Pros
I work as an English teacher at the Shanghai office. I teach mostly in-person classes (maximum 6 students) and occasionally online. One of the best things about working here is the organized teaching material. Every class runs for around 17 classes, and each lesson is already fully prepared with teaching materials. As a teacher, you just need to check the materials, make sure you understand it, and you’re ready to teach! The classes cover interesting topics (eg. Creative Writing, World History, Shakespeare) so it’s nice having discussions in the classroom. The students are awesome. The company does a great job admitting students (students will be turned away if their English/academic skills aren’t good enough) and students are carefully placed into suitable classes. I’ve never found myself in a situation where a student has no idea what’s going on, as can happen at some training centers. Since most of the students come from bilingual and international schools (and have been selected based on ability), the level of English is very high. As a teacher, you don’t teach basic ESL, and are never asked to sing, dance, or overly-praise students. In fact, you can be quite strict as a teacher, and if a student is underperforming, parents will be informed (they don’t want to be pandered to, they’d rather know the truth). I think this company is suitable for teachers who want to take a professional and academic approach to teaching. Teaching is done on Saturdays and Sundays, and occasionally Friday nights. During the summer, the schedule switches to Monday, Wednesday, Friday teaching (with weekends off). Away from teaching, the rest of your time is spent in the office, usually grading or developing/updating materials. A lot of the homework is graded by a separate team (the “Grading Department”), but usually foreign teachers need to grade the higher-level essays from the classes they teach. It’s quite a small office, and there can be opportunities to get involved with the company outside of teaching. Finally, the pay is very good! It’s always been on-time.
Kontras
Not so much a negative, but just be aware the company doesn’t have the same level of support services compared with big companies like EF. For example, if you’re new to China the school will introduce you to some housing agents, give advice etc., but ultimately, it’s down to you to organize your living arrangements and life outside of work. That being said the company will do their best to help you with any problems/issues you may have.