Job Discussion Forums

[ForbiddenDonut]

Alright, so I was offered a position at a language school in Ningbo:

10,000rmb before taxes
I pay for my apartment/utilities
21 teaching hours/week + office/prep hours (also may include giving demo lessons + school promotion activities)
no sick days
8000rmb bonus after 1 year
no flight allowance

it comes out to about ~75rmb/hour

Good for the area I'm in? Bad? Average?
To me it doesn't seem that great but maybe I'm spoiled from the Korea perks.

Could someone with 2 years experience find better?

thanks!

[therock]

I assume since this is a language training school, in addition to the 21 teaching hours, you have to actually be in the office 40 hours a week. This is a big turn off.

If the apartment was included then this would sound like your average McMill offer. Since you have to pay for the apartment yourself the offer is a bit on the low side.

[randyj]

And the tax on 10,000 would amount to 665.

[vikeologist]

I'm in Ningbo. I had interviews with some of the big schools.

I think it's certainly a good wage in Ningbo, which isn't an expensive city, but it's also a bog standard offer. With some of the schools, that is all you will get, because their interview process is Do you come from an English speaking country? Can we get a Foreign experts Certificate for you?

If you have 2 years experience, they may not differentiate you from those with less experience. On the other hand, there is a shortage of teachers, and the experience does say something about you, so you may be able to ask for more money.

Meiya and Web are perhaps the 2 biggest adult schools in the city. This sounds like an offer from them. They are both in the city centre so, though rent in Ningbo isn't high, you would be paying in the top range for accomodation. (2k a month would probably get you an ok flat, but I guess the city centre could be a lot more expensive). Ningbo is having a light railway / subway built at the moment, so you may not want to live too far from the city centre if that's where you're working.

They're both very professional looking schools, and I've heard absolutely nothing bad about them. (Truth be told, I've heard very little period) They weren't what i was looking for, but if you are happy to be in the office for 40 hours a week, 6 days a week, then you will be able to live comfortably on what they've offered you.

If you secured a job working less hours, you could make a lot of money teaching privates. This is of course not allowed, but I know of a lot of potential students that I have neither permission nor time to teach. Truth be told, I could almost employ you full time, and you'd earn a lot more than 10k a month.

[kev7161]

Let's break that whole "rent" thing down a bit more. Not only will you be paying rent, but all utilities: electricity, propane for cooking, water - - then add up other monthly costs: drinking water, internet, phone service (whether land line or mobile), how about cable or a satellite system? Will your home be furnished with all the things you want? A television, DVD player? Linens? Do you have your own computer? Washing machine? How about groceries and toiletries and cleaning supplies? Once you add it all up, I can easily see your basic monthly expenditures reaching 4000 or more. So, after taxes, you may still end up with about 5000 left over. Not too bad actually - - probably half of the rest could be used up with taxi or bus fare, eating out, night clubs, foot massages, DVD purchases, traveling to Hangzhou or maybe even Shanghai for something, sightseeing, medical expenses . . . anything else I've forgotten? I guess the thing is, you'll have to make yourself a budget and then stick to it, especially if you want to do any saving. But if you're working 5-6 days a week, 40 hours, you may not have much time for anything else so that will save you money right there!

[TexasHighway]

On the surface it seems ok, but the devil is in the details.

[MisterButtkins]

No airfare is a real stinker. I'm from Texas and when I fly back to the US I have to fly from Beijing to LA then from LA to Houston. I don't live in Beijing either, so I take the train from Shenyang to Beijing (don't trust the Chinese airlines). All things considered, depending on what time of year I fly I could be paying upwards of 10k to go home. The way I look at it if I'm not getting airfare money then it's almost like 1k knocked off my monthly salary.

[wailing_imam]

Don't trust Chinese airlines? But you are American. China has had a vastly superior airline safety record to the US over the past decade.

[jazzprings]

My opinion: Ningbo is not a cheap city. That 10K is ~7 with tax. At least 2K apartment. You're left with 5K to live on. You will be at work for 40 hours a week, therefore you will be earning 31 RMB per hour (based on a 4 week month).

I don't want to sound mercenary, but surely you can do better than this.

[johntpartee]

[Trifaro]

I disagree with the above estimate of tax. In my opinion, it is way off. 3k tax on 10k salary?

In the past I paid around 1k tax on a 13k salary. I'd say the tax should be around 500 rmb. Rent, utilities etc = 2k = 7k+ to spend.

[jazzprings]

My mistake - I forgot to remove the untaxed 4800.

[johntpartee]

I hope you're not being jerked around by an employer, jazzsprings, because even if you don't remove the untaxed 4800 the tax would only be 1625.

[jazzprings]

Not working in China at the moment, so no tax problems for me. Aplogies for the mistake. The pay doesn't seem too bad after all.

[7969]