Job Discussion Forums

[Gamecock]

This school advertises here on Dave's and does their own hiring (rather than through a recruiter). After 2 years here I'm moving on but wanted to give the heads up to anyone considering and general recommendation of this uni. It might not be for everyone, but a pretty good place to work.

PROS:

Above average pay. With an MA you will pull in 10,000+ RMB a month.

Zero office hours. Housing is 5-10 minutes away from the classrooms. If you aren't teaching, your time is your own. No evenings or weekends.

8 hours of English corner per semester.

Excellent students. It's a private, normal university (think liberal arts) school with kids from well-to-do families. Surprisingly, they aren't spoiled, and the general English level here is VERY high. Most of my students take some academic classes that are completely in English and have no problem understanding and participating in class. If you have taught kids at vocational colleges or technology majors, you will be delighted at the communication level here.

Honest and up-front management. The one very positive thing I can say about this school is that I was never lied to. No deception or tricks. Things are as they appear. This goes a long way in China, IMO.

No micromanagement. You are free to design your classes as you want and are left to teach. There are textbooks, but you may use them as you wish or not use them at all. The classroom is yours.

Opportunities to teach some academic classes. If you think teaching oral English can get dry and boring, its nice to mix it up a bit. The downside is more homework for you and exams, for minimally increased pay.

A good group of FT's. The Faculty of Foreign Languages is not large, but a good group of teachers who are serious about teaching, and also good conversation over a beer. About half the teachers have been here for several years, which is always a good sign of a decent school, I think.

Accomodation on campus, but a good sense of privacy. Absolutely no limitations on guests/no having to sign in, etc. Your home is your home.

A really beautiful campus. A bit out of the city, but clean air, blue skies, mountains, and a very green campus carved out of the forest.

New high speed train connecting the campus (literally a stop here at the university) with Guangzhou. About a 40 minute ride for 42 RMB.

Great locale in terms of proximity to Macau (about 1 hour) and Hong Kong (about 2 hours). As well, within 2 hours of 4 international airports, ALL with discount airlines (Air Asia, Cebu Pacific, Tiger Air). International flights from HK are considerably cheaper than the mainland.

CONS:

Hours have crept up to 18-22 a month (last year was 16-20). But paid by the hour, so maybe a positive.

Paid by the hour, depending on your degree. This is rather unique compared to other universities in China. It means absolutely NO holiday pay. You teach, you get paid. Otherwise not. However, the pay is substantially higher compared to most universites, so is still a good deal, IMO.

They take 20% from every paycheck and give this back to you as a lump sum at the end of every semester. Kind of a built-in savings plan for the vacations (as well as runner insurance for the school). So at the end of each term you will get back 8-10,000 on top of your monthly pay. Many people are nervous about this practice and see it as a negative, but I have never known anyone to NOT get their full payment in the 2 years I've been here, and the old-timers tell me everyone has always gotten this. Not a scam.

The campus is out of the city. This is the biggest complaint for many. A beautiful place in the country, if that is what you are looking for, but about 40 minutes away from a major supermarket with western food items (Cheese!) and an hour away from the Macau border in Gongbei. When the high speed train line is completed all the way to Gongbei next year, the uni will be more connected. There are plenty of small restaurants, shops, and supermarkets on/near campus for snacking.

Apartments are 1 bedroom and a bit small. Fine for 1 person, but only a tiny dorm style refrigerator in the kitchen, which is annoying.

HOT and HUMID down here a good portion of the year. Damp and cold for about 1 month in the winter (no heat in apts).

[tributary]

There entire scheme is that - a scheme - and a joke.

[Ariadne]

I worked there in 2004/05 and liked it very much. At that time they paid a monthly salary, but I heard about the change to an hourly rate. The apartments were comfortable, they even had real couches... the cushioned kind that many Westerners yearn for in China. The students came from all over China. Macau is so close and it's a fun place to visit, even if you don't gamble. The new train sounds wonderful.

.

[xjgirl]

thanks for the pros and cons list

[xjgirl]

how is their "scheme" affected by taxes? Do you get taxed on that lump sum at the end, or is your salary taxed at it's 100% monthly amount?
What I mean is do you get taxed on only 80% of your salary every month and then the lump sum is taxed at the end too?

Just curious, but does the school pay for visa costs, and health insurance,
my doesn't, and we're pretty similar in location, and set-up.

the apartment sounds like a serious con when you take the rural location into consideration. Acceptable in an old city-centre campus, but on a new campus in a green field area, totally unacceptable.

Also just curious, do teachers get a small raise every year?

[Deegan]

Sorry to sidetrack the thread, but what does it mean when a university has the word "Normal" in the title? I've been looking up a university in Xi'an that is similar.

[TexasHighway]

"Normal" schools in western countries were teaching colleges. Their names have long since been changed to teaching colleges and now most are comprehensive universities. China and some other Asian countries still keeps 'normal" in university English names.

[bradley]

Central Michigan University used to be a "normal" college. My great-grandmother graduated from there.

[TheHanMan]

Anybody worked on the Zhuhai campus in Guangdong who can relate their good/bad experiences?

[TheHanMan]

Didn't read this thread properly before that last request, thought you were all discussing the main campus actually in Beijing

[meiyoubanfa]

I was wondering if anyone could answer a few more questions:

Does your room have air conditioning?

Do I need to travel 40min for a real meal/drink? (I have seen Unis in China enclosed in a rural area or mountain with maybe 1-5 shops selling snacks and pop, with literally nothing else. While other have streets of restaurants, bars, restaurant/bars, and higher end shops/supermarkets [Carrefour, Chinese street markets, etc] with any manner of things.)

Is it considered wrong to mingle in the area with other teachers (having a beer, etc) with students around? This is the opinion in Korea, for example. No teacher should ever be seen even taking a drink in front of students outside of school.

If the fridge is in a dorm area, is there a communal cooking area to? or no facilities for cooking? (gas/ hot plate, etc)

[piglet44]

Is this the same as IUC?IT says it is jointly founded by Beijing Normal and Hong Kong Baptist Uni. Is this the same gig?

[Ariadne]

Re the kitchen... dorm style fridge means one of those small fridges. It's in the apartment, it's just a wee bitty one. There is also a stove top in the kitchen. There is hot water in the sink in the kitchen... sounds pretty basic, but not in China.

There's a village a few minutes away by bus with some restaurants and bars. Used to be a good pizza place run by a British guy, don't know if it's still there. Plenty of restaurants available on campus too.

Several different entities use the campus for different programs. Lots of things, like hours and pay, will depend on who actually hires you. I knew one couple that was hired for a joint Canadian/Chinese program that never really got off the ground. They spent an entire school year there waiting to begin their classes. They had housing and they were paid, they just never taught any classes.

.

[darrenflynnd]

You have to pay for visa fees and the health check-up out of your own pocket. There are four or five nice Chinese chain restaurants on campus, and the dining hall at UIC serves excellent Chinese, Taiwan, and Western dishes.