Public School Jobs in Shenzhen
Requirements:
Native Speaker with Passport from(USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa)
Either 120 hour TEFL certificate OR 2 years of teaching experience
Bachelor’s Degree or higher(Authenticated by Chinese Consulate)
Clean Criminal Record(Authenticated by Chinese Consulate)
Teaching Hours:
The contract states that there is 20 classes maximum per week. Each class is 45 minutes, so the maximum teaching hours is 15 hours per week.
Working Hours:
8:30 AM to 5:30 PM Monday to Fridays, with a 2-hour lunch break.
Salary and Benefits:
10,000-13,000 RMB per month based on experience and qualifications
Housing: Shared Housing or 3,000 RMB per month tax-free housing allowance
One Way Airfare into China reimbursed either upon arrival or upon completing your contract.
3 Days Paid Hotel Stay upon arrival.
Housing Assistance Provided if needed.
Free Chinese Lessons once a week.
Legal Working Z visa provided
Two free meals per day at the school canteen.
What is it like to work at a Public School Job in Shenzhen?
If you have at least one year of teaching experience abroad, or someone who is very independent and enjoys more freedom, teaching at a public school job in Shenzhen, or anywhere in China may be the best option for you. As For Teach Recruiting is based out of Shenzhen, founded by a former ESL teacher who worked at a teaching job in Shenzhen, we have a huge array of teaching jobs in Shenzhen. One of our favorite positions to recruit for are public school jobs in Shenzhen. Here is why.
First
The teaching hours are very low with minimal lesson planning requirements and minimal admin work. Although it is a 40 hour work week, over half the time will be your free time. Your weekly teaching hours will range from 11 to 14 hours a week. The standard contract sets a weekly maximum of 20 classes per week, and each class is 45 minutes long. We’ve asked our teachers what their weekly teaching hours were like, and many told us along the range of 11-13 hours per week. That’s only 2-3 hours per day! So how is the remaining time spent? Generally, you will need to spend about 1-2 hours per week lesson planning, and the remaining hours are at your flexibility. Unfortunately, office hours are mandatory and that is the standard across the board for Shenzhen. However, don’t you want to learn some Chinese while you are here? Some of the office hours can be spent for self-studying Chinese, as well as having language exchanges with the local staff at your school. Also, if you are able to build relationships with staff at your public school, it will always be beneficial.
Second
The 2-hour lunch break is always a big plus. In addition to the 2-hour lunch break, the school provides free breakfast and lunch for the school staff and the foreign teacher at the school canteen. If you are looking to save some money, or want more disposable income for travel, the two free meals will really help you save money. The food is actually pretty decent and as Shenzhen is located in the Guangdong Province, a lot of the Chinese Food you are used to in your home country has been highly influenced by this area. For teachers working at private training centers, they can spend up to 100 RMB per day on meals and daily living expenses, but as a public school teacher, your daily expense can be as low as 20 RMB per day! For your information, breakfast usually ranges from 6-12 RMB, lunch ranges from 12-20 RMB, and dinner can range from 20-40 RMB per meal. Of course, the price per meal mentioned is for local style meals.
Third
You get a lengthy holiday period. During the winter, you will get 1 month paid vacation and during the summer, there is a 2 month unpaid holidays period. Now for summer holidays, this unpaid holidays really only apply if you decide to renew your contract and stay another year. Then you would have about 2 months unpaid holidays period as public school jobs in Shenzhen are 10-month contracts. So if you have almost no savings because you are right out of University, or have some loan payments, this may not be the best option for you. If you think you are in this group of people, don’t worry as we have other great high paying teaching jobs in Shenzhen that will help you pay off student loans and still have money left over for holidays. Now let’s take a look at how sweet your winter holidays will be. During the winter, the school goes on holidays for 1 month, and there is also a 2 week Chinese New Years following the winter holidays. During the winter holidays, you get paid half months salary plus a full housing allowance. This will give you some salary plus 6 full weeks to go on holidays. During this time, many public school teachers will go to different countries in South-east Asia while spending almost less to nothing.
Fourth
Have you wondered about getting private tutoring jobs in order to supplement your income while having a stable salary teaching job in China? Well, the best place to get private tutoring jobs in China is by getting referrals. Who’s the best person to give you referrals for private tutoring students? Teachers, of course! We mentioned in the first paragraph that in Shenzhen, the office hours are a mandatory standard across the board. So, when you aren’t teaching English, this is a great time to network with local teachers at the school and potentially build up relationships in order to get you a steady flow of referrals of private tutoring jobs. Of course, there are many other ways to get private tutoring jobs, and if maximizing income is your goals while teaching in China, public school jobs in Shenzhen is a great opportunity.
Once you have decided that teaching English at a public school in Shenzhen is the right decision for you, what are the next steps? First, you need to keep in mind that unlike private language training center jobs in China, there are two major start dates. Those two major start dates are the end of August and mid-February following the Chinese New Years holidays. Also, unlike training center jobs, for public schools jobs, the deadlines on documents and completing your TEFL certificate has no flexibility. You will need to work closely with your job placement consultant and make sure you meet your deadlines, or you will be dropped from the hiring process. The TEFL certification process is the longest part of this, and depending on your diligence, it can take up to 6 weeks in order to complete your 120 hour TEFL course. We highly recommend you complete this course by either end of May if you are targeting fall start date, and by end of November if you are targeting Spring start date. To consult more, please contact your job placement consultant or email info@www.forteachrecruiting.com.
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Cheers!
Bonus Links
#181 What’s it like—Teaching English in Shenzhen, with Mike Murillo