If you’re looking to have an incredible teaching abroad adventure, you really can’t go wrong with China. Explore amazing places, learn Chinese, try new and exciting food, and work with students who are incredibly excited to have you. What’s not to love?! The Chinese teach abroad industry is booming, and with more jobs than there are teachers, it’s almost too easy to get an amazing job teaching abroad in China. So check out the The Ultimate Guide to Teaching English in China 2021…
Whether you’re passionate about finding a job in China, or just a bit curious to learn more, we have created the ultimate guide for teaching abroad in China! Here we’ll go over what types of jobs you can apply to, the qualifications you need, how to go about applying, and typical salaries and benefits to expect. We’ll also go over some of the best cities and teaching opportunities to consider when you apply.
No matter where you are in the teach abroad process, this ultimate guide is for you!
How to Get a Teaching Job in China
The Chinese teach abroad market is booming, and new schools are always looking for foreign English teachers. From large public schools to tiny training centres, high-energy kindergartens to serious business English classes, massive cities to “little” towns – You can find any teach abroad job imaginable in China! This Guide to Teaching English in China starts by looking at different job types.
Guide to Teaching English in China: Common Job Types in China
For the most part, China has three main types of schools where you might be working: public schools, training centers, and international schools. These types of schools are all very different from one another, so it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with each type of job so that you can know which one is best for you!
Chinese Public School Jobs
Many public schools in China hire oral English teachers to work with their students on speaking and listening comprehension.
While working at a public school, you’ll most likely be a supplemental English teacher. Your students will typically have a Chinese English teacher that teaches grammar and prepares students for the test; however, these classes typically involve almost no spoken English. Your job will be to come in once a week (or once every two weeks!) and help your students get comfortable speaking English.
Chinese public schools typically have very large class sizes. You’ll probably be teaching between 30-50 students in a class depending on their age range. You’ll also be holding your classes very infrequently.
Finally, if you work at a Public School, your classes will be Monday-Friday from around 8am-4pm with a big break for lunch. If you really want a consistent Monday-Friday schedule, teaching at a public school is probably the best fit for you.
Chinese Training Centres
Chinese training centres are another popular place to work in China. These private for-profit centres typically work with students in the late afternoons, evenings and on the weekends. While this works for some people (especially if you’re not a morning person!), keep in mind that if you work at a training centre, you will probably not have a typical Monday-Friday schedule.
At a training center, you’ll most commonly be teaching basic oral English, however, there are also plenty of other jobs you might find. You can work as an SAT tutor, TOEFL teacher, college counselor, debate coach, public speaking coach, or anything else imaginable! While some of these jobs can be found at public schools, you’ll typically find them at training centers.
Training centers also cater to a wider audience than public schools. You may be working at a kindergarten teaching English to 4-year-olds, or you could be teaching business English to adults. The world is your oyster!
Finally, training centers tend to have much smaller class sizes than public or private schools. Average class size at a training center is around 4-8 students per class. However, depending on your job, you might even be meeting with students one-on-one!
International Schools
If you’re a qualified teacher in your home country with two-years of teaching experience, international schools are definitely the best place for you. Here you can teach a subject in English: whether its math, science, business, history, or… English!
These schools typically cater to the children of international residents, or Chinese students intent on going overseas for high school or college.
While the qualifications for this type of job are a bit higher than that of a public school or training center, the benefits and salary are better too!
Other Types of Teaching Jobs in China
These aren’t the only jobs that are available in China. You can always find a job teaching at a university. While the pay is a bit low compared to other job types, you will also have tons of free time since you will only be teaching a few classes per week.
You’ll also see jobs for private schools, which fall somewhere in between public and international schools in terms of their offerings and qualifications. Many private schools are run in exactly the same manner as public schools but with slightly smaller class sizes (maybe). While other private schools have a similar feel to an international school, and may even have an international curriculum program where some of the students study full or part-time in English.
Finally, you might want to also look into specialized pre-university schools catering to students who have already graduated high school but want to go to college abroad. Maybe they didn’t do as well as they’d hoped on the Gaokao (Chinese university admissions test), or maybe they just didn’t have enough time to prepare for Western university applications. Either way, here you can help students prepare for exams like the TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, ACT and more!
Guide to Teaching English in China: Qualifications You Need to Teach in China
No Guide to Teaching English in China is complete without this: In order to teach legally in China, you’ll have to meet a few qualifications:
- Passport from one of seven “native speaker” countries (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa) OR be a certified teacher in your home country
- Authenticated Bachelor’s Degree
- TEFL/TESOL/CELTA OR a teaching certificate
- Clean criminal background check
- Under 55 (women) or 60 (men) years old
1. You Must Be a “Native English Speaker”
In order to teach legally in China, you need to be from one of the seven “native speaker” countries: the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. That being said, there are plenty of native English speakers that are not from these countries.
Now, if you’re not from one of these seven countries, there are still legal ways for you to teach in China. If you are a certified teacher in your home country with 2+ years of teaching experience, you can actually legally teach in China. However, you may have to teach something other than English. You can teach math, science, psychology, history, drama, music, business, economics, or anything else you want using English!
MANY schools do hire “non-natives”, so simply apply for a position (it is worth a try).
2. You Need a College Diploma
No matter what kind of job you want in China, you’ll pretty much always need a Bachelor’s degree, which should be 3-4 years depending on which country you’re from.
China has recently instated a new policy where all Bachelor’s degrees must be authenticated. This is probably due to the fact that many people were creating fake diplomas for use in China.
3. You Need a TEFL Certificate
To teach in China, you will need a TEFL, TESOL or CELTA certificate OR a teaching certification from your home country. While TESOLs are accepted in China, most schools tend to be more familiar with the TEFL, which is what is recommended for most teachers.
While there are many different types of TEFLs available, you will need a 120-hour TEFL to teach in China. You can either do this online, in-person, or abroad! Just make sure your TEFL is accredited and accepted in China. Most reputable online TEFLs will cost you around $300 or more, and in-person TEFLs can range from around $1,500-$3,000 USD.
4. You Need a Clean Criminal Background Check
Most jobs in China will need a local criminal background check from your home country, or your country of residence if you’ve been living abroad for a year or more. However, if you’ve been living in China, you will need to get one from your home country no matter how long you’ve been there.
While each country has a different criminal background check process, most only take a few weeks (unless you’re from South Africa, then it should take a few months…). That said, some cities in China may demand an FBI background check if you’re from the US. If this is the case, you’ll want to get started early, because this process can take up to 2 months!
If you’ve had a few parking tickets in the past, don’t be worried. They’re mainly looking for people who have felonies, have done some jail time, or anything else that would prevent a school from wanting you to work with children.
5. You Must Be Under Chinese Retirement Age
Unfortunately, Chinese schools are not legally allowed to hire employees who are older than the Chinese retirement age (55 for women, 60 for men). This is one of the most unfortunate rules when it comes to teaching in China, especially since there are so many talented teachers that are a bit too old to qualify. If you’re getting close to this age, we suggest applying ASAP so you can get your visa before you turn 55 or 60.
Guide to Teaching English in China: Can You Teach in China Illegally?
If you decide to teach abroad in China without all the requirements, just know that you won’t have the same legal protections and rights in China, and your salary might be a bit lower. Be careful not to advertise publicly that you’re teaching illegally, and you should be fine!
China’s teach abroad market is booming, and there are many more open job positions than there are legally recognized teachers in China. In addition, many schools don’t meet the qualifications to be allowed to legally hire a foreign teacher (yes, this is a thing), or they just can’t afford it. This leaves plenty of open positions for you!
Guide to Teaching English in China: Salary Expectations For Teaching Abroad in China
Want to know if the job you’re looking at has a good salary? This Guide to Teaching English in China is the right place! We’ll go through each type of job and I’ll give you the appropriate range of what a decent salary looks like.
Understanding Chinese Salaries
Most jobs in China will display the monthly salary rate. So instead of telling you your salary for the entire year, they’ll give you the salary you’ll be making per month in RMB.
It’s also pretty standard in China to tell you what your salary will be after tax. This means that the salary they give you is the actual salary that will be deposited in your bank account. Chinese taxes automatically come out of your salary each month, so you don’t need to worry about paying them. If your job tells you that your salary is after tax, it means that this is the salary you’ll actually be pocketing once the taxes are taken out.
If for some reason your job tells you your salary before tax, you will need to ask them what your salary will be once taxes are taken out. This is a little less common, but you want to keep your eye out. The last thing you want to do is compare apples to oranges! You should be comparing all of your salaries after tax to see how much you’ll actually be taking home.
Housing Stipends
It is very common for many training centers (especially in Beijing and Shanghai) to give you a housing stipend rather than a provided apartment. A housing stipend is basically money that you can use to find yourself an ideal apartment. The reason why it’s kept separate from your salary is that it’s taxed at a much lower rate. Just keep in mind that your housing stipend may or may not be enough to cover rent in a studio or 1-bedroom apartment in your chosen city.
Salary Expectations in Beijing & Shanghai
Beijing and Shanghai are a bit more expensive than your average Chinese city, so if you decide to teach abroad in one of these two major hotspots, you should expect a higher salary to match!
The range for an ESL job in Beijing and Shanghai is 18,000-25,000 RMB per month after tax with housing included or a housing stipend. If you have some teaching experience, you can definitely demand a little bit more.
In order to be able to afford an apartment in Beijing or Shanghai, you will need at least 6,000 RMB in Beijing or 7,000-8,000 RMB in Shanghai. If you have a housing stipend, be sure to check and see how much your company will cover. 3,000-4,000 RMB will only get you a bedroom in a shared apartment.
Salary Expectations in Other Chinese Cities
Slightly smaller cities like Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Harbin, Chengdu, Xi’an and more, will have a lower cost of living than Beijing and Shanghai. Therefore, you won’t need quite as high of a salary to be able to live and save.
The range for an ESL job in smaller “second tier” cities in China is 12,000-20,000 RMB per month after tax with included housing. Again, if you have experience, you can always try to go for more!
In order to be able to afford a studio or 1-bedroom apartment in many smaller cities, you will need at least 3,000-4,000 RMB. Some cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou may be around 4,000-5,000 RMB per month. That said, most jobs in these cities will just provide an apartment for you.
Salary Expectations for High-Level Teaching Jobs
If you’re working a more experienced job with extra qualifications you can definitely expect to be a paid a bit more. This includes college counsellors, advanced reading and writing teachers, high-level debate or speech coaches and more!
The range for high-level jobs tends to be 20,000-30,000 RMB per month after tax with included housing or a housing stipend. Obviously, this depends on where you live. You can expect a bit more in Beijing and Shanghai than in slightly smaller cities.
Salary Expectations for International Jobs
At an international school you can expect between 20,000-30,000 RMB per month after tax with included housing. You should also have great benefits and some vacation days too!
Salary Expectations for College Jobs
For some reason, teaching ESL to college students is one of the lowest-paying jobs in China. That said, you will have a lot of spare time. Many college teachers only teach a few classes per week with a few more office hours. For example, you’ll probably teach 5-10 hours a week, and have around 5 office hours.
Because of this, the pay isn’t very high. The standard rate for a college ESL teacher seems to be 10,000 RMB per month after tax with free housing.
This is definitely the job for you if you’re not very worried about money, and you want to have a lot of free time to work on your blog, study for an exam, or explore China!
Part-Time Teach Abroad Salaries
If you’re teaching English part-time at a training center or doing private tutoring, you’ll typically be paid by the hour. Here are some typical rates for native and non-native English speakers:
- Native Speaker: 200-400 RMB per hour
- Non-Native Speaker: 150-300 RMB per hour
The going rate for native speakers in most cities in China tends to be 200 RMB per hour. Definitely do not accept anything lower than this! If you’re in Beijing or Shanghai, the rate moves up to 300 RMB Per hour. Obviously, with more experience, you can demand a bit more.
The same goes for non-native speakers (anyone who is not from those seven approved countries). Do not accept anything lower than 150 per hour in smaller cities and 200-250 RMB per hour in Beijing and Shanghai.
Most part-time jobs don’t seem to care much about your degree or TEFL since they’re not getting you a legal work visa. Here, “native speaker” status and teaching experience are what gets you a higher salary. Obviously, benefits like housing, visa help, vacation days, insurance and more are not to be expected with these types of jobs.
Guide to Teaching English in China: Benefits Beyond Salary While Teaching in China
Aside from free housing, there are a few other benefits you should expect, or at least look for, when you’re applying to work in China. Teaching abroad in China has its perks, and you should definitely factor your benefits into the final decision when choosing which job you’ll take!
Free Housing or a Housing Stipend
If you’re teaching in China, you should definitely have either a provided apartment or a hefty housing stipend. If for some reason this is not included in your job, you should definitely have a super high salary to make up for this.
Provided Apartments
Most public, private and international school jobs will give you a provided apartment. The same goes for the majority of jobs in smaller, second-tier cities. This is an apartment that either belongs to the school or is rented for you. Typically it’s right on campus in a teacher’s dorm or teachers apartment, or it’s off-campus near the school.
The industry standard is that you should have the apartment all to yourself. Your apartment should also come with basic furniture like a bed, a washing machine, refrigerator, and possibly a table or couch. Overall, most provided apartments are decently nice, so you shouldn’t have any issues with horrible living conditions.
When it comes to your provided apartment, rent will definitely be covered but you may or may not have to pay for electricity, water, and internet. If your contract doesn’t make this clear, you’ll probably want to ask your school so that you know how much to budget before you arrive in China.
Housing Stipends
Some training center jobs, and most jobs in Beijing and Shanghai, will probably give you a housing stipend instead of a provided apartment. At its core, a housing stipend is basically money you can use for rent. However, this money is not factored in with your salary for tax reasons.
Your school should help you find an apartment and set you up with a local real estate agent. Ideally, your housing stipend should be enough to afford you rent in a one-bedroom or studio apartment.
Overall, there are two different types of housing stipends: some schools will pay your rent directly to your landlord, whereas other schools will give the money to you. Keep in mind that rent is typically paid three months at a time, and if your school is giving you money directly, they will probably only be giving you your stipend monthly, even though you pay your rent in three-month chunks.
However, the good thing about getting your housing stipend directly is that you can keep the extra housing stipend money if you find an apartment that is cheaper than the stipend. Many people prefer to live in shared apartments so they can pocket half the housing stipend money.
Do You Need to Pay Five Months of Rent Upfront?
When you first get started with an apartment in China, keep in mind that you will have to pay Five months of rent upfront. This includes three months of rent, a refundable deposit, and a non-refundable agency fee to the real estate agent who helped you find the place. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to get an apartment in China without hiring a real-estate agent unless you sublet a room in a shared apartment… trust me, I’ve tried.
Some schools will actually pay the agency fee for you, whereas others will not. If you work for a school that does require you to pay four or five months rent up front, while only giving you a housing stipend monthly, there is a very good chance that your school will offer a no-interest loan to you. There’s absolutely no shame in taking this loan, and you can pay it back over the course of a few months.
Free Flight to & from China
Most schools in China will offer you a free flight to and from China at the beginning and end of your contract. These flights are typically reimbursed, which means that you will pay for the fight and they will pay you back.
Your school should pay you back for your flight either right away, or with your first month’s salary. My very first job in China took six months to pay me back, which is way too long. If you are paying for your own flight home, be sure your school also reimburses you before you leave China.
Finally, if you are already in China, it’s standard for your school to fly you from wherever you are in China to wherever your job is. If you need to switch visas, they should pay for your roundtrip flight to and from Hong Kong. It’s only fair, considering they didn’t have to fly you in from abroad!
No matter where they hire you from, your school should fly you back to your home country at the end of the contract, even if they hire you from within China. Be sure your contract makes this super clear so there are no frustrations or arguments about this at the end of your teaching year!
Free Health Insurance
Legally, your school should also provide you health insurance. Most schools choose a catastrophic health insurance plan, which basically means that you will pay for all doctors and hospital visits up to the insurance limit, which tends to be $100-$200. After you have paid this amount, the insurance will then kick in and cover the rest.
Since Chinese healthcare is so affordable, it’s actually hard to go over this amount in one doctor’s visit. Catastrophic health insurance is designed to cover you in the event of a catastrophe (hence, the name). So it will be there for you if you break an arm, spend a few nights in the hospital, or if anything else really horrible happens.
Holidays & Vacation Days
As a teacher in China, you are entitled to all school or public holidays depending on where you work. Your school may or may NOT offer paid vacation in addition to this. That said, if you work at a training centre, you should at least have the option to take unpaid vacation.
Public & International Schools: All School Holidays
If the students aren’t in school, chances are, you’re not working! As a teacher at a public, private, or international school, you should receive all school holidays. This will add up to be quite a bit more than all of your friends working at a training center or in an office.
The only downside to receiving school holidays is that many schools, especially public schools, do not decide on the school holidays until the absolute last second, making it difficult to plan ahead.
Training Centers: All National Public Holidays
If you’re working in a training center, you will receive all of the National Public Holidays. These are the holidays that every office worker in China receives. While you will have fewer days off than your friends at public schools, you can at least see the holiday calendar in advance.
Guide to Teaching English in China: Paid & Unpaid Vacation Time
Most jobs in China do not offer paid vacation days, with the exception of high-level jobs and international schools.
Typically if you’re working at a public school you will receive many vacation days, along with a long summer holiday, so you won’t be quite as desperate for vacation days. However, if you work at a training center, you will ideally try to find a job with at least 5 vacation days, or optional unpaid vacation time.
When it comes to unpaid vacation, this is most commonly found at training centres. Not only are training centre teachers way more in need of vacation days, but it’s also much easier to cover classes at a training centre than it is at a public school where there may be only 1 or 2 foreign teachers.
Guide to Teaching English in China: Visa Help & Reimbursement
When it comes to visas, the standard agreement is that schools will pay for your residence permit and medical check (once you arrive in China), and whether or not they pay for your actual visa is up to you and the school.
Some jobs will offer to pay for your entire visa, others will pay for your visa, but not the visa service fees, degree authentication and criminal background check, and many schools will not cover any of it. Be sure to check your contract or get in touch with the school to see what they cover.
That said, if you are working legally in China, your school should definitely help you get a visa. They will need to procure a work permit and create a letter of acceptance for you so that you can apply for your work visa and arrive in China. They should also help you understand how to apply for your criminal background check and degree authentication. If you used a recruiter, they will typically help you with all of this instead of the school.
If you meet all of the legal requirements to teach in China, there is absolutely no reason you should not be teaching on a work visa and residence permit. Do not let any school try to convince you to come over on a business or tourist visa, even if they promise to change you to a legal visa later on. Chances are, you will never actually get that legal visa!
If you are teaching without all of the requirements, your job should still help you with the process of obtaining your tourist or business visa.
Guide to Teaching English in China: Which City is Right For You?
The first step in choosing where to teach in China is to decide what kind of setting you’re looking for.
Would you like a big city, small city or countryside location? Big cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen are packed with teaching jobs, and you’ll be able to command a high salary. If you’re looking for a fast-paced environment, a large expat community and a wealth of jobs and opportunities, a big city might be for you.
Smaller cities like Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Chengdu have a slower-paced more immersive environment. With smaller, tight-knit expat communities, it’s easy to have friends from China and abroad. While there are fewer jobs to choose from, there’s also less competition. This can lead to a more relaxed and lenient work environment, as well as a closer bond between teachers and their host schools.
You may also want to consider getting off the beaten path, living in a city your friends back home have never heard of. Consider Kunming in Yunnan, or Harbin, up near Russia. You’ll have an incredible and unique experience, and you’ll be able to have your first pick of the teaching jobs in those cities. Locals will also be extremely excited to have you, and will really take the time to introduce you to Chinese culture and the unique aspects of the area you’re in.
Finally, you can always find a job in the Chinese countryside, working for a local school. While your salary may not be high, you’ll have an extremely immersive experience. It may be more difficult to find a teaching job outside of the city, but there are plenty of programs like the Peace Corps and Teach for China that will place you in communities that really need your skills. Your school may not have ever had a foreign teacher before.
Enjoy China Wherever You Go!
A vast country full of bustling cities, serene mountains, and small villages, China is a fantastic place to teach abroad. Best yet, it has something for everyone — whether you want the energy of Shanghai or a more laid back and serene town in the countryside.
No matter where you go, you’ll explore a new and exciting culture, try exotic foods, and get a chance to learn one of the world’s most in-demand languages. From Harbin to Kunming, teaching in China will be the experience of a lifetime. We really hope you enjoyed this Guide to Teaching English in China!