Some things to be WARY of in Job Advertisments

[Hypiereon]

Here's the shortlist:
First pay offer is over 4,800 RMB.
Hours per week 20-25 (or more)
Teaching Juniors / Seniors / Adults
Some "off-site" teaching and appearances
School name is not Chinese, but English with a title from the UK / Australia / or Canada.

This is not a genuine school - this is a Crash School.

Here's the drawn out version:
Teachers wanting to teach in China may not be aware of some of the other "schools" out there. China is full of regular schools as well as Crash Schools, and many people do not know the difference. When confronted with the difference, they are shocked at the demands made on their time and the way they are treated, when in reeality they are not working for a school at all - but rather a business that specializes in education. The difference being that the $$$ is the more important factor rather than student achievement.

Crash schools are not bad programs - but they do tend to be more demanding of your time, and very inflexible with negotiations. The hours per week usually start in the 20-25 hours per week range, and you'll be told that you may be required to teach "Juniors / Seniors / and Adults". What isn't being said is that most of these hours will be taught in the evening - after 5:00PM.

Some Crash Schools work in tandem with state schools who offer alternative diploma programs where the school-within-a-school functions in every way like a legit school - but the students are on a track to go abroad to get a university education rather than stay in China. These are typically based on University campuses. Reasons vary, but some of the more common ones happen to be that the child is doing poorly or is expected to do poorly in school, but the parents have the money to send them abroad for a degree. There is a 100% certainty that their child will be rejected by universities in China because of the child's poor performance to date, and they opt into these more expensive programs hoping that if their kid can just skid through, then they can go abroad to get the degree. In these places you'll hear words like the "Sino-Australian Program" or "Sino-Canadian Program."

Other tells for Crash Schools: "You may be asked occasionally to teach off-site" - this is a no go from the start. Fact: they are soliciting businesses saying they will give them "Business Enlgish" lessons. When they land a contract - and these contracts are VERY lucrative - you will be sent in to do the teaching. You will not be compensated for travel time, the travel time will not count toward your hours per week, and the extra money they make off of you will go directly into their pockets; the "Crash School" sees none of this money. You are their own private little "cash cow' sent out to earn them extra dollars. Just one of these accounts are typically worth your salary for two months. Think about it: you are paid out of the school profits, the person in charge is paid out of the school profits, then the person in charge is paid again (the equivalent of two months of your salary) when they send you out on a contract for a business - you get nothing more. That's why I always include a provision for extra pay for "off-site" teaching, and extra pay for hours over 14 per week.

[felicity booth]

Good advice Hypiereon.

I teach in a few different locations throughout the week. I allow up to 1 hour travel time each way before asking for extra money. Of course it will also depend on the amount of hours I'm teaching.

Makes no sense to travel 1 hour each way for 2 hours of teaching time. A lot of teachers do seem to overlook travel time involved. If you are getting paid to teach 2 hours, and you need to travel 1 hour each way, then in fact, 4 hours of your time you are only getting paid for 2 hours. Just something to think about.