Kunshan International Kindergarten, Suzhou City

[kzel81]

Hi all,

I've been offered quite a good contract from this institution, but haven't been able to find much about them on the web, so was wondering if anyone out there has had any dealings with them?

Thanks!

Kris

[Raoul Duke]

I don't know much about that school but quite a bit about Kunshan.

First of all, it's NOT Suzhou. It's in "Suzhou City"...but in China a "City" is more like an administrative district. It can include many towns and vast stretches of territory. Kunshan is a small town between Suzhou and Shanghai; it will take some doing to get to or from either place- especially after dark. It will be OK, but not great, as a place to live.

The kids will likely be mostly Taiwanese. Taiwan owns a LOT of Kunshan. My experience with older Taiwanese kids was not too good, but kindy kids will probably be OK. Salary there will likely be fairly good, but lower than what you'd make in Suzhou or Shanghai. International schools are often, but not necessarily, better places to work than regular Chinese schools.

It's probably not too bad a deal. You'll be in a boring little town, but very near a lot of more interesting places. And you'll probably get reasonably good salary and treatment.

Actual mileage may vary.

[Dr. Gonzo]

I travelled to and from Kunshan [the outskirts] on a weekly basis for several months. It took about an hour by car from Shanghai. There were many modern factories sporting Japanese, Korean and the occasional US flags. Of course, the Taiwanese flag would never be allowed to fly on the mainland, but I'd go with Raoul on the level of Taiwan's involvement in the local economy.
Given the relative wealth of the parents, I'd be looking for a decent salary and quality housing, probably within an upmarket compound, with gym, tennis court, heated pool.
If you've got some cred in the kindy teaching game you should be able to command these things.
Opinions as to what a "decent" salary is will vary. I'd say in this case at least 10,000 pm, with all stanard benefits.

PS I wouldn't be suprised if you got requests to tutor adult OS Chinese and East Asian expats in a place like Kunshan, which basically exists because of its location: access to Shanghai ports and infrastructure, and relatively cheap land and labour. Factory workers where I taught were on 600 pm, with dorm and food. A Shanghai factory worker pulls 2000 plus.