Job Discussion Forums

[simon_capetown]

Hi
I'm just trying to get an idea of the going rate for a teacher with a PGCE and and two years experience in Korea.
No home country teaching experience, although I do have QTS. I'm qualified to teach History, but my experience in Korea is obviously ESL. I'm a South African citizen.
Any information would be appreciated.
Thank you.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Hi,

Sorry to spoil your mood, but I'll lay down the facts as I have seen them over the last decade:

1. Generally, education means little here in terms of foreigners working. If you are white, that is the main thing. Of course, nice jobs exist for those with higher education but they are usually very competitive.

2. Being qualified to teach History from the western perspective is not a plus here in China. Everything you learned you might as well forget because China has it's own version of history, starting with the fact that America started the Korean War.

3. As you probably already know, South Africans are sadly usually clumped at the bottom of any list of desired foreign teachers which is a shame as some of my good mates are from SA and have a hard time snagging the good jobs. Double so now that there are that many more young American kids jobless and eager to work anywhere for any salary.

4. Whatever the salary is now, it will certainly be a lot less by this time next year as China is throwing a massive tax on all foreign workers in China. Something as high as 47%. That 12,000 salary may end up being a 6,000 salary soon enough...

5. I would not entertain the thought of jumping across the pond at this time, but that is only me. I am here only because of family ties, otherwise I'd be LONG gone by now.

6. Other countries may have better appeal; check the job boards for ideas.


Good luck and sorry to be so negative.

[dean_a_jones]

Although negativity is useful in pointing out a few possibilities, let's clear a few things up:

[zactherat]

I agree with GWoW.

Currently there is no specialized route into the Mainland Chinese education system for certified (PGCE or the like) foreign teachers.
In HK, there is the NET scheme, and in Taiwan, all grade school teachers must be certified. Both programs value the skills and responsibilities which are developed during teaching certification and offer compensation packages which match those in home country/int schools.

If I were certified, I would go into one of those programs for sure.

Mainland China is for teachers with other types of certification.

If you have your heart set on being an ESL teacher though, you might expect an extra 500 yuan per month at a university job - similar to the benefits for a Masters degree holder. Pretty pathetic. I can't imagine other types of schools would reward you at all.

Incidentally the last South African I worked with couldn't get a work visa for longer than 6 months. Actually they were certified too, and this was at a legit employer (provider of z visas).
It seemed to be quite a pain, the next paperwork submission was never far away.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

[dean_a_jones]

I specifically wanted to say it was "put in a way" that was false and misleading, not that you were hatching some master plan to trick the OP. One could read your post and think that the 47% applies directly to the salary. I don't think it is actually what you meant to say, but I think the OP might have read your post and thought that the new tax will mean FTs in China will be paying 47%. That is not the plan, and should not be commonly true (though I do concede that it could possibly be true for someone who decides to take a poor contract).

2012 is the new start date is it? Rather than September. Or October. Or whenever. When it comes, it comes. I was not attempting "positive spin" (why would I even care to do this, you might ask) I was just stating the facts as they stand today. It is not widespread as of yet. Everyone was soiling themselves about 4 months ago when they thought it would be in place in October. Most of us will know when it arrives when we check our balance after payday and something doesn't look right.

And as I pointed out, this might have an effect on salaries and jobs. As you say, some jobs may decide that instead of advertising a 12,000RMB job, it will now be a 6,000RMB job. But I don't think many will be taking a 12,000RMB job and then being told they have to pay 47% tax. I think this is unlikely.

So I simply wanted to make it clear that they way you framed it might be misleading for someone who hasn't been participating in a discussion here or following the situation generally.

There will be (in theory anyway) an increase in tax, meaning that an employee will be required to pay 12% of their salary as tax.

[MisterButtkins]

I was under the impression that the new tax was far from a sure thing.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

It will be retroactive, so expect a lot of foreigners to flee when it is implemented.

[SahanRiddhi]

As for the OP: Try your hand at top international schools. Some pay 25,000 or more per month, with good benefits. You're not going to be a shoe-in, because of lack of home-country experience. But you might get in nonetheless. I get the impression that international school jobs are less competitive in China than in a lot of other countries. There are also second- and third-tier international schools. These pay a lot less, maybe 8k to 15k a month. They typically ask for certification, too, but they are a lot less choosy. I was recruited rather heavily for such a school, and I have no teaching certification of any kind, and not much experience, either.

[w.melon56]

[simon_capetown]

[choudoufu]

in kunming, the salary differential between a BS and an MS is a
grand total of 100 RMB/month. PhD might net you an extra 250.

[waxwing]

[dean_a_jones]

[peewee1979]