Employment

Students wishing to seek part-time or full-time contracted employment from a Chinese work unit must apply for a work visa. However, the China Center may employ students for certain tasks or projects. For example, a student may be paid to organize the books and articles left out by other students, and qualified students may be hired to work with the Academic Director on special projects. Students in past semesters have worked at the China Center to catalogue new books, create a library database, and design this website.

Many students do, however, find non-contractual employment with Chinese individuals or unregistered institutions. In recent semesters some students have worked as English teachers at many venues throughout the city, such as the Nova Language College, where most students can earn CNY 100 (approximately USD 12) per hour without a B.A., although CNY 150 per hour is not uncommon with a B.A., TESL certification or substantial teaching experience. Other students have worked in clubs as a DJ or a dancer, a personal trainer at a gym, or a musician at a local bar. Some students have even worked as models in the advertisement business and as actors and actresses in Chinese television and films. However, such non-contractual work does not protect the student’s rights and is not officially sanctioned nor encouraged by the China Center or the host university. We emphasize that it is technically illegal to work for a Chinese employer without a Z-type visa. According to our contacts in the Shanghai PSB, however, such violations are rarely or never prosecuted, in part because it is difficult or impossible to collect evidence against the defendant. According to our sources, were the student for some reason prosecuted for working without the proper visa type, the fine would be CNY 1,000.

Students interested in securing contractual employment prior to arriving in China should consult local online human resource sites such as on Jobs East: Working for China or contact the following organizations directly:

Nova Language College
Address: 5 Huanglong Road, Hangzhou
Name and Address in Chinese: 诺华语言培训中心, 杭州黄龙路5号黄龙恒励大厦三楼啊区
Phone: 571-87630030
Website

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