Haimos Posted July 17, 2006 at 05:16 PM Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 at 05:16 PM I need a quick advice on this one and I would sincerely appreciate your comments, please. . This is the deal: 10 months contract with a private college. Salary: between RMB 4,000 - 7,000 per month depending on qualifications. I'll get more than RMB4,000 because of my qualifications and previous supply teaching experience (3 years) but I''ve also worked in Russia for a short period of time. I have to sort out food, laundry and international calls. Return flight ticket is provided (I live in the UK). Rent-free accommodation is provided with Internet access. Accident insurance is provided.. Medicine reimbursement up to RMB1,000. Travelling allowance: RMB500 per month Teaching schedule: 20 hours per week. No teaching on national or public holidays and winter holidays are paid for (4 weeks). Considering it is based Beijing, is this a good deal? I eat, drink and dress moderately and my lifestyle is pretty much exploring libraries, lots of walking, a bike, etc. I am not really bothered about dining out and clubbing but an occasional local travel is a big yes. I wouldn't mind learning the language as well. In my case China is terra incognita. Thank you very much for your time and patience. Haimos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badr Posted July 18, 2006 at 04:36 AM Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 at 04:36 AM as far as teaching jobs in Beijing go, it sounds like it is in the mid to bottom tier of offers. The salary is not the biggest issue since they are providing you with accommodations and you also get flight reimbursement. I would ask about the 20 hours to see if it is really 20 hours or 20 teaching periods... this makes a bit difference in your teaching load. Also, is all the teaching done in one location or will you be farmed out to companies and schools all over the city? Other than that, the offer sounds average and in line with many of the offers as long asyou get more than 4K... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 18, 2006 at 04:50 AM Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 at 04:50 AM Yeah, it looks just about reasonable for a first job in the city. You could probably find better if you hunted around, especially if you have experience / qualifications. Really do push for the top end of that salary range though, and as badr says, check what those 20 hours actually involve. Is it 20 one hour lessons or 26 45-minute classes. With how many classes? If it's 2 hours with each of 10 different classes you can probably repeat a lot of lesson plans (saving on prep time) but you won't see students make much progress over the year. 20 hours with one class is a lot harder work but you really get to see them improve. What's your actual location. Beijing is a big place, and you could find yourself a hell of a long way out of the center - that's not necessarily a bad thing for someone who likes biking and walking, but you want to be aware of it. A city center location makes it a lot easier to do some lucrative extra teaching on the side, for example. Is that travel allowance per month, or per month of holiday time? And is it just given in cash ( in which case it's effectively extra salary) or do you need to provide receipts for which they then reimburse you. Another good way to get a virtual raise is to persuade them to put all your classes into as few days as possible - say you have 20 classes a week. If you can do 5 classes a day Mon-Thurs and then get a three day weekend you'll have a lot more time for travel. As always with a new job in China, sign the shortest contract you can get them to accept, unless you are really sure it's a decent place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bewolff Posted August 20, 2006 at 10:52 PM Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 at 10:52 PM The thing about a city like Beijing, is that you could burn through 4k really easily. Go shopping, buy a couple shirts, have a good dinner, take a few taxis here or there, see a movie..Poof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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