Careers for Americans in China are comparatively awesome

…if those American’s have only graduated high school…

Like every other American living in China I was forwarded the much talked about article in the New York times “American Graduates Finding Jobs in China.”

My reaction to the article, like that of most China watchers living in China is that the article greatly overstates the China monetary opportunity – it makes it sound like this is the place to go to make a fortune. (China Law Blog has a great wrap up of the general China-expat consensus, and Shaun Rein of China Market Research Group gives a thorough response in Forbes Magazine that is pretty much in line with my experiences here.)

Every so often, in a Beijing coffee shop, I overhear an expatriate young person (<34yo) talking to a Chinese colleague about just how annoying and worthless all of the other expats in Beijing are.  The main points of argument is that these 'awful' expats come over without a plan, do not bother to learn Chinese, and expect to get hired on the basis of knowing English.  I always hate when this message is delivered with a clear tone of superiority, even though I am of the opinion that not learning the language while living abroad is a missed opportunity.  But, I am amused by the knowledge that the speaker, for all his or her Chinese ability and/or single minded purpose for coming to China is making less money then the foreigners who come over to teach English and do not bother to study Chinese.

It is my opinion then that when applied to the job situation in China, the term  ‘opportunity’ is misleading in the American, Manifest Destiny sense of the word.  Strictly talking about young graduates from college and graduate schools, coming to China is substantially  less monetarily rewarding per hour of sweat than it is in the United States.  Your degrees are less valued and if you plan to start your China career at street level, then you start on the same level as any non-graduate that has also made their way here.  It’s like applying for  a fast food job anywhere in the Western world – your diploma doesn’t mean squat, and it all comes down to work experience.  The difference between a full time fast food job there and a full time job in China, is that the Fast Food job pays more.  20,000 USD per year is enough for a great lifestyle in China…but, still its not Wall Street.

On the other hand, for people who have not been fortunate enough to finish high school, or worse, China is a great monetary opportunity.  Here, when applying for teaching jobs and managerial positions at bard/clubs, you can make up pretty much any kind of resume you want, and the mere fact that you speak English is enough to qualify for an interview.

If you want to make money, get ready to come here and struggle for a while; be prepared to take Chinese classes; and be sure to accept as an inevitable truth the fact that English is not enough to land you a job with a China-based consultancy.  Otherwise, come here for the value of learning about a country and a people who’s fates are intertwined with that of Americans’ and Europeans and the rest of the world’s citizens.  That knowledge will likely be worth more monetarily than the ‘opportunity’ described in the NYTimes article.

Just to give some food for thought I submit my earnings during my two year stint in China:

August-November 2007: Student and part time teacher (10 hours/week), 500 USD per month; part time ‘foreign face’ at a bar/restaurant (8hours/week), 4 pizza slices and 4 free drinks per week

December-April 2008: Manager at above mentioned bar/restaurant, (not kidding, 65-80hour/week), 1500USD/month

May-July 2008: Head Manager at bar/restaurant (80 hours per week), 1800USD/month

July-October 2008: GM/Head of marketing at the now bar/restaurant chain: 2100USD/month

Jan-March 2009: Health consultant, now defunct ‘company (120 hours/month)’, 35,000USD earned, but only 8,000 USD recovered – for full explanation see The Guy

It’s a tough world out here – this is not your daddy’s opportunity.