Job Discussion Forums

[frittzy]

Hello. I am a Canadian male in mid-50's who is making plans to go to China to find work as a TESOL teacher. I received my TESOL diploma in September, 2003. I was an elementary teacher and substitute teacher for about 1.5 years in the Province of Manitoba, Canada, but I left teaching back in 1980. I have not done any teaching since that time but I have worked in the non-teaching area as an On-Call School & Student Suppor Worker with Vancouver School Board in 2001.
I need information about what things to consider when going to China to teach. For example, should I sign a contract before I leave Canada? What do you think is a "reasonable" starting salary for someone with my background? I don't have the money to travel to China, would schools pay for my airfare and deduct it from my salary? Is it better to work for Canadian or American run schools than Chinese private or public schools?
Should I bring teaching materials with me in case the school where I would be working does not have sufficient materials to work with?
Finally, if I sign a contract let's say for 6 months and SARS or Avian Flu is present in the city where I'm teaching, can I break my contract because of my fear of contracting this disease? I appreciate any information that you can provide and I hope to have further discussions especially with Canadian teachers who have been teaching in China for a while.

[Cowboy Pete]

So, you taught back in 1980. What the heck have you been doing since then. I once worked with this Canadian guy named Robert from Winnipeg or some place. He was on the dole for the last 30 years.He escaped from America to avoid the draft for Vietnam. Were you on the dole too or a former American capitalist pig? If so, why come to China to work? Stay on the dole. Working sucks!

Do you want to meet a chinese girl?
Ain't no girls in Canada?


Now for your questions.
Yes bring teaching crap.
Yes, you can leave whenever you want.
Yes , yes and I don't know.
Work for an American or Candian. School. Just come over and get screwed like the rest of us. It is the only way to learn. Sign a contract before or when you get here. It don't matter.
You can buy Zhongnanhai cigarrettes for 50 cents (american). What a country.

[Guest]

Frittzy

JUST DO IT. I only have one lung and I headed to China in August last year - if I am going to die, I would rather die in China than anywhere else. You are more likely to get run over on the roads here than to get SARS - believe me. Anyway, the pollution in most places would kill you before Sars does.

We are provided with absolutely no books or teaching materials at this School, which I found a bit daunting at first as I had never taught before. I am now 57 by the way.

I have been here for 8 months now and I enjoy planning my lessons - I get most of my information from the Internet. Books are heavy so I would not adivse bringing too many. There a good bookshops in most places (not where I live - because I live out in the sticks). I would have to go to Shanghai to buy books.

Unless you get a position in a University, you will find that what you are teaching is very basic - no grammar - mainly pronunciation etc. I think, for any serious teacher, China would not be for them as it can be very frustrating - we are treated as "entertainment" by the Chinese students (of all ages).

Still, I wish you the best of luck and if you would like any more information feel free to email me.

[email protected]

[august03]

No, you don't have to sign a contract before you arrive, you can enter on a tourist visa and get it changed to a working permit.

The starting wage begins at 4000RMB per month and rises depending on where you work, or really how much work you do. At a government school you might do about 10-15 actual hours of class a week.

Yes, bring extra materials they will always come in handy, use the Net as a resource too.

Most schools will reimburse your airfare, half after you arrive, the other half when you complete your contract. I have not heard of any schools that will pay for it up front, for all they know you might do a runner. Think about using a credit card, not ideal, but you will be able to pay it back.

If you would like the name of a reliable agency to go through, who will place you in a school and be there for any questions you may have, just PM me.

Good luck and just do it!!

[millie]

Cowboy Pete has the nail right on the head.

Lets get answers to those questions right NOW.

As for the point he makes about gaspers
I think you are paying too much for those nic sticks, sport

Still, whatever the price, you can't afford NOT to smoke at prices like this.

As Rhonda Some-Place says: Just do it.

I agree

Just light up, you wont regret it.
500000000000000 Chinese men cant be wrong

[Roger]

I would advise you not to rush into China with your dream of working here. Maybe half new arrivals get the blues within a few months, and then everything looks dreary.
The kinds of questions you put to us should be posted on the Newbies forum, not here. I personally would encourage mature folks to come here, but not if they have preconceived notions of what a good starting salary is (RMB 4000 is an utopian idea - the minimum pay is set by the central government at 2200). Airfare is paid at the end of your term, and they often renege on it!

No, you should not come here if you can't afford to! In my opinion, you must be prepared to pack up and leave at your own expense since this is a country that offers no social net for the downtrodden from abroad! It can be very rough, indeed!

[struelle]

[Cowboy Pete]

Glad you got that off your chest. My real name is Pete, last name cowboy. I had a bowl of da jiu with Bertie just yesterday morning. Charming old chap. Likes to read comic books. Oh, all his other incarnations were there too. They told me to say hello. Hey, we are all getting together for a movie party. Want to come?


But the main point of this thread is not me and your curiosities. Mr. older canadian should come and get clobbered like the rest of us. Don't ya agree? Ifr you do not like it return home. That old machine called the plane works wonders for unhappy folks. So it didn't work out. I gues all of us, including old Rog, have had bad things happen to us. Come on over old, fat, Canadian man. Gots to be more fun than sitting in your living room in your bathrobe drinking LaBatts Blue. You can come here sit in your skivies and drink bai jiu!

[Lanza-Armonia]

Cowboy, Largy and moi? Are there anymore full-time pi$$ artists here? Or is that just the pet name for TEFL teachers?



LA

[august03]

Frittzy, please do not worry about the negative posts.

If you never, never go, you'll never, never know.

Make the most of your life, if it doesn't work out, so what, go home get a job, it doesn't matter.

[nik_knack0828]

Well, Jeez, you guys are mean.
I would say 4000 is about right, not the 2200 that Roger speaks of.
I work at a Vocational College in a smallish city north of Beijing.
I don't have a degree, which eliminated me from a lot of jobs, but I'm here making 4000.
This makes me think you should be able to make that, no problem.
My total costs (post TESL) were about $1500 Can. That includes my passport, plane ticket (through travel cuts), traveller's visa, insurence, a few books, plus various crap I thought I'd need (salad dressing, Spitz , etc.).
I managed to save that working a minimum wage job, while going to school part time.
Oops, I forgot in China expenses. It was a month and a week before I got my first paycheque. When I arrived I was given 500 RMB from the school for start up costs. Didn't last me long. I exchanged $360 Can for that month and a bit. I over spent, big time, when I arrived. I bought a printer (400 RMB) and too many clothes.
$1860 - not too bad for a trip and life change like moving to China. I think this number is a little high, but you get the idea.
I've heard that it's illigal for a school to pay for your flights ahead of time, so fat chance on that.
I arranged my job through a recruiter, and had a good experience with that. Definitely better than what would have happened if I had just shown up in China looking for a job. I would suggest that you check out the websites listed on sticky for jobs in China. With a degree, I'd think you would find it pretty easy to find a good job doing whatever you want.
And ignore this unfriendly bunch of posters.
They must be having a bad day.

[latefordinner]

Roger and Struelle have goth given sage advice. What can I add? If what you want to do is teach, this is a good place to start (or restart) your engines. If you're looking for a quick fix to something that has gone wrong back in the colony, forget it. There are enough things wrong here tthat you are sure to think "There's no place like home" some time. Have a pair of ruby slippers handy. The key is, is this what you _want_ to do, or is it a means to an end? If things go wrong (and they can go much further wrong here than in the colony), where is your parachute?

[skyline5k]

[hesterprynne]

DEAR NEWBIE: This may not apply to you: We all come to China for our different reasons, don't we? How can we cast aspersions on this newbie's motives? Come on, guys- if the bottom drops out- there is always another school, isn't there? Of course, one should design some sort of financial safety net!
MY MAIN POINT: How much, Dear Mr. Newbie- are you going to enjoy this job? How much are you going to put into it? Recently, I have met some folks who have taken jobs in which they find no real joy. I fear that their students suffer from serving as a convenient source of income or visa for these teachers whose real interests lie outside the classroom! I refer not to the young skirt-chaser, but to the mature person who has no desire to teach children! This type of person may have business interests, or want to teach adults, or....???? BRING ALL THE MATERIALS YOU CAN WITHOUT OVERLOADING YOUR SUITCASE AND PAYING A FORTUNE ON THE WAY THROUGH VARIOUS AIRPORTS! There is always the internet, but hard copies are convenient, aren't they? You will need fresh ideas, as will your colleagues. When you get here, pm me about finding useful and cheap materials in your local bookstore.
As others have said, no one will pay your airfare in advance. Get a 3-month tourist visa and come at the right time. Humbly ask before you come about Chinese political incorrectness. Prepare for the Chinese to react to your appearance and dress in a way that may seem shallow or prejudiced or ignorant to you. Immediately begin in your spare time to do a language exchange, so that you can function in everyday life. Sign me- THE UGLY AMERICAN