Spanish speakers: Are there job opportunities in Shenzhen?

[totosita]

Hello, I'm Alexandra.

 

My fiance and I are currently looking into moving to Shenzhen because he was offered a job there. However, I wouldn't be able to work at the same school. So my question is: Are there a lot of jobs for expats in Shenzhen? If so, what type of jobs? Are they all located in the center of Shenzhen?

I am a qualified spanish teacher and I'm fluent in English. I have been looking for job posts online but there isn't much. I don't know if I'm looking on the right websites. Any information regarding getting a job in Shenzhen would be helpful. 

 

Thank you. 

[Flickserve]

I am sure there will be but

A) many jobs that come up may not be on the internet

B) jobs can come up through personal introductions

C) sometimes you just have to be patient and wait for the right time for the opportunity.

So really, you don't know until you arrive and search and network. Again, you don't state your exact qualifications, who do you want to teach (if that's what you want) and or the jobs you want if you don't want to teach. Thus, it is impossible to give anything more than general advice.

[eion_padraig]

There could be opportunities for tutoring ex-pat kids in Spanish. Qualified teachers in Guangzhou can charge USD$75 - $100 an hour for tutoring. It's especially true if you are familiar with the IB or AP curriculum.

 

Shenzhen is quite spread out. For instance, you have Shekou International School and QSI Shenzhen are both located in Shekou, but it's not necessarily easy to get there from some other areas of the city. There are other Chinese private schools running international curriculum like Shenzhen Foreign Languages School through Dipont. Not sure that many of them would have Spanish as an offering, but it could be worth checking.

 

Good luck.

 

Eion

[Pokarface]

@eion_padraig. Would you help me get a $75USD/ hour job in Guangzhou if I move over there? I find those prices hard to believe specially in the affordable city of Guangzhou (compared to Beijing and Shanghai of course). I'm not bashing you, but I really need to reassess my career (since I'm not a language teacher) if there's people getting paid $75USD+ for tutoring Spanish.

 

I'm a native English (U.S. Citizen) and Spanish speaker. I can speak Chinese at HSK3 level as well. And I can also speak Portuguese and the funny language, Esperanto. I wouldn't mind learning Cantonese if that gets me $75 to $100 USD / hour to teach people in Guangzhou. 

 

Totosita it will be difficult to get a job teaching English without being from the English speaking countries or South Africa. It will me moderately difficult if you are White and come from the Scandinavian countries or Netherlands. I have friends from Guangzhou that take Spanish classes (from a Colombian instructor), so teaching Spanish in big cities should be possible, but he doesn't charge +$75USD/hour. 

[eion_padraig]

Let me clarify the context a bit.

 

Tutoring isn't generally a full time job as it's generally limited to after school, early evenings, and weekends. Often you have to travel to the student's home or school, so there is travel time involved. Also, the need is greatest for international school students taking upper level IB/AP Spanish classes, who are being taught by qualified/experienced teachers. This has an impact on their university choices so wealthy expat families will pay a premium for good tutors. This is a bit of a niche need.

 

Being a native or near native Spanish speaker with the ability to explain grammar may get you tutoring or teaching jobs, but not top dollar.

 

Granted, the need is much greater for teachers who can tutor upper level math (Pre-calculus, Calculus, IB Math) and science classes (AP/IB Biology, Chemistry/Physics) than for Spanish teachers. 

 

Eion

[Pokarface]

Thanks for the quick reply Eion. Then this makes Alexandra a better fit to find a job with or without a degree since she is already there to begin with. I'll miss out on the top dollars though 

[roddy]

If you get yourself a teaching qualification or two, there can be very good money in this kind of thing.