Teaching/Living

[xuechengfeng]

I want to ultimately teach English in China for a few years after college to further my Chinese speaking abilities, make some money, and see the country.

How much typically is a home to rent a month, how much do I make, etc.? Or can you at least refer me to a site that says all these things (on the mainland, not Taiwan)?

One question that is important to my g/f who would be relocating with me would want to know, it may seem silly, but.. do they allow you to move from the US to China and bring a dog? And if so, can you find somewhere with a yard, or apartment that allows pets?

[imron]

If you are teaching at a school, then in probably 99% of all cases, they will provide you with accomodation.

There are plenty of teach-in-china programs around, however they typically all cost money. You can try to organise something yourself, but then you also stand the chance of being ripped off and cheated by the school. So it's a trade off. An organisation usually provides a safety net and can be a good option for first timers, but it's expensive. Going solo is cheap, and if you know what you're doing, it's the way to go.

In a small town/city, your salary would be roughly 2,500 - 3,500 RMB a month, depending on the school. In a bigger city, you'd probably be looking at around 4,500-7,000 RMB a month. These are just rough estimates, and it's possible to find places that pay more/less than that. Put simply, you will live very well in China, but don't expect to make any money that you can take home with you. It's best to think of the experience as a great way to spend time living and travelling around China without needing much initial capital.

The school should provide you with accomodation, and also pay for all your utility bills except phone (i.e. gas, water, electricity). If you stay for at least one full school year (about 10 months), then the school is also required to pay either half of your return ticket, or a one-way ticket from China back to your country of origin. Each semester, the school should also pay you a travel allowance, roughly equal to half a month's salary.

If you organise everything yourself, don't go to any school that cannot organise the correct paperwork for you to get a Z visa (i.e. a working visa) before you leave your home country. If a school can't provide you with this then they are most likely hiring you illegally, and it should serve as a warning sign. Demand for foreign teachers is high, and supply is low, so it's easy enough to find schools that can get you the correct type of visa.

Also, I would never teach at any school where you haven't been able to get in touch with a foreigner who has worked (or is currently working) there. It's the only way to know how a school treats its foreign teachers. The last thing you want, is to spend a year in a place that treats foreign teachers like dirt.

Regarding the dog, you can pretty much forget it. First of all there are laws regarding the sizes of dogs you can own as a pet (I think they can't be larger than knee height). Second of all, there are large fees you need to pay in order to get a dog license, and third of all, there will most likely be quarantine issues when returning to your home country i.e. you have to leave the dog in quarantine for 6 months before you can take it home. I don't know if there are such restrictions when bringing animals into China, but it wouldn't be so strange if they had them.

[RayOfAsh]

http://www.teachenglishinchina.com/ <- I like this place.

I myself posted a resume on www.chinajob.com just to see if anybody would even think of hiring a 16 year old (17 in china) for teaching... The very next day I got a job offering lol . I didnt respond, and now im taking my resume off the website lol .

[chengdude]

Regarding the dog, you can pretty much forget it. First of all there are laws regarding the sizes of dogs you can own as a pet (I think they can't be larger than knee height).

Hmm, so all the German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Siberian Huskies, Labrador and Golden Retrievers, Collies, and the couple-odd Dobermans and Newfoundlands that I've seen on the streets in China are the miniature versions of those breeds?

[imron]

Hmm, so all the German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Siberian Huskies, Labrador and Golden Retrievers, Collies, and the couple-odd Dobermans and Newfoundlands that I've seen on the streets in China are the miniature versions of those breeds?

Well, I can't say I saw any of those dog breeds as pets when I was in China.

This page: http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/wed/ar/Qlifestyle-china-animals.Rgqe_DOC.html, is a news article in English explaining the regulations, and mentions among other things

But along with lowered fees, the government has for the first time specified a list of dogs that cannot be raised, except in rural areas.

The dogs do not meet an already existing rule that restrict people from owning pets taller than 35 centimeters (14 inches) -- which meant dog lovers had few choices and most ended up raising small dogs like the Pekinese.

Anyway, yes that regulation is for Beijing, which is where I was living when I heard about it. I guess other regions will have different regulations. Perhaps a Chinese person can clarify what regulations exist in other areas?

[Angelskates]

In my area, (Chongwen District in Beijing) you can PAY for a bigger dog and agree to walk it three times a day. Only because I live a bit out of the city is this allowed (I don't have a dog though everyone in my complex does!! I have 3 cats). I wouldn't call where I am rural (10-15 minutes to the subway).

[TCcookie]

Hi, sorry to hijack this thread, but I was rather disappointed that no one responded to my thread about Sinolink. Please visit and respond if you have any experience or otherwise helpful advice. Thanks.

(I wouldn't be hijacking threads like this except for the fact that I'm making kind of a last-minute, rash decision...)