I regret to have to say that I also had the misfortune of working for this organisation. This is an organisation that sends teachers to work in schools which do not have a licence to have foreigners working there. What I found out from working for this organisation was that all salaries are paid under the table, this means that if you get sick or have to go to the hospital you are basically on your own as you have no insurance. Employers in China are obligated to pay pension and medical insurance for both their local Chinese staff and expatriate staff. This organisation does not pay its staff members during the vacation. Some other serious things which this organisation did which can cause trouble for the teachers is that they provide false information to the police about where the foreign teacher lives and about where the foreign teacher works every day, this can obviously cause major difficulties for the foreign teacher if the police become aware of this. I would also like to point out that when people who worked for this organisation helped me to open a bank account they decided to lie to the person in the bank about what country I am from. I think it is very important to warn everybody who may end up working for this organisation to avoid working here, there are perfectly legitimate jobs in China which you can do instead. Good luck everybody.

A good while ago I recall applying for a teaching post in N. Eastern China through these outfits & nothing positive came of it. What I did get was a sense of contempt on their side.

At the time I was leaning pretty hard for a decent post in Dalian or Harbin & actually believed, in the early going, this agency's contrived sincerity to make it happen. Having picked from among their offerings I waited in earnest for a reply that never came. It was I who had to troll them to inquire re. why they'd effectively ghosted me. One of the firm's resident chonkies responded with a msg citing my imperfect record of consecutive tourist visas. By their logic this pigeonholed me as an unemployable cad no longer worthy of their attention.

Once in a blue moon when I still bother to read some of the postings over @ Dave's, I spot this agency's propaganda. My fervent recommendation should you see the same is to look elsewhere. Wiser yet is to not sign a working EFL contract through an agency. Their raison d'etre is to make easy bucks on the uninitiated to China's EFL industry.

I have been extremely lucky to work at this company! It has given me opportunities to grow, learn, challenge myself and be surrounded by amazing people. If you are passionate about education and travel, it's a wonderful company to work for.

Easiest job you will ever have. Basically they want you to entertain the kids while using English. Games, games, games. You also have more days off than on.

Yea, different locations offer different experiences

It depends.

Like EF, McDonald's, or Starbucks... franchises depend on who is managing that particular location.

Wumao posts?

I don't think you are ok! they send me a Z visa.
for working not to escape or to be arrested!!

You seem perfectly prepared to teach English in China.
Benvenuto.

Hi Steven! in which cities you have to stay in rockiest english!!??

Mariafranci,
As a citizen of Italy, wherever you teach English in China you will be working illegally.
You will have a better chance of escaping deportation if you stay away from the major cities.
Ask the good people at 'Rockies' in which schools have they lost the fewest foreign teachers to arrest, fines and deportation.
I'm sure they will give you an honest answer, despite the fact that it is precisely those schools where they need the FOB teachers.

Dear Sir,

I would like to reply to tour post.

I am in the process to proceed with rookies, I am maltese citizen and I haven't arrived in china yet.

What's your feedback? Which person did employed you and sorted out all of the paper work...

Please reply so we can talk better

Hi Sir,

Thanks for your post.

I am about to process with rookies, they explained the benefits, like accommodation included, Z VISA will be sorted before get there but fares isn't include...

Waiting from your Reply

I just got back from living a year in Jinan, and I really miss it.

I have always dreamt about teaching abroad and this school made my dream a reality. I was looking for an organization that I could bring my experiences in teaching and help grow the organization. Rockies had a school in Ji’nan that would be a perfect fit for me! When I arrived in Dalian for orientation training, teachers from Rockies met me at the airport, brought me to my hotel and invited me to dinner which to me was above and beyond! They even spent their evening showing me around Dalian and helping me get acclimated to my new surroundings. I would highly recommend this school for anyone interested in teaching abroad!

Aston English look great to me.

Had a bad morning, was told that only a chinese name can go on a property book, and that my passport would need to be legaised in London to include a Chinese name.

We have convened for lunch to see if my name can go on 'give up right on property document' after lunch.

Rockies English, Aston?

They employ deechers, not teachers. Nothing that could impress any like-minded real professional nor myself.

Just another branch of crappy language mills!

I am no teacher but I do know a profession outfit when I see one.

Just thought I'd leave my experience on here as recently there has been several posts regarding peoples negative experiences working for Rockies English School.
I got an ESL job through RES last year in Dalian and despite the general teething problems that most people experience when first arriving in China my experience of working for RES has been very positive. I choose to take a higher salary and rent my own apartment with help from RES teachers. I did not like the first partnered school I was placed in, so within a few days I got a job at a new school which was perfect. My colleagues in Dalian are great, I have a great class in a kindergarten, I enjoy work and I get paid on time. This year I applied for a transfer program to work in Quanzhou. Most of my colleagues and foreign teachers at the school also work for RES and they have all had similar positive experiences.

I am a teacher working for Rockies English School currently.
1. Rockies will sign only one contract with froeign teahers.2. The pay is never late, I get paid on time every month.
3. There is no pay during the summer and winter holidays. I can travel or spend my holidays with the residence permit the school provided. If you do need money, why don't you try to get a part-time job or summer camp? 4. Rockies provide legal Z visa, well-paid salary. I am really satisfied. That's it. However, I want to point out that as a school that has hired so many teachers and has been in operation for over 10 years, it is normal to get some bad criticism from previous teachers. There are always two sides to every coin. I think if you check English First, Aston, or any of the big schools out there, there would be bad reviews some where from some whining teachers or grumblers. I think the only places without bad reviews would be an unknown school or an agent who does not run their own programs.

Rockies English school in Dalian, Guangzhou and Fujian, their Email is rockiescc@163.com , and their website is http://www.rockiesenglish.com/rockiesenglish.com/index.html .I worked for them last year and my experiences with them were not good at all. Rockies English school are agents in that they hire out foreign teachers to partner schools within their network, and the foreign teachers have a contract with this company directly, and not with the school.

First of all, they will make you sign one or several contracts but you will never see a properly counter-signed contract copy for yourself, and in such a case it is not a legally binding contract, right? Second, the pay is mostly late, some teachers had to wait one and half a month until they were paid. In that case, you have to pay the travel expenses yourself, although in China it's normally the employer who does or who will refund your expenses. They also basically refund your expense.

During the summer and winter holidays there is no pay, they pay you only for the days you have been actually teaching. Why do you need an agent for that, I can't see any sense in that! This tremendous bureaucracy causing delay in the salaries to be paid has a system as they seem to work with that money meanwhile in other areas while the teacher is waiting for his pay and has to phone the head office to ask for his money. This is causing unneccessary stress and takes too much of your time, so why should you work for them if there is always such a hassle to get your money? Only fools would do, right? The same with airfare reimbursement and other benefits promised to you in their so-called "contracts".

If you don't want unnecessary hassle, stay away from them - this is a well-meant advice.

There is hardly anything professional in this company. While they are not only agents, but also active in other business fields, it is all done with such a high degree of unprofessionalism and dilettantism that you can only wonder how they get away with it.

Terrible benefits ,starting pay and raises were both really bad, too low salary, long working hours, no breaks between the classes ( Unless it is lunch break ) . No one is held to a standard of accountability.Basically the management does not support others, they like to challenge their teachers .Lies all around .They can terminate the contract without even a discussion and without paying you a penny . President is a dummy, he lacks administrative and decision taking skills. Huge focus on profit, staff is neglected and poorly treated.Unfair salaries and benefits, not based on qualifications.My advice to you do not even work for Rockies English school in China .