About The Chinese Education System

Understand the fundamentals of the Chinese education system before you choose a Government or Private English teaching job in China. The Chinese education system is vast, and it is important to have an understanding of the major differences in Chinese education between government and private schools and institutions and how that may or may not effect your decision to teaching English in a government or private teaching position in China.

There are more than 400 million Chinese learning English. That means significant opportunity for overseas English teachers in China!

The first and most important distinction between government and private schools and education institutions in China is that the best institutions which attract the brightest Chinese students are nearly always government owned and operated. In China there is often a great deal of prestige attached to attending the best government schools, colleges and universities. Private schools and institutions on the other hand cater to China's new rich. They are generally perceived in China as being for students who have the money but not the brains.

The next most important distinction between government and private schools for the foreign teacher, is that whilst all teaching contracts stipulate in one form or another that extra private teaching and tutoring is not allowed, the fact is there is a chronic shortage of quality English teachers in China and if a foreign teacher wants to engage in private teaching outside of his or her existing duties, there is not much a school can and will do about it. However the higher a wage being paid the less practical it is to gain extra private teaching work. A private school will NOT be impressed with a teacher who offers to work for the competition during his or her spare time and will likely result in a sacking and immediate visa ramifications.

As a foreign teacher in China, even if your base wage is only 4000 RMB per month, you are still making more than double the monthly wage of the average Chinese teacher working in the China education system - average wages in China are about 600-1500 RMB per month. Plus you have your accommodation, health cover and flights paid for as well. And you work on average only 15-20 classes per week! Combined with the low cost of living in China it is easy to make and save money teaching English.

For those who want to make money teaching English abroad China is the best country to do it in. Now is the time to apply.

If you want to maximize your income while teaching in China, you should think about which type of Chinese teaching position will suit you the most. Government teaching jobs give you quite a lot of flexibility - on the other hand private schools have less bureaucracy and may offer better benefits and performance incentives. Once in China with your working visa already organized, gaining extra private teaching work is not a problem for those who want it - particularly if you are in a largish city. Even on 4000 RMB per month with your accommodation paid for, you can live very comfortably in China. Some of our teachers make a combined wage of 10,000-14,000 RMB or more per month tax free!