American Graduates Finding Jobs in China

[endoftheroad 1]

American Graduates Finding Jobs in China

By Shiho Fukada for The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/business...tml?_r=2&hp

Even those with limited or no knowledge of Chinese are heeding the call. They are lured by China’s surging economy, the lower cost of living and a chance to bypass some of the dues-paying that is common to first jobs in the United States.

“I’ve seen a surge of young people coming to work in China over the last few years,” said Jack Perkowski, founder of Asimco Technologies, one of the largest automotive parts companies in China.

“When I came over to China in 1994, that was the first wave of Americans coming to China,” he said. “These young people are part of this big second wave.”

One of those in the latest wave is Joshua Arjuna Stephens, who graduated from Wesleyan University in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in American studies. Two years ago, he decided to take a temporary summer position in Shanghai with China Prep, an educational travel company.

“I didn’t know anything about China,” said Mr. Stephens, who worked on market research and program development. “People thought I was nuts to go not speaking the language, but I wanted to do something off the beaten track.”

Two years later, after stints in the nonprofit sector and at a large public relations firm in Beijing, he is highly proficient in Mandarin and works as a manager for XPD Media, a social media company based in Beijing that makes online games.

Jonathan Woetzel, a partner with McKinsey & Company in Shanghai who has lived in China since the mid-1980s, says that compared with just a few years ago, he was seeing more young Americans arriving in China to be part of an entrepreneurial boom. “There’s a lot of experimentation going on in China right now, particularly in the energy sphere, and when people are young they are willing to come and try something new,” he said.

And the Chinese economy is more hospitable for both entrepreneurs and job seekers, with a gross domestic product that rose 7.9 percent in the most recent quarter compared with the period a year earlier. Unemployment in urban areas is 4.3 percent, according to government data.

Grace Hsieh, president of the Yale Club in Beijing and a 2007 graduate, says she has seen a rise in the number of Yale graduates who have come to work in Beijing since she arrived in China two years ago. She is working as an account executive in Beijing for Hill & Knowlton, the public relations company.

Sarabeth Berman, a 2006 graduate of Barnard College with a major in urban studies, initially arrived in Beijing at the age of 23 to take a job that would have been difficult for a person her age to land in the United States: program director at BeijingDance/LDTX, the first modern dance company in China to be founded independently of the government.

Ms. Berman said she was hired for her familiarity with Western modern dance rather than a knowledge of China. “Despite my lack of language skills and the fact that I had no experience working in China, I was given the opportunity to manage the touring, international projects, and produce and program our annual Beijing Dance Festival.”

After two years of living and working in China, Ms. Berman is proficient in Mandarin. She travels throughout China, Europe and the United States with the dance company.

Willy Tsao, the artistic director of BeijingDance/LDTX, said he had hired Ms. Berman because of her ability to make connections beyond China. “I needed someone who was capable of communicating with the Western world.”

Another dynamic in the hiring process, Mr. Tsao says, is that Westerners can often bring skills that are harder to find among the Chinese.

“Sarabeth is always taking initiative and thinking what we can do,” he said, “while I think the more standard Chinese approach is to take orders.” He says the difference is rooted in the educational system. “In Chinese schools students are encouraged to be quiet and less outspoken; it fosters a culture of listening more than initiating.”

Mr. Perkowski, who spent almost 20 years on Wall Street before heading to China, says many Chinese companies are looking to hire native English speakers to help them navigate the American market.

“I’m working with a company right now that wants me to help them find young American professionals who can be their liaisons to the U.S.,” he said. “They want people who understand the social and cultural nuances of the West.”

Mr. Perkowski’s latest venture, JFP Holdings, a merchant bank based in Beijing, has not posted any job openings, but has received more than 60 résumés; a third are from young people in the United States who want to come work in China, he said.

Mick Zomnir, 20, a soon-to-be junior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is working as a summer intern for JFP. “As things have gotten more difficult in the U.S., I started to think about opportunities elsewhere,” he said. He does not speak Chinese but says he will begin studying Mandarin when he returns to M.I.T. in the fall.

A big draw of working in China, many young people say, is that they feel it allows them to skip a rung or two on the career ladder.

Ms. Berman said: “There is no doubt that China is an awesome place to jump-start your career. Back in the U.S., I would be intern No. 3 at some company or selling tickets at Lincoln Center.”

For others, like Jason Misium, 23, China has solved the cash flow problem of starting a business. After graduating with a degree in biology from Harvard in 2008, Mr. Misium came to China to study the language. Then, with a friend, Matthew Young, he started Sophos Academic Group, an academic consulting firm that works with Chinese students who want to study in the United States.

“It’s China’s fault that I’m still here,” he said. “It’s just so cheap to start a business.” It cost him the equivalent of $12,000, which he had in savings, he said.

Among many young Americans, the China exit strategy is a common topic of conversation. Mr. Stephens, Ms. Berman and Mr. Misium all said they were planning to return to the United States eventually.

Mr. Woetzel of McKinsey said work experience in China was not an automatic ticket to a great job back home. He said it was not a marker in the same way an Ivy League education: “The mere fact of just showing up and working in China and speaking Chinese is not enough.”

That said, Mr. Woetzel added, someone who has been able to make a mark in China is a valuable hire.

“At McKinsey, we are looking for people who have demonstrated leadership,” he said, “and working in a context like China builds character, requires you to be a lot more entrepreneurial and forces you to innovate.”

[Mike and Yan 0]

Does this mean you want to go to China and live???

Whatcha gonna do there????

any opportunities??

[endoftheroad 1]

Does this mean you want to go to China and live???

No, the article does not mean that but we are going to retire to China. I'll teach some English and eat well until I die.

[Mike and Yan 0]

I'm looking at a TEFL in NYC over 4 weekends about $1200

BUT

妻子 is: need 20,000RMB/mo in China

丈夫 is: NFW

She needs to learn English here and I need to figure out a way to 'be persuaded to live in China'

Noodles for breakfast!!

[endoftheroad 1]

I'm looking at a TEFL in NYC over 4 weekends about $1200

BUT

妻子 is: need 20,000RMB/mo in China

丈夫 is: NFW

She needs to learn English here and I need to figure out a way to 'be persuaded to live in China'

Noodles for breakfast!!

Noodles? What, are you a Northerner? RICE I SAY, RICE! We only need 3000Y a month to cover living in China. Teaching pays way more than that and mostly includes rent and basic expenses (making that 3000 into 1000), For those others... 3000Y is about $480 and 1000Y is about $160.

[justashooter 430]

EFL instructors get from 6K yuan to 12K yuan per month in china, plus on campus housing and possibly a cafeteria plan (you don't want this), as well as free health care (you don't want this). this is for 20-25 class hours per week.

if you go this route, research carefully and ask lots of questions on Raoul's board:

http://raoulschinasaloon.com/

pay particular attention to this section:

http://raoulschinasaloon.com/index.php?PHP...&board=32.0

[Mike and Yan 0]

Noodles for breakfast!!

Noodles? What, are you a Northerner? RICE I SAY, RICE! We only need 3000Y a month to cover living in China. Teaching pays way more than that and mostly includes rent and basic expenses (making that 3000 into 1000), For those others... 3000Y is about $480 and 1000Y is about $160.

Noodles AND RICE for breakfast - Even better

Nanning is my wifes home (temporary)

EFL instructors get from 6K yuan to 12K yuan per month in china, plus on campus housing and possibly a cafeteria plan (you don't want this), as well as free health care (you don't want this). this is for 20-25 class hours per week.

if you go this route, research carefully and ask lots of questions on Raoul's board:

http://raoulschinasaloon.com/

pay particular attention to this section:

http://raoulschinasaloon.com/index.php?PHP...&board=32.0

excellent website...thanks

[endoftheroad 1]

EFL instructors get from 6K yuan to 12K yuan per month in china, plus on campus housing and possibly a cafeteria plan (you don't want this), as well as free health care (you don't want this). this is for 20-25 class hours per week.

When I last taught ESL there I got 5500Y a month plus apartment (you want this), food (you want this), phone (you want this), web (you want this), health care (you want this), vacation pay (you want this), Chinese lessons (you want this), plane ticket, for 18 hours a week.

[endoftheroad 1]

Noodles AND RICE for breakfast - Even better

Nanning is my wifes home (temporary)

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Sing NOODLES AND RICE to the tune of "Silver and Gold"!

Y'all's wife is a Southern gal?

[Mike and Yan 0]

Noodles AND RICE for breakfast - Even better

Nanning is my wifes home (temporary)

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Sing NOODLES AND RICE to the tune of "Silver and Gold"!

Y'all's wife is a Southern gal?

They are the SWEETEST....truly Yan is....AND I have read that of the Chinese women, those of the Nanning area are the better (may not select the best word here..forgive) tempermet. I did read that after I met Yan so I may have a case of selective reading. Her accent is difficult, but I am learning.

what city did you teach English in?

When you came back to the USA, same job? same house? same pay? easy return?

[justashooter 430]

the south chinese women are cute in a childish way, but look out for the business angle. the central chinese women are very frank and honest, as well as very beautiful, with a "chiseled" appearance including strong cheekbones and jaw line.

ESL in china sounds good if you don't have a house to pay for in USA and are debt free. otherwise, the salary is just too low, though adequate for a modest lifestyle in china.

[Mike and Yan 0]

the south chinese women are cute in a childish way, but look out for the business angle. the central chinese women are very frank and honest, as well as very beautiful, with a "chiseled" appearance including strong cheekbones and jaw line.

ESL in china sounds good if you don't have a house to pay for in USA and are debt free. otherwise, the salary is just too low, though adequate for a modest lifestyle in china.

Yan has an excellent jaw line and strong cheek bones, chiseled at some angles and childish at other angles. It’s intriguing/startling; my mother even noted her appearance is different in various pictures.

The only issue that I see is how to household goods. House is paid for (less taxes) but abandonment is no option, so sell it. An apartment to hold items in is just a debt. I gotta have a place to ‘return to’ right? Or, looks like the only option is storage or sell it all and hope to never return. Looks like all options have some drawbacks.