Job Discussion Forums

[Nexus11]

First off, a little background about me. I am a 30 year old Canadian with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in English. I have four years of EFL experience in South Korea. I have a TEFL certificate, but not a CELTA.

From what I seem to be reading on this board, it is much easier to land a job in Hong Kong if you are able to go to interviews in person. It also seems like the visa process takes so long that doing things this way could be quite damaging to the bank balance.

I currently have a decent job offer for a school in Shenzhen. I would eventually like to teach in Hong Kong, but I don't want to exhaust all of my savings just to land a job that will barely have me scraping by.

I had the idea that I could take the job in Shenzhen, study for a CELTA, then start applying for jobs in Hong Kong and crossing the border when I have interviews.

Would this be possible? Is it easy enough to cross the border to make this a realistic option?

[YujiKaido]

Hello, I came across your post and have had the same Idea to use Shenzhen as a stepping stone for HK. I really love HK, but I unfortunately in my heat of the moment after graduation did just that went to HK and ended up running out of money before I could secure a job offer but also looking into Shenzhen. I have applied to many jobs from the states for the past 2 months but only got a few responses and one skype interview for a playgroup that didn't go anywhere. So it seems like a good Idea to me. I just wish I could find a 6 month contract to teach in Shenzhen then head to HK.

From what I have gathered from advice on the China forums, It is easy enough to cross the border into HK as long you have a Z visa and multiple entry permission. I was advised just make sure you have enough passport pages.

I have looked in EF Shenzhen, but they seem to work you mostly on weekends and evenings. Could you share with me the school you got a job offer from? It was my Idea also to gain a Celta online or on location while I work a year or less in Shenzhen. Is your job offer a one year contract? I would appreciate any info you can share with me.

If anyone has any other advice or input I would appreciate it as well.

[Joshua2006]

Being based in HK and knowing how difficult it currently is to get a job in HK, then it sounds like a good idea.

Do the CELTA, even do a PGCE distance if you can - there are plenty of universities offering distance courses for the PG and both that and the CELTA make you a much more employable possibility.

The only think I can say though is that even if you are close for interview, you still won't have a visa, which for a friend of mine was a real hassle.