Job Discussion Forums

[alauw]

Hi everyone, I've read alot of the posts on here and there's some great advice so I thought you lot would be the best to ask...

Can you give me a comparison, the pros and cons of working in a Kindergarten/Nursery, and the pros and cons of teaching older children in a Primary/Secondary School (and teaching adults in a college/language school for that matter)?

I'm most interested to find out about the nature of the work, the hours expected, the pressure to perform or 'deliver results' if you like, the salary and anything else you think is relevant through experience. This is in order to paint a picture of the sort of job I should go for.

It seems to me the majority of jobs available in Hong Kong to those with little or no experience are in Kindergartens and Nurseries so I'm wondering if for people who have little experience and maybe don't have a qualification, this is the only option realistically available.

Thanks in advance

[alauw]

can anyone help?

[Perilla]

[sistercream]

If you don't have specific teaching qualifications then you will most likely end up doing language centre work, or assorted kindergarten & maybe primary teaching through an agency. Some of the less reputable private nurseries and kindergartens will also employ NQTs.
In language centres - there is a huge range of ethical standards in this industry, from the sublime to the gorblimey - expect to work a 5 or 5.5 day week, with Saturday and possibly Sunday work non-negotiable. Depending on the boss, your pay could be anything from HKD15k per month up into the low 20s, with as little as 7 days annual leave.

For nurseries and kindergartens you would be working about the same number of hours, but probably with more leave (this might or might not be paid, depending on whether you agree to a second contract).

The main "result" expected at this level is that the presence of a white face should convince parents to pony up more $$$.

Primary teaching through agencies is likely to be quite poorly paid, as the agency will take its cut.

Hong Kong is in a much more advanced position than the rest of greater China vis a vis English language standards and educational standards generally; the Education Board and independent schools are in a position where they can pick and choose from plenty of well-qualified and experienced teachers. You really do need to have at least a PGCE as well as a degree in order to advance from "bottom of the pond" jobs unless there are exceptional circumstances (like having a boss who not only notices that you are brilliantly gifted teacher and is then so unselfish as to recommend you to a "real" school )

[alauw]

thank you Perilla and Sister Cream...

I will be taking the Trinity Cert TESOl this summer, an intensive course for four weeks, and I am a graduate as well.

I understand though, as you say, that due to the sheer number of people who want to work in HK, the schools can take their pick.

when do the majority of schools that need teachers have vacancies starting from? Ive seen a few starting in August, so im presuming that the new academic year starts in September?

One other question; how long did it take you to find your first job, after having made the decision to move to HK/ having gained your teaching certificate?

thanks again for ur help

[Perilla]

September is the start of the school year - so it's the month that many jobs begin. Best to be here well beforehand, if possible (and if you can afford it). Bear in mind that any potential employer will need to arrange a work visa for you, and this takes time - a couple of months I think.

I got my first teaching job a year after arriving in HK, but I was doing other stuff (p/t) in my first year. I was able to work as a "dependant" on my wife's visa (so I didn't need to worry about a work visa).

[sistercream]

Don't know if experience from the 1980s is still relevant - but specialist subject training (not TEFL) and a friend already in HK who sent me an ad clipped out of South China Morning Post meant I received a job offer over the phone about a week after submitting my resume - those were the days!

When I returned to HK after 10+ years in lots of other places I again trawled the SCMP classifieds, applied for anything I was even vaguely qualified for and just accepted the first offer I received. It was a crap job, but it got my foot back in the door, and when I finished that contract I had the up to date knowledge to be a lot more choosy about my next job.

[Serious_Fun]

[oxi]

serious fun,

Lots of nippy posts just now (not that I disagree with the gist of them)
You having a bad day today?