Job Discussion Forums

[Volodiya]

What Benno said pretty well sums it up, I think, for those willing to work as hard in China as we'd have to work, at most jobs, in the west.

[Roger]

While I accept certain points such as my own obligation to arrange my retirement lifestyle NOW as an teacher on foreign soil I have to query the right of younger peopler with what some might regard as an "entitlement attitude".

Ryleeys example of old age pension funding was convincing and good; I pay RMB 5000+ per annum to get the minimum pension at a retirement age well above 55. I pay of my own free will and know I can trust the insurer to support me with a decent monthly amount once I no longer work.

But the Chinese don't have such a system for themselves; the majority won't benefit from old-age pensions. Many locals will be high and dry if anything unplanned happens such as permanent unemployment, serious chronic illnessor a bad accident, etc.

Where I find I cannot agree is the mindset of so many that their first job must help them repay their personal debts accumulated back home. Where I come from the word 'debt' evokes nothing but ill feelings and cerrtainly no respect; it seems to me it is too easy to finance one's life without making sufficient preparations of one's own to meet repayment needs. What about parents? In this forum we even discussed a while ago how to "max a credit card" and declare one's bankruptcy! to me this sounds like a new consumerist subculture that's out of sync with my own lifestyle. Why should I empathise with people who have never endured any hardships but who demand to be allowed to experience an exotic culture without paying for it?

It wasn't possible to "teach your way around the world' only a couple ofdecades ago; certain linguistic minorities spread a new concept of living that's of dubious value especially in countries where standards of living are low.

I think it is right for people to get loans to study, but shouldn't these bank loan debtors first earn their money back home, and in the process gain some valuable experience that might induce them to think more ethically before moving abroad?

I guess the Chiense realised Americans - they were targeting American FTs - would pose such risks, hence the limited chances for us to progress in our professional careers here. They fully wanted one-yhear temp workers - easy to replace every year.

[cj750]

shouldn't people be able to choose whatever work or lifestyle they want with an eye towards fufiling their obligations to pay back money to a system that allows for student loans...
If you can do it in china..and you want to..this is what you should do...
entitlement attitudes....are just that ..attitudes that are changed over the cource of time as experince shows us what we can and cannot muster...why would anyone have a problem with some ones attitude..and hardships are judgements ... with a hard times being compaired as one would vanieties...everyone has hard times..at least on a personal basis...
Many Chinese do have a retirement system...and with savings as they are in this society..money for "troubled times" often comes as much from the family units (which FTs do not have) as a back up when savings are not sufficent...the end results of this kind of inquiry is to take care of yourself...with an eye on the furture...I would never trust my furture income to someone or some organization such as SS (US Based) or whole life insurence..which I think is for suckers...self invest....and you will be sure as to the furture's disposition.

[ryleeys]

Well, in terms of working in the States and then coming to China a few years later, it wasn't viable for me. If I didn't come here straight out of college, I would never have come.

I imagine the same could be said for many people who are "real" teachers with education degrees and such. It's not easy to move up the chain of command and work long enough at a school in the States to have tenure... and once you start the process, you're not going to want to have to restart it several years down the road.

The only people that this particular plan is good for are those that want to make a career in China and could we say that even .5% of foreign teachers here want to make a career of this?

I also don't think it's unreasonable for people to want to pay off college loans immediately. The longer they sit, the more money you lose in the long run to interest and poor credit ratings. Frankly, if Chinese want qualified and educated foreigners teaching in their schools (and it is the Chinese decision to make), then they will have to raise salaries to keep people for longer than a year. It's a fact of life that you have to pay people on a scale that is in line with their education, or you'll lose them and go right back to the "dregs".