Job Discussion Forums

[vikdk]

[No Moss]

I have been able to make a good living in China, despite the dry period around Chinese New Year. I have found opportunities in teaching, writing/editing, and even (gasp) modeling, all at pretty good rates. The yuan has increased in value, so it makes traveling outside the country cheaper.

I love teaching, and I have been able to control my teaching environment so that it is (for me, at least) ideal--very small classes of motivated students.

My rent is cheap, personal services are cheap, and, since there's not really that much to do, entertainment costs are cheap. I can buy western goodies, and the combined cost of cheap local groceries and expensive imported goodies is reasonable. I get enough western media (full cable) to keep me satisfied, and I'm close enough to Hong Kong and Macao to pop over for a day or a weekend.

I get to observe first-hand an economic miracle that is unique in world history, sort of America's heyday revisited.

I have leisure time and western friends, I can go to a nice coffee shop in the morning and chat or read the HK newspaper, and I've yet to be seriously ripped off in China.

I get annoyed/disgusted with the Chinese every now and then, but I generally get treated pretty well. BTW, before you ask, I didn't have a "China day" today!

And public transportation is excellent where I live, which means I don't have to ride a scooter or drive a car.

For shopping, I buy most of my stuff at Wal-Mart, B&Q, and other recognized retail outlets like SunDan and Airland, or at a select few stores where I have been treated fairly in the past. I bought my computer through Dell (China).

I look around and see people with very little or nothing, and I count my blessings.

[China.Pete]

"(I)t's quality of life that counts and how much maintaining that quality will cost in China." --Vikdk

I think that pretty much sums it up. Meanwhile, salaries here seem to actually be lower than in other Asian markets, while benefits are almost nonexistant.

"Personally I would say that my standard of living is much higher than I could afford in the U.K." --Jammish

I was comparing the cost of living in China with that in other developing Asian countries, not the U.S. (or the U.K). My reference to costs in the U.S. was to point out that items of export quality are often more expensive in China than they are in the U.S., despite the fact that their country of origin may be the same--China.

"I get to observe first-hand an economic miracle that is unique in world history, sort of America's heyday revisited." --No Moss
True, China today does seem to be reminiscent of the age of the "robber barons" in the U.S. And FTs are hardly getting the worst of it--even though we may sometimes (falsely) be used as the justification for some of the robbing.

[No Moss]

China Pete, I think you're missing the fact that China has brought an unprecedented number of people out of poverty in the last 25 years.

But talking about China is like the three blind men talking about an elephant. We believe what we have experienced.

It needs to be said that China is not everyone's cup of tea, as I sometimes feel that it is not mine.

[vikdk]

[cj750]

[China.Pete]

"I think you're missing the fact that China has brought an unprecedented number of people out of poverty in the last 25 years." --No Moss

Not at all. America's heyday also brought a lot of people out of poverty. But it was an era of growing economic inequality; thus, the "robber barons." We see similar inequalities developing in China. My point in making the comparison was to get back to my original idea that, while we may help make a lot of money for our employers, we are in the final analysis still regarded as cheap labor (though hardly the cheapest).

"But talking about China is like the three blind men talking about an elephant. We believe what we have experienced." --No Moss

My experiences in China are closer to your own than this particular post may have led you to believe. This is not a down-on-China post at all, much less about my degree of success here. Simply a query about quality of life and compensation relative to other similar market areas. I appreciate everyone's comments thus far.

[patsy]

I don't think so. Unless you get a really high paying job, it's almost like volunteer work. I used to teach in Cambodia and the students were so nice and appreciative, they would never "complain' about a foreign teacher or sit mutely in their seats while you teach.

[The Noodles]

On the subject of having to pay an arm and a leg for good quality products, i agree... Have you seen the price of a Prada belt in China?

To the original post, you can make great money if you work freelance. Choose your classes and ask for the pay u want per hour. Simply enroll at a uni to get a year long Visa or fly to HK for a business one.

[TravellingAround]

...

[Steppenwolf]

Responding strictly to the title rather than the apparently whiney undercurrent in it: yes, I believe it's worth teaching.
I know why one often doubts the usefulness of the teaching profession in China: our impact on the student population is so insignificant. IT's frustrating to have to please unappreciative individuals that make up many classes and make up most majorities. Is that very different from a western environment? I hear there are more and more serious discipline and order issues in western countries with students going berserk, going after techers (happens frequently in Japan, many western countries and has been reported from Hong Kong), students drugging themselves and showing other antisocial tendencies.
I am also put off sometimes by the blase attitude of Chiense students, their laziness, lack of imagination and unwillingness to embrace new ideas and concepts.

But, but, but...
Almost every class has one or a few really brilliant individuals that go out of their local ways and develop themselves into thinking and acting individuals diffeerent from their robot peers.
Satisfaction comes from knowing that you have in actual fact benefited at least a handful students that really cared. You do get positive feedback from those who absorb what you have to offer.
That is for me anyway reason enough to say: yes, it's worth the efforts I put in here! Sometimes whole classes recognise that cooperating with an FT using his very different approach is worth their effort.

[vikdk]