Right, I've been teaching for about 10 years in seven countries, I've also worked it about 6 cities in China but feel free to fill in anything I may have missed. I have friends all over China and a pretty solid network to work with here. If any new guys are coming in I may be able to help you get setup.
It's fine if you like to stay in one place for an extended amount of time but I like to bounce around... If you stay in one place, like redneck says, you can meet people and start setting up privates. I hate doing extra leg work though and prefer that I have a steady income. When I want extra classes, my school sets them up for me at 150 to 180/class (45 min). We have little to no lesson prep and all adults. Once you know the materials, its easy to fill the 45 min block. For anything else http://www.efl4u.com does the job.
Currently, I have 8 extras a week on top of my regular schedule. I'd rather just sit at an air conditioned school and do 5 classes in a row then have to travel across the city without getting paid for that time. We have couches and private rooms and I play PSP in my downtime or chat with the other teachers. I think I get a 1 hour break during my extra class days. We have a place down the street to eat for 10 kuay for lunch. If you still have the entrepreneurial spirit, go for it. I did the same thing you are talking about when I was 24, I had way more energy then and loved seeing the city (I was in Brazil)... now I'm lazy. I go in, do my thing and go home. My loyalty with the company pays off when I need to pull strings and one of the best things about the job is that you can accept free stuff from your students without worry. Having done my fair share of privates in other countries, I can tell you with 100% certainty that if you accept gifts or friendship from a student, that person will stop taking classes with you shortly after and your time will suddenly become 'friend time'. At a school I don't have to worry about that.
It's fine if you like to stay in one place for an extended amount of time but I like to bounce around... If you stay in one place, like redneck says, you can meet people and start setting up privates. I hate doing extra leg work though and prefer that I have a steady income. When I want extra classes, my school sets them up for me at 150 to 180/class (45 min). We have little to no lesson prep and all adults. Once you know the materials, its easy to fill the 45 min block. For anything else http://www.efl4u.com does the job.
Currently, I have 8 extras a week on top of my regular schedule. I'd rather just sit at an air conditioned school and do 5 classes in a row then have to travel across the city without getting paid for that time. We have couches and private rooms and I play PSP in my downtime or chat with the other teachers. I think I get a 1 hour break during my extra class days. We have a place down the street to eat for 10 kuay for lunch. If you still have the entrepreneurial spirit, go for it. I did the same thing you are talking about when I was 24, I had way more energy then and loved seeing the city (I was in Brazil)... now I'm lazy. I go in, do my thing and go home. My loyalty with the company pays off when I need to pull strings and one of the best things about the job is that you can accept free stuff from your students without worry. Having done my fair share of privates in other countries, I can tell you with 100% certainty that if you accept gifts or friendship from a student, that person will stop taking classes with you shortly after and your time will suddenly become 'friend time'. At a school I don't have to worry about that.