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Nimah
Joined: 14 May 2007
Posts: 36
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 Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:38 am Post subject: Yew Chung Shanghai- opinions? |
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Hello,
Just received an offer: 21,000 plus the usual perks. I'm a fully qualified teacher with a years experience, but this will be my first international post. Looks like the contract could potentially be less then a year as well.
Any thoughts on the salary and the school? I've read a few posts that don't seem to be too flattering to the school.
Cheers. |
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phantombedwetter
Joined: 29 Nov 2007
Posts: 154
Location: Pikey infested, euro, cess-pit (Krakow)
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| Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 11:19 am Post subject: |
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Good salary, I was on about that as a manager.
Almost too good to be true after 1 year teaching.
Track down teachers from the school and check it out.
PM me a link and I'll ask around some old colleagues. |
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The_Hanged_Man
Joined: 10 Oct 2004
Posts: 224
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
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| Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 2:47 am Post subject: |
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| I just checked http://internationalschoolsreview.com/ and I strongly suggest you contact teachers currently working there before accepting a contract. Most of the reviews (and there are lots of them) in the above site are strongly negative citing a poor administration and a profit seeking orientation. You have to take everything on ISR with a grain of salt, but there seems to an overwhelming consensus that Yew Chung is a place to avoid. |
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phantombedwetter
Joined: 29 Nov 2007
Posts: 154
Location: Pikey infested, euro, cess-pit (Krakow)
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| Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:34 am Post subject: |
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Hi Nimah,
I echo the above post from hanged man, but I can't find any clarification on that salary, could you reveal how you arrived at that figure?
Thanks |
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Nimah
Joined: 14 May 2007
Posts: 36
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| Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:39 am Post subject: |
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| Didn't arrive...was told by the co-principal himself. I'm definitely being cautious about the whole thing, but I do want to get out and teach and I don't want to commit to the 2 year contract so I may pass on this one. |
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11:59
Joined: 31 Aug 2006
Posts: 632
Location: Hong Kong: The 'Pearl of the Orient'
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| Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:54 am Post subject: |
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21,000 RMB seems very low for an international school, though I suppose this may just reflect your relative lack of experience. And this is a very important point, for � and do not take this the wrong way � why would a semi-decent international school employ someone with such limited work experience? This should, perhaps, set off alarm bells. I do not know about Shanghai but here in Hong Kong students at Yew Chung International School (Secondary Section) pay some $13,000 HK a month for tuition fees alone (I believe it is around the same in Shanghai, though they also have to pay a mandatory debenture of around $100,000 HK here in Hong Kong.) Given such sums I think 21,000 Yuan a month is very low, even with your quite modest experience.
As regards the two-year contract, that would be the norm at most if not all international schools, though especially those running the IBD (International Baccalaureate Diploma), of which of course Yew Chung is one such school.
Last edited by 11:59 on Mon Jan 21, 2008 5:47 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Umm Banat
Joined: 18 May 2007
Posts: 28
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| Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 5:04 am Post subject: |
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| How long from your interview was it til the offer? or was it made there and then? |
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The_Hanged_Man
Joined: 10 Oct 2004
Posts: 224
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
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| Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:15 am Post subject: |
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| 11:59 wrote: |
| 21,000 RMB seems very low for an international school, though I suppose this may just reflect your relative lack of experience. |
Actually, 21,000RMB is quite decent in mainland China (assuming it includes housing), and is right around what most proper schools pay. Shanghai American School, which is widely regarded as one of the one the top schools in Asia, only has a salary range of $32,000-48,000 annually before taxes which is only around 25,000RMB monthly. Two other high paying school are Nanjing International School which tops out at $57,000 net annually, and American Int'l School of Guangzhou at $67,000. The vast majority of schools pay somewhere around $25,000-45,000 annually depending on experience. Also, there are many 2nd and 3rd tier schools that only pay around 15,000RMB monthly. I have access to an international school database and have just finished the recruiting process myself so I know these figures are correct.
Now, schools in HKG are a different kettle of fish. There are schools there that pay over $100,000 annually there (CIS for example), but of course the cost of living is correspondingly higher. One couple at my current school was just hired at Aramco in Saudi and will make over $200,000 tax free combined including housing with a full benefits package to boot. These schools are notable exceptions though. The vast majority of international schools in world pay around $30-40k, although Latin American schools tend to range from $20-30k. British schools tend to range higher but generally provide fewer benefits than American and IB schools. |
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saint57
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 1221
Location: Beyond the Dune Sea
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| Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 2:37 am Post subject: |
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| My ex girlfriend worked for Yew Chung. I believe that there are a few campuses in Shanghai. The salary seems about the same as what she made. She really liked her apartment. I left China just before she got hired, so I don't have a whole lot more information. She did two years there and she wanted to stay longer. |
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11:59
Joined: 31 Aug 2006
Posts: 632
Location: Hong Kong: The 'Pearl of the Orient'
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| Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 2:48 am Post subject: |
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| The_Hanged_Man wrote: |
| Actually, 21,000RMB is quite decent in mainland China (assuming it includes housing), and is right around what most proper schools pay. |
I beg to differ. I think the location of the school is largely irrelevant. After all, it is an international school and the parents pay international-level fees (many of whom will receive an educational allowance from their employers). It should not matter one iota whether the school happens to be located in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Timbuktu, Kathmandu, or No-Can-Do.
| The_Hanged_Man wrote: |
| Now, schools in HKG are a different kettle of fish. There are schools there that pay over $100,000 annually there (CIS for example), but of course the cost of living is correspondingly higher. |
Obviously in general educational terms HK is a different kettle of fish, but if you look at the website of Yew Chung Shanghai you will see the annual fees are well in excess of 100,000 RMB:
http://www.ycis-sh.com/Pages/Admission/Default.aspx?MenuID=30
Indeed, Y1 to Y3 comes out at 149,500 RMB a year, and Y4 to Y6 at some 154,000 RMB a year. Secondary fees are even higher, with Y7 to Y9 costing nothing short of 171,000 RMB a year, and Y10 to Y13 174,000 RMB per annum. Given such fees (pretty much identical to the fees here in HK or at their school in Silicon Valley in the US) I stand by my statement that $21,000 a month is a tad low, even for somebody with modest experience.
Also, where does this myth that living expenses in HK are higher than the Mainland come from? And why does it continue to be propagated? The sole aspect of daily life that appears to me to be higher than on the Mainland is rent/land prices, but even that is changing, with land prices in some larger cities in China going through the roof. The reality is that many things here in HK are exactly the same price as on the Mainland (so in relative terms are vastly cheaper here) and many goods and services are actually cheaper in real terms and so in relative terms are but a fraction of the Mainland price. |
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The_Hanged_Man
Joined: 10 Oct 2004
Posts: 224
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:54 am Post subject: |
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| 11:59 wrote: |
I beg to differ. I think the location of the school is largely irrelevant. After all, it is an international school and the parents pay international-level fees (many of whom will receive an educational allowance from their employers). It should not matter one iota whether the school happens to be located in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Timbuktu, Kathmandu, or No-Can-Do. |
Well, I agree with you that is how is it should be. I certainly wish that schools would give teachers their fair share of the outrageous tuition they charge. However, the people who run most international schools know that there is a big gap between what they could potentially pay and what most teachers are willing to accept, and they set pay levels accordingly.
I think the people who run the ESF group schools in Hong Kong are now aligning with this line of thought and are slowly reducing wages and benefits to bring them in line with what most other schools around the world offer. I was reading the TES forums and there was a long thread of some really unhappy ESF teachers:
http://www.tes.co.uk/section/staffroom/thread.aspx?story_id=2188043&path=/Teaching%20Overseas/
ESF still has one of the best packages in the business, but no one likes taking a pay cut.
Edit for fixing my crap grammar.
Last edited by The_Hanged_Man on Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:34 am; edited 1 time in total |
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arioch36
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 3589
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| Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 4:04 am Post subject: |
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1159
| Quote: |
| I beg to differ. I think the location of the school is largely irrelevant |
hanged
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| Well, I agree with you that is how is it should be |
perception of reality has more validity then reality.
henan has a lower cost of living then beijing or HK, but the cost of a big mac is the same, and the employees don't get a cut of any extra profit |
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jeoconne
Joined: 31 Mar 2008
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:05 am Post subject: |
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| I just received an offer from this school as well, but after communicating with several of the staff it sounds like it is both a good place to work and a place where people like to work. Could someone please tell me more about what is posted on other sites about this school that would indicate that it is a bad place to work? I would like to know if I have been fed the company line or not. |
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Wonderful Yunqi!!
Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 111
Location: With the Lord.
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 3:32 pm Post subject: |
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Although I've read about this school a few times on this site, I have no idea what's happening in the upper echolons of the ESL teaching crew. I do know this, as a previous contributor typed - today in China, certain people, such as myself, would bite at such an offer.
I beg to disagree with Almost Midnight/Noon, 21k goes far in "The Pearl of the Orient". I'd be an extremely happy camper on 15k. I guess everyone is different.
Happy Trails. |
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photoframe
Joined: 12 Jan 2011
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 4:36 am Post subject: |
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I'm resurrecting this old thread as I was wondering if anyone has any up to date information on this school or any of the Yew Chung schools.
All the negatives and just general feedback are up to 2008. I can't find anything from this point onwards! Am I therefore to assume that the Yew Chung schools are a good place to work at now?
Any help will be much appreciated. |
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