Don't want to teach English

There are an increasing number of opportunity to teach subjects other than English in China. For those who are qualified elementary or high-school teachers at home, have a look at international schools. For university or college lecturers (or those who can act the part), keep reading.

Studying abroad is a massive investment of time and money for any Chinese student. Typically, they have to get their English language up to scratch, possibly take a one-year foundation course to get the basic study skills they'll need as a student (note-taking, stealing road-signs, etc) and only then can they start their degree proper.

One way to cut costs and make more efficent use of the time they spend waiting for applications and visas is to do part of this in China. The language part is fairly simple - get a certain IELTS score and you don't need to take the English courses abroad - thus saving a chunk of cash.

Increasingly, students are also taking a foundation year, or part of a foundation year, here in China. For the student this means they save a lot of money (although the course may be expensive in Chinese terms, it's a lot cheaper than taking the same course abroad) and makes more efficient use of their time. The universities and colleges running the courses also benefit as they become more attractive to Chinese students and therefore get a larger chunk of the China cake that has heads of academic institutions worldwide drooling into their bibs.

Foundation years usually include a range of basic skills - English is one, and teaching English on these courses is one of the better paid jobs you are likely to find in China. Maths, computing and business are also often taught, and if you can take up one of these teaching posts you can find yourself in great demand.

Advertising for these jobs takes place both in the usual TEFL places (see finding a job) and wherever lecturers are recruited in your home country. Word of mouth is also important - ask around.