Salary Guide

[petar]

I have been offered a position in Jining with the standard benefits (apartment, flight reimbursement, visa cost and three meals per day in the cafeteria), working hours from 8 to 11 30 and 2 30 to 4 30 and a salary of 9500 RMB.

 

The benefits are great, but I was wandering how far would 9500 RMB go in Jining?  How much can a teacher save (or spend) out of the 9500 RMB salary?

 

Thanks

[MeiMay]

It's up to you if you're happy with that or not. Are you? What do you mean "save"? If you get a free apartment and free food, aren't you saving almost 100%?

[dnevets]

Hello petar

 

Flight and apartment are standard. Many jobs won't include meals, so that's a bonus. I'd say that 9500 RMB is considered a good salary (massive assumtion time: this is an English teaching job, right?). Depends on your lifestyle of course, but you can expect to save a good chunk of this. Basically you're only paying for local travel plus any travelling / leisure activities you choose to do and nights out etc. You can expect to live a comfortable life and save at least half of your salary, I'd say.

[petar]

To further elaborate on the MeiMay request: I am fully qualified ECE and Primary school teacher with Master in Educational management, 5 years of teaching experience and no TEFL/TESOL certificate. So I am not applying for an English Language teacher post, but rather for a Kindergarten teacher in a private school which is subsidized by the government.

[MeiMay]

I misread the question, sorry.

[Demonic_Duck]

@MeiMay: you demanded extra information (which wasn't even relevant to his question, which was how far this salary would stretch in Jining, not whether it was a reasonable salary), then after it was given still failed to give a concrete answer.

 

As to the question of whether it would stretch far in Jining: as you also get free accommodation and meals, it would stretch enough to live comfortably in Beijing, and I assume Jining is a fair bit less expensive as I've never even heard of it. You probably wouldn't be saving a huge amount, but I'd imagine you could live a lifestyle of comfort in moderation on no more than half of that (as per what dnevets said). If you wanted to go out every night, buy lots of nice clothes, travel etc. obviously you'd be spending more.

 

As to whether it's reasonable: it sounds great for someone who's a recent graduate, however with your experience and qualifications I think you could reasonably hope for more. Still, I have no idea what the job market is like in Jining, so maybe I'm wrong.

[MeiMay]

Demonic_Duck: I never pretended to have an answer, I wrote: "I think most people expected more information."

I went back and reread the post and I realize I misinterpreted it to include the question about how reasonable the salary is. I'm sorry, I made a mistake. OP: I think it's plenty to live in Jining but I don't know what you consider to be included in "living." Do you drink? Do you smoke? I don't so I wouldn't spend any money on those things. Do you eat foreign food? I don't so I wouldn't use any money on that. How often do you buy clothes? Will you add a lot of stuff to your apartment or not? Will you use taxis or a bicycle to get to work? Or a bus? It's hard to say what is "enough" for someone you don't know.

[stoney]

With all the benefits, 9500 RMB will go a long way, As Demonic_Duck said, you could live comfortably on half that.

[Frank29]

Hello Petar . you are in Jining now ? 9500 RMB is very hight salary in our city . even you want hight quality life ,9500RMB is enough for you . most teacher in Jining only have 2000~4000 RMB per month .

 

and if you want , can we be friends ?

[hedwards]

LOL Frank.

 

The other thing to consider when it comes to salary is whether or not you're planning in staying in China long term versus going back home after the contract. It's in some ways a bigger factor to consider than the local cost of living. I used to be making 4500 as a new teacher teaching in some rather small towns and it was more money than I could spend. I mean, literally, I'd buy pretty much everything I could want and I still had a ton left over at the end of the month.

 

But, coming back to the US can be rather expensive. The plane tickets normally get comped if you finish your contract, but if you haven't lined something up, it can easily cost  9000 RMB a month while you reenter the US economy.

[anonymoose]

It seems like some editing has been going on, but from what I see, I don't think MeiMay's first response was unreasonable. I mean, if accommodation and meals are included, then the OP could conceivably save anything from 0% to 100%, depending entirely on his lifestyle.

 

I have no idea about Jining, but I know people who go out to clubs several times per week in Shanghai, and with entrance tickets at about 100 yuan, taxis there and back at, let's say 50 yuan return, and probably another 100+ yuan on drinks, not to mention western food, that is already 250+ yuan in one day.

 

On the other hand, someone who takes the bus, spends time hanging out in places that don't require entrance tickets, doesn't drink in bars, could easily spend under 50 yuan per day, including meals, even in Shanghai. With meals covered, well, that would be reduced to almost nothing.

[Demonic_Duck]

I know people who go out to clubs several times per week in Shanghai, and with entrance tickets at about 100 yuan, taxis there and back at, let's say 50 yuan return, and probably another 100+ yuan on drinks, not to mention western food, that is already 250+ yuan in one day.

That's either a very cheap club or they're only drinking a couple of drinks throughout the night.

[anonymoose]

Quite. I was being conservative. The taxi could well have cost more also. The point is, one can easily get through several hundred yuan per day if one chooses to live like that.

At the same time, one can also survive on very little if one chooses.

[pancake]

I would be wary of any arrangement where the school provides your accomodation and food. I think I would vastly prefer the autonomy of choosing my own apartment, and not having to eat cafeteria-style food every day.

[Lanchong]

To further elaborate on the MeiMay request: I am fully qualified ECE and Primary school teacher with Master in Educational management, 5 years of teaching experience and no TEFL/TESOL certificate. So I am not applying for an English Language teacher post, but rather for a Kindergarten teacher in a private school which is subsidized by the government.

If you're a fully qualified teacher with a Masters then 9500/mth is at the very low end of what you could get. Of course, salary isn't everything. If you want to live in a small place then go for it. It will be a great experience. But just be aware that in a larger city you can find jobs closer to 20000/mth, with similar benefits.

[ChTTay]

I imagine a government subsizied kindergarden that is hiring a foreigner just wants an English teacher. If a teacher who is perhaps over qualified (you?) is interested in the position then who are they to turn that down. They may have hit the jackpot!  9500 seems like a better than average TEFL wage for someone in Jinin.

 

If you are a qualified teacher and you want to come to China to ply your trade, then why not look at International schools?

 

As for a school providing your apartment, this is not unusual at all. In fact, I would say that, within this industry, it's the norm. Most people don't want the hassle of hunting for an apartment in a new country / city where everything is in a language they don't understand. Often, provided for apartments are fine. If they weren't then teachers would just refuse to move in or move in then complain until the school found somewhere better. They are usually at least close to the school too.

 

At my first school, you couldn't really pick your apartment. If you weren't happy with it they would help you find another though. At my current employer, they have a range of apartments on offer that have housed various teachers over the years. Again, if  the landlord wants to stop renting or if the teacher doesn't want one of these, we have a foreign affairs guy take them apartment hunting. No big deal.

 

Edit:

As for meals, I've not come across this in China. It seems to be more the norm for Korea though where, i've heard, the teachers can just eat with the students in the canteen for free. They serve 3 meals a day there so that takes care of your meals if you want. It may be the same situation at this school, especially if the Kindergarden is attached to a larger school.