If you can find 5 students who are all similar ages/ levels to be able to study together in a class for an hour then you're doing very well.

If you've just found 5 students and huddled them together in the class then maybe they're going to be getting better service at the training centre.

I know teachers who make a killing off doing this, but it takes a lot of time and effort to build up your base and if word gets out then you may have a knock on the door.

How I'm thinking is that there is a classroom and course book, boards pens etc. The school have spent money on marketing, divided students into the class, spoken to all the parents or whoever and collected all the money owed, you turn up, do whatever and leave with 150 in your hand 50 mins later.

What's not good about that? In a country where I would imagine some people are working 12 hour days and not getting 150, you are getting it in an hour. Not many countries pay foreigners more than locals, China is one.

Are we teaching English here or curing Cancer?

Yes, there are 100s of ways you can find a better job that 150 an hour, you can go elsewhere, you can head to the middle east, you can teach from your house. The question is would you work for 150 an hour? I haven't had this dilemma yet but if I needed to I wouldn't turn my nose up at it.

I think it's relevant to compare to other countries/cities, no?

I'm saying in Europe you'll get 150 euros for an hours class. Therefore the comparison is relevant to people saying that they wont pay enough in Kunming. Others said 300-500 an hour in Beijing to those who were saying its a Chinese school phenomenon as though they're better off working elsewhere.

Grass is always greener I guess. You want to decide how much you get paid then work for yourselves, then you can dictate terms. Until then employers will decide how much they can pay to get a person that meets their criteria. From this post I see it's clearly 150rmb at the moment.

I dont think you'll find any profession where the people think that they are paid enough. If the world was fair nurses would be driving Ferraris and bankers would living in council houses. If you're teaching nursery rhymes to 5 year olds then maybe it's time to consider that you're a baby sitter and not really making a difference to the futures of the Chinese population. If you have a student that needs a 6.5 on IELTS to get a place in a foreign university, or you have to teach a pilot PET material so he can continue flying abroad, then you have a bit more gumption and can consider asking for more, if the students see that you are the man to get them the 6.5 or the PET then there's no reason they wouldn't pay. No?

So what you're doing is agreeing with me that 150 rmb translates well in European terms then?
No that your aunt has all those benifits is as she's working in Europe. Chances are she also is fully qualified in a relevant field and has teaching licences and all sorts. Now, does that sound like your average Kunming ESL teacher? Not only that but she'll get tax on that 150, no?
Also living in Paris or Munich now she has to travel to and from work, that's not costing 1rmb. Maybe she'll have a pizza or pasta for lunch, thats not costing 35rmb. Her 150 is'nt going as far as Mr Kunming ESL teacher's rmb. She may have insurance but doesn't anyone with a full time job in China? I once had BUPA insurance with my job. If anyone wants a pension they could take one out here with a private company, or one back home. Where the advantage of working in Europe for 150 is, will be in job security and pension, state health all being covered for you.

You are comparing woking for the jingly jangly school of English founded on Love in Kunming with working in Rome for the government. Why not try comparing working for a language school in Rome and one in China, I bet the Chinese school pays more per hour in 80% of the cases. In Europe you'll work for Berlitz for 1000 Euros a month with no housing. You'll be taxed and you'll be paying European prices for everything.

I disagree that the demands are 10 times here what they are abroad. Do you need to sit a teaching exam to qualify to teach (Sudan) do you need to teach to educational employees and submit lesson plans to continue working (Maldives) do you need specific certificates to qualify to work (Delta/Celta etc) Are you required to work with the lights off or blacked out curtains at 10 in the evening to squeeze in a few extra study hours (Korea).

Teaching in China you could in theory go to class do your 'Tommy Cooper' and go home an hour/50 mins later with 150rmb in your pocket. You could start looking for that job in the morning and be in class by the evening if you ever needed money. Think it's like that in Rome when you're teaching FCE to Italian Businessmen?

If you can find the students then 1 to 1 is the way to go. Let's not just paint the schools in a bad way. Some of the strangestr people you'll meet are English teachers. These part time classes are all at weekends / weekday evenings and if something else comes up in that period with higher pay it makes sense to leave.

But, again, what are people complaining about?

150 is considered double your hourly pay in some cases in Europe. English teachers aren't doctors, lawyers or plumbers. I personally wouldn't want to waste my evenings or weekends doing work I do Mon-Fri unless its a call from Cambridge who I know are going to make it worth my while. No one is forcing anyone to work for that amount (Which is a fair amount) if you are offered it and you feel you're worth more, ask for more. If they don't want to pay it, forget about it.

I think it's probably market rate. I think hourly pay generally hasn't risen much over the past 15 years.

The competition in terms of schools has risen but so has the amount of foreign teachers. You can complain about it but in most of the positions I guess the school just need a foreign teacher, with no consideration to experience or nationality, a teacher is a teacher.

Now, unless you're qualified as an examiner or some sort of specialist language field that the school require then it's going to be difficult to get higher than the market rates. If you don't work for 150 then someone else will.

Is 150 a reasonable amount? I think so. It's around 20 Euros/ 15 Pounds. That's pretty good overtime pay in Europe. Would you pay that for a tutor back home, probably yes.

The solution is going to Hong Kong/ Beijing/ Tianjin and getting 300 an hour but then it's swings and roundabouts, what you make on the pay you loose when you pay more for rent/food/transport.

ESL in China isnt going to lead you to retirement. English for oil and gas, that's where you need to be if you want a Ferrari when you're 30, but you'll be driving it in Yemen, not Kunming.

Get a good contract with an international school, then you needn't worry about part time rates and can enjoy your weekends and evenings.