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Q: Did you have any set goals when you came to China and have you achieved them?
mine were
a) learn Chinese, which I'm slowly working towards, but the more I learn, the more I realise how little I know...
b) kick start my career, which is going fairly well, just not in a direction i ever expected...
nopes...came on an S visa accompanying my wife for her PhD. Didn't have any set goal before coming here.. But now I have just one and only one goal..
Get out of China the day my wife gets her degree..
Came to China on secondment, so no China goals. Then, I find plenty of opportunities and left the company. Set my aims on opening a fashion retail chain, done that but sold it due to an incompatible partner. Now lying low till next year to start over. I suppose I can say that I've set my sights on the fashion market here and plan to take advantage of the low cost.
When I first came to China, my goals was to just survive a year as an ESL teacher. If I couldn't hack even a year I would feel like a loser for the rest of my life.
But luckily, it turned out that I have been here eight years (not really anchievement in itself) but I am happy how I have used that time to:
- travel
- learn Chinese, Arabic, French (relearn), Spanish, some German, Japanese and Korean
- start a company & multiple businesses
- buy an apartment here and a villa near the beach (the villa in Thailand or the Philippines)
- find a good wife
- Never feel like I felt when I first arrived, ever again.
Robk:
Thanks, I appreciate it. The stigma on foreigners in China is that they are all ESL teachers and losers cause they couldn't make it in their own country.
That isn't true at all, some use China as a "transitional period" to kind of figure out what they want to do with themselves while exploring a new place and earning a comfortable living.
Being in China gives you a lot of free time, it can be excellent for accomplishing goals or it can be a drunken stupor fest chasing skirts... or you could do both lol. I have.
ScotsAlan:
I have never experienced that stigma Robk.
Most people I meet think I am a factory manager or a big boss. That could be because of the beer belly I suppose 
.
I have actually met very few teachers in China.
My goal was to work here and be with my wife.
I have a job here, I'm with my wife and we have a two year old daughter too .
My career is maxed out anyway. I set out to be an Engineer and that's what I am. I never wanted to be a manager or a boss. I like my beer and fishing time too much to want to deal with that rubbish.
Stiggs:
Yeah, don't go down the management path (unless that's what you want to be doing). If you find a job you're happy with, that allows you the time to do what you like to do, then you are onto a winner and moving up the company food chain to be a boss isn't worth the extra money.
Robk:
You are right, being a boss takes up a lot of time and focus.
I am kind of doing it to secure my financial goals then I am retiring on a beach and going fishing. You got the right idea. Life should be enjoyed.
But I am scared I will end up like some other old people I know. Old, alone, no finances, no place to hang their hat... because they never had a plan.
Goal: find a place where I don't feel like killing someone every day.
So far, so good.
.
It is all about what you want to achieve. My stay in China was a transitional period where I taught medical courses and I thought things will stands there, but luck was on my side and I was at the right place and right time when I found the opportunity to get enrolled in research and was able to publish 10 articles in medical field within 5 years in world renowned international journals. That was un-anticipated achievement from my side, in addition to making a lot of good friends at the academic level.
It is all about what you want to achieve. My stay in China was a transitional period where I taught medical courses and I thought things will stands there, but luck was on my side and I was at the right place and right time when I found the opportunity to get enrolled in research and was able to publish 10 articles in medical field within 5 years in world renowned international journals. That was un-anticipated achievement from my side, in addition to making a lot of good friends at the academic level.
Done:
Get a master degree
Challenge my self
Still working on:
Learning Chinese
Getting working experience
Travel (more) in China/Asia
All in all, I'm doing pretty well overall
