Achiever of the week: Mbali Gumede

 Sep 02, 2020 | By Nqobile Mdima 

This week’s feature is Mbali Gumede from South Africa. Mbali holds two degrees: Bachelor of Social Sciences in Psychology from Rhodes University and Bachelor of Social Science Honors from University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. She is an English Teacher in China. She works for Kid Castle Educational Corporation in Shanghai city. Mbali moved to China because she wanted to develop her career and also to save for her business. She's been enjoying networking with other expats in Shanghai and exploring the city. 

Mbali shares with us how she searched for TEFL jobs in China, how having a TEFL Advisor made things easy for her, what to expect from a Training School employment contract and the pros, cons and survival hacks of living in Shanghai city. 

Where can one apply for TEFL opportunities if they are interested to work in China?

There are a lot of websites available that advertises job opportunities in China on the internet. However, for me my experience was different because I started the journey to come to China with Nqobile Mdima. So therefore, by the time I had to apply for a job. She had already recommended and linked me up to her agent that helped her get her first job in China. I will provide the details below. Moreover, soon as I got in contact with the  agent, they first gathered information about the kind of job I wanted and all my preferences, and thereafter they started sending me job posts that matched with my preferences and criteria. As soon as that was underway, I started getting  interviews with the schools that I had interest of working with based on the posts they sent me. They helped me a lot because some schools  that I  liked, also had interest in hiring me however I wanted to continue and explore my options. Therefore, after a couple of interviews I decided to do my own job hunt on the side and I used Goldstar, I went on their website and I filled in my details and after a few days they linked me up with one of their agent called Annie, and from then Annie sent me job posts of different schools that saw my application and were interested to interview me. There were five schools and I had to to choose three out of the five. Amongst  the schools I chose, the first school that I had an interview with was the school that I am currently employed at. However, I still had interviews with the other schools but I decided to go with my current school.

•  https://goldstarteachers.com
•  recruiter3@horizoneslchina.com

 Did having a career coach/TEFL Advisor make your process easy?

As I had briefly explained above about the process of applying for a job. Having an Advisor was very resourceful for me because I had little to no knowledge about the process of coming to China or even getting a job here.  I had no clue as to where to start. I am grateful to have had an advisor, from the process of enrolling to the TEFL course and to finding a job in China,  my advisor made sure I was well informed and was always available to advise me on the most suitable options for my interest. In brief, I would say everything about coming to China such as enrolling to the TEFL course, getting paperwork, applying for jobs, preparing for interviews, making decisions about jobs, things to look out for before accepting a job and important questions to ask in the interviews. My advisor made sure I was well prepared and well informed. She  really went over and above. 

What did you need help with when you were coming to China and how did Nqobile’s services help you overcome your challenges? 

 I needed help with literally everything, like I have mentioned above, that I had no knowledge of how how to go about with the whole process. I was very much clueless.  So I would say from starting the course and what package deal was suitable for me as a beginner. Also the process to authenticate documents, which documents to take and where to go. This also included applying, what to look for and how to secure the best job that catered to my needs and preferences. She consistently called to check on my progress, and she would also send booklets with useful information and inspirational words. With that being said, I can say she babied me throughout and this made everything more exciting and less challenging.

Would you recommend Nqobile’s coaching services? 

I would most definitely recommend Nqobile, and more especially if this is your first time and also if you are not sure what you’re looking for. She is most suitable to guide you throughout the process, she is consistent, realiable, patient, knowledgeable  and with experience. She consistently checked up on me, phone calls, video calls. All the information she provided was realiable and relevant. I admire the amount of patience she has. I say this because there were times I would ask the questions that she had already answered before but she would still be willing to call and explain all over again.

Preparing to move to China takes a lot of time and costs a lot of money, do you have any regrets for moving here or do think it was worth the wait and financial investment?

This was definitely worth the effort, the experience has been worth it. The ability to make your own money and invest in your own interest, and make a living of your own  has really been amazing.  I have learnt a lot from being here, not just being in a foreign country but also about myself and most of it has contributed to my personal growth as an individual. So I can say I am grateful that I took this opportunity.

How much can one earn at a training centre in Shanghai on their first year teaching abroad?

First of all, I would like to clarify that training centres are different and also the way they operate is also different, in terms of working hours and holidays and so forth. However, I would say coming to Shanghai to work at a training centre, you’re most likely going to earn from ¥15 000 upwards ( I don’t want to put a limit to this because having teaching experience counts too), but without experience this would probably be a starting point.

Do you get free housing or a housing allowance from your school? If you get a housing allowance, how much is it?

Yes I do get a housing allowance of ¥6000.

How much are your living costs in Shanghai? And are you able to save money? If yes, how much roughly can one save after deducting living expenses? 

Living expenses excluding rent, I would say they’re roughly ¥800 to ¥1200 a month. After all that spending, I would say I save about ¥7000 to ¥8000. However, it depends sometimes I spend less and save more and vice versa, but this is usually the starndard amount. 

What are your working hours (teaching/office hours)?

My working hours are 24hours per week including office hours.

How many paid holidays do you get in a year?

There are two paid holidays, one in winter and one in summer.

Please list advantages and disadvantages about working in a training centre.

Advantages

1. Flexibility, such as the working hours. What I mean by this is that, we don’t start work in the morning but rather in the afternoon till the evening(15:00 to 21:00). So the fact that I don’t have to wake up in the morning is really nice, especially in winter.

2. Teaching all age levels - I mention this as an advantage because, it allows one to gain more experience with students, you’re not limited. Therefore, you get to learn a lot about different levels and it helps you understand the students much better. It teaches you how to handle different case scenarios, especially when it comes to discipline, classroom management, and the student’s developmental skills in general.

3. Off-days- basically with my school I get days off during weekdays, in which I didn’t like at first, but after living in Shanghai for a while I actually liked it. This is because weekends tend to be very busy, public spaces are usually packed during weekends.

Disadvantages

1. Working on public holidays- some public holidays are just normal working days, and if you’re given a day off because of that holiday, you still have to make-up for that day or those  days. 

Please list advantages and disadvantages of living in Shanghai. 

Advantages

1. Safety - As I mentioned above, I start work during the day and finish in the evening. So once I get off the subway, I walk  home without any fear, and I don’t have to hide my phone. There’s street lights, lot of people on the streets, cameras almost everywhere, and police patrolling every now and again.

2. Transportation - getting around in Shanghai is so easy, with all different modes of transport which are very fast and reliable. As someone who takes a train to and from work, I never have to worry about being late to work because, every two to three minutes there’s a train coming in. Also, there is still options to take a bike from the station to work instead of walking. Unfortunately, one can’t ride a bike. However, it’s all easily accessible.

3. Apartments - Shanghai has really beautiful and modern apartments, which gives you that sense of home.

4. Diversity of activities - as much as I am not a person that goes out a lot, I have seen that Shanghai host art shows, music and film exhibitions and they do not only cater to their nationals,  but also foreign nationals (if I may put it that way).

5. There’s a lot of foreigners compared to other parts of China.

Disadvantages 

1. Language barrier - I think not just Shanghai but China in general. It is essential to have a translation app, although you may find a few chinese people that can speak English but it better to have one.

2. Manners/culture shock - the excessive spitting everywhere, burping out loud.

3. Rent is expensive - as I mentioned above that they have beautiful apartments but that also goes with rent. There more beautiful the apartment is, the more you have to pay.

What would you recommend as the best hacks for surviving in China as an expat, especially to those who will travel to China alone? 

Make friends - I cannot stress this enough, if possible try and make friends by joining groups(social media-eg Facebook groups), and interacting with people around you. Have some form of activity or fun thing to do, to get your mind of things. It could be reading, joining the gym or any activities that you may be interested in, just to keep yourself sane from time to time because it gets lonely sometimes. Lastly,if possible before coming to China make sure you get apps that will help you get around China. This includes apps on transport, restaurants, housing, and just public spaces.