I doubt it i'm here because I still cant get full pay as a teacher because I did not major in education, and I refuse to teach the horrible monsters in usa schools. students here are a pleasure to work with

I agree with crimochina, 90% or more of the teachers here from the U.S. aren't teachers in the U.S. they have majors in whatever... They're just teaching oral English here (hence the TEFL or CELTA certification) are they here because of the work climate in the U.S. maybe... But then so would many of the Brits...

Yeah, they r not teachers at all.
So, China will not loose them. As they will stick with China, the only place they can get paid, and pretend to be a king~
What can they teach except oral English?

I qualify for this. I came to China because I couldn't get a job in the US after searching for a year. Although I am an actual teacher in the US. However, I'm a math teacher, not English. I'd happily go back to America if the job search was any better (not that I hate China, just that I don't know Chinese, and that make doing anything difficult).

I turned down 4 great paying teaching jobs (real teaching, not EFL) to come to China so I could live with my wife. Although I won't deny that there are some deadbeat foreigners here.

I came to China 8 months after graduating college. I came here because I always wanted to experience China, I had spent a summer, fall and half a winter looking for jobs beyond the several part times I was holding down. I could have stayed and supported myself in the US but I was getting restless and wanted to learn and experience something new. I also figured teaching for a year would be a good boost to my résumé.

What makes someone not a teacher?

I think Americans come to China to teach for many different reasons. Some of them may be real teachers, as in they have a degree in education. These people want to be teachers as a career. I think most, however, have a degree in something else and come to China to experience something new. Teaching is a great way to gain skills, learn the language, experience the culture, and make a little money.

WELL ACCORDING TO MY EXPERIENCE, I HAVE SEEN MORE OLD AGE TEACHERS THAN YOUNGS IN CHINA, THE OLD TEACHERS OR OLD PEOPLE THEY ARE MOSTLY TEACHING IN CHINA BECAUSE THEY TURNED DOWN FROM THE SOCIETY IN USA OR LET ME SAY THAT NOBODY WANTS THEM IN USA ANYMORE BECAUSE OF AGE FACTOR SO CHINA IS PLAYING A SAFE HAVEN FOR THEM.

THEY ARE ENJOYING HERE GETTING PERSONAL ATTENTION, APPRECIATIONS AND THEY ALSO ENJOY PHYSICAL PLEASURE IN CHINA.

NOW THE YOUNG ONES: MOSTLY TEACHERS THEY ARE NOT QUALIFIED FOR TEACHING IN THEIR OWN COUNTRIES BECAUSE OF STRICT CHECKS AND BALANCE POLICIES OR THEY ARE IN CHINA FOR FUN AND EXPERIENCE.
THANKS

Wenna your ignorance is amazing. No qualified teacher would ever come to China if they could work in the U.S. You should be thanking America that they are in recession and so many people come to China to teach. The best China is ever going to get are people who, for the most, are unqualified, travelers and such. You would deprive China the chance to learn oral English so they can actually use the English they learn and not waste their time studying but being able to communicate also.

Try thinking seriously about you questions instead of showing your ignorance and/or trying to bate westerners and cause hate debates. Try getting laid so you can relax and get that frustration out of you. That or Change your job and work somewhere you can be happy without foreigners, maybe as a waitress or something.

I sincerely hope you post a big thank you, hug and kiss to all those Americans that come here to make your country better.

I am a qualified teacher with Masters, i worked in countries such as India, Russia, Lithuania and some African countries most of which i didn't earn a dime. I am a teacher in my soul, spent many years to help others to have a good education cause i care PEOPLE not money. Yes today sometimes i feel it was stupid to do it for such along time as i didn't think of myself in the days i will be to old to work.
I feel the song.... My Way was written for me as that is my life... But i am happy.

fritze you are so fool of shit the money they pay us teachers in china they can make 10 fold working in kfc most of the teachers go over thier are youing and will be good on thier resume you are just an american hater because we have everything the world wants and because you come from some dog dudu country and embarassed
people dont take fritze serius he is an american hater and a piece of dog dudu

and ifritze got his masters in some 3rd world country that wouldnt even equal a high school education in the us

I'm just a dancing English monkey who loves kids! Back home I was (among other things) a small children's swimming teacher and a camp counselor.

Its pretty difficult to put any kind of fine point on why the majority of us are here.

Many of the fellows here fit in that description but not all of them. Again, we can’t generalize. All the U.S.A. citizens have their own dark reasons to be here. Some may say that the Chinese students are lovely in contrast with their monstrous kids but are the same guys who complain about the Chinese educative system (or everything Chinese) over and over again.  

More than likely yes. Add that to the recent spike in crime and you got yourself an American teacher teaching in China! 

  I can't speak for American teachers but I came here traveling, found that I could teach here, and decided it suited me. Back home I was doing dull jobs, here i'm interested in my work. It wasn't a difficult decision.

I live in the UK. I am going to China because I can't get work here (that and I have always wanted to travel to China anyway). I have qualifications coming out of almost every orifice and yet nobody wants to hire me.

I have both the qualifications and the experience. The problem here is that there are so many people out of work now, add to that the amount of eastern Europeans entering the country with even more to come, that finding work in the future is going to become nigh on impossible. Plus I do not wish to have a future based on state benefits.

The recession is hitting so many countries rather hard at the moment. Only recently the UK itself lost its triple A rating and things are not looking any brighter either.

When I was getting to the end of my previous career I discovered quite by accident that I loved teaching, so I spent the next few years getting qualified. During this process of getting qualified I met and married my wife who is Chinese, again during this phase of my life both my parents died (separately). By then I knew I wanted to be a teacher and English was my subject so it made sense to teach it. Given those circumstances China was a pretty obvious choice.

ya of course...i saw many African guys( some from Ghana) pretending as an American and getting job here

I'm here to beef up my resume/portfolio so I can apply to medical school, but also for my wife. I came here specifically for her. I didn't expect to hit it off so well with her.

Anyway, I don't give a rat's ass if you're here because you're a "loser" in your home country, or because you can't find a job there. A real loser is someone who sits around being a loser without doing anything about it. So for all you "losers" who came here to make a better life for yourself, you're actually pretty pucking smart.

If your life sucks, and coming here makes it better, then more power to you. Don't let anyone put you down for making a good decision. The kind of people who would put you down for that are unhappy losers themselves who can't stand seeing other people happy.

Those who are educated and in big cities all know that the majority of foreigners come to china are total losers， sorry, i am just speaking the truth

anyway some of you are excellent and some other been here cause they love here not just for livelihood's sake 

Theres very few jobs that allow people to travel and live abroad; So I think teaching is a great opportunity for Americans to see the world.  If you are a certified teacher you can make, in some cases, better money than you would back home (e.g UAE or Saudi Arabia).  But yes, there are teachers that have left the States because they can't find jobs.  Most of these teachers will return home, while others might get bitten by the travel bug and continue to work abroad.  

I agree with CSmith - I'm European and have worked in several countries worldwide but I've travelled in at least 50 countries. I didn't came for the money, nor the chicks- for the experience - China is crazy and a blast for everybody whom's mind is open! Ever thought about those who grew up here and have no chance to experience what most of us do - work, travel and having fun and enjoy it. Come on, my staff makes a decent amount of money when compared to 'regular jobs' here in China but need to save it because their 'present wife wants a house, car, ipod whatever'. Never made that experience ANYWHERE in the world!!! They only thing I complain about - no excitement when compared to EU, US, South America or other parts of the Asia-Pacific and I don't mean hookers... For those who don't understand- buy a ticket home...

I am from the UK and have only been here 6 weeks, I have a PGCE in Education and have been teaching high school for 10 years,  The work situation in the UK is awful and teaching jobs are hard to come by, that is the reason I am here, I love teaching, why do Chinese people hate us so much when all we are doing is passing on our skills and knowledge so that we can do some good, we do not tar all Chinese with the same brush, so why do it to the Brits and Americans