Job Discussion Forums

[jungleguts]

I've been offered a job by TPR English in Zhuhai. I found them via the job board on this site and was wondering if anyone has any information on them (google hasn't turned up anything useful). If you've been to Zhuhai, what are your impressions of the city?

[doogsville]

I've worked for TPR and I still live in Zhuhai. They are okay. Not the best paying outfit in Zhuhai, but they always pay on time. They are reasonably professional and they stick to the terms of the contract. While I no longer work for them, they are a very good first employer and they do a lot to help the teachers settle in to life in China. You rarely work the full 21 hours stipulated in the contract, around 18 hours is more common. Almost all of your work will be at weekends and evening though, so forget about a regular social life. They buy you lunch and dinner and take you on day trips from time to time. They provide books, some of which are actually quite good and the classes are rarely too big. The support staff in the branches are friendly and useful and most of the office staff are friendly and useful too.

Downsides are the management are not the brightest bunch of people on the planet, but have an unshakeable belief that they are. The never involve of consult the teachers, some of whom have a huge amount of business as well as teaching experience, in anything. They hate paying overtime, which is voluntary anyway (the overtime that is, not the payment), and will move heaven and earth to avoid parting with any money over and above your regular salary. They will try to give you five minutes notice for just about everything and expect you to be at their beck and call 24/7. The last two you can deal with by just saying no, I have other plans I cant teach a demo class in an hours time, find someone else, and switch your phone off or ignore it when you're having a day off.

Zhuhai itself is clean and green, in relative China terms anyway. Near Macau and Hong Kong and two hours from Guangzhou, the provincial capital, by bus or train. It has quite a large expat community with a couple of useful websites for networking. Some people find it a little boring, but I'm a middle aged man looking for peace and quiet, so it suits me. PM me if you want any more info. Hope this helps.

[lemak]