Teaching in China?

[Amaro]

Hello!

 

 

So I got a crazy idea. I would love to live in China for a year or 2, but the only problem is trying to set all that up and finding a job that would give me a somewhat decent life style. Many job postings require a person to have a Bachelors degree, and I have a little over a year to go to get my Bachelors in Health Sciences.

 

My target city would Zhangzhou or Xiamen, because that is where my wife is from. I have seen the salary listing anywhere from 6000 RMB a month to 18000 RMB a month, now given the fact I have 0 experience teaching that I would be in lower end of that pay. So what did some of you do before you headed on over there for a teaching career? I was thinking about saving about $50k and debt free and live off that and the salary as a teacher, that way I would still have a pretty comfortable lifestyle.

 

That's what I was thinking though, saving a lot of money up here and just grabbing a teaching job as an excuse to stay in country and not really relying on the salary they offer you. Im sure I missed some more details , but that's why I have you guys!

[chilton747]

Hello!

 

 

So I got a crazy idea.

 

I agree.

[chef4u]

Amaro, I would higly recommmend checking out the follwing:

 

 

http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/

 

this will give you a general idea of living and teaching in China. One major advice I can give you, be very careful of some of those job posting sites. Some of them only want a warm,native English speaker, who has a heart beat. In addition, DO NOT come to China to work as a teacher on a tourist visa, with the promise, we will help you get your Z Visa and residence permit. Since living and teaching in China, I personaly know quite of few Americans and Aussies, who got burned under similiar circumstances and needed to return home to get it all worked out. Finally, you should be patient and complete that degree. At best, you need to have a TESOL or TEFL certificate to teach in China. To be told othrwise, your looking at a sweat job, that pays very low, works ya to death and your living quarters would be such, a pig would refuse to live in..lol Anyway, wish you all the best. :-)

[Amaro]

http://www.oxfordsem...hp?city=Orlando

 

I was looking at that program, it is $1200 for apparently (3)? different certificates or is it all just wrapped into a general category. Either way, is that dollar amount the going rate for the course?

 

Oh I was also thinking, if my wife earned a Bachelors in Business or International Business here, she would be very marketable in China? If that was the case, then her income should more than enough to supplement whatever I make.

Edited February 20, 2012 by Amaro (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Amaro, I would higly recommmend checking out the follwing:

 

 

http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/

 

this will give you a general idea of living and teaching in China. One major advice I can give you, be very careful of some of those job posting sites. Some of them only want a warm,native English speaker, who has a heart beat. In addition, DO NOT come to China to work as a teacher on a tourist visa, with the promise, we will help you get your Z Visa and residence permit. Since living and teaching in China, I personaly know quite of few Americans and Aussies, who got burned under similiar circumstances and needed to return home to get it all worked out. Finally, you should be patient and complete that degree. At best, you need to have a TESOL or TEFL certificate to teach in China. To be told othrwise, your looking at a sweat job, that pays very low, works ya to death and your living quarters would be such, a pig would refuse to live in..lol Anyway, wish you all the best. :-)

 

What are some of these horror stories about coming on an L-visa? As long as you end up with a work and residence permit, I wouldn't think there would be a problem. I guess the problem would come in if an unscrupulous employer expected you to start working before the permit was processed, and then didn't (or couldn't for some reason) follow through.

 

That was exactly what I did at the university here - but they insisted on getting my work/residence permit before I started (and we did, too, to be able to bring the container in). There was no need for me to leave the country, and no Z-visa. I haven't heard any of those stories here.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

Best advice. Do not accept a job teaching until you get here and look around and talk to people for two weeks to one month. Never negotiate anything in China unless you are looking them eye to eye. Anything less than that will run the chance of getting less. Good luck.

Edited February 20, 2012 by JiangsuExpat (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Okay, I found it - theUniversity didn't have a program getting my Foreign Expert Certification, and the PSB didn't have a problem with giving me the work/residence permit - no problem for me.

 

What often happens is that private schools without an SAFEA license to hire foreign experts will simply lie and promise the teacher that his or her tourist (L) or business (F) visa will be converted to a Z-visa shortly after arrival, often in provinces that strictly forbid this practice even for licensed schools. Furthermore, although the SAFEA does maintain a list of accredited schools, that list is in Chinese only and not updated often.

Unscrupulous recruiters will always encourage prospective teachers to arrive on an L-visa because their intention is to retain those teachers as employees of the agency and then hire them out to the highest bidder. This is probably the worst case scenario foreign teachers can face in China because, essentially, they have no legal rights and are completely at the mercy of the recruitment agency, which typically regards them as nothing more than mere chattel.

Many private schools, even those that are licensed by the SAFEA to hire foreign experts, will often promise to convert that tourist visa into a work visa (in provinces and municipalities that allow it) while their real intention is to delay signing a contract until after they have had the chance to observe the teacher perform in the classroom. In essence, the foreign teacher is being asked to fly up to halfway around the world for what is no more than a glorified job interview or trial period.

Here is the bottom-line in a nutshell: If you do not know and completely trust the source, your safest and most secure option is to enter China with a Z-visa because that Z-visa commits the school to providing you with a job upon arrival.

 

. . .

 

Despite the positive outcome enjoyed by the majority of our study's participants who failed to enter China on a Z-visa, approximately one in every six respondents (16 percent) were not so fortunate and are (or were) working in China as illegal aliens, i.e., without a residency permit and foreign expert certificate.

 

The Truth About Working on Tourist and Business Visas

Edited February 20, 2012 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Amaro]

What about saving a substansial amount so I am not forced to live like a Chinese?

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

What about saving a substansial amount so I am not forced to live like a Chinese?

 

So, you want to come to China, teach English, and live at a higher standard than the common people? You can live any way you like as long as you have the resources to do so. Personally, I think there is great value is immersing oneself as deeply into Chinese culture as possible at all stages of a relationship with a Chinese woman. If you indeed decide to come to China to teach, or just stay for an extended period, then you can either immerse yourself willingly or unwillingly; one way or another you're going to get hit between the eyes with a cultural wake-up call. Some people come and actually adjust to the culture, people, food, and environment. But most leave within a few weeks or months after arriving.

[Amaro]

What about saving a substansial amount so I am not forced to live like a Chinese?

 

So, you want to come to China, teach English, and live at a higher standard than the common people? You can live any way you like as long as you have the resources to do so. Personally, I think there is great value is immersing oneself as deeply into Chinese culture as possible at all stages of a relationship with a Chinese woman. If you indeed decide to come to China to teach, or just stay for an extended period, then you can either immerse yourself willingly or unwillingly; one way or another you're going to get hit between the eyes with a cultural wake-up call. Some people come and actually adjust to the culture, people, food, and environment. But most leave within a few weeks or months after arriving.

 

Well I already know I would want to leave after a year or 2. I lived in Japan for 2 years and I had enough of it after that and I really wanted to get back to the states. Now that I have left I want to go back and live there again for another year or 2. I believe I would feel the same about China, especially since I worked my butt off here in the states to secure a degree in a medical profession that allows me to live a comfortable life.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

What about saving a substansial amount so I am not forced to live like a Chinese?

 

So, you want to come to China, teach English, and live at a higher standard than the common people? You can live any way you like as long as you have the resources to do so. Personally, I think there is great value is immersing oneself as deeply into Chinese culture as possible at all stages of a relationship with a Chinese woman. If you indeed decide to come to China to teach, or just stay for an extended period, then you can either immerse yourself willingly or unwillingly; one way or another you're going to get hit between the eyes with a cultural wake-up call. Some people come and actually adjust to the culture, people, food, and environment. But most leave within a few weeks or months after arriving.

 

Well I already know I would want to leave after a year or 2. I lived in Japan for 2 years and I had enough of it after that and I really wanted to get back to the states. Now that I have left I want to go back and live there again for another year or 2. I believe I would feel the same about China, especially since I worked my butt off here in the states to secure a degree in a medical profession that allows me to live a comfortable life.

 

You may want to consider giving it a try on a trial basis. That is, come for a few weeks and teach and see how it goes. China is nothing like Japan. Completely different. Just avoid signing a contract with anyone before you get here and have a look around. Most schools are in desperate need of English teachers and you have a lot more flexibility when you are face to face with them. You also get a chance to get a look see of what you may be getting yourself into.

Edited February 21, 2012 by JiangsuExpat (see edit history)

[Amaro]

Well when I first my wife in China, I went to a little town called Wuyishan I met a gentlemen from England there. He was teaching English at my wife's university and he was doing it for a year and he signed on again for another year. He told me all about it when I was there, I was picking his brain at it. They gave him a pretty decent size apartment near the school, I think it was the teachers dorm, i guess the higher you are in the chain the bigger your apartment is? Either way, he said he really liked it. He was a single man though, enjoying the scenery!

 

I just wanted to add, I really wanted to be around Xiamen though as far as the teaching job goes. I plan to go to china next year. So visiting one of the local schools that have openings to see what it is all about wouldnt be a bad idea.

Edited February 21, 2012 by Amaro (see edit history)

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

Well when I first my wife in China, I went to a little town called Wuyishan I met a gentlemen from England there. He was teaching English at my wife's university and he was doing it for a year and he signed on again for another year. He told me all about it when I was there, I was picking his brain at it. They gave him a pretty decent size apartment near the school, I think it was the teachers dorm, i guess the higher you are in the chain the bigger your apartment is? Either way, he said he really liked it. He was a single man though, enjoying the scenery!

 

I just wanted to add, I really wanted to be around Xiamen though as far as the teaching job goes. I plan to go to china next year. So visiting one of the local schools that have openings to see what it is all about wouldnt be a bad idea.

 

Campus apartment housing is typically simple, one room, and very limited facilities. There are strict rules that apply to any and everyone who uses campus housing. Specifically, no overnight guests allowed. Additionally, you can be sure that anything and everything, and everyone who visits will be seen and noted. Chinese schools take a very dim view of single men out on the prowl. I know a few noted Western professors who are invited to visit and teach a term or two and return to their homeland. However, they are highly skilled and currently teaching advanced subjects in well-known Western universities.

 

The typical English teacher in China is at the bottom of the food chain. No special housing and no special priviledges.

[pbatt]

Teaching can be a great experience in China but I also agree with what is written here also, you really have to be aware of what you are getting yourself into as some schools want teachers very bad and will agree to anything to get you here, so always interview in person and be sure what you are getting yourself into.

 

Myself I have a TESOL degree and taught English in Singapore and a couple of weeks in China to help a friend at an English school in ShaoXing. I have a friend from Wales who was promised many things until he got here for the Interview in Shanghai and decided not to take any job offers.

 

But other options can arise also such as tutoring and other things. One teacher I met going to ChengDu said he was offered work writing sub titles for local movies, so you have other options as well.

[Randy W]

Well when I first my wife in China, I went to a little town called Wuyishan I met a gentlemen from England there. He was teaching English at my wife's university and he was doing it for a year and he signed on again for another year. He told me all about it when I was there, I was picking his brain at it. They gave him a pretty decent size apartment near the school, I think it was the teachers dorm, i guess the higher you are in the chain the bigger your apartment is? Either way, he said he really liked it. He was a single man though, enjoying the scenery!

 

I just wanted to add, I really wanted to be around Xiamen though as far as the teaching job goes. I plan to go to china next year. So visiting one of the local schools that have openings to see what it is all about wouldnt be a bad idea.

 

Campus apartment housing is typically simple, one room, and very limited facilities. There are strict rules that apply to any and everyone who uses campus housing. Specifically, no overnight guests allowed. Additionally, you can be sure that anything and everything, and everyone who visits will be seen and noted. Chinese schools take a very dim view of single men out on the prowl. I know a few noted Western professors who are invited to visit and teach a term or two and return to their homeland. However, they are highly skilled and currently teaching advanced subjects in well-known Western universities.

 

The typical English teacher in China is at the bottom of the food chain. No special housing and no special priviledges.

 

In my case at the local university (sample of one, of course) each point here was ABSOLUTELY not the case, including the overnight stays - single male teachers and a female student, although I'm certain they slept in different rooms. We stayed in one of the oldest dorms on campus, which was still very liveable - 3 rooms, with kitchen and bath, and 2 A/C's w/heat mode. Most of the foreign teachers stayed in a newer foreign teachers' dorm - there was no apparent supervision whatsoever. Pay was 4500¥/month. One teacher was with a volunteer organization, and worked for only living expenses - 3500¥ a month. The dorm, electricity, and Internet were free.