Job Discussion Forums

william wallace · Joined: 14 May 2003 Posts: 2869 Location: in between

Nothing to say.:

limits601 · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 11:03 am Post subject:

Im trying to get into tech but have been unsucessful so far. I guess a degree in Computer Science is worthless nowadays.

nolefan · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1458 Location: on the run

There are plenty of opportunities available outside of the ESL market. I know an ex-teacher who's gone on to work for the Europeean Commision in Beijing while some other folks have elected to work for some of the various embassies.
Just a few months back, there was a bank in Wuhan that was hiring a Laowai for international business purposes.
You could get an ebay account and start selling select Chinese items that are hard to obtain overseas......

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

A Shenzhen-based TEFL veteran, now gone back to his Kiwi home, turned down a very lucrative job: be an office pet on a 4-digit monthly pay, putting in 40 hours a week and only teaching 2 to 5 in the same time; the rest he was supposed to simply be "available" and "visible".
You can guess why he turned the offer down...

NorbertRadd · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:29 pm Post subject: i can't imagine

Why didn't he take the job? Did he get a better job offer at home? Was he homesick? Was 40 hours a week in an office unbearbable? Was he independently wealthy just out here for kicks or his "overseas experience"?

ekirving · Joined: 29 Mar 2005 Posts: 57 Location: Back Home :-(

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

Indiana Jones · Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 1:33 am Post subject:

I plan on teaching conversational english in the evenings/weekends, and looking for work in the publishing/journalism industry in my spare time. If things work out, I might be a full-time writer/editor, and teach english conversation in my spare time. That'd be ideal, but I'd be perfectly happy with it the other way around. I've noticed quite a few writer/editor job vacancies advertised on websites such as That'sBeijing, so the work is definitely out there.

This is why I find teaching conversational english in a foreign country such an exciting opportunity ... because it creates other opportunities, and puts you in a position where you can take advantage of what's on offer. Teaching is a great experience, but if you have the ability to do other things, I say go for it.

no_exit · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 565 Location: Kunming

I do freelance translation whenever I can, which can be fairly lucrative if your Chinese is good enough to get jobs. I recently did a project translating a 4000 (Chinese) word manuscript into English and made $400 US in just a few days. I can't get enough jobs just yet to give up teaching completely, but in the long run I'd much rather be doing the translation full time than the teaching. I know at least one guy here who makes enough to live very very nicely (much more than any of the English teachers I know in Kunming) doing full time translation and some consulting type stuff. Needless to say, his Chinese is excellent.

There are plenty of other opportunities besides that too. A couple of friends own bars/cafes, or work in the music industry (djs and musicians can make decent cash). Another friend works as an editor, and another is an IELTS examiner. All of these people have completely given up English teaching. Teaching may be the easiest job to get, but it is by no means the only option. However, moving away from teaching means finding other visa options, which can be tricky and sometimes costly, especially if you have an American passport. Crying or Very sad