Teach English in China: Pros and Cons | Training Schools vs. Universities

So, you're looking to teach in China? Here are some pros and cons if you're going to be teaching at a university or training school. For me personally, universities are the way to go! Here they are:

Working at a training school, you will have:

- Longer working hours. Many, if not most, training schools will sign you for something around 22-25 teaching hours a week, not including “non-teaching hours.” This includes: English First, i2 International Education, Wall Street English, Disney English, New Oriental, Meten English. You can sign part-time contracts with most of these companies, but generally speaking, if you want a living wage, a full-time job, and a Z visa (work visa), you’re gonna put in the hours.

- Higher pay. You’re working longer hours, so you will get paid more. Salaries range from 140/hr to 200+/hr. If you’re teaching 25 hours a week, you can work that out. Some training schools give housing stipends/other compensation, so you’ll be making 10-15k yuan/month.

- No experience / credentials needed, depending on where and which company you teach at.

- No housing included. You’re on your own for a place.

- Lots of young students and annoying parents with abnormally high expectations.

- Fairly rigid curriculums to follow and little freedom to teach what you like.

- Not a normal social life. You’ll be working weekends.

Working at a university, you will have:

- Shorter working hours. Most university contracts are for between 12-18 teaching hours a week, with 16 being the most common. However, each “hour” is usually 45 or 50 minutes, followed by a break, then another “hour,” so you’re not teaching the whole time.

- Lower pay. Working less = less money, of course.

- Experience / credentials needed. This also depends on where you’re going to be. If you want to be at a university and you don’t have any experience, you’ll have to start small. You’ll at least need your original degree, and sometimes they’ll want to see your transcripts as well! They’re cutting down on fake degrees.

- More free time!!

- Housing included (most of the time) or a housing stipend.

- Complete freedom to teach what you like, sometimes to a fault.

- Older students, often (not always) with better English, so you don’t need to teach from the ground up.

Jobs in China:

Good luck!

What is working / teaching at a training school in China like? What is working / teaching at a university in China like?

Feel free to subscribe to see more videos about what it is like to be an American (or any kind of foreigner) in China! All are welcome!

Twitter: @LetChinaSleep
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[cricetus]

i‘m chinese and my dad is a professor at a university located in south china. university teachers are "kings/queens of all teachers" in china. far more respected than being other types of school teachers, and got lots of free time. my dad spend his free time in a lab he hosted in university, but most his colleagues just start their own business/company as second job. so low salary is not a problem. but for locals it is difficult to become a university teacher, a doctorate degree is the minimum requirement in most cases.

[IanHollis]

I've taught at both and I DEFINITELY prefer teaching at university.

[CollinAbroadcast]

Great informational video. I think you hit on literally everything about each job

[jamesl]

So interesting to see this video. I taught in China for eight years in three provinces. I taught in university/ college but had some part time jobs in training schools. What you are saying is exactly dead on. I really preferred my full time university job. I loved the holiday time in summer and new year. I did a lot of traveling. I’m watching your videos because I want to go back to China. The challenge for me now is I’m getting older. I’m looking for places that will hire older teachers

[orcpeon]

This was the first video that actually answered all the questions I had about teaching abroad.

[AdamSahr-cjkf]

By far the most interesting video in a long while and great feedback in the comment section. Tonnes to learn here. Very mature presentation and discussion.

[Jake-omno]

This is a really comparison!

Can't believe you only live in China for several years, you do know every aspect of China.

[gauguin]

Good summary. I've been teaching English in China for many years.

[lisaelliott]

Austin,
Great information!

I taught at a university in China for three years! We created "office hours" on campus where we invited students to our "home", apartment for one hour or however many you would like to offer in the afternoon/ evenings to practice conversational English. It was one of the most powerful tools to help overcome the loneliness, challenges of being away from home and in a new culture. Many of my Freshmen and Sophmore students were the ones to come for a visit. They were dealing with many emotions being away from home, being in a new city, from the countryside, etc. Also, a student may have to go a clinic for the first time needed help while away from home. The more you were willing to give, the more you felt a part of activities and it helped to also create better lessons, more focus. As you build relationships, ask your students what they would like to learn about! I had wonderful experiences and I found students eager to help and spend time with you. (As a teacher, set boundaries.) They will help you shop, learn Chinese, cook, share about family, etc. So, you can make wonderful, long-lasting relationships. I hope this helps someone that may be having a hard time teaching on a univeristy campus!

[tannerna_]

Oh my lord. I can't understand how one could be drunk or fall asleep when helping kids, teens or even adults with learning another language. Would love to do training schools because I would love to have the impact of helping others learn. Hopefully when I travel to Chengdu I could have the chance to do so! :) First time viewer and really enjoying your videos thus far. Keep up the good work! :)

[meryamle]

That was unbelievably crystal clear and very helpful! Thank you so much Austin :)

[layslifestyle]

I want to get a cockney accent English teacher so bad lol cuz I just think it's really cool. It's very different from speaking good languages from teaching them to other people which means you should be really into it rather than just speak it out. I was stalking you since early 2015 when I lived in China&I did Genuinely enjoy your videos a lot! For me, it's just not common for me to see foreigners often when I was living in my hometown which is such a small city nearby Xi'an city. It's kinda different from how Chinese people look at white/black people right here how the white/black people look at me cuz they have a lot of Asian people in Australia. Lol obviously we have much more curiosity than you do. And somehow I think it's also a thing of internet in terms of banning almost social media such as YouTube&so on. Back then, I remembered that you said something about posting your videos on a social media cuz you wanted to share them with your family&friends. I didn't know what's that until then I knew it's YouTube. It's just amazing! I also went to the restaurant called "四季鱼歌" that you recommended in Lanzhou city. It was incredibly awesome! Anyway, it's ridiculously hard for the majorities of Chinese people who are just like me can't move out easily which is based on the economic&political issues. I'm glad that you've changed your jobs for a few times&currently get a nice one I guess. Just stay tuned & see what's going on. Thank you for making those fun videos&hope you enjoy it! What you said about how to learn English in a proper way is just staying with the native speakers. I got you a lot. Thank you not for granted, it's from bottom of my heart. X


Lei

[carsonsugden]

I agree on SO MANY POINTS.
Training centers are so boring. You dream in the same three songs they force you to play. Most of your students are tiny kids that require a lot of energy with dancing, singing, etc. So your teaching hours are an absolute drain with little to no real progress even after a year if the parents never decide to work with their kids.
Teaching in a university or even a high school means you often won't go insane haha

[goddess_anqet]

As an American teacher, I can vouch that we teach roughly 35 hours a week. This doesn't include prep for class, tutoring, conferences, and meetings. Once the wee is said and done, I think it's a good 40-50 hours in the work week. I am looking forward to making this leap even more.

[zhangy]

OMG you are in SCU, where I did my bachelor ! it is a awesome place, enjoy your teaching time there.

[captainseyepatch]

1:34 He just had a nice conversation with that Chinese lady.
I know all about these chat's while your making videos.

[Shermos]

Thanks for this Austin. It's really helpful.

[machopolitan]

I like your candor! Thank you for sharing with us. But my suggestion, work with universities and find side jobs. China is rapidly developing so all kinds of opportunities abound. One of my colleagues get cameo roles in a local television station from time to time because of looking good and his Chinese language skills. Good luck with your life in China.

[AutoTrawler]

China is getting more expensive and it seems like university salaries haven't kept pace. It may be that locals are more impressed by university teachers, but I can't afford to support my family and save money on 6000 a month! I am a qualified UK school teacher, but I work at a training school but only teach about 14 hours a week across 4 days. I make about RMB180k a year because I've stuck around for a few years and asked for pay rises every year. I could work at an international school and make well over 200k, but I don't like getting up early and working hard, I value quality of life more than the extra money. Too many people spend most of their life working hard and then can't cope with the free time when they retire. They get used to a miserable life, living for their 2 week yearly vacation. My daily life here feels like a semi vacation compared with teaching in UK state schools, its bliss. The pace of life is just so much slower, at least outside of the tier 1 cities. At the same time, there is a lot of people watching to be done, and a lot going on compared with the west.

[nubemuffin]

There's another option: teaching at a private high school. If you teach at a private high school you can make 15-35k per month and only work 15-20 hours a week (but you're required to be on campus during working hours). This is what I do and it's awesome.