Teaching in China - Getting Overpaid (although not by much).

Being interns we were paid at a rate of $500AUD (give or take, depending on conversion rate), and were told if we stayed on (which I didn't), we would be paid at a teacher rate, which I think worked out to about double, so $1,000AUD.

Daniel and I were paid half cash-in-hand, and half directly into our bank accounts.

After the second payment Daniel brought it up with me that he thought we were being overpaid, and because the school was giving us the same amount in cash that the placement partner was giving us into our bank account, it ended up that we were being overpaid by around $100AUD/month, making a total of $600AUD/month.

We kept our mouths shut, and I partly wondered if it was intentional to make-up for not being at the school as long as other interns around the country, and that would bring us up to the same level of pay as them, but Daniel did the maths, and we still came off short.  I double checked with my own maths (not that maths was a strong point of either myself or Daniel), and yep, after all was said and done, we'd still come off short.

As part of the package, when you finish your teacher, you're paid a bonus pack (which I believe is equal to one months pay + a bit extra) and Daniel was utterly livid when he realised after our usual pay date for our last month, we hadn't been paid for it or received our bonus money.

He contacted our liaison for the company and filled him in on the situation, the confusion being that the company paid the school, expecting the school to pay us that lost lot of money entirely in cash, and the school not realising.

Anyway, after it was all sorted, we not only got our final months pay plus our bonus, but a little extra on top 'for our troubles' (of having to sort out the clerical error and who owed us what).

When the head teach came to pay us, he separated the pile of money in roughly the middle, and handed half to me and half to Daniel, insisting that we count it there and then.  He was pleasantly surprised with himself when he realised he'd split it exactly in the middle and given us both the exact correct amounts.

~*~*~*~

I've since spoken to at least one of the other interns, and he said be broke-even with the pay he got in regards to the cost of the TEFL course, the various administration fees he had to pay to do the internship and his flights.

While I did come home with some money to my name, I definitely didn't break even by any stretch of the imagination.

Be bold, brave, daring and adventurous.

That is all, thank you very much, good day.

- Ian.