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2018 UPDATE: From bad news to worse. My Chinese neighbor is dating a girl who is a PSB "visa verification officer" and we met in the stairwell when she decided to practice her English on me. Our quick chat turned into a KTV invitation with my neighbor, his GF and three other friends of th...

You came to the right place. Just start reading all the posts in this section or visit these three websites for even more tips and free advice from veteran TEFL teachers in China... http://reddit.com/r/chinatefl http://chinascamwatch.org http://eslwatch.info/forum/china Good luck bud and watch out f...

What are you complaining about John - I agreed with your major points of view? I am supporting 90% of what you said. Do you demand 100% agreement from everyone who reads your posts? Also you should have mentioned the true worth of all the fake wannabe teachers who the recruiters flood the China educ...

Sorry but I did not see that we outed these crooks back in 2015. But they are still swindling naive high school kids and I think we should volunteer to start notifying universities through the alumni associations and student unions. Here is a current summary of their operations and 2 new alias names...

John's advice is solid, but don't forget you will also need a bachelor degree (a real one!) and a Z visa to legally work in China. Don't cut corner on your legal compliance or you may end up like these foreign teachers... https://www.reddit.com/r/tefl_blacklist/comments/6x49xv/i_just_got_home_after_...

Just curious John... why do you think you have to be young to teach in HK? My best teachers have always been over 40.

P.S. If you think the chances of becoming a victim of identity theft is slim, guess again. Almost 20% of TEFL teachers working abroad get hit with this costly scam.. http://opnlttr.com/letter/fraud-warning-advice-how-foreign-expats-can-avoid-identity-theft-scams-when-applying-teaching http://chinas...

John is pretty accurate in his assessment except for one item. Although recruiting is an honorable profession when we talk about professional headhunting firms like Hays, Mercer, or Marsh, the vast majority of the China TEFL job recruiters are unlicensed virtual recruiters with no office, no busines...

Okay John, I amicably agree to disagree with you and maintain that anyone coming to visit, live, or work in China needs to be keenly aware that ALL foreigners are targets of many China scam artists especially expats that work in China. I do not have a website as my signature line so I will just leav...

I guess you and I just disagree on how we support our arguments. Whenever I disagreed with you and posted a link to comments of other people that have comments on the same issue - you call it spam. I call it evidence of peer agreement. I think anyone interested in working in China should make themse...

John, that old TEFL Blacklist link you gave goes back to 2007 and the CFTU was not even born then so I don't see how you can link one to the other. Personally I prefer the reddit format where anyone can chime in and have there say and when 80% of people agree on something, and I see no "removed...

Great - we finally agree that recruiters take waaaaay too much for what they do. Your explanation is right on the money John and I am glad you took the time to explain it. In every other country, the recruiter just takes one month's salary. They tell you the same thing in China but that is BS. It is...

You will not have a problem getting a visa, but once you are in China you have a small chance that someone will ask to see you your bachelors degree. The chances are slim so I would not worry about it. Before you start sending off resumes however, I suggest you take a look at three websites to keep ...

John, to be crystal clear there is nobody "behind" me and nobody in front of me or even beside me other than my wife. I speak for myself and only myself. Your CFTU conspiracy drumbeat is getting stale and annoying. But at least we both agree that the DIY route is the best way to go in Chin...

I read where you said recruiters should take 7,000 a month from a teacher's salary which is about $1,000 per month or $12,000 a year. That is outrageous John. Most professional headhunters only take one month's salary as their fee. I agree they should not work for free but your 7,000 per month sugge...

Whatever John. I think you are seeing conspiracies everywhere you turn like some of the articles you wrote on your signature website (some are very intriguing but conspiracy-based). Anyway, back to the China salary issue. You are working in a Tier 2 or 3 city so you will never earn what you could an...

I think everybody see things from different points of view John. I have taught in China now almost a decade now and almost every newbie teacher I meet complains about being ripped off or exploited by their own recruiter or employer. The veteran teachers do not seem to have this problem because they ...

I seem to recall that you are the one who started this thread John. And I am sure you did so with the intention of "helping people" right? I mean I don't see anyone else here in the thread saying they are replying to "help others". I think it is more likely they are just expressi...

Hey gents - people have a right to disagree yes? Having read all this I think it is fair to ask what is the information that is in dispute John? I mean Nathan was not being disrespectful, he was asking you to explain what are the "myths" you don't want people to believe. He also provided y...

Let's face it, life in China without a VPN can be a loney place - no HBO, Facebook, Twitter, Network News, etc... You can get a free VPN (sold for $60) for free just by sending an email as explained here: https://www.scam.com/attachment.php?att ... 1503462660