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Q: Do you feel like China is an impasse?
I originally came to China with a one year plan to return to law school, but ended up staying a lot longer. What was suppose to be a resume builder, now feels more like a life long decision. I feel stuck, like I'm not moving forward, with very few options for advancement. Is the east coast different?
10 years 10 weeks ago in Business & Jobs - China
You want us to extrapolate from your personnal situation which we know nothing about.
I get what you are saying. You are having a lot of fun but you have lost your ambition?
Make a plan , savings goal and timetable to leave China, then stick to it.
Find a steady girlfriend or friend with benefits, not a bargirl or gold digger, explain your goals to her so that she understands you will not be taking her out to dinner or movies. Find some decent cheap cheap options for food.
If this is what you are going through, this is what helped me.
I understand what you're saying too. Do you feel like you've been here for long enough that you can't leave now? Like it would be a waste of the time you've already spent here?
I came not knowing how long I would stay, very open ended. Now I've been here just over two years. I do think that sometimes I become a little stagnant. You just have to make the most of your experience here so that it'll be worth something when you go home.
andy74rc:
2 years is nothing. Begin to worry when you're about to hit the 10 years mark. In any case, as somebody said, make a plan and try to maximize your results during the time you spend here. This is a place to come, get whatever you can out of it, and once done, go for good.
My moment of clarity came pretty early in my time here. For me it was that I wasn't interested in dating Chinese girls at all (just my preference), and the girls I WAS interested in dating weren't interested in seriously dating an ESL teacher; made me realize that I just didn't come off as somebody that was serious about their life or career.
I did manage to get a career in my field here, which I've held for almost 4 years now. It is possible, but not easy. I agree that coming to China and teaching by itself is not a resume builder. It's PART of a good cover letter story if you used it as a springboard into something in your field but by itself it's not something that anybody else couldn't have done. It's more something you were willing to do than something you were able to do.
I mean China ESL is a pretty easy life and thats kinda the trap of it. You don't have to try very hard, the jobs are easy to get and it takes the struggle out of life, but the ceiling is very very low. Either you're happy with what it has to offer, and think you will ALWAYS be happy with it because you aren't setting yourself up for anything better, or you aren't and need to get out of it ASAP.
A lot of people really like it, and for them the pros outweigh the cons so more power to them. Just understand the negatives aren't going to change...whatever you don't like about it now isn't likely to ever get better, though obviously some ESL situations are better than others. If you aren't happy with where you are in life right now...it's not likely in 5 years you're going to be less unhappy with it.
I wrote a pretty long article explaining these points more...give it a read if you want.
Yes, I feel China is a crutch for you, a waystation, purgatory with perks. Make a decision.
