Teaching in China...?

[Korat28]

Hi All,

I am currently teaching in Thailand and when the school year ends in March I am thinking about moving to China to teach for 6 months. I don't need to be in a city the size of Shanghai or Beijing or what not, I am open to trying a new place, as long as it's not a rural, small town. Anyhow, I have my BA degree, TEFL and 3 years of teaching experience. Thus, if moving to China in April and looking for a 6 month contract, what can I expect? How is the pay and how much could I save if I live modest to frugally and I'm outside the huge cities? What are the big cultural differences between China and say, Thailand in terms of people and everyday life?

Thanks again everyone! :-)

[Herberbt]

Look into Guilin 桂林 in Guangxi 广西 province. Its not a big city at all and is probably one of the most beautiful cities you will ever visit. The topography there is unmatched. There are plenty of teaching positions available in all types of schools, from elementary to university. There is a pretty good university in the city called GuangXi Normal Universitry which is a common place for foreigners to teach. Not to meantion, if you are looking to improve your Chinese skills, there is a great American langauge school there called CLI (Chinese Langauge Institute). I have study there now and its pretty incredible how fast your Chinese can improve!

As for wages, you can expect around 4,000 RMB a month at most places you will teach, but if you are a workaholic you can easily pick up tutoring gigs on the side and make a few extra thousand a month. The cost of living in Guilin is fairly low too. Its a tourist town, so you can easily find your overpriced places, but the reasonably priced isn't too hard to find either. I'd say, if you live a frugal lifestyle, you can easily save more than half your monthly earnings.

I have never been to Thiland, so I can't say much comparing the two places, but I have been told by many people that Guilin people are a much more relaxed and layed back people than most other big city people in China. There is a little saying in Guiin that goes something like this: "Giulin people walk slow."

All this being said, I have lived in lots of different places in China and they are all great! Although I have a special liking for Guilin, most foreigners you meet here will agree too.

Good luck!

[Zach_Attack]

Hainan is a lovely island to work on ..... I mean I am making the same amount of pay I made in Beijing but less people and more laid back lifestyle. And I'm working 6 hours a day making 12000 rmb a month

[muyongshi]

I posted this classified a little while ago if you are interested.

 

Shorter contracts can be difficult, but places that are desperate will take what they can get. In regard to your frugal question, if you live frugally, eat local food and not Western and take housing provided by the school, you pretty much don't have to spend much of your salary at all-possibly less that 3/4 of it depending on the where and the income.

 

Thai people and Chinese people are very different and even each place in China will have extreme differences. For example here in Sichuan, you'd almost think people are the rudest barbarians you've ever met compared to the Thai (but I promise they're really not bad-only in comparison).

[Korat28]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the replies!  Hainan would definitely be somewhere to consider.  In Sichuan, when you say the people could appear to be barbarians compared to the Thais, is it because the people speak loudly, cut in line, bump into you without saying excuse me, try to overcharge you, etc.?  I lived in Vietnam for nine months, so maybe they are similar in culture and how they act.  Thanks again!  :-)

[muyongshi]

They are a lot more gregarious in general. Sichuan people (outside of Chengdu) tend to be a lot more loud, pushy, direct, etc. However, that does not mean they are more prone to cheat you or be rude. They do argue a lot but usually they laugh it off by the end. Like I said, this is mainly in comparison to the Thai's that I have known (all of my experience has been in Chiang Mai on 2 week trips). Never been to vietnam so I can't make that comparison but if you LOVE the thai culture, Sichuan may be difficult. If you like a bit more "lively" environment but Asian-Sichuan is not a bad choice.

[ChTTay]

I worked for "Aston English" when I first came to China. They have schools in many, many locations in the Northern provinces of China and some middle/North. Most of the locationsa second or third tier cities. They offer six month contracts and the pay is usually around 6000. It was plenty enough for me due to the low cost of living where I was located. Also rent and internet is usually paid for.

If you search for them online, you mostly enounter people saying how terrible they are. They have franchise schools so some of these I guess have not always been managed very well. I was at a franchise and had a good enough time, no problems.

I would say you should aim for way more than 4000 a month basic with your 3 three years experience. Especially as the Aston salary is based on no teaching experience, also their rep isn't that good and i think they are considered low paying. There are schools in Beijing paying 10000- 12000 for no experience. Obviously the living costs are higher too.

Oh, generally private schools pay more but have split hours or longer hours...probably no weekends. I can imagine its the same in Thailand.

Good luck in your search. The company i work for now in Beijing are recruiting but only on 1 year contracts.

[Korat28]

Thanks, guys!  I am also considering teaching in Taiwan.  I would be hoping for a job that pays 10,000 RMB outside of Beijing or Shanghai.  Is that realistic?  Also, what are the best memories of teaching in China?

[muyongshi]

Seems feasible. Depending in how many hours a school gives you, you could take a side job to make up the difference in pay.

[Amber.Andrew]

I'd say with your qualifications you could definitely find a school willing to pay you 10,000 RMB a month. But you may need to look at the bigger cities, such as Beijing or Shanghai. 

 

Another city you could consider is Yiwu, located in Zhejiang province. You can also look into Eton House schools but I'm almost positive most of those require a longer contract. I know the one located in Yiwu expects at least 1 year, I think it may actually even be a 2 year contract school. But there is also EF - English First. A teacher starting off at EF with no experience is looking at making a little more than 6,000 RMB to start. They also provide a free furnished apartment, and 9000 RMB airfare reimbursement for a 1 year contract. This will vary depending on what city you are teaching in, but this is the one in Yiwu. I worked there for nearly 4 years, up until I got married and pregnant haha. 

 

Yiwu is a smaller city but kind of has a Shanghai feel without being as CLEAN as Shanghai (a clean city in China isn't easy to come by anyway!). But the great thing about Yiwu is that it's a huge business city. It's home to the International Trade Center, which is where a lot of the products we use in all of our home countries come from. So a lot of foreigners reside in Yiwu. So you not only get a chance to mingle with Chinese people, but also have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Plus more people speak English. 

 

Anywho. If you are interested in Yiwu you can always shoot me a personal message and I can give you some contacts at that school EF English First. Good luck and happy hunting! 

[Korat28]

Hi,

 

As an update, I recently interviewed with EF (English First) and am debating an offer in Nanjing.  They said the contract was for one year and the pay was about 13k RMB a month gross pay (4k housing, 4k service allowance, 4350k base salary, 667 RMB airfare).  I have now asked to speak with the DoS/and or teachers currently working there to see how the working environment is.

 

Any feedback on Nanjing or EF?  I know EF can be hit-or-miss, whereas some people think it's hell and others think it's somewhat decent.  I noticed that Aston Recruiting pays similar and offer 6 month contracts, but not sure how working conditions are there. 

 

Thanks again everyone, if any feedback, it'd be appreciated!

[ChTTay]

Wait, so out of the 13k you only see less than 4500? Is the housing allowance taken directly out of your salary or do they just provide a house and say that's part of the package?

At Aston the salary was about 6000 a month. They provide an apartment, internet etc and a flight allowance/bonus on completion of contract. This bonus/flight allowance varied on contract length. The apartment I was in wasn't more than 1,500RMB a month rent. It was really nice, I was just living in a small city.

Aston reviews online tend to be terrible. For what it's worth, I enjoyed working for them. They operate using franchises so it probably depends on which school you go to.

[Roze]

4000 for an apartment is absurd unless you have a family and need 3 bedrooms. Even then, a comfortable 3 bedroom in Beijing goes for 3500.

[icebear]

Even then, a comfortable 3 bedroom in Beijing goes for 3500.

Maybe ten years ago, or today on the border of Hebei. This certainly isn't true for any decent apartment inside the third ring in Beijing.

I can't speak to Nanjing except that I've heard prices are going up very quickly there; in Beijing, for example, rents have at least tripled in the last 5 years.

[Roze]

Good Heavens! Are you telling me I have imagined where we have been living and what my husband and I have been paying the last 5 years in 2 different apartments? Get smart, take a trustworthy Chinese to the estate agent with you. Be realistic, you don't need the penthouse in the newest, most luxurious complex to be comfortable. Perhaps it's the fact that we are a mature couple who keep our living quarters immaculate and don't bother the neighbours with drunken parties with the result that we have excellent references. Chinese landlords are reluctant to rent to young foreigners because of damage and when they do the rent is calculated to allow for repairs when the tenants do a runner leaving the place filthy. It's the same all over the world.

[Roze]

I forgot to mention that considerable savings can be made on rent by paying 12 months or more up front. That is what employers do. If an employee leaves the new one takes over the same apartment. Also, employers often own the apartment themselves.

[icebear]

I forgot to mention that considerable savings can be made on rent by paying 12 months or more up front. That is what employers do. If an employee leaves the new one takes over the same apartment. Also, employers often own the apartment themselves.

Both points are good ones, but neither very applicable to prospective first year English teachers not yet on the ground.

[roddy]

Roze, why not add your apartments here, it'll be useful info.

[Lu]

Roze, where is this 3-bedroom apartment you're only paying 3500 for? I'm genuinely curious, although also a bit insulted that you assume that apparently the only reason I would have paid 7000+ for my 2-bedroom could be that I'm a loud obnoxious foreigner. Incidentally, after keeping the apartment clean and never being noisy, the rent only went up every year. My trustworthy Chinese friend did think I was overpaying a bit, but not by 100%.

 

Sorry for the offtopic.

[Roze]

Lu,the comment was a general one and not addressed to any particular individual. The apartment is the owner's family home, as was the previous one, opposed to properties bought for investment. We found them by asking around.In both cases the owners were taking up jobs overseas, places like this are out there all over Beijing and cities everywhere you just have to find them. Good references make a big difference as does the ability and willingness to pay rent for the duration up front

Avoid agents, search the internet and local language newspapers. Again, it is all about expectations, both apartments are comfortable working class Chinese homes in two different respectable neighbourhoods. Unimpressive on the outside but clean, modern and well cared for inside. It has been my experience that many foreigners, again speaking generally, have very high expectations and need to be more down to earth. If a foreigner walks into an estate agengy anywhere in the world with high expectations they can expect to pay high prices. Modest priced places are out there for the keen who are prepared to live like and among the locals. Seek and ye shall find.