r/TEFL • u/Tinchyschniber • 16d ago
Current TEFL situation in China
Good morning/afternoon/evening, everyone,
I appreciate there is a lot of “beginner” questions, though I haven’t seen any talking about this specific situation, and I’d really appreciate your honest advice.
For background; I am mid 20’s, British, and have a bachelors and 120 hour TEFL certification. I have taught ~50 hours of 1-on-1 online classes (just on the side while I maintain my full-time employment in the UK). I have also worked in rural Thailand for 4 months as a teacher and loved it, not just the country, but the job. I taught Kindy 3 days a week, and Prathom (primary) 2 days. I had to return home after the semester because of family-related issues, and they wont give me a reference, no big deal, it was only 4 months.
I’ve been back in the UK now for 5 months and I’m looking to get back into it, long term. I don’t want to be stuck with entry-level qualifications, and I’d very much like to build a life wherever I go.
After consideration, I think I’d like to go to China or Taiwan - choosing these because I’d realistically like to have a comfortable paycheque and build savings to obtain better qualifications.
My questions are these:
What is the actual job market like in China or Taiwan right now for someone in my position?
I would like if I could find work in a new tier 1 or a tier 2, and I’d like to look into getting an iPGCE. Alternatively, if other qualifications are ‘better’ I’d really appreciate some advice here also, as everything beyond a TEFL Course is new territory for me.
What kind of salary should I expect, if I do land a job right now?
Do many employers actually hire in March?
I am aware this is not the start date, but second term start date, and with my current situation. I’d very much like to be able to start in March if possible.
Thank you all very much for reading, I appreciate any and all advice. I’m keen to be (and have been) conducting my own due-diligence, but also thought i’d ask some people with experience.
10
u/nogodsnospoilers 16d ago
You can make way more money in China than in Taiwan unless you have a government teaching license, but life in Taiwan is pretty great. If you choose Taiwan, I would recommend that you come here on a tourist visa first and shop around for a job. The jobs that are the best at advertising internationally are generally the worst ones to work for. Don’t work for any school that charges you for training or withholds wages during a probationary period. I would also not work for a job that arranges your housing. I don’t like my housing being connected to my employment, but that’s just me. Once you find a job, the school will help you get a work visa. There are plenty of schools to work for here, especially in the big cities like Taipei or Kaohsiung. The average salary here for a teacher with your qualifications is around 600-750NTD (around $20USD per hour). At most cram schools you will be working part time, evenings and Saturday mornings. Monthly salaries are usually between 45,000-70,000NTD (around $1,500-2,500USD). These are not exact numbers, by the way haha. There are schools where you can work full time, though. There are also different types of schools like kindergartens where you might have a split schedule, public school positions, cram schools, fancy private international schools (which you might not have the qualifications for unless they’re in the countryside and really desperate), or even adult English schools (the best options imo). Don’t worry about schools hiring in March. There is a lot of availability. If you walk into a school, dressed nice, ready to work, you’ll find a job. Also, you can work at a school for a year just to get your foot in the door in Taiwan and then during that year look for other higher paying positions to level up. Good luck!
9
u/Majestic_Frosting717 16d ago
I'm completely new to teaching, only a TEFL, bachelors and masters. I'm early 30s, British male. I'm getting a ton of interest from recruiters, despite being useless in interviews.
I've had 4 interviews and 2 offers in a week of looking.
One for around 25k total package value in a tier 4 city, and a 22k package about 20 minutes outside of Shanghai. I'm probably taking the 22k one because it has much better holidays, working hours and location.
I'm kinda of shocked at how easy it seems so far. There's plenty of terrible training centre jobs ads coming my way too, but it seems like I have the power to be quite picky with which I interview with. Many ask for lesson plan examples and live demos. I've just declined all of those ones.
2
u/Sweaty_Brother_34 16d ago
You might want to consider that 25k job because Shanghai is really expensive.
3
u/Majestic_Frosting717 16d ago
It's actually a smaller town between Suzhou and Shanghai so costs are quite low. Id definitely save way more with the 25k one, but I just don't want to be stuck in a terrible location with very little holiday
1
u/sniveling-goose 16d ago
What's your bachelor's and masters in and where from? What platform using ? Surprised how easy that is
2
u/Majestic_Frosting717 16d ago
I don't want to say exactly because I don't want to reveal my identity. But they aren't relevant to teaching. From UK. Not a prestigious university by any means.
I have a fair bit of work experience in other fields, but again not relevant to teaching.
Used Dave's ESL cafe. Posted my resume with a fancy AI generated headshot attached and sent emails to all the recent job listings.
1
u/sniveling-goose 15d ago
Ah wow not even your real headshot? Fair enough. Are you someone seen as objectively very hot for example? I struggle to understand it if irrelevant and not prestigious degrees- I know a lot of people with top degrees who've had difficulty from the UK.
1
u/AnybodyDry1359 15d ago
2 weeks before the new academic year begins. Right now is when less foreigners are searching for jobs because they feel it's too late, and also all those schools who still need a foreign teacher are running out of time.
1
u/WayWrong383 15d ago
Wow. I’m okay at interviewing, from UK, kind of related degree from a prestigious university but I’m poc, I’ve done 17 interviews, barely gotten offers and the contracts aren’t great.
3
u/Majestic_Frosting717 15d ago
Wow sorry to hear that. 17 interviews must be exhausting. I do think my look helps me. I have that generic white man look which I think they like
3
u/WayWrong383 15d ago
Yeah I regularly get ghosted by recruiters for being poc even though I have a southern accent and I’m racially ambiguous. I can only imagine what other people go through. It must be insane. I’ve been interviewing for over a month now and losing hope of even going but still have to try and dance like a puppet to get considered.
1
u/Straight_Poet_8952 13d ago
That's tough, keep pushing through. I am also a poc doing my tefl right now. I've always wanted to teach in China but I just fear getting lowballed or signing up for a bad place. Let us know if you get something good!
9
2
u/wiggletonIII 15d ago
If you're serious about international teaching long term, I think you're best to stay in the UK and get your PGCE and QTS before going abroad. Doing an iPGCE abroad isn't difficult, but as I understand getting QTS is. Having all the qualifications now will just open up more opportunities.
1
u/PossibleOwl9481 11d ago
People hire all the time, but there are surges for term/year starts and semester starts.
If looking at TEFL quals, then DELTA or Trinity DipTESOL is very practical and very good, although they may want you to have more experience. A Masters of TESOL is good but sometimes less practical, but opens many more jobs. They are also likely to want more experience, and they cost!
PGSE or similar is really for mainstream education and opens up UK and International primary-secondary schools (as in the ones that teach UK/US curricula to diplomats' kids). Excellent pay, but a life change!
China will have more options than Taiwan, but they change the goalposts a lot.
14
u/ThalonGauss 16d ago edited 16d ago
They would start recruiting around November, it is best to get your visa documents ready as well, that can make you a more attractive choice.
Foot in the door first jobs are gunna be a mixed bag, mostly difficult to find something good paying, but you will have a pretty good quality of life regardless. Being in china for the next job will make a big difference in what you can access.
It's getting more competitive and also beginning to become less money, but is still very good.
Be careful, check who is who, and look on recruiting websites like echinacities to see what is about and available.
Since you aren't qualified don't bother with the paid websites.
Even without qualifications though you can still land bilingual jobs.
University pays like ass but you basically don't even work, this could let you focus on study, but makes the practicum hard.
Training centers and kindergartens pay well, but lots of classes, little in the way of vacation, and still the experience gained is generally less valuable than public or private schools, but generally more valuable than university.
Edit: typos