Teaching in China’s Public Sector

There are two basic considerations for those teaching in public schools and universities in China: holidays and salary. The salaries in public schools are usually quite modest but come with apartments as part of the package. However, the flipside to the lower compensation is that the holidays are pretty epic, often taking up three summer months and another lengthy period at Spring Festival. Many - although certainly not all - of the teachers working in public schools in China fall into two categories. • The first is new graduates using a teaching job as a way to travel and gain life experience. Being new to the workplace, these teachers are often less concerned about salary. Most will find their jobs through recruiters – just as I did – or through organized schemes, such as that of the British Council, which place foreigner teachers in schools around China. (Tip: An advert for this kind of role will often promote travel opportunities). • The second group is those with a genuine commitment to education looking to “make a difference” – often they were teachers in their home country, too. This type of person would have been more successful in Dawufeng than I was and would no doubt thrive in slightly more remote areas of the country. The teachers attracted to this sector, especially the younger ones, will tend to be making a shorter commitment to China. This is reflected in the teaching contracts available. They can be as short as four to six months, just covering a single semester. Year-long contracts will also often include an airfare home.