College staff invited me to teach English

[joshuawbb]

Had a rather surreal moment at the student office of Xiamen University today:

After asking one of the admin staff in the international student affairs office about paying my next tuition fees, I was walking out and down the stairs when he came out the room with a friend and called to me, abruptly asking if I wanted to teach English. He said it would mean teaching middle school students for a small amount of time per week - I didn't quite get the meaning of whether this was teaching a class of students, or teaching his friend's middle school student 1-2-1. They were being rather pushy and probably got the idea after I said I would be staying for more semesters.

This is surely not a rare situation but it surprised me a lot - not just the suddenness of it all but the fact that they are two college admin staff members asking me; two of the guys who oversee student affairs, tuition payment, exam results and computer tracking, etc. I'd have thought if anyone really cared of the illegality (as far as definitions go) of it, it would certainly be them. In this thread I'm not so much asking advice on whether or not to accept it - my mind is relatively made up and I'd rather not to be honest, but I'd like to hear your views about it.

I know both my girlfriend and parents would really like to see me get a job here, firstly for reassuring my girlfriend that a career start isn't too far down the line, and to reduce the pressure on my parents to shoulder all my costs each month. I know that 1-2-1 tutoring is probably the best (safest) way to go about earning on a student visa if one wanted, and if the opportunity arose I had always planned on jumping for it. I had a previous job offer a month ago to tutor in a language school, but my studying took far higher a priority to commit so many hours a week, and I know I would obviously have no legal recourse if issues arised. Besides, regardless of whether or not there are people teaching in schools without qualification, I'd rather save such teaching until I've graduated and would have a better idea of what I'm doing. Aside from that my parents and friends will tell you I email them once in a blue moon (we talk over the phone often), since I have a habit of not structuring my free time well around study. So overall I'm not sure what to make of this offer. If it were a 1-2-1 tutoring offer I'd consider doing it, definitely not if it's class teaching.

That aside, what do you think of the fact that two senior staff members are asking me? I know that it's unlikely to cause a problem if your teacher knows you go off tutoring after class - last semester my teacher knew several students doing that. But surely you're crossing a line when the college admins know about it, and talk to you about it in the same room as all the other admins? I know they may be the ones asking me to do it, but wouldn't you be uncomfortable that the senior staff know you are illegally working? To me it sounds like the two staff were chatting and one wanted a tutor for his son/daughter, and they saw an opportunity when I came earlier.

Not being a graduate yet and effectively being on two 'gap years' until HSK 6 and above, I'm not ready to risk penalties and potential future issues by breaking laws, however easy it is to get away with. I also attach high priority to helping my girlfriend get an IELTS 7.5 score right now. The staff member will call me tonight to discuss whether I want it or not, and about salary.

What do you think of this situation? If you were offered such a job by your own college staff, would you feel more or less secure about accepting it?

[skylee]

Sorry this is off-topic, but I am interested in the IELTS 7.5 score. My current work is related to tertiary education and I note that on average the brightest students here score only about 7.0 (but this is an overall average score). And I wonder if it is very difficult to achieve 7.5. And what does she need that for? In HK students don't need to take IELTS but a lot of them like to do so (and the government encourages them to).

Sorry again about being off-topic.

[joshuawbb]

That's alright, no worries. The 7.5 score isn't set in stone to achieve, but it's what my girlfriend and I have thought is probably realistic now. She is a graduate as of last year who gained a 6.0 quite a while before that, and since her English has been well maintained by her work environment and our everyday English communication, we both think she can push for the grade. We're trying to develop a study strategy at the moment. She had always been considering studying abroad either in the UK or Europe, and despite us both being in China that dream is far from out the window yet. I know 6.5 is the average grade required by universities, but we thought a 7.5 grade or as high as she can achieve would be good to stand out in the applications, or to help with a scholarship application.

[anonymoose]

I think this kind of scenario is quite common in China. Illegal, technically yes, but I think it's so wide-spread in China that the chance of being punished for it is negligible. I don't think the authorities would really care if you are earning a little on the side - unless of course someone has a grudge against you and decides to use it as leverage.

If you don't like the idea of teaching, then fair enough. But as the job has been given to you on a plate, and by the university authorities no less, you don't have much to lose by giving it a go.

[abcdefg]

Sounds like it might be a golden opportunity and a feather in your cap as long as it doesn’t expand into something more time-consuming that interferes with your other high-priority plans. I'd suggest being very clear with them up front about how much time you have available. Maybe also see if you can build in a "try-out period" to see how the work actually feels when it's part of your already-busy life.

The school where I was studying last year asked me to teach some English one-to-one and it worked out fine.

[Guest realmayo]

But if it all goes sour then you've got your university admin grumpy at you for the next however many years.

[anonymoose]

But if it all goes sour then you've got your university admin grumpy at you for the next however many years.

True, but if you refuse, they will likewise be grumpy. Not that that's a reason not to do it if you don't want to, but something to think about anyway.

[imron]

Personally, I think that if you don't need the money, and so long as it's not any real burden on your parents to keep supporting you while you are a student (from a couple of your previous posts, I'm assuming that they have already budgeted your costs for the duration of your studies), then I would decline the offer. Teaching English will just be one more distraction from studying Chinese. Especially if you don't have any experience or qualifications in teaching English you'll find it becomes a burden before too long, especially once word gets around that you're an English teacher for hire and all the other admin staff decide they'd like a 1-2-1 teacher for their son/niece/nephew/etc too. Don't feel bad about declining either. It's your time and you have the right to use it as you like.

[joshuawbb]

Thanks very much for your replies and advice on the matter, and sorry for coming back here rather late.

I think I'll stick with politely declining it - having said in the past that I have wanted a job for quite some time here in China, I probably sound hypocritical for declining. But it's as abcdefg and imron have said, I'm worried about it developing into more commitments and becoming a burden or distraction, especially as I really want to help my girlfriend more now too. Though it's not necessarily guaranteed to happen, as has been said here too, I think pulling away from further offers or commitments from others might make them unhappy, probably more so than politely explainingat the start that I'm afraid I'd rather not start tutoring.

I'll be discussing it more with my parents, since they support me entirely here, and being 20 this year it feels a bit downputting that I'm not making at least some of my own money. The staff who asked me on Sunday haven't called me yet anyway, so I think they may have decided to look for someone more decisive or open to it - I didn't want to jump into an answer right away so acted somewhat evasive, and they took my phone number.

Thanks again everyone

[abcdefg]

You are wise beyond your years. Your reasoning is sound and I'm behind you all the way in your decision. You can feel flattered that they asked you; they must recongnize you have some admirable qualities. You can always do it at a future date if you have more time then.