This job is hard to present well. It seems to have many things going against it, yet I would not be posting it here with my own cute pink little fingers if I couldn't honestly recommend it to you.
Dr. Con and Dr. Glasgow Kiss and I all worked there last year. We're not coming back, but I know both Con and I feel some affection for the place and some regret at missing it. Our non-return is NOT due to any problems from the place. I'll let GK (whose basic reaction to China in general seemed to be a perfectly understandable
) speak for himself should he choose to do so.
It's essentially a foundation program...and you
know how I usually feel about foundation programs.
This work can be taken as either full-time or part-time. Full-time salary is 7000 RMB per month for 16 hours per week. Courses are mostly oral and written English. Class sizes last year ran 30-40 students. A residence permit and foreign
wanker expert certificate will be cheerfully provided at no cost to a full-time teacher. They are currently looking into options of either an on-campus apartment or a homestay.
The location is, I fear, something of a severe drawback...a main reason why Dr. Con and I did not pursue further work there. The host institution is SIPIVT (Suzhou Industrial Park Institute of Vocational Technology, I think...quite a renowned technical school and quite a big deal 'round these parts.), and the program has moved to their new "South Campus". It's ostensibly Suzhou, but so far out east of the city that you can almost smell the smog, sewage, and
xiaolongbao of Shanghai. There is a shuttle bus, but the ride is quite long and I have a strong feeling that the bus ain't gonna be hauling you home from the Shamrock at 3:15am. But if you don't need much of a social life during the week then this won't be a problem for you.
A major asset of this job, and a major reason I am presenting it to you here, is that the person ultimately in charge of your welfare there will be Wilson.
Wilson is the best boss I've ever had in China, period, both Chinese and foreign. Open-minded, personable, scrupulously honest, genuinely concerned for you...he's everything you'd ever want in a manager or FAO. If you've been a few rounds with the lying, greedy scumbags that run way too many schools here, working for Wilson will make you pinch yourself to be sure you're not dreaming. You will not have any lasting problems working for him (unless you caused the problems yerself, ya drunken whelp...); I can place you with him and sleep well at night knowing you're in good hands.
If you're interested, and you can haul your sweet ass to Suzhou fairly quickly, let me know by PM and I'll connect you with Wilson.