Is there a future in this? OR I hit the wall, ya'll
This is definitely a whiner post but also a question and a possible warning.
Is there a future in this?
I’m in my 40’s and been abroad for about 15 years (taught in the US and took a 1 year teaching trip to Thailand and just stayed abroad and spent most of my years in China but also Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Spain, and Guatemala).
Through it all I feel very tapped out/capped out in my teaching career. Making 34K RMB Salary + 6K Housing (not in Beijing or Shanghai or Shenzhen). My max out ever was 39K (in 2023) but the minute I made that much I got a target on my back and was the first one to get downsized when the water got rough. A fairly universal phenomenon it seems. The more you make the more scrutiny you get.
Also I’ve lost all my dreams of earning that again as an SLT. I don’t want the pressure, 7 PM meetings, the blame game that comes with 1 false step or angry parent, the restructuring every 6 months, I’m just too old for that paper chase. I wanna go home at 5 and turn off.
Speaking of which, I got thinking.
In 2019, before COVID (when everything went to shit) I was making 29,000 RMB + housing.
Work started at 810, ended at 345 (technically 4 but no one cared). It was SOOOOOO chill, 14 teaching hours a week, at least 2 got cancelled every week for this and that, parents were so cool and relaxed, Manageback wasn’t a thing (Class Dojo was new back then), we had to submit lesson plans 3 times a year (as in 1 lesson plan please every term).
Compared to now… 20+ periods, 4-5 duties, cover classes, CCA’s, constantly called on to stay til 6 for this or that, weekend events, a bunch of side of the mouth back talk and double think and backstabbing and gossiping, every one on their toes, being told every day the industry is collapsing, parents pissed about everything, we com and Manageback and Teams and homeroom groups, it’s inSANE.
All to make…34,000 which feels a whole hell of a lot less than 29,000 in 2019 and it mildly feels like not much of anything at the end of the month.
Also, the job market seems 1/2 what ti once was. I used to send out 5 applications, get 4 interviews, and 3 offers. Now...
I’ve done interviews for Dubai, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, and salary wise nothing seems to match what I make/can make in China and I know some will bring up lifestyle or something, but I’m one of the people that loves China. I’ve worked in other countries and always come back to China. I would never trade the China lifestyle for Kuala Lumpur or Dubai without some big reason motivating me.
My SO is not Chinese so retiring here is not realistic.
So… now that? I busted my ass and spent all the dough on licensing renewals and PD and Masters and my CV looks pretty great but I don’t see much of a future or growth in this anymore. Am I washed out?
Meanwhile, for anecdotal evidence, all my teacher friends in the states are nearing their 20 years with high five figure salaries, eyeing retirement and pensions, union benefits and worker rights, and all I can do is recount a bunch of expat bucket list stuff thats really only cool to people under 30. I’ve had a few expat friends who moved back to Florida or Manchester and the trend seems to be they have a rough go at first and by the second year they’re resettled and making as much or more than they did abroad while being with their friends and family.
So, is there a future in this? Am I just having a bad end of term crash out?
P.S. The new reference system is fucked. I see so many posts (and myself experience) about needing multiple references from current schools who kneecap you and you wind up with this litany of enemies in this tiny system. It didn't used to be like this...