Hi! Please state your name and occupation
My name is Jessica Thomson and I am currently a teacher at a language school in China teaching at an elementary school.
This isn’t your first time in China, how was your first experience like?
After graduating from university, I studied Chinese for 6 months in China with a study abroad company and experienced a fair share of horrific experiences. 1. they forgot to pick me up from the airport. 2. when I finally arrived in my accommodation, the place was messy and I had to do A LOT of cleaning before settling in (imagine having to deal with that and jetlag). 3. I didn’t know anyone or know where to go in my first week in China. I was basically just placed in an apartment and was left to figure a lot of things out. It was such a bad experience that I was very skeptical of using another company.
Why did you come back to China a 2nd time?
Nevertheless, I wanted to come back to China to find some work and continue to improve my Chinese. While I was looking for teaching opportunities in China I always felt I came across a dead end. Anything that I saw online was either not available (after contacting the agency or school in China) or not the exact teaching opportunity they mentioned online. PLUS, it was so difficult communicating with the Chinese local agencies and schools. Some of them provided me with very one-sided contracts that favored the employer more than me. I was close to giving up or going to have to take the chance and just buy a plane ticket to China (which I knew was the worst and last resort move I will ever make) UNTIL I found out about Next Step China via my career services office in my university. NSC’s website was informative but I still didn’t trust it until contacted a representative.
How was Next Step China’s service?
When I sent them e-mails they responded quickly and were very candid about what to expect. They explained to me why they charged a fee, it actually DOES include everything mentioned on the website and more 
. Also, their approach was very professional. I had a completed itinerary and they provided me with amazing assistance.
They were very very helpful and they really understood what I was worried about. They simply UNDERSTOOD what I was looking for. They provided me with opportunities from schools that provided fair wages and fair contracts. The minute I arrived someone from Next Step China greeted me at the airport, I was so happy. The teacher orientation they gave me was excellent. I felt so excited and prepared. Next Step China exceeded any expectations I had of an agency. You could definitely trust them. I did, and I never regretted the decision.
Thank you Jessica!
