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Q: How to find a non-teaching job?
It seems my school suddenly does not want to renew my contract because I asked for some changes that, t first they told me would be fine. Well, actually, they want me to work more for less, etc. Anyhow, I would love to stay in China and do something besides teaching. What are my chances? Obviously I'm college educated but not a doctor or engineer.
Look at the 'Jobs' listing (top R) here. Pick a city, and select 'job category'. Good luck!
Look at the 'Jobs' listing (top R) here. Pick a city, and select 'job category'. Good luck!
you are chasing the elusive unicorn my friend. most want to change their job to something other than teaching, very few can. There are lots of part time non teaching gigs but you wont get a visa. bars, actor model type things. without contacts, or a needed skill in china, chances are slim. competition is fierce. if you want to feel bad about yourself there is a delightfully douchey blog on the home page of this site. but dont give up hope! goodluck!
qbsinceage10:
I thought so. I'm an old horseman. I never liked that horn on the unicorn's head.
Robk:
That's not really true. You can find your own work.
I offer the following solution:
- Use your skills to Freelance online or possibly start a business this way.
- Stay in China using a business visa or possibly paying off a company to use one of theirs
- If you are married you can just use the "family" visa
---
Obviously, this isn't easy but it will pay more and you will be free to travel to wherever you wish. I am actually building up a guide of how I did it because I was in the exact same situation. Unfortunately, it won't be ready until around the end of this year.
mike695ca:
wow, so your advice to him to get out of teaching is to A: continue teaching freelance? Or B: work here illegally? Cant wait to read your guide 
first you should tell us what is your "profession". If you just have a college degree (in what?) then that would mean you are currently working illegally in china and anyways you are not allowed to work in other fields either.
how i found various non teaching job offers:
looking around on my homecountries jobboards (category china). Most jobs of course are 20 years+ experience in whatever but sometimes you find entry level positions.
but well i have a degree in engineering which is quite a good field to find a job i would say 
for further help please tell me your experience and desired work (anything is fine doesnt help)
I knew somebody who has been a teacher in my home city and finally work as a sales position in a commercial company. I thought he kept searching openings while he was a teacher. He might also build good network or connection for whom would offer him opportunities later on.
Actually, being a language teacher is just the way to first make yourself to Asia/ China as I always tell my foreign friends. After a school/ organisation offer you a teaching job and help you settle down here, you could always look for better.
It seems a bit urgent for your now. Another teaching offers sounds most possible.
Find job agents and use personnel network if you really want non-teaching jobs. Keep sending resume out. Be patient, it's easier to get jobs in China I believe.
Nessquick:
Lady, I am looking for job to change for 1 year here in Shanghai, and now last month really hard , everyday checking about 20 webistes for jobs, sending hundreds of CV. I got 1 call in a week, and the company need chinese people, or ability to read/write chinese. I am lack of it. I see many adverts from other foreigners, searching jobs too.
I have also send CVs' to my home country agents and so on, almost daily calls for interview. So I am about to pack my backpack very soon.
I have a wife and son, and I can not wait anymore patiently. Even I would like just for my wife to please her a bit.
NO , IT IS NOT EASY FIND JOB IN CHINA NOW.
Engineering and R&D are quite hot in China (IT, bio-tech), companies here are *desperate* to find engineers who can create solutions and willing to stay in China. Even with a billion sized population, such people are very rare. They won't announce jobs, it's more through word of mouth. Most cities have a technology valley, where you can check out the companies and knock at their door. Education is also quite hot I think, there's room to create your own shop.
dom87:
i think education is pretty much at its dead end and for foreigners very hard to establish because of the government restriction.
i can see opening a real international school (no training center bullshit) to be a big success if you have partner universities in uk/us or whatever
BUT you cant set it up alone, no one cares without proper education, it is super freaking expensive........
since i am an engineer i can maybe enlighten you abit about the desperation. Yes it is not very hard to find a new engineering job for me, but most companies cant pay foreign salaries and i am not talking about 50k+, most dont want or cant even pay over 20k. So most opportunities are a big waste of time, there are only a few rare companies who can pay you and those expect an expert in the field with tons of experience.
For stupid jobs there are still alot of people who can do that for low salary
DrMonkey:
I'm in R&D ^^ Agree, for education, Western universities opening private campuses here seems the way to go. Western education without sending little paopao far away, it's gold for the Chinese parents ^^
Engineering in China... Hum, yes, more than 20k RMB/months, it's ain't going to be easy, you have to bring something on the table. Chinese educated abroad tends to understand the value of a foreign-educated engineer. I still believe it's easier to get a good position here than many other place. You not gonna spend most of those 20k anyway ^^
dom87:
why do you spend most of the 20k?
there are many fields to earn a lot but sadly they require a bunch of starting money, which no one of us has :/
I know a solution that worked for me, and continues to work very well.
I wanted to find a way out of the ESL market and be totally free fro my employers and make more money.
I found a method, took me a few years but I am now free from employers and can leave China whenever I want. Basically, you need to take your skills and market them online.. if you don't have any skills.. you should have plenty of time to learn living in China.
I typed how to solve the visa situation above. Some methods are not entirely legal but ACTUALLY you aren't technically working in China lol. I figured it all out. The officials don't know what to say or do when I tell them I make all my money online. It's beyond them, like a fabled unicorn 
Anyway, I have a guide coming out how build up this method and do it yourself (around the end of this year for about $20.00). I hear too many stories about foreigners that want out but can't in person and on these forums so I thought I would share my method.
Just want to let you know it is totally possible to do your own thing in China, but you have to think outside the box. Too much competition in China to go with the flow.
Chinese like to hire people they "know". Thus get to know as many as possible if you are looking for a non-teaching job.
I'll warn you though, working in Chinese companies is not all its cracked up to be. Before taking a job with them you must interview them well. Make sure it is a job where you can actually achieve something, the responsibilities are clearly defined and you have a voice in matters, etc. Too many companies don't have a well thought out realistic plan when they hire a foreigner and it makes it tough on the foreigner.
mike695ca:
While every single point you are making is true and extremely valid, I still disagree. The amount of pride and self worth gained from " not being a teacher anymore" is incredibly valuable and should carry most people through some pretty crappy jobs. Also, as we all know how hard it is to get any position away from education. No matter what company, it could be a good stepping stone to better jobs now that the teacher stigma has been erased. While of course no one should just take the first crappy job that comes along, waiting for the perfect opportunity could leave you in your already unhappy position for quite some time!
pbrown22:
Yup, getting out of teaching does have its advantages. I'd say most of those advantages just lie on paper (as your last job typically does have a great bearing on your next). I've done both and I'd say I actually pefer teaching (in the right environment) as there you are more in control and have the potential to contribute more. You can feel like you may have a slight impact on at least a few students lives. From my experience, working in a Chinese company does little to add to my sense of worth, perhaps even lowers it. And actually I feel I got more respect from most Chinese when I was a teacher though I expected the opposite to be true.
I think about this a lot. because I will be in the position of looking for a non teaching job at some point. Here is what I would do, and maybe you can try it.
Forget about Chinese companies. Target companies from you own country. You could have a walk around your local industrial estates and take a note of any companies from your home country. Then hit Google and send your CV to their head office.
I am an Engineer so I have specific skills to market. But if I was an ESL teacher without a technical qualification, I would market myself as a locally based quality control operative. I would offer to work in the foreign company's Chinese factory, for a local wage and reporting to a local boss.
Your covering letter could explain how your knowledge and understanding of local culture and customs could help avoid time consuming and costly "lost in translation" episodes between issues being raised in head office and solutions being put in place locally.
But I would not target the big foreign companies. I would go after the small to medium enterprises. There are thousands of them. They are less likely to have the money to pay for ex pat packages and business class travel.
If there are no industrial estates around, pick a company who manufactures something you know about. Chances are that company has a manufacturing facility somewhere in China. Try them.
In the mean time, read up on quality control, SPC, six sigma etc. Lots of stuff on the net for self teaching. Also have a look at how to do audits on suppliers.
My theory is that small to medium foreign companies might just go for it. Someone cheap on the ground and on the same wavelength to help with urgent quality problems.
At best you get an expenses paid trip home for a month or two and training. At worst you get no answer.
Oh, I would also tell them how you have a totally legit agent lined up to help the local factory's HR department to get the license to hire foreigners.
That's my plan anyway. But please don't tell everyone about it. I might be putting it into action soon......
Good luck.
connections, in China it's all about guanxi
talk to a lot of people and explain you are looking for jobs, that's how i got out of teaching
It's not easy, but I wrote a guide to how I did it. Basically just network your ass off and try meeting foreign professionals. Locals usually can't help you much.
http://space.echinacities.com/262996/blog/spacenodedetail/1572
Best of luck man, I personally hated teaching, much happier to be out.
It's not easy, but I wrote a guide to how I did it. Basically just network your ass off and try meeting foreign professionals. Locals usually can't help you much.
http://space.echinacities.com/262996/blog/spacenodedetail/1572
Best of luck man, I personally hated teaching, much happier to be out.
