(Deleted)

[davoosh]

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[anonymoose]

What I'm really asking is, do people make a career out of English teaching in China?

Yes, but the number is relatively few, and of those that do, they usually are either well qualified and take the job quite seriously, or they are just long-term slackers.

I don't have any statistics, but as a rough estimate, I'd say 99% of people who come to China to teach English don't intend to take it up as a career, and most only stay for a year or less.

Would my Chinese language abilities and BA give me any advantages in other areas (or teaching itself)?

Well, you need a BA to get a teaching job legally in most cases. Being able to speak Chinese I think could be an advantage if you market yourself properly, but at most regular language school and universities, speaking Chinese is not a prerequisite, and is often even discouraged.

I think you should be able to find a full-time job that pays over 8000 RMB per month.

[roddy]

To be honest it sounds like you want to have a think about what you actually want to do - you've gone from 'wouldn't mind' teaching English to asking if it's a viable career.

It certainly can be a career - make sure you get decent jobs where the quality of teaching is actually important, go the certificate - diploma - MA route, take on more responsibility, etc, etc. You can make a very comfortable living, and if you enjoy the work, great. There's a bit of a stigma attached to teaching English in China - it's sometimes seen as the preserve of those passing through or unable to do anything else, and you often here people describing themselves as 'just' teaching English - but if you enjoy it, so what?

[cui ruide]

However ideally, I would hope that after teaching English for a year or two, I'd be able to find a more 'career-orientated' job....What I'm really asking is, do people make a career out of English teaching in China? Would my Chinese language abilities and BA give me any advantages in other areas (or teaching itself)?

These thoughts seem somewhat confused. But I'll throw my bit in since it's basically what I've done.

With an undergrad degree, it's not hard to find a teaching job that pays decently. Even though I had no real experience, I sold myself well and was offered a gig, though paid a bit lower for my lack of experience (but still above your aim salary). After six months, I decided that particular brand of teaching (young children, private extracurricular school) was not for me and moved on. I traveled and studied for a bit while looking for another job suited to my qualifications and interests and have since found a very nice editing gig.

What's important here is 1) you're a native English-speaker; 2) will have an undergrad diploma; and 3) have intermediate-or-above Chinese. The first two are requirements for a teaching job. All three are basic requirements for other jobs (mostly translation, editing, PR/communications) foreigners can find here, but having some background experience from internships or getting it on the side is pretty necessary; there are plenty of foreigners here now, and (real--i.e. not play-acting a CEO) jobs for recent grads aren't really falling from the sky like the nytimes or other western news tells you. While there are exceptions, most non-teaching jobs are in Beijing and Shanghai. It also helps to be on the ground here when searching--available for interview and they don't have to worry about you "adjusting" to China or having to take care of you except maybe visa-related stuff.

There's one problem, though. Current regulations demand you have two years' POST-GRADUATE work experience to get a work visa. This doesn't really stop you from doing any of the above; things will just be shady/annoying for two years...but maybe in two years' time (i.e. an epoch in China-time) things will have changed. You're probably better off asking about job situations 1 year and 9 months from now since it seems things change around here pretty quickly.

[889]

Do people make a career out of English teaching in China?

Yes, some do.