Is it easy to find an English-teaching job in China?

Seneca (US)

As for useful advice for international seekers of employment in China, here is my input:

Try to get hired LEGALLY. That is not quite as easy as it sounds! Many Chinese employers are dodgy, noncommittal and grandiloquent. Avoid them! Ask upfront whether they have a license to hire foreign nationals. Can they sponsor you to the Public Security Bureau?

Get in touch with one of their foreign employees. You have the right to get someone's e-mail, and ask them relevant questions. This is very common nowadays.

If you come from overseas, go with an international employer. A company with headquarters in Singapore or Brussels and operations in China will most likely have everything above board, and take care of you from the beginning to the end.

Teaching jobs are unstable, employers unreliable and your assignment will be more decorative than real. Besides, a legal position requires that you have prior teaching experience. The minimum is two years.

An English class at a rural school in the suburbs of Hefei is taught by an American teacher, Sept 11, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]