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Would you accept 150RMB/hour ?

Napoleon (1187 posts) • 0

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.

Napoleon (1187 posts) • 0

@Liumingke

Well done that lad.

Bloody hell. I could have saved myself hours of typing if I had just said that.

Haali (1178 posts) • 0

To make you guys feel better:

In the UK my teacher salary was £1791 per month (add a 0 for a rough conversion to RMB). After tax it was about £1500. I would normally work about 60 hours a week, many of which at home in my 'time off' so I had hardly any life outside work, which was miserable. That's £6.25 per hour (if we take a month as 4 weeks, of course its slightly longer). 63rmb per hour for an incredibly stressful and tiring job. Here at my training school I get paid about £1000 per month with no deductions, and get small quarterly bonuses and large yearly bonuses. I work about 20 hours a week, with a bit of extra time before and between classes, but its no more than 30 hours total in work. The job itself can be quite fun, and is not particularly stressful. It works out about 124rmb per hour of actual work not including bonuses. So, almost double the hourly pay, and my rent costs only 30% of what it did in England for an apartment twice as big and twice as nice. So, I feel better off mentally, physically, and financially. Of course, the school makes way more money out of me than I do them, but that is capitalism. The Chinese staff at our school is another story, they work longer hours for much less pay and have their pay docked at every opportunity. Not coincidentally, they have a high turnover rate and some of their English is pretty bad considering they are English teachers. The ones with good English leave fast once they realise how bad their deal is.

The Dudeson's (1106 posts) • 0

@alexex
usually a business follows the demands. which is parents wanting quality education. thats where the scam starts. MOST schools lying and cheating as much as they can. it has nothing to do anymore with keeping costs low.

@napoleon
my aunt is an english teacher, back home. she makes about 15Euro/h net, paid vacation, full health insurance cover, she has a very good career (she is part of the school.council), she even turned down a few career advances, full retiremend package, she is state employed, so she can.t just get fired unless she really messes up big time. she gets constant training, there is no one lying or squeezing numbers. no money involved. every academic decision is made by educators not by business personnel.man,that list goes on and on and on.
and most impotantly, she loves her job
....so,does that sound anything like the job here.

why is a teacher not like a doctor or a lawyer? it should not get divided by your social status but how good you are at your job.

what serms to.be confusing is the amount of professions. the vast demand.

teachers educate the future of the country or even world, though we treat them.like sh*t. people spend more money on cigarettes,KTV,booze,cheese...than they are willing to.give for quality education. unless the understanding changes....this will not change.

at last the demands on the teacher is 10times more than abroad...due to.the vortex. but without and compensation...ust is.

Xiefei (539 posts) • 0

There's a simple reason why the comparison with Western countries doesn't work. This isn't a local job that can be filled by local people. It's a relatively high demand job that requires importing the employee from the other side of the world.

As a teacher (or any similar position) here, you are not just giving them hours of your life but spending time away from home and family. That's not necessarily a hardship. In fact, some of us enjoy it. But it should still come at a premium.

This is the same reason that local wage comparison is also pointless. The question is at what price can you attract this imported talent? If you made a nice local teacher's salary of 3000 RMB a month in the US, you would qualify for a whole bunch of welfare programs. Why fly all the way across the world for a sizable cut in pay?

The pay doesn't necessarily have to be more than that candidate could make back home, but it is a slightly more meaningful reference. It is what many prospective teachers are considering when they decide if they want the job out here.

The Dudeson's (1106 posts) • 0

that all sounds nice. what about a career? how do put the lack off in numbers?
what about the lack of benefits.

it.s ok to work a few years as (only) teacher...what is after that.

my chinese supervisors made at leat the same pay as i did, most at least double pay.
they were incompetent at best and condensed chaos most of the time. flirting with staff, untrained and making a mess and blaming everyone else for their mistakes.

@napoleon
dunno about the UK.

but in germany most teachers are doing their job out of passion. and even the ones in china can.t last long, doing it for the cash only.

but it.s a cash business.

it.s a fact that most foreigners hired to do a professional job,get paid more than locals.
i have two chinese friends, they took a two weeks teaching mandarin course. they are getting paid 20k RMB in the States, not including benefits.

i know chinese english teachers, making 100 kuai per hour. and they should. i am not saying that chinese Eng. teachers shouldn.t.

the problem is that 99% of the school are getting hard-on's just hearing the sound of money.
they don.t know how to incentivize (if that.s a real word?) people. they are still in the industrial revolution.
i am sure,that most schools can easily afford paying 300rmb,or more, for the teacher chinese or foreign and still generate good profit.

but the normal chinese business

person doesn.t know anything, about sustainable business.

they only know how to take advantage of others.

I have not once yet, seen a mutually bennefitial deal for both partners. cos it needs creativity and innovation to run a business, such as a school.

The Dudeson's (1106 posts) • 0

150 Rmb is not a lot especially if part time. even the chinese government has a very clear idea about the benefits you should get. download it, and check if you anywhere close to it.

The Dudeson's (1106 posts) • 0

The pay i mentioned was already a net. pay example.

Bringing life costs and quality into the equation travelling in Germany is incredibly cheap and comfortable.
Discounter food shopping, most definitely cheaper than in China, thanks to the low RMB.

But even without discounter products are extremely cheap in BRD, check out ALDI or LIDL websites, just click on whatever you can find there, and compare the prices in China.
Going out as in buying snacks, like mixian [which is crappy and unsafe food] yeah that is cheaper in China. Proper going out, a real meal in a real restaurant with good service, is cheaper in Germany. Went to a fancy fish restaurant in Dusseldorf 2 years back, a proper fish fillet prepared by a great chef with a bottle of good mid-shelf white wine, cost us [p/person] about 17 Euro p./person] translate that into Kunming numbers. one hot pot, with stale old veggies, gutter oil,etc. 17 Euro or 100-something kuai? Easy!!
Plus in Germany there is no fear, to spend the rest of the day playing "Games of 'Throne' "!

Exchange rate is a big factor.

What is more expansive than in China [still, ...yet...] is rent, and tax, but the turnout of the tax in Europe is better. Social insurance, benefits, etc.

Running a car is pretty much the same in Europe though fuel is more expensive.

Travelling by train in Europe you can buy a annual card or use frequent travelers cards. Plus my aunt takes the bike to work, which is safe and cheap.

Many States in Germany are opening the schools to people crossing careers, the minimum requiremetns to apply for training and trainee work, is a finished college entrance exam [Abitur] and at least 2 years spend on a major [any major] in University or College. Then you can apply. Germany wants to change education after neglecting it for 2 decades,. They want more teachers, not just reciting books, but coaching life. The traditional position of a teacher becomes more and more obsolete [wikipedia/ online college courses] the problem is finding sources and interests.

...Anyway it translates very close to the Kunming /China model. You could become a teacher in Germany even without a degree. But you cannot become an official, due to lack of the 'Staatsexamen'.

Furthermore my aunt can announce problems, break of contract, she is actually protected by the law. Schools are run a joint operation, without business incentives, they can produce money [fairs, markets, etc] but they are not run as money-mill.
The average teacher in Kunming, will be kept as illegal as possible, to keep the T. leverage down, by giving them a fake visa.
The contract will be breached on most levels, T. has no rights, will be ripped off, no social insurance, no health insurance, Tax is often not paid in the name of the teacher [without T. knowledge], helicopter parents, lying parents and administrators, unpaid overtime, unpaid extra classes, lack, or no communication, a high-stress environment, fake promises, schools dodging paying airfares or other benefits. Brave teachers receiving no support, but instead being fired to fulfill customers vindictive feelings, [more important than a fully qualified teacher] are,...qualified managers and leaders. As I said the list is long.

I have never gotten my airfare reimbursement, not have I ever gotten my contract fulfillment bonus, i have never received the promised health insurance, visa support[except once].

So if I make a [standard] 15000 RMB/net.

I have to pay my rent, 1500 [low bar]
My airfare, 10000 [for Europeans]
my insurance, [health] 1500
retirement fund, 2000-3000 to level the gap, back home]
additional cost for visa, and official trips. a 3-4000 per year.
and other costs.
Will i make more than most my chinese colleagues? Yeah.....but for what price..???

...now triple it when getting married and kid.

...in Europe I get child support, lower income tax, gov. loans for buying or building a house, etc....the list is long!

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