Special Topic: Finding and Keeping Jobs in China
Time and time again there are endless stories of scam artists in China and illegitimate schools who lure teachers with impressive sounding salaries and rich benefits that never come to fruition. Foreigners realize later after paying exorbitant fees and being cheated out of legitimate visas, accommodation, etc, that the company that sounded so helpful was nothing more than a man in his bathrobe on a computer in Shanghai. So then he or she is stuck in a contract in China in a school that makes him or her work 40 hours a week on a ten hour a week salary. Unfortunately, when you are on the other ends of the earth and have never been to China it’s impossible to understand how things work here. There are many wonderful and genuinely helpful recruiters and schools that will treat you with the respect you deserve. Some teachers never find these schools unfortunately. Here are some ways to avoid teaching scams and common mistakes foreigners make:
1) Do not pay to work! Never ever pay a company to find you a teaching job or a recruiter to find you a school! There is no reason to work for free! Many companies have “volunteer” teaching experiences where you pay up to $ 1,000 USD to work for 6 months in exchange for room and board. Other times, schools pay the recruiter a commission for finding teachers, but the recruiters try to charge teachers up to $500 USD for a “job placement fee.” You are employable without paying!
2) The easiest and most common mistake people make is not doing their homework. Some people sign year long contracts for places they can’t even find on a map. It is possible to find short term work for 4 or 6 months, but recruiters will normally tell you that this is impossible. Once you are in China you will realize this. If you want something more short term it is probably easier to come over, get oriented, and find the job yourself. For long term, some recruiters can be very useful in helping you decide which option is best and help you negotiate with the school.
3) Pay attention to what you are signing! Many people simply find one job and sign away a year of their life for a seriously underpaid job that exploits them. The teaching week in China is around 20-25 hours a week. This should include office hours as well so if they require an extra amount of office hours this should be in your contract. If it is not in the contact then it isn’t required. There are many sites that have blacklists of recruiters and schools, so check them out to make sure the school you are signing up for isn’t on the list.
4) Don’t assume they are prepared. Bring some of your own materials. It sounds silly, because schools should have their own books, etc., right? However, unless you have an actual degree in English, much of what you will be teaching will be what the Chinese call “Oral English.” This means that you are to come up with your own material to teach for the class hour. Think ahead, it’s best to bring a few English grammar books and some on conversation topics and exercises if you can. Some people bring games or children’s books in English as well. There are also many online sites with games, discussions, etc.
5) Know where you are going. As in any situation, know your back up plan. Know enough so that IF something happens, i.e., no one is at the airport to pick you up like they promised, you can find your way to a hostel or hotel in town and you have researched how to get from the airport into the city. Check our site for transport information by city to find how to travel from the airport to the nearest hotel.
Check our city guides with additional hotel information.
There is a lot of information out there on the internet, doing your homework will help you to avoid problems and pitfalls. Since it’s hard to imagine what life is like over in China, many people commit thoughtless errors simply because they don’t research enough. There are stories of people paying thousands of dollars to work for free. Would you pay to work for free in your own country? Of course not! This is not to say that teaching in China is full of scam artists and evil school masters, but being prepared and well informed will get you the most rewarding experience and the best benefits. You are a valuable commodity here, so don’t sell yourself short. The English teaching sector is still strong and on the rise, and you can make a difference. You might even find a future career interest you never knew you had! As Henry Brooks Adams once said: A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
You might also be interested in 5 Tips on Finding the Perfect Teaching Job in China
Special Topic: Finding and Keeping Jobs in China
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Please come train with me and learn the 4 ranges of fighting plus extra long range and tight trapping range. Classes are currently held in a one-on-one basis for maximum growth. During your classes you will learn a variety of non-classical Jeet Kune Do concepts. Classes may or may not contain running, jumping, stretching, calistenics, and more based on basic conditioning. You will also learn Sumbratta in a 3 step flow, Sinawali 3,4,5 step methods, trappping drills from Wing Chun and Kali, Straight Blasts punching, Western Boxing, rythem of 3, footwork and head movement, Thai kick- thai and inside shin kicks, Pananjakman, Elbows, Knees and Headbutts, sensitivity drills, arm locks, chokes, hold, restraints, toe kicks, Panantukan, nerve destrucions, range control, eye jabs/groin smashes, arm bashing based on crosstraning trapping, weapon training for the empty hand and more. Let's have fun and train. stophit23@yahoo.com
Jul 31, 2012 00:43 Report Abuse
Mr.E .... I will not use Mr.E's real name to save embarrassment for him, even though he used my name in his comments.. you failed to mention the true story and since you haven't.... I will.
First I must say, Mr.E's reply to my comments were June 1st and Mr.E was upset at that time and since then has resolved the problem and is planning to start work September 1st but I feel I must reply what was said, even though it could change the outcome of Mr.E's employment because Mr.E might not like my comments. Mr.E knows, that he did get caught by the PSB and also knows that he was protected and safe, he didn't get fined or deported because we are a licensed company. He also knows that the disagreement was over his GF and not him, since he already knew his situation before coming to Shanghai.
Mr.E was introduced to our company from an agent out of HangZhou (which we paid top dollar to the agent for Mr.E) and Mr.E had huge visa problems, which I offered to fix. The agent was even willing for payment until I was able to solve Mr.E's visa problems and then later received her fee. I offered Mr.E a job in a small town and even offered a job to his girlfriend to help him but he took 2 weeks to get from Hangzhou to Shanghai. I told him before he even came to Shanghai that it was too late and that the school hired their own teacher (making us lose the contract) but I was still willing to help him and that I would still be able to give him work but only in Shanghai and that maybe late we could move him to a small town later, which you agreed and then came.
Then he came, he and his girlfriend stayed in my home (for free) and I found him work, even though it was in the middle of a semester, he knew it before coming and he knew the salary as well. He provided me a fake degree and several fake TESOL certificates to apply for his foreign expert certificate, which we could not use therefore, Mr.E sent us a copy of his friend degree because he claimed that they both attended school together (also fake and was completely different from his own). I lent him 8000yuan (allowing him to pay me back over 3 months) to help him find and pay for an apartment for him and his GF. He got his visa problems solved, got him his foreign expert certificate and residence visa and is now on summer holidays in GF's hometown.
As for his girlfriend, an employee of the company, she got 200 yuan/mth traveling and 100yuan/mth mobile phone allowance and the teacher is given taxi rebates for any traveling expenses from subway to the school.
As for the comment of threatening to cancel his visa and having he deported, well.. he was planning to break the governmental contract and China's labor laws because of his GF job issues and sending threaten emails to the company. We actually didn't threaten deportation, we simply told him that his visa and FEC would be canceled and the remarks made on his release papers would not be good and it would make it impossible for him to obtain another legal job as a teacher.
Our company has no interest in keeping anyone, if they don't want to stay. We are foreign managed and I believe everyone has the right to seek employment where ever they want. But I also believe a person should honor their word, mine to them and them to me. I was straight forward and honest with Mr.E but Mr.E wrote his comments when he wasn't thinking. Even today, Mr.E has the chance to work elsewhere but has chosen to stay.
Jul 29, 2012 20:36 Report Abuse
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