Job Discussion Forums

[okbaworld]

Hello, I need some advice on what to do next. I'm currently finishing off my university Mandarin Language Diploma course at a London University with the aim of heading off to China next to improve on what I've learned so far.. Basically I can read and converse to an intermediate level in Mandarin now, but my long term aim is to be more fluent at the language to help further my career to work in a Business orientated environment either in China or somewhere else. I am lucky enough to also speak Arabic/ Spanish and a little Russian.

However, I'm not sure what to do now, I will be finishing my course soon and I need to decide on my next step. I've sent my CV to a few recruitment agencies in China but all I seem to get are offers for Teaching jobs, which I don't mind as a first step to find a better job down the line. But at the same time, I really want to concentrate on improving my Mandarin and not getting bogged down in a teaching Job.

PS: I also have the option of continuing my studies at a Beijing university, but I�d much rather just get some work experience, (frankly, I�m tired of full time education).

What advice would you recommend?
Much obliged. X

[Anda]

If you are asking then you do not have contacts so you need to take a basic English teaching job in a city such as Shanghai and start to make contacts. You can look for corporate teaching jobs but they usually come by making contacts here on the ground.

You make contacts at expat places or by meeting Chinese



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[okbaworld]

Thank you for your reply,,

So basically i should try to get a short term teaching Job in shanghai and take it from there.. which is something i had in mind anyway after reading through some of the comments on this site..

Does anyone know of a good school i can contact in shanghai where i can teach or forward my CV too.. do i nade the TEoFL cert.. to teach.. I know EF language school offer a 1 month course in London for 800 British Pounds. with a guaranteed job placement in China. but i'd rather save that money if i dont need the cert,.,,

[Anda]

http://thechinaschool.org/school-downs/Foreign%20Teacher%20Introduction%20-%20China%20School.doc


Oh and studying Chinese:


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[arioch36]

Hi OKabob,

Actually, I would have a different suggestion for you. If you think you want a future using Chinese, stay away form Shanghai and Beijing. I'm not sure if Anda ever has said where he works??? Perhaps doesn't want competition? But I'm guessing a small town in the middle of nowhere.

For true fluency, you want the true, underlying culture of China. Not the glass and steel if the new buildings of Shanghai (or beijing ). Let that come later, along with the good money us teachers only dream about. Go to henan, Anhui, a down and out province. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT, even for just one semester. Technically coming as a student, and doing teaching on the side is illegal. Nothing wrong with coming as a teacher, negotiating a lower salary and fewer hours, and studying. Many colleges offer Chinese classes where you can continue learning the language. But truly understanding the culture will set you apart. Work your way under the veneer, to a "Henan" where they are not always giving you an artificial galss and steel face.

I'll give you a perfect example... Kaifeng, henan Gr-e-at Food, a dirt poor nothing of a city, nothing like what you studied in the history class, and a microcosm of what is real in China. The if you work in SHanghai using your translation skills, you will understand the Chinese in a way that most of the laowai in SHngahi haven't a clue about.

FORGET THE RECRUITMENT AGENCIES.. they (most) will want to peg you as the white laowai, make him a teacher

[okbaworld]

Thank you Arioch,, Your advice makes a lot of sense.. I deffinately would like to avoid getting into the Laowai mindset or even getting distracted by the shiny lights of the big city..

[Anda]

Um, I work in one city of about one million including the nearby farming area. I do a little work in another city about the same size. I'm the only foreigner for certain where my main job is and I haven't seen another foreign teacher or heard of one in the other city either.


I like the life but I wouldn't recommend it to someone new to living in a foreign culture. There are plenty of difficulties to living this way where you do not know the local language. Yes, I also live in a poor area too; that is why there is only one foreign teacher here plus it isn't a pretty city. My wage is small including my part time work in the other city. Today I did two hours of teaching plus four hours of travel and cleared 170 RMB. I nearly always have a good time on the country buses.