-14,000 without one. Look things over very closely. Try to talk to teachers and students out of earshot of the boss. There ARE good places to work in Beijing, and one can make a fantastic life there, but it isn't always easy. Don't get jived (like I did). Shop around!

One saving grace of Beijing is that part-time and private work is abundant and lucrative. You can draw a good income there like this, but be prepared to hustle! And you'll still have to solve the apartment, support, and visa issue somehow...

I love Beijing...but I moved somewhere else and I go back to visit.
MT[/i]