tefl or tesol in china

Podgerz

Oranage2 wrote: »

Cheers for that man.



The details of our School are listed below:

1.The students ages range from about 3-14.
2.Every class has a maximum of 15 students.
3.You only teach 25hours a week
4.We offer a free furnished single apartment. （The apartment includes: a bedroom, a living room, a bathroom , a Kitchen, a microwave, a refrigerator ,some furniture etc. Attached is a sample of the apartment.)
5.All curricula and teaching materials are provided
6.We will apply for your working visa etc.

All positions at DD Dragon include:

1. a salary of RMB9,000 per month
2. overtime pay for teaching more than 25 hours per week
3. free apartment
4. one week of paid vacation
5. a contract completion bonus
6. one year contract


What you think of that?

I was also looking at this position, is there many Irish in the area?

Oranage2

Podgerz wrote: »

I was also looking at this position, is there many Irish in the area?

I took a different job in the end.

simonsez

Draper666 wrote: »

Was thinking of heading over to Yangshuo in South meself to learn here http://www.omeida.com.cn/Meals/ and get a job I was in China a while back and have a few mates from what I have seen its pretty easy to get business visas and look for work and that but some people say its really strict . Any ideas on Yangshuo?

Hi Draper,

You want to earn and learn in China? If that is the case it is not allowed.

You can study with an x visa or work with a z visa.

SS

simonsez

do not come to china to work on a business visa or f visa. The school must be able to organise a z visa or go elsewhere . you will get deported.

SS

9 k is too low for Hangzhou when they are so desperate for white native english speakers with ba's . there are indian, spanish. french and german nationals teaching english in hangzhou the schools are that desperate.

simonsez

Oranage2 wrote: »

Cheers for that man.



The details of our School are listed below:

1.The students ages range from about 3-14.
2.Every class has a maximum of 15 students.
3.You only teach 25hours a week
4.We offer a free furnished single apartment. （The apartment includes: a bedroom, a living room, a bathroom , a Kitchen, a microwave, a refrigerator ,some furniture etc. Attached is a sample of the apartment.)
5.All curricula and teaching materials are provided
6.We will apply for your working visa etc.

All positions at DD Dragon include:

1. a salary of RMB9,000 per month
2. overtime pay for teaching more than 25 hours per week
3. free apartment
4. one week of paid vacation
5. a contract completion bonus
6. one year contract


What you think of that?

25 hours or units a week (usually 40 minutes) does this include office hours?

do not teach in a school on an f visa , if you get caught you will be deported and fined. there have been 3 cases this month in around hangzhou this month.

ss

simonsez

salary way too low

simonsez

go to costa unlike starbucks at least they pay their share of tax without going through the morally corrupt tax avoidance.

simonsez

Funglegunk wrote: »

Really? Most schools I know strictly only hire native English speakers, giving preference to Canadians and Americans (one Irish lad was told to tell the parents of the kids that he was Canadian).

I agree with funglegunk's observation.
North American White Male/Female graduates with celta/tesol are usually the holy grail for teaching English in schools in China. Then UK passport holders.
We can only base this on extensive research we carried out over a five year period with one of the top insititutes of education in Shanghai . Mind you the research was only carried out in 200 schools based in Chengdu, Xi'an Hangzhou, Fuyang (Anhui), Changchun and Shanghai. How representative is this research of all mainland China, remains to be seen. More conclusive research will be carried out in due course.

SS






ss:)

Oranage2

simonsez wrote: »

25 hours or units a week (usually 40 minutes) does this include office hours?

do not teach in a school on an f visa , if you get caught you will be deported and fined. there have been 3 cases this month in around hangzhou this month.

ss

Cheers for the info, I took a different job in the end though.

Tramps Like Us

What exactly are "office hours"? What do you do?

Mr. Loverman

Tramps Like Us wrote: »

What exactly are "office hours"? What do you do?

Frequently it means lesson planning, correcting homework.

Caonima

warofthebutton wrote: »

I'm thinking of going to China to do the whole teaching thing, I already have my TEFL course in the bag. I was wondering if any1 here has had any experience with the English First company? they seem to have 90% of the job postings..
Im looking at Dalian and Hangzhou,
Any help would be greatly appreciated you heroes

Oh god, EF...

I worked for those clowns for a year; absolute bedlam, poorly organised, poor salary, antisocial working days, sometimes poor conditions in the schools, erratic training, absolutely no disciplining the children, moving up is more 'who you know' than 'what you know'.

If you really, really wanted to cut your teeth at the teaching racket in China, you could try them, but you'd be a better man than me if you stayed more than a year.

Avoid then, try Wall Street, Shane English, Web English instead. Those others have their negatives, too, but not nearly as bad at English First.

Caonima

Oranage2 wrote: »

All positions at DD Dragon include:

1. a salary of RMB9,000 per month
2. overtime pay for teaching more than 25 hours per week
3. free apartment
4. one week of paid vacation
5. a contract completion bonus
6. one year contract


What you think of that?

Poor salary, especially after it's taxed.
Nobody ever really gets paid overtime. The claim forms can be off-putting.
One week out of one year isn't much, to be honest.

R.D. aka MR.D

Has anyone who has applied lately and gone over got any idea how long the whole process takes?

Do I have to visit the Chinese embassy in Dublin?

I'm in the USA right now and would only like to visit home for 2 weeks before heading to China ideally. Does this seem realistic?

Lanaier

Just wanted to chime in and say that even as someone who is not an English Teacher I have heard many horror stories about English First.

Avoid if possible.

Finding a school with interests in the students rather than just their parents money will be a chore if I recall.

Good luck!

Caonima

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

Has anyone who has applied lately and gone over got any idea how long the whole process takes?

Do I have to visit the Chinese embassy in Dublin?

I'm in the USA right now and would only like to visit home for 2 weeks before heading to China ideally. Does this seem realistic?

Yeah, you'll need to make a brief visit to the Chinese embassy to arrange a temporary visa before you go over. Pretty quick and painless; a friend just went there last week, only took him a week or so. You might want to get the ball rolling before you fly home, though.

R.D. aka MR.D

Has anyone got any advice on salary negotiations?

My boyfriend and I got offered a job but we would really like 1000rmb more a month. The school said explicitly that the salary was non-negotiable.

From being in Korea, I know that sometimes what is said isn't always to be taken as the last word.

Do you think this is similar in China?

Any idea on how to proceed would be really appreciated!

Mr. Loverman

What is the salary?
Which city?
How many hours a week?
What type of teaching?
What is your experience?
What is your education?

We need more details to give proper advice.

R.D. aka MR.D

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

What is the salary?
Which city?
How many hours a week?
What type of teaching?
What is your experience?
What is your education?

We need more details to give proper advice.

I was asking more about the typical Chinese business attitude as I am unfamiliar with it. The school has said explicitly that the salary is non negotiable.
If it was an Irish company then I would take that as the case but if it was Korea, for example, then I would know it was perfectly acceptable to ask for more money despite them saying it was 'non-negotiable'.

But the offer is:

10000RMB per month + a housing allowance
35hours total- 25 teaching
Hangzhou
Teaching kids

I have experience and a CELTA.

There are some issues with the contract that aren't deal breakers but an extra 1000RMB a month would make life a little easier.

Any advice is appreciated.

Mr. Loverman

They tried that "non-negotiable" thing in my current job. I told them no problem, I don't want the job. They backed down and I got everything I want.

Remember as an English teacher YOU have all the power. Schools cannot get staff.

Caonima

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

I have experience and a CELTA.

There are some issues with the contract that aren't deal breakers but an extra 1000RMB a month would make life a little easier.

Any advice is appreciated.

CELTA and experience.... then 10,000 is waaaaaaay too low for you.

Plus, I've never had a good experience with those non-negotiable salary places; usually a bit low-rent and/or shady.

There's loads of great places to work in Hangzhou - keep looking. Failing that, across the road to Shanghai.

ArphaRima

I want to put salary negotiations in China into perspective.

They are at the tail end (IMHO) of a boom the likes of which mankind has never seen. They are desperate for QUALIFIED applicants and education is supremely important. In a country with no pensions, the (only) child is their main pension/insurance policy.
Salary inflation is out of control by all accounts. You will be doing yourself a disservice if you don't haggle and indeed haggle hard.

I've just come out of contract renewal negotiations in Shanghai where we walked out 4 times over a number of weeks. we secured a 20% increase and extra month a year paid leave from what was strictly "non-negotiable". Be genuinely prepared to walk.

Good luck.

R.D. aka MR.D

We ended up negotiating and getting more. We were applying as a couple and there are some factors that mean that we wanted to be there as soon as possible so we probably could have held out for more but time is of the essence.

So hopefully, I'll be in Hangzhou by November. It's hard to know how long the visa process will take. The school is going to get the invitation documents but warned us it will be delayed because of the holiday.

ArphaRima

Congrats on the job.
Well given Caonima (nice nick..) said it was pretty low I would start looking immediately for a new job and the salary levels available elsewhere.

Contracts aren't worth the paper they are written on in China(for either party), and everyone knows it. You can always demand your worth when you are settled, but again have a plan B and be willing to do it.

Caonima

fluffer wrote: »

... I would start looking immediately for a new job and the salary levels available elsewhere.....

Best advice on this thread so far.

The whole Hangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing area is a hotbed for good jobs, so I'm pretty sure that poster will land on her feet. 10,000 for someone with a CELTA is having a laugh, to be honest. She should be getting 50% more than that, at least. Sounds like the school just want butts on seats, for want of a better term.

And you're right about the salary negotiations. Something that always puts it into perspective for me is how ayis (the housecleaners) negotiate a higher salary or a pay increase - they threaten to quit.

simonsez

simonsez wrote: »

I agree with funglegunk's observation.
North American White Male/Female graduates with celta/tesol are usually the holy grail for teaching English in schools in China. Then UK passport holders.
We can only base this on extensive research we carried out over a five year period with one of the top insititutes of education in Shanghai . Mind you the research was only carried out in 200 schools based in Chengdu, Xi'an Hangzhou, Fuyang (Anhui), Changchun and Shanghai. How representative is this research of all mainland China, remains to be seen. More conclusive research will be carried out in due course.

SS
ss:)

I would love to see this extensive research as I've been working in Xian for the last 4.5 years... There are way too many statements floating around about teaching in China based on "extensive research"...

If anyone needs work in Xian, you can pm me. I know a rather good school looking for FTs, and best of all, no children. Haha.

ArphaRima

Something that always puts it into perspective for me is how ayis (the housecleaners) negotiate a higher salary or a pay increase - they threaten to quit.

I had that. Often they just don't come back from national holidays, but mine at least asked for a 35% pay increase or she'd quit at the end of the week.

I offered 15%, with a pay review in a year. She declined so I took the apartment key from her immediately (security reasons) paid her until the end of the week and then got a new ayi in at the (laowai)market rate, plus 15%.

Her face was priceless. She thought she had another weak laowai. I had the new ayi in the next day and she knows what happened to the last one!

R.D. aka MR.D

Has anyone who has gotten there z visa from the embassy in dublin recently been asked for their health check?

I have mine but i forgot the original in the USA because i thought i wouldn't need it. I'm just getting a bit worried.

Ahhhhh its grand

Don't worry, you won't be asked for it. I haven't been to the Dublin embassy in 18 months, but 2 friends of mine came over into China in August and were worried about the same thing. They left it late and didn't have the money or time to get a health check in Dublin. Fact is, they didn't need it. And neither did I, you get one here. To put your mind at ease just ring the embassy and ask them exactly what you need to bring to apply for a Z visa. That's what I did. I doubt it's changed it the last couple of months.

For the embassy you need your passport, the application forms, and invitation letter and a work permit...as far as I remember. Bring them in, they will then tell you to come back on a certain day to collect your passport with your visa. When you collect it you have to bring a postal order for the cost of the visa, which is about 40/50 euro.