Having stayed in China for some time, I have seen it all before with such so called establishments like Hampson and many other places.
They promise this and that and later stab you in the back, this is also typical with many Chinese business companies. this is very often the Chinese way of doing business.
There is a lack of intelligence,understanding, morals,trust, and other issues they need to put right. and this is going to take many decades.
Frankly speaking, I would have thought the vast majority of westerners would have wised up by now.
if people only bothered to first check out these shit holes, then they would save themselves a lot of trouble.
Hampson is always changing it's staff at it's so called schools and main office, also the turnover of teachers is high.
they are simply there just to make money, nothing more. it is one of many such holes that suck. they often keep part of your money back for some pathetic reason or another.
one simply has to play them at their own game, and keep two steps ahead.
my time living and working with the Chinese has taught me much, but there is always more to learn.
for a Country that is supposedly second in the world of economic growth, one can only wonder how they got there. but all good things do come to an end.
the housing market will soon be having it's big problems.
Good education is just one of the things that is lacking, I could name a number of other problems. but the Chinese have to learn in their own time because of the huge problem of stubbornness and backwardness that persists to this day.not to mention greed and corruption.

Many people come over and find work with reasonable companies/colleges. At least for a given value of `worth` as the concept of honour and honesty is very different in China to that of the West.

Hampson is one of the biggest fraudulent so-called franchises in China. I took my contract etc with them to the Bureau of Foreign Experts over all their lies and con tricks and refusals to pay salary and other pathetic weaselly excuses, to find that they DO NOT EVEN OFFICIALLY EXIST! The contract is as worthless frankly any other in China with the added glory of being a FORGERY! The red stamp on the contract - required by Chinese law on any document - is FAKE! Hampson as a registered company working to improve the Chinese peoples` english language skills, paying their taxes and other dues to their government etc DO NOT EXIST.

In the Beijing offices there is a framed photograph of the owner of Hampson together with a member of the Chinese government, to whom this crook claims to be related. It is apparently for this reason the police and other authorities WILL NOT act against this blatantly criminal group (I would say `organized crime` but there is very little evidence of any constructive work going on there). It is up to the foreign teachers to spread the word to their erstwhile colleagues themselves , so no more people get burned and eventually the whole heap of unmentionables will collapse. Everyone who has been unfortunate to be conned by these parasites should take their `contracts` to the Bureau or maybe the police. Maybe if enough do then something may e done from that angle too.

If you have any questions try the wonderful SOPHIE, who apparently is the Beijing `manager` in charge of the franchise operations in other cities. Her email was

hampson_sophie@126.com

Also there is one Yuki Zhuo email yukizhuo@sina.com, who appears to be an authority within the company. One would think for the good of their reputation abroad the Chinese government would put paid to such obvious public corruption as is Hampson; however sadly it is down to the foreign experts so let us go

Nail `em

I have never met a foreign teacher here in China whom I liked.

Anyway, you're still here. That's great, and speaks volumes for the positive aspects of being here. The kindness and sincerity of the Chinese people to us westerners has to be experienced to be believed. It is diametrically opposite to the ignorant way foreigners treat each other here. Oh well, nothing is perfect wherever we go! I hope you continue your teaching career here for many a year to come.

You could be working for a school in the UK that adopts stricter standards re thwir teachers than others there do. You'll maybe Rigail your probation or end up being fired. YOU CAN'T TEACH ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE UK AFTER THAT. You're a fool to trust Western employers. At least in China, you can move on, maybe after paying a small bribe. Mr Ofsted can get knotted! China's miles better!

FEMA Camps.....Ah ha.....someone speaks of something we both understand.....REX 84, Operation Cable Splicer, Operation Trojan Horse, Operation Garden Plot, Gunderson Steel...

I won't be funding Obama my friend....

I just filled out some handy dandy little forms and told them to shove that sideways. DS4079, DS4080, DS4081, DS4082, and I recently got back my hand dandy DS4083.....It was the best $450.00 bucks I ever spent.

You did raise a highly valid point though. That is one of many reasons I no longer support that flag and since I have a backup passport, the one from the states no longer matters.

CSS, thank you so much! I will definitely look into this and set the wheels in motion. If I can find a way to do this it would just be around the world in 80 days....of constant vacation. No more going to another country to work just so you can see the sights

I hope this kicks something into motion for you because teaching sucks, at least in China. You did not go to college to be treated like a dog. At least I didn't.

I'll tell you where teaching 'sucks'. It's in the West, not in China. And I think there's nothing wrong with working for a Chinese boss, as long as you're in the public education sector. Teaching can be a noble profession, and it certainly is that in China. Respect, that's the key. Young Westerners don't respect their teachers as a rule!

Say no more to be honest. I am already put off not least by some of the posts I have read further down the board and the attitude of at least two people after I commented.

In my view it seems that teaching in Asia is filled with asshole companies which seem to get away with murder and asshole teachers, if I even dare call them that, with a right wing mentality.

I will stick things out teaching in the UK and hope things work out. I really feel sorry for any genuine people out there given the kind of people the job seems to have attracted.

CSS, I myself have attempted to be employed by multi-national corporations in china before. However I may have not looked in the right places as I attempted sites such as 51job.com and some other monster.com wannabes which basically were scams. What advice would you give to foreigners who want to come to china and work here but NOT be in the teaching industry? What fields offer decent treatment of expats? Engineering? Finance? Translating? If people ask me about working overseas again I wouldn't mind telling them exactly what some good alternatives would be other than being a "teacher".

Its extremely expensive and the only reason I live here now is my job and the fact that the spouse is not interested in leaving China. Real estate values here cannot be justified in my opinion, but it is what it is. If you want a smaller apartment of 80 square in the CBD of Beijing, plan on blowing at least 2 million RMB or more just to get the keys and then easily 200,000 to 600,000 RMB for an interior and furniture that won't fall apart in a month. Our current place would be likened to a good upper middle class family home in the USA, maybe a notch under that, and it is very expensive. My current housing allowance of 8000 per month covers the mortgage 100% and gives me coverage on all utilities, and property management fees so it is a win win proposition. Because I sold the other place and made money on that, I had a nice chunk of change to slap down on this current place which offset the mortgage by about 50% I am on a ground floor in this new place and we have an enclosed patio, a small yard, and even a 1 car garage so it is almost like being home.

What were my options? Pay rent to someone else and fund their wealth and help them to pay their mortgage?
Live in some dive outside of 6th ring road to save money and spend a life time commuting each month?
Put the kid into a Chinese school so they can learn how great Mao supposedly was?

If you end up in China with a spouse and a kid you need a real job that pays the bills and helps you to to enjoy a reasonable quality of life and being able to have upward or lateral movement as well. There is no retirement and no glory in being an ESL teacher working for peanuts and living far below the poverty level in your own country so that when you go home, you have nothing to show for it all other than some pictures.

Most of my friends in education that live in China are getting out of education fast. They woke up. They smelled the coffee. They avoid most of the GW, the problems, and the low wages and they actually have a life for a change.

If you don't have a family, or if you don't have any kids and don't ever plan on having any, and if you never plan to go home, then enjoy the countryside of China and the 4000 RMB per month wages, or struggle on 9000 at some ESL mill where the cost of living is 10,000 and you can never afford to go anywhere or see anything like in Beijing.

Many of the international schools are a joke and they pay 20,000 per month but the atmosphere sucks, they swim in GW, and you work like a dog while dealing with snobby little brats that should be slapped into reality.

I keep my teacher licenses valid, but I stopped teaching. Although...I do have a private ESL gig going on, on Saturdays, teaching 2 Japanese businessmen business English for 600 RMB per hour. That's 1200 RMB for 2 hours starting at 7 and I am done by 9. Monthly that's more than some ESL teachers make all month and I teach only 8 hours per month. 4800 RMB per month buys many trips to the zoo, ice skating rink, movies, and other things for our child and by the time our kid wakes up on Saturday AM, I am already home.

Stop being abused in China. Turn the damn thing around and milk it for all that it is worth because the machine that China has become will sure as hell do it to you and the Chinese won't even blink.

Doing privates? Teach the Japanese. They have the cash and they really want to learn. They work hard and they are respectful and grateful.

As for the Chinese, let them teach themselves.

My opinion of many ESL teachers in China is that they are good people, but for whatever reason(s), they fell out of line with the normal rhythms of life and now they are stuck in some bad situation and they lack the confidence to dig out and make a go of it. Once they get a good kick in the ass, they tend to get with it and venture out more and you'll see them crop up in other companies and level out and do well over time.

We hired a guy like that recently where I work now. In about one month's time he stabilized. He dropped the defensive attitude and the looking over the shoulder mindset and he is a good person. He started here and seemed like he feared the world. I guess my point here is that ESL is a highly abusive job and it really twists people into some bad habits and you can see them unwind and come into line with some normal routine after a month or so. The entire culture shock of living and working in shite each day for years on end is damaging to people. I have told the HR manager here at this place to be understanding of the teachers that they hire because many of those people are coming in from the rain and they are all like beaten down dogs. It takes them some getting used to when getting paid on time for a change, having a real one hour break, real insurance, real sick time, real clean house, and so forth. They don't know how to act.

That's pretty sad if you stop to think about it and just how bad teaching in China really is for many people.

You didn't have to buy an apartment. You don't need to live in Beijing. What about your wife? Why does she not have a job? 140, 000 a year for schooling? Man, you are being ripped off!

You must live in some really small city. My mortgage is 5250 per month not including utilities. Our child's schooling is 140,000 RMB per year. I have not even figured in daily travel expenses when not driving, gas and insurance for the car, food, clothing, full coverage insurance, etc. The interior of the house without furniture was 200,000 RMB and it is not lavish but nice. New building, secure, clean, modern. We put in floors, good windows, in floor heating, paint, a good quality kitchen and two nice bathrooms, as well as lighting and we completed the outside patio area so that it is enclosed. A recent hospital visit for our child was just over 3000 RMB for some essential tests and medicine. A wage of 7000 RMB per month in Beijing does not buy a good quality of life for a family. If you have no bills, no kids, live in an old area in an old building in a small city, and assuming you have the 300,000 to 500,000 RMB down payment for an apartment that is 80 square meters or less, you can maybe get away with less than 7000 RMB per month to live assuming you live beyond 6th Ring Road. FT's pay a premium for any reasonable quality of life with regard to keeping higher standards in China. That requires a high wage job.

I am here and working for a Dutch company that does advanced science related work. I left education in China because it is totally bogus and pointless to even consider teaching in China. My spouse does not want to go outside of the country since my spouse's family are all here. As soon as I left education my life in China was 100% better immediately. My work setting is professional, there are no Chinese people working where I work at all, and with an 8,000 RMB housing allowance per month, I rented another apartment for a few months, sold our other home, and used that money and the 8,000 RMB per month to buy a better home and the company pays the mortgage for me. If I had to keep teaching in China I would be gone tomorrow AM. I do keep all of my licenses active and when I go home I do whatever CEU is required to stay current just in case I ever go back into education at home or elsewhere. My advice to anyone considering teaching in China is first of all, forget it, and second of all, don't even consider it. If you have a family in China you cannot afford to live and work if you teach. You need a high-paying job with benefits and teaching does not do it. Mortgage and school fees alone, plus insurance will completely burn the average ESL teacher's wages up 100%

If you don't have a home and if you can hold your breath long enough to get a visa for the Chinese spouse, great. Teach on 15,000 or less and keep the bags packed.