Teaching in Chinese Universities over Private language schools

[Raf]

Hi, I have been looking around for answers as to why Chinese universities pay way too less salary compared to private or language schools. Now I can figure out the major benefits of working for a university or public school rather than a private English school/college like Less dodgy, Getting a legitimate working visa, Less hours of work, less workloads and probably better working hours, high disciplined adult students and more holidays is all i can think of. Is there any other major difference that i am missing here?

[roddy]

"high disciplined adult students"

Maybe. Get a class of postgrads at a top tier uni who actually need and want to learn English, yes. Get a class of first year undergrads at a provincial university who have zero interest in the language, no. 

 

You've basically got it though. It's largely a time vs money thing. 

[ChTTay]

A few things really... 

 

If you pick a reputable private school, it's likely they have more experience in hiring foreigners than many Universities. Perhaps more importantly, in my experience with good private schools, they will likely offer better support to people new to China. A reputable school should always offer a legit visa and don't get anywhere near a flight without one. 

 

Some smaller Universities might have 2 foreign teachers a year. I've applied for a few jobs where they asked me what they needed to be doing for my visa. 

 

Also, don't assume University level classes have more motivated students. Depending on the University and what you're teaching, you could end up doing some compulsory English language classes or something. A friend taught this kind of class at a University exclusively and said that out of 40 students, perhaps 10 at the front wanted to be there. The rest just slept, did other homework or played on their phones. 

 

You seem to have answered your own question as well. Most Universities pay quite low wages because the hours are also very low (as low as 10-14) and also the holidays can be very long. Most people who work at Universities end up doing work on the side. Depending on what you teach marking can be quite high.

 

In contrast, at a private school you might have 20-30 hours a week spread across different times of the day. It's likely you won't have both weekend days off either and perhaps not two consecutive days off. 

 

I worked at private language schools for 4 years and thought it was great for the most part. University work never really appealed. 

[ChTTay]

A few things really... 

 

If you pick a reputable private school, it's likely they have more experience in hiring foreigners than many Universities. Perhaps more importantly, in my experience with good private schools, they will likely offer better support to people new to China. A reputable school should always offer a legit visa and don't get anywhere near a flight without one. 

 

Some smaller Universities might have 2 foreign teachers a year. I've applied for a few jobs where they asked me what they needed to be doing for my visa. 

 

Also, don't assume University level classes have more motivated students. Depending on the University and what you're teaching, you could end up doing some compulsory English language classes or something. A friend taught this kind of class at a University exclusively and said that out of 40 students, perhaps 10 at the front wanted to be there. The rest just slept, did other homework or played on their phones. 

 

You seem to have answered your own question as well. Most Universities pay quite low wages because the hours are also very low (as low as 10-14) and also the holidays can be very long. Most people who work at Universities end up doing work on the side. Depending on what you teach marking can be quite high.

 

In contrast, at a private school you might have 20-30 hours a week spread across different times of the day. It's likely you won't have both weekend days off either and perhaps not two consecutive days off. 

 

I worked at private language schools for 4 years and thought it was great for the most part. University work never really appealed. 

[somethingfunny]

12 minutes ago, BenHarris said:

I can help you with writing a good essay.

 

No thanks.

[roddy]

I knew this guy was a spammer! More patient than usual, but the combination of low content generic posts (nobody really registers on a forum to make the first post "useful info, thanks") and some other top-secret clues gave him away.

 

Curiosity satisfied. Banned. Which is why BenHarris's posts have disappeared and this all looks a bit odd. 

[imron]

It took him a while to get his 5 posts.  I deleted quite a few meaningless ones of his from the mod queue over the last few days.

[roddy]

He sent me an email to ask why he'd been banned. Amusingly enough he did it by replying to a validation email for a different account, which I've now also banned. 

[Angelina]

What's the point? 

Glad he is gone.