IT'S AN OFFER!! HAINAN OVERSEAS CHINESE HIGH SCHOOL (HAIKOU)

  I got an offer!! Simultaneous to my inquiries and responses with the schools mentioned here and elsewhere, I've also been in communication with a representative of Y&Z Education, which is a U.S. organization that has some cooperative arrangements with Chinese schools.

Long story short, I Skyped with their internal recruiter last night and they made me an offer for one of the schools they work with: Hainan Overseas Chinese High School in Haikou, Hainan. Range in their info. sheet was 4-8000 rmb/month, they're offering me 7,000. They provide health insurance and apartment near campus. Also, since it's an actual high school, vacation & time off policy is on the generous side. Start date is Sept. 1.

I haven't answered them yet--just read the offer email. Of course I need to see the contract etc. This is less money than I had been hoping for (would prefer 10-15K range), but I know high schools & universities are not as high in salary. I still want to end up in a bigger city and may go the private language school route the following year, especially to build networking contacts to do corporate training work so I can utilize my Master's in Training.

So....whadda y'all think? My vibe says it's probably the best I'm going to get without going the private training center route and dealing with recruiters, bad managers, and other shysters my first time out. 

So....whadda y'all think?

I think you should post the contract in 'The Contract Zone'. 

As soon as it's sent to me....     

Hainan is quite nice; is the school in Haikou?

...is the school in Haikou?

Apparently -

...they made me an offer for one of the schools they work with: Hainan Overseas Chinese High School in Haikou, Hainan.

OP,
When I was on my job search I considered high schools but decided against them because most require a 40-hour 'work week', and have vague contract articles about attending undefined extracurricular 'activities'. Also, you may find your apartment is in a 'dorm' where there is a curfew.
 

When they send you the contract, we'll have a look...
 

Thanks Cruisemonkey, will do. When I spoke to their recruiter he indicated the apartment was near the campus and private, but their own info. sheet I got when they first contacted me indicates a 2-bedroom shared apartment (my own bedroom) on campus. I did ask for clarification about this when I requested a copy of the contract.

The name of this schools rings some bells for me for some reason. I seem to remember some story about a woman working at a high school in Hainan that was kind outside of the city and having a pretty crap time of it. Does anyone else remember this or am I getting old? I can't for the life of me remember where I heard this story -- if it was on the internet or in person when I visited Hainan. A quick google search turns up nothing but I swear this name pings the radar somehow.

I'll weigh in on the other side from cruisemonkey -- I love teaching high school. Not all high schools require office hours, you'll just have to see about the contract. I've worked at high schools for 5 years and have never lived on a dorm, and although my last school did have dormlike accomodations available, they had no problem giving me a housing allowance since I didn't want to live there.

On the plus side of high schools, usually the students, unless you are teaching at a real dud of place, are actually a bit more motivated than college students. In China, unlike back home, high school matters much more than college because what you do in high school basically determines your future. Once you're in a Chinese college/university, it is nearly impossible to fail and kids sort of expect an easy ride.

That said, this sounds like a private high school, which could mean a lot of things. I worked at a private high school in Beijing for 3 years and overall I quite liked it, although the students were not cream of the crop, and there were entitlement issues with the wealthy ones, most of the kids were not bad.

Will they let you speak with a current teacher? Ask for a current teacher contact and let us here review the contract before committing to anything, but it sounds like it could be promising.

The name of this schools rings some bells for me for some reason. I seem to remember some story about a woman working at a high school in Hainan that was kind outside of the city and having a pretty crap time of it. Does anyone else remember this or am I getting old? I can't for the life of me remember where I heard this story -- if it was on the internet or in person when I visited Hainan. A quick google search turns up nothing but I swear this name pings the radar somehow.

I vaguely remember this story but I don't remember when or the name of the school.

The story involved having to walk down some sketchy dirt road to get to her house and being harassed by guys on motorcycles or somesuch, right? I swear I am not making this up, and it was definitely in Hainan, although it could have been a completely different school.

Ahhh! I found it! It was actually here on Raoul's! I googled "Teaching Hainan dirt road" and it popped right up in the results!

http://raoulschinasaloon.com/index.php?topic=5358.0

It was a private university in Hainan though, not the same school, you're safe anderguyil!

Yep, that one was in Sanya, your prospective is in Haikou. Two different places.

Hey Saloon Hangers-On!

The contract was e-mailed to me overnight. I will post it in the Contracts area momentarily. From what I see, there is no "Now you see it, now you don't" or "What you think you will do and what we expect are totally different" aspects in there at all. Of course I have no clue what the Chinese section says, so those who can read it and warn me of trouble, please do so!!!   

BTW, the apartment will be private--he indicated that teachers prefer it. I am trying to make a request to him about the air travel. They do pay for RT air (I know, right?!). I did very politely request the option of flying Biz Class (mileage upgrades) with me paying the difference. Ya know, very long trip plus I wanna treat myself! He replied that they arrange travel for teachers and have two others that would be leaving from Detroit like me. In advising him that I got the contract and wanted to have through the weekend to give a final reply, I did remind him of my willingness to consider paying the diff and that I would plan to be on the same flight as the others. If we're on Delta (they have a big hub in Detroit, they do have a roomier "Economy Comfort" which I would go for if they don't want me to upset the applecart too much.

One more thang....they do provide health insurance. I'm in good health now but had some issues a few years back and take enough prescription meds to make a casual observer think I'm a hypochondriac. They are generic. Would this be something I can get in China (I know you guys would want deets as to which meds but would rather answer that privately.) or should I somehow procure as much as possible. That would make for a very interesting Customs inspection upon arrival I'm sure!   

Thanks in advance for the feedback & advice.

One more thang....they do provide health insurance. I'm in good health now but had some issues a few years back and take enough prescription meds to make a casual observer think I'm a hypochondriac. They are generic. Would this be something I can get in China (I know you guys would want deets as to which meds but would rather answer that privately.) or should I somehow procure as much as possible. That would make for a very interesting Customs inspection upon arrival I'm sure!   

The first time I came to china I had hundreds of dollars in medicine in my carry-on. A years supply of three different pills plus some extra stuff, like probiotics. I was worried but they didn't even bat an eye. And yeah, I would bring it with you, or have someone at home ready to send you a regular refill, because it's really hard to get the exact same brands over here, and honestly, with fakes and what-not your never really sure if it's real.

And yeah, I think every school is required to provide health insurance for foreign teachers (SAFEA rules, right?) but it's just as crap as american insurance. For instance one of my co-workers had a grand mal seizure, spent 10 days in a hospital and racked up 10,000rmb in bils. He was denied because it was a "previous condition." So don't get your hopes too high. The good news is 10 days in a hospital, with doctors trained in the west and advanced equipment was only 10,000 rmb so it's more affordable at least.

Caveat: I am Not currently in China, so take this as you will.

I would lean towards bringing as much as possible with me, as well. Even in Germany I found it to be a pain in the butt to deal with medical issues and pharmacies, especially before my German improved. Even near the end of the year I was nearly refused service at a clinic (despite this being illegal...), I'm pretty certain because they thought I was a Russian immigrant. Then again, I lived in one of the most racist parts of the former East. I had a similar experience in Mexico when dealing with a pharmacy, in that I wasn't entirely sure what they gave me or if it was legit.

In general, I try to travel with any specific medications that I require or use frequently, including over-the-counter meds. I've had no problem with my doctor writing me a larger-than-normal prescription in preparation of international travel. I was advised to bring a doctor's note in case of questioning about the medications, so she wrote me one on a sheet from her prescription pad. Additionally, I've had a different doctor write me a kind of preventative script for antibiotics in case a sinus issue turned into an infection, but this was after years of documented sinus issues, so YMMV. It's definitely worth discussing with your doctor.

Also, I'm totally jealous of your job offer. I would love to teach in a private high school, and Hainan sounds bomb. Way to go!