Post: #1

I am finishing up my TEFL 100 hour course and want to teach English in China.

Ideally I would like to teach in Shanghai or Beijing but I want to know if anybody on here has had (or knows somebody who had) success getting an ESL job with no degree. I am well educated but I never went to university.

My brother has been teaching in Asia for a number of years and he loves it and based on my research you don't need a degree to teach in China but the big cities are harder to get work in.

Any tips would be appreciated!

Thanks

Post: #2

From what I've heard, China is even easier than Thailand to get a teaching job in. And in Thailand I knew a whooole lot of people who had neither TEFL nor degrees. So, IMO, just land there and you'll be fine. Go to the CouchSurfing meetup, there'll probably be 5-10 English teachers there, just meet them and ask for referrals.

Post: #3

It depends...are you white?

Post: #4

(03-13-2014 07:45 PM)SpecialEd Wrote:  It depends...are you white?

Or better question, are you the right kind of white?

Post: #5

I am a 6 foot tall white male from Ontario, Canada

Post: #6

You're good to go. Hop on a plane and hit the pavement. Dont even bother with a resume lol.

Post: #7

"If you are Asian American, you will have a very hard time finding a job in China, even if you speak perfect English. It's unfortunate, but true."


I found that quote above on the wikihow page "how to teach english in china"

Why is it true?

Post: #8

In the Asian mind, native English speakers have white faces. Dont try to tell them differently lol. A German has a better chance of getting hired for a TESL position than a black or Asian American.

Post: #9

(03-13-2014 08:19 PM)SpecialEd Wrote:  You're good to go. Hop on a plane and hit the pavement. Dont even bother with a resume lol.

I keep hearing I need a legal "Z" visa to work in the country though. How can I get around this?

Post: #10

(03-13-2014 08:57 PM)MrStinky Wrote:  

(03-13-2014 08:19 PM)SpecialEd Wrote:  You're good to go. Hop on a plane and hit the pavement. Dont even bother with a resume lol.

I keep hearing I need a legal "Z" visa to work in the country though. How can I get around this?

I think you need to go there on a tourist visa and then once you find a job your employer will give you the paperwork to get the work visa.

Post: #11

not legally, but lots of people get away with teaching with a tourist visa. The only downside is if you get caught (which is more likely in BJ) then you may be in some trouble

Post: #12

(03-13-2014 07:23 PM)JJJames Wrote:  From what I've heard, China is even easier than Thailand to get a teaching job in. And in Thailand I knew a whooole lot of people who had neither TEFL nor degrees. So, IMO, just land there and you'll be fine. Go to the CouchSurfing meetup, there'll probably be 5-10 English teachers there, just meet them and ask for referrals.

Interesting. I wouldn't mind picking up a little side gig teaching English.

Post: #13

As far as I know, you can no longer convert tourist or business visas to Z visas within China, and you can also no longer shoot down to Hong Kong to do so. Most recruiters will tell you they can get you a z visa but are most likely full of shit. For other info on teaching in China, see this thread
/thread-30755....e+oh+where

Post: #14

It used to be a lot easier. Visa conversions used to be a lot easier. In 2010, I converted a tourist visa to a student visa, which used to be a routine procedure and they required me to pass an interview and said that they were phasing out tourist-to-student visa conversions. I don't believe that you can convert a tourist visa to anything else anymore, unless someone is really, really connected. For your purposes, it is impossible.

Officially, to get a Z visa in China, you need to have (1) a four year university/college degree, (2) years of after graduation work experience and (3) in the case of English teachers, must be from a country where English is the native language, which in China means Canada, USA, UK, Australia, NZ and possibly, but unlikely South Africa.

So, to clarify, it would be easier for a French speaker who knows no English from Quebec to get a work visa, than for a white African who speaks English and no other language.

Now, due to demand/supply factors, there is variance from region to region. I'm planning on working for a while in Beijing, because while they do tend to insist on a university degree, they aren't really insisting on two years of after graduation experience. Whereas, I've been told, in Shenzhen, they do insist on the two years of experience requirement.

Now, in theory, there could be some God-forsaken hell hole in China, where they can never get enough teachers that might ignore the fact that you don't have a work visa. There are certainly going to be plenty that wouldn't double check to make sure that your four year degree is legit.

So, it is not impossible, but it would mean some risky maneuvers.

I have 2.5 years of working experience in China and I've never had a Z visa. However, this was before last September, when the requirements really tightened up. I got by with tourist visas, students visas (I would casually attend class at one school and they let it slide as long as I paid tuition), and business visas, which one used to be able to buy in Hong Kong for about $200USD.

Not anymore, however. That's one of the reasons I recently went through the trouble of graduating from university. It used to be a lot easier to teach in Korea without being legit. But they got tough a couple years ago and now it's much easy to get deported if you work without proper documentation.

Japan has always had high standards.

Thailand still has low standards on account of the fact that you can survive for a long time on tourist visas and can get them on arrival (not an option in China, with the exception of very temporary transit visas), but I would speculate that they will eventually tighten up enforcement in Thailand as standard increase.

Vietnam is not so easy, because you can't get a visa on arrival.

Cambodia is a dark hole that few people want a job in and Laos seems to be even poorer.

So what does this mean for you? It's actually a good thing on the long run, because with stricter requirements, there will be fewer losers teaching English in China, which means more respect for those who do and a better expat community as well.

Additionally, stricter requirements lowers supply, while demand continues to rise, which means more money for those who do meet the requirements.

However, coming in on a student visa and teaching part time is a solid option. It is very rare for schools to be inspected and 15 hrs of part time work each week pays as well as full time work on a Z visa. The best part of working illegally under the table is that you pay no tax and can quit any time someone tries to screw with you. If you enter on a Z visa, you are essentially married to the company that sponsored you and they can mistreat you at will.

If you are serious about working in China, please PM me. I will discuss your options with you and help you work out a plan. I'm moving back to Beijing myself in May.

Post: #15

(03-13-2014 07:23 PM)JJJames Wrote:  From what I've heard, China is even easier than Thailand to get a teaching job in. And in Thailand I knew a whooole lot of people who had neither TEFL nor degrees. So, IMO, just land there and you'll be fine. Go to the CouchSurfing meetup, there'll probably be 5-10 English teachers there, just meet them and ask for referrals.

This might be the worst advice I've seen on the subject.

If you just land there and do somehow manage to get a job, your 30 day tourist visa isn't going to last for very long. You can't convert to a work visa inside of China -- you need to return to the country that issues your passport.

For a Canadian, this would mean paying $700 to fly to Beijing, finding a job in thirty days (if you are lucky, it can take longer than that), followed by $700 to fly home, where you will sit on your ass for up to a month to get your visa, and then another $700 to fly back to Beijing. Two visa applications at $50 each + a month of hotel stay while you look for an apartment (which you won't want to rent until you've finished up your month away to get your work visa) brings us up to a grand total $3400 spent before you earn a dime.

And that is assuming that you can actually find a company currently hiring that can successfully get you a Z visa.