Help! I can't tell if this is a good offer

[whaledawg]

Hello,

I'm considering going to China to teach for a year and I think I have an offer(I got an email with no text but a set of contracts attached). But I don't know enough to tell if it's a decent offer or not. I would really appreciate some advice/help.

• It's in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu(the location I want) and it's teaching University(the students I want)
  
• It pays 5,200 RMB monthly, 70% of which can be converted to a foreign currency(why would I want to do that?)
  
• I'll get free housing, kitchen and bath and a phone line for contacting the school and a separate one for my personal calls(will I be housed alone? I am not interested in sharing a room with someone)
  
• One page says they will pay for medical insurance but the appendix states they will only cover 1,000 RMB and that I should buy other medical insurance :/
  
• If either party breaks the contract, they will pay a fine of 500 to 2000 dollars(not RMB)
  
• I will work 5 days a week and have 16 classes(45 minutes each).(Is this a half time schedule? How many hours of prep/grading does teaching these courses require?)
  
• My salary will be reduced if I miss class for any reason(That sounds like a 'no sick days' policy which sucks)
  

So what do you guys think? Any advice/input would be appreciated, as I'm pretty lost right now.

[roddy]

# It pays 5,200 RMB monthly, 70% of which can be converted to a foreign currency(why would I want to do that?)

With free accommodation and access to cheap canteen food, you could if you tried end up saving three or four thousand yuan a month - over a year that's going to be a chunk of money you'd want to take home with you.

# I'll get free housing, kitchen and bath and a phone line for contacting the school and a separate one for my personal calls(will I be housed alone? I am not interested in sharing a room with someone)

You won't be sharing a room - maybe (but unlikely) a shared apartment, or shared cooking / laundry facilities.

# One page says they will pay for medical insurance but the appendix states they will only cover 1,000 RMB and that I should buy other medical insurance :/

They'll cover you for minor stuff - cold medicine, antibiotics, whatever. If you actually break anything or get seriously ill, you're on your own.

# I will work 5 days a week and have 16 classes(45 minutes each).(Is this a half time schedule? How many hours of prep/grading does teaching these courses require?)

12 hours actual teaching, that's about as low as you can go. Prep depends on what it actually is - you could be teaching the same lesson 16 times to 16 different classes, and how fast / conscientious you are.

# My salary will be reduced if I miss class for any reason(That sounds like a 'no sick days' policy which sucks)

Missing a day or two if you're ill won't break the bank.

[taylor04]

Depends on what you want, are you looking for a high paying job or just a job so you can chill out in China? You can get a better salary with private schools. Are they paying for a round-trip plane ticket at the end of the contract? One quick note, from what I've heard, some schools don't want to follow the contract once you get there. If you start taking on extra classes or anything they might try to take advantage of you, but I have just heard these things happening, I don't have any experience with it. I've never heard of Zhenjiang, so I'm guessing theres not a lot of foreigners or English speakers there(I could be wrong) so you should probably learn some Chinese before you go. Good luck

[imron]

I think working 5 days a week with only 16 classes will be a pain. I'd see if you can get some of them shifted to another day, or at least all scheduled in the mornings or something. Otherwise you'll get them scattered all over the place which is annoying if you ever want to do anything useful with all the spare time you'll have.

[whaledawg]

Thanks all, you've given me a lot to think about.

[ArthurBorges]

If you calculate your hourly rate, it will be HIGHER in a PUBLIC establishment. Moreover, in the event of a dispute with your bosses, you can appeal to provincial education ministry and, if you have a case, the ministry will come down hard on your school.

In a dispute with a private school, you have no final recourse other than to sue, which is messy, expensive and you will likely lose. And while you're waiting, you will have to give up the flat he provided you with. Don't expect him to renew your visa so that you can follow through on the lawsuit either.

Save private schools for moonlighting -- you will always be able to walk away from a job knowing that you still have another job.

Check out www.daveseslcafe.com for other offers -- it sounds like you have a contract from a state school, which your best option for a first job here.