If you want to work in China as a teacher or, in a school environment, and if you are a foreigner pls read this!
Be cautious! There are a lot of bad schools and BS recruiters in China. I was surprised to see this!
Some examples: You sign a contract, and suddenly, the school wants to change the employment conditions upon your arrival; if you don't agree, they cancel the contract and you are screwed. Or the school hires you and promises to arrange with the permit papers, but the reality is different; you are at risk, until the immigration cops turn up and the school gets into a mess including you. Or, worse case; the school, suddenly shut down, and you are left out; no or little financial help, no help whatsoever to complete the job paper work. It stinks horse poo. Or you prepare all job VISA papers which can be very costly; you pay for the flights, and accommodation, just to find out that you will not get reimbursed upon arrival or just partly reimbursed!
And what about the agency who charged my friend (a teacher from the USA with 16y teaching experiences) 500 USD to find him a "top job". All BS. The papers the agency used were not correctly done. My friend lost money, and time. And then, how about all the low paying schools, and part-time jobs leaving you with mediocre payments even though you have superior degrees and valid experiences from west? Schools here are mostly about making a lot of money and less about global reputation.
Some Chinese employers lie to the parents telling them that the teachers have all sort of superior degrees from top schools abroad. Then they charge them a high fee. But the teachers get a mediocre salary. Greed is killing. WATCH OUT! China is too much about Guanxi and to make money for the schools and less about reputation, building a brand and set a strategy that is good for the students, and the employees; the Chinese protect the Chinese at the expense of screwing foreigners up, that is Guanxi in a nutshell from a foreigner point of view!
I also learned that you may get a shit contract the first 6 months, and if you do superior well, you may get a pay rise and position advancement fairly quickly. That is on the positive side of the coin...
But the words “quality”, corporate politeness, and “superior performance” are of a different nature here. You are often assessed by managers who are less qualified than yourself. And last but not least, most of these “teaching abroad schemes” don't pay for your future pension. So PLAN YOUR LIFE AND TIME AHEAD! However, some schools take their reputation seriously, and they want to keep students, foreigners, and parents for the foreseeable future. They pay well and meet their obligations. They are few, but they exist.
Ps. I am not saying that all Chinese people are bad people. This article is about institutions. But in the end, institutions are managed by people. I have some good Chinese friends, mostly from abroad, and my GF is local (but she is also 25% Taiwanese with an open mindset, and very polite manners) which makes a difference. And I like Chinese ancient history, the food, and the landscape; truly awesome!
Thanks!