Employment & Prof. Development

Hello,

I am currently applying to a cross-cultural exchange program that will find me a teaching position in China. The company's website advertises that the salary range of teachers is 3300-4000 RMB to teach in a 2nd-tier city in China. The company considers this salary "generous by local standards".

After reading your site, I am very concerned that this salary is not sufficient. Should I more closely examine other claims by this company given that it appears this claim is not accurate? Thank you and I look forward to your response.

For starters, you should take a close look at our chapter on How to Evaluate the Credibility of China EFL Websites. Obviously, the information provided by any agent or agency that stands to gain considerably from your patronage needs to be critically scrutinized.

Second, there is absolutely no good reason to use a "cross-cultural exchange program" to find English teaching employment in China unless you are absolutely unwilling to conduct your own due diligence. One of these programs charges as much as $3,500 per person for their services. At their reported maximum monthly salary of 4,000 yuan, it would take you six months to break even.

Finally, if you have a minimum of a bachelor's degree then the absolute minimum salary you should be looking at, even in a second-tier city, is 4,000 RMB per month and only at public schools or universities: the salary will be at least 25 percent more at private schools.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you for the response.

I was attracted to this agency because of a fear of being scammed. I've read many horror stories and looked at the agency as a sure-fire way to prevent being scammed or not having proper documentation to teach legally in China. It appears this agency may be a bit of a scam as well with their high cost of services and low teaching salary.

I will definitely do my due diligence and try and come up with the best solution for me to teach in China. Thanks again for your response.

You can find TEFL certification training for a lot less than the fees they are asking for and I don't know how or where they are deriving a salary range of 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per month in the year 2010. Even in Kunming and Haikou, two of the poorest-paying areas in China, the lowest salary you would be offered at a public university is 3,800 and 4,200, respectively.

Follow our mini-checklist of questions to ask very carefully and you will be able to sidestep the traps and pitfalls that await the uninformed.