Teaching EFL in China: Pros and Cons

It was just after this that sealed transcripts were required.

SE Asia isn't as bad as some think. I make $1800 a month with 2 months off in the summer, paid vacation and holidays plus medical coverage to $25,000 a year for any hospital in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Plus, it's always summer, there's always fresh fruit and veggies and plenty of foreign foods. It isn't expensive to live in this part of the world. My biggest gripe is the price of gas! It's about $1.45 a liter now and that is nuts.

Not to mention the great weather! SE Asia is definitely my next stop after China (another 3-5yrs here max).

Right now I’m doing $4500 per month after tax, rent is only $350 for a high rise 1bed apartment (not studio), utilities average out at $60 per month, phone and internet like $22 per month. I send home $2000 per month (could easily be sending $3000 if I wanted to live frugally)…though I couldn’t really save much in my first year due to a myriad of reasons and adjusting to China.

However this is NOT esl…though some esl teachers in more expensive cities earn similar to what I earn but before tax, and their rents are up to 5X mine.

Not to mention the great weather! SE Asia is definitely my next stop after China (another 3-5yrs here max).

Right now I’m doing $4500 per month after tax, rent is only $350 for a high rise 1bed apartment (not studio), utilities average out at $60 per month, phone and internet like $22 per month. I send home $2000 per month (could easily be sending $3000 if I wanted to live frugally)…though I couldn’t really save much in my first year due to a myriad of reasons and adjusting to China.

However this is NOT esl…though some esl teachers in more expensive cities earn similar to what I earn but before tax, and their rents are up to 5X mine.

Chinese ads can run all over the spectrum from low paying EF to modest salaries with apartments.  Then there are plenty of others especially tier two cities with cheap rent and high pay.  (Though first year is kind of low due to getting folks into the country with a PU letter.  But after that wages go up a lot.  Even being outside the country, you can find a 25,000 with free apartment or an apartment allowance.  Just skip the lower paying non apartment providing ones.  (EF is pretty bad for this.  I guerss they rope in gullble newbies who don't know what they are worth?)

18,000 RMB is 3,493,672.72 KRW
20,000 RMB is 3,882,602.00 KRW
22.000 RMB is 4,270,934.80 KRW
25,000 RMB is 4,853,335.00 KRW
28,000 RMB is 5,435,642.80 KRW
30,000 RMB is 5,823,903.00 KRW

18 to 22 may be a starter for someone with low experience and out of country.  (Some will go lower and some will try this with no apartment or rent allowance.  Walk away from those low paying deals.)  After a year with experience if willing to switch or beat current employer over the head, 25 or more should be had.  But a tier two city (which is better than most Korean cities and still more modern)  you may be able to walk into mid to upper 20's (24 to 28 thousand rmb and get rent or rent in those places cheaper. )  No way a salary below 25 thousand should be accepted if an apartment or rent allowance not included.  Can go as low as 20 if apartment or rent is included. 

Some tier two cities public schools may offer you place on campus with decent pay and free meals and utilities.  Not best living arrangement but good to save cash and send tons home if you can get 25 thousand a month or more and get partially paid for the summer.  Take off for two months in summer and escape Asian heat and humidity.  Go back home and chill. 

I did a lot of research the past couple of years.  I am waiting for corona to move on.  But for those who are vaxxed and have some patience and can wait it out at home or where ever, China is the best paying gig in Asia.  Vietnam and other countries can appear the same or lower than Korea but have a cheaper living cost, warmer weather and a more chill environment. 

I would say the Facebook groups are best for seeking out jobs.  Daves and others can get subpar offers mixed with some good ones.  Only downside for China still is some jobs are still looking for you to be in China. 

But you can check these ones for China:

ESL English Teachers Jobs

Teaching Jobs in China

Teaching Jobs in Asia

ESL Teacher China

ESL Job in China and Taiwan

TeachChina

ShenzhenJobsForeign



If you like Vietnam instead:

English Teaching Jobs in Vietnam

English Teaching Jobs in Hanoi

English Teaching Jobs in Vietnam (The Original)

teaching English jobs and other jobs for foreigners in Vietnam

Chinese ads can run all over the spectrum from low paying EF to modest salaries with apartments.  Then there are plenty of others especially tier two cities with cheap rent and high pay.  (Though first year is kind of low due to getting folks into the country with a PU letter.  But after that wages go up a lot.  Even being outside the country, you can find a 25,000 with free apartment or an apartment allowance.  Just skip the lower paying non apartment providing ones.  (EF is pretty bad for this.  I guerss they rope in gullble newbies who don't know what they are worth?)

18,000 RMB is 3,493,672.72 KRW
20,000 RMB is 3,882,602.00 KRW
22.000 RMB is 4,270,934.80 KRW
25,000 RMB is 4,853,335.00 KRW
28,000 RMB is 5,435,642.80 KRW
30,000 RMB is 5,823,903.00 KRW

18 to 22 may be a starter for someone with low experience and out of country.  (Some will go lower and some will try this with no apartment or rent allowance.  Walk away from those low paying deals.)  After a year with experience if willing to switch or beat current employer over the head, 25 or more should be had.  But a tier two city (which is better than most Korean cities and still more modern)  you may be able to walk into mid to upper 20's (24 to 28 thousand rmb and get rent or rent in those places cheaper. )  No way a salary below 25 thousand should be accepted if an apartment or rent allowance not included.  Can go as low as 20 if apartment or rent is included. 

General consensus is that while some few teachers can earn up to 30k, the median wage for ESL teachers in China is between 10k and 21k RMB (depending on region, type of job etc).
Anything above that requires either good connections, luck, excellent qualifications, or several years of teaching experience in China.
Not a bad deal, and given cost of living differences, one can save more there than in Korea, but not exceptionally so.

Sources:
https://www.internationalteflacademy.com/blog/what-is-the-salary-for-an-english-teacher-in-china
https://www.teachaway.com/blog/whats-average-salary-teacher-china
https://chinabyteaching.com/what-are-the-salaries-for-teaching-english-in-china-2021-2022/

Again, these are reported  entry-level ***averages***. I'm sure there are many many exceptions.
 

For anyone looking to work in China, this is a good site a la Waygook. It helped me a lot when I was getting ready to leave Korea and go to China, despite the fact I ended up hating it.


https://raoulschinasaloon.com/

I’ll add again…if your intention is to ESL jockey in China, this is NOT the time to come.

Are there ESL jobs? Yes

Are they stable? Depends on the school

What schools have unstable ESL jobs? Training centres, schools that get ESL placements from recruiters (meaning the teacher signed an employment contract with the recruiter, not the school), poorly run private schools, fake and rent-a-name “international” schools, non-international programs in public schools, kindergartens

What schools have stable ESL jobs? International programs in public schools, well run private schools, full international schools

What other teaching can I do aside from ESL? You can do subject teaching. Full international schools won’t hire you without proper credentials (some might), but plenty of private schools and public schools would be happy to have you teach subjects in their international programs, your Bachelors naturally should be related to the subject you’ll be teaching (though this isn’t always the case). This will obviously be a lot more prep work than ESL, but I would argue the rewards are also a lot more.

The caveat here is to not rest on one’s laurels and expect the gravy train to continue unchanged. If you do make it to China and subject teach, you should also be looking to get yourself properly qualified while teaching and earning. A ton of people who were here during the so called golden days got caught with their pants down when the new rules abruptly came in.

If you play your cards right, you could navigate your way to a 30-50% pay raise every 1-2 years (obviously there’s a limit, unless you can get into leadership positions). Yes, China does allow foreigners to be coordinators, principals and vice principals of international programs and international schools. Some roles are purely ceremonial, while it her roles are fully hands on.

Again, China is currently NOT the place for hagwon or EPIK-style ESL. The government has decided it doesn’t want to go the Japan/Korea route.

General consensus is that while some few teachers can earn up to 30k, the median wage for ESL teachers in China is between 10k and 21k RMB (depending on region, type of job etc).
Anything above that requires either good connections, luck, excellent qualifications, or several years of teaching experience in China.
Not a bad deal, and given cost of living differences, one can save more there than in Korea, but not exceptionally so.

Sources:
https://www.internationalteflacademy.com/blog/what-is-the-salary-for-an-english-teacher-in-china
https://www.teachaway.com/blog/whats-average-salary-teacher-china
https://chinabyteaching.com/what-are-the-salaries-for-teaching-english-in-china-2021-2022/

Again, these are reported  entry-level ***averages***. I'm sure there are many many exceptions.
 

Those links are by recruiters trying to lowball you into taking less.  Granted the first year in getting a PU letter and other nonsense expense will require you to go down the first year.  But after that you can go quite high.  Check the Facebook groups I linked above.  Recruiters websites will always try to lowball you.  Even on Daves they post quite low with no housing for public schools in Shenzhen.  While Dave's has some good jobs, there are plenty of other ones.  Ignore the bottom feeders and go straight to the employers via Facebook groups.  Maybe a link or two on Daves. 

Some public schools do half paid in vacation though pay high compared to local living cost most of the year and long vacations.  None of this desk warming crap.  Free housing and flight re imbursement.

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Avoid the lousy ones that pay too low and give no housing, public schools or private companies like EF.  Demand for foreigners is high and you can be choosy for jobs.  If some company or recruiter tries to low bait you or use psychological tricks like hurry or the job will be taken.  Skip them and say next.  Plenty of good jobs if you know where to dig. 

For some reason some chains like EF and some public schools like Shenzhen are notorious for paying low and giving no housing.  Guess there are stooges who keep applying to those two.  Personally, I'd tell them both to get bent and find something better. 


Actual job listings versus a recruiters website claiming pay is much lower than is actually being advertised right now.  I'll look at the actual facts in the field. 

Like this one you avoid because it's like you have the word "sucker" stamped on your forehead.


ze=" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">https://www.eslcafe.com/postajob-detail/shenzhen-public-school-teaching-jobs-up-to-25?koreasearch=&koreapageno=&koreapagesize=&chinasearch=&chinapageno=1&chinapagesize=60&internationalsearch=&internationalpageno=&internationalpagesi ze=

Low pay and no housing.  Nope.....

Better deal for public and other jobs.

Only down side is the hassle of trying to get in.  Unless you are going to take the Chinese vaccine.  Otherwise, just wait another year till Corona is done.


ze=" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">https://www.eslcafe.com/postajob-detail/esl-teachers-are-needed-in-guangzhou-private?koreasearch=&koreapageno=&koreapagesize=&chinasearch=&chinapageno=1&chinapagesize=60&internationalsearch=&internationalpageno=&internationalpagesi ze=

Tough place for pets;
"A Chinese city briefly ordered all indoor pets belonging to COVID-19 patients in one neighborhood to be killed.

The Anci district of Langfang city, in northern China, on Wednesday ordered the "complete culling of indoor animals" of coronavirus patients, the state-run China News Service reported.

The work had stopped by 5 p.m. local time Wednesday, the China News Service reported, citing a staff member for the Langfang Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It is not clear how many animals were killed."

Tough place for pets;
"A Chinese city briefly ordered all indoor pets belonging to COVID-19 patients in one neighborhood to be killed.

The Anci district of Langfang city, in northern China, on Wednesday ordered the "complete culling of indoor animals" of coronavirus patients, the state-run China News Service reported.

The work had stopped by 5 p.m. local time Wednesday, the China News Service reported, citing a staff member for the Langfang Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It is not clear how many animals were killed."

Man, the CCP are beyond sick and evil.

Mentioning the CCP is like ringing a summoning bell for confusedsaffer

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that pets can get COVID-19 from humans but that the risk of pets spreading the disease to people was "low."
———————————————————————-———
…China’s not taking any chances…

But ultimately, zero Covid is not possible. It’ll be around forever. Best strategy: have a strong immune system and get vaccinated. Beyond that, don’t be afraid. Not worth wasting your precious limited time on an overblown fear.

Don't bring your pet.  Just go to teach and then get out.

Can't get out if you're locked in an apartment building and they're welding shut the doors.   

this is taking Berreta's don't do the crime if you can't do the time to a whole new lever:

At least 71 death row inmates in China had their vital organs removed, to be used for transplants, before they were officially declared dead, according to a study published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

"We found that the physicians became the executioners on behalf of the state, and that the method of execution was heart removal," an author of the study, Matthew P. Robertson, said in a statement to Al Jazeera.

For decades, per the study, Chinese surgeons have broken a crucial transplant donor rule: Don't remove organs from a live body.

The authors of the study, Australian National University researcher Matthew P. Robertson and cardiac surgeon Jacob Lavee, reviewed 2,838 cases to determine that 348 "surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and other medical workers or researchers" who participated in the executions of inmates between 1980 and 2015 had removed the organs of death row inmates prior to "legitimate determination of brain death."

Can't get out if you're locked in an apartment building and they're welding shut the doors.   

I meant after your two years or whatever.  Don't stay for years on end.  As for that, it's why I said wait another year.  China is paying really well.  If you can get employers here paying over 3 then stay.  Stay for now, till Corona is done.  Next year, move on.  2.1 is shit no matter how much some long term apologists argue.  I make more so can stay for now.  But everyone should be making this.  More English teachers need to push back or leave.  Wages will go up fast then.  Besides, China, once Corona is done is an option.   Honestly no different from Korea in the past.

Besides, China, once Corona is done is an option.

No, it's not. Sorry Hankook to rain on your parade but was talking to my Chinese friend in Xiamen this weekend and she taught at their equivalent of Korean hagwons and she told me private education in China is dead and gone. She is now scrambling to do her public school's teachers exam in the vain hope of landing a job at a public school.  She told me she is not optimistic since the competition is really stiff.

So, the only opportunities are likely to be at Universities, maybe some international schools or public schools and I can tell you that you really don't want to teach in public schools in China, I did for a while, 50 in a class, no thank you.

If you are really upset with Korea, then you need to look elsewhere but for sure not China.