Job Discussion Forums

[healinghumanity]

Dear ESL Cafe,
I am a new teacher who will soon hold a Masters of Arts in Social Science from University of Chicago (also a TESOL online certification that I have not used for a couple years). I was wondering if anyone could recommend any specific resources for employers in China I should target if I am interested in 1) Advanced Degree Programs, 2) Career Teaching, and 3) University instruction. I list them in that order of preference because I would like to 1) have my mornings free which is the best time to continue my research, and 2) maximize the free time I have available (as opposed to the pay) while still getting that residence permit, and I prefer to be in Beijing/Shanghai/Guangzhou/Chengdu. However, if you can think of teaching opportunities that would suit my preferences better, please inform me.
Lastly, I wish to know if any institutions value Masters-level analytical methods and skills in the social sciences as highly as most institutions do in regards to the natural sciences? While I know Chinese have come to more highly value economics instruction, my background is political economy (which they might find suspicious?), so I suppose in marketing myself I should blandly describe myself as a social science (or just English) teacher from University of Chicago (known for its economics dept)? What do you think?

[Zero]

Something tells me that you're not grasping how completely severed from any semblance of academia, and the respect that comes with it, you will be when teaching in China.

Anyway, I'd try one of the joint-venture universities. Naturegirl321 recently posted a list, and those are all the ones I know of.

[johntpartee]

[naturegirl321]

YOu forgot being able to pass the medical test. Looks matter as well, weight, age.

[johntpartee]

Age is becoming less of an issue (if it ever was; I've seen older teachers ever since I first got here oh so many years ago). I'm 58 and just got a new position and was offered a five year contract shortly after I arrived. There is a married couple downstairs; he's 66, she's 64, they were offered a renewal.

Weight is definitely NOT an issue.

As far as the medical test, if you can make it to the hospital under your own power and you don't have any STDs, you're in.

[Non Sequitur]

Unless you're a certificated teacher in your home country and can hit up the international schools, you are destined for the same old same old uni 20 hours pw max gig that most of us do.
That will give you 5k RMB pm, accom, airfare allowance/refund, a timetable you can work to give you max 6 hours per day contact time and possibly 3 day weekend.
You also get 3m holiday, of which one will be paid. All 3 if you re-sign for another year.

[roadwalker]

I agree with the above. You may be able to find a typical university that is willing to give you at least some free mornings; especially if they use foreign teachers for evening training classes for certificate-seekers (self-study students). And you may have a decent chance in some unis to teach social science in English. Economics would be more popular than politics. Even if you were allowed to teach politics, the students seem to loathe it as a waste of their time.

A master's degree from a famous university gives you a leg up on teachers with bachelors' degrees from lesser known universities. And if the school is not used to foreigners with such degrees, there is a chance you will be celebrated as the visiting scholar, with newspaper/broadcast interviews and meet and greets within the school. Of course, they won't pay you more, or at least not much more.

As mentioned above: Chinese university education is not academic as westerners understand it. And there is no academic freedom within the state run schools to challenge the status quo or to improve. From the students' perspective, it is set up not unlike western secondary education. The school regulates their daily lives: where to live, when to eat, when to sleep, when to go to class. Students are challenged to memorize and regurgitate "knowledge", not to think.

[johntpartee]

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

If you are looking for a cushy job with minimal hours and not concerned with money, work for a 2nd or 3rd tier university. You'll be looking at less than a thousand dollars a month for income, even less with the new additional 11% tax coming on board.

If money is a concern, do what others suggest with an international school or joint-venture college. Hope you don't mind pollution...

[Non Sequitur]

If GWOW means real international schools my view and experience is (as mentioned) OP would need certification and a classroom career back home.
CTs have the subject areas covered in most unis and colleges as the language of instruction must be Chinese, as students don't have English skills sophisticated enough to learn in English.
The CTs also may not be too happy to have overpaid FTs getting involved in their little sinecures.

[XiongNu]

[johntpartee]

I shouldn't have said definitely not; I'm sure some schools care about it. Lots of overweight foreign teachers here, though.

[Random Number]

With those requirements and your background, it sounds to me like you'd be happiest finding a job with a school that has a joint-degree program--they're few and far between, but they're paid the best for the least hours, and you will be held to U.S. academic standards by your employer (NOT a Chinese university), so it won't ruin your resume if you ever want to return to academia in the U.S. Try Higher Ed Jobs' international job boards if you haven't already. But be warned that most programs value foreign teachers for business classes or hard sciences/math classes and many want PhDs, especially in the desirable bigger cities you mentioned. You might want to play up the economics background.