By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: What types of jobs can foreigners get if they speak fluent chinese?
Anybody know the types of jobs that foreigners who can speak fluent chinese get?
Just reverse the Chinese one at home, so a waiter in an English restaurant..
They can be the Western Man-servant for a Chinese Superhero!
I would say that if a person is totally fluent (reads, writes and speak) in Mandarin, in theory the sky will be the limit.
Now, in reality, since by Law in China, foreigners can only work at jobs that no Chinese could do, and in companies previously authorized to hire foreigners, I do not see that being fluent in Mandarin will open too many doors or opportunities in a way. As a foreigner, if you apply for a job, and also there is a Chinese applicant, by Law he will get the job and not the foreigner.
At least this is the way I interpret the Law.
Journalist, sales, management, communications, NGO work...tons of stuff
It's interesting that none of you take it seriously. I think a Chinese-speaking foreigner is an asset to be highly valued. Not ridiculed by a bunch of English-only foreigners. Thanks for devaluing foreigners in China.
iWolf:
Actually what is interesting is that you have been sucked into the myth that "Wooo, chinese is too hard for foreigners".
I think you will find that many, if not most of the regular posters here are pretty much fluent. And that having a fluent pet foreigner would be, in reality, a face job.
Just a serious question: when did you get off the boat? This morning??
expatlife26:
well it really depends...no by itself speaking chinese will NOT make you highly valued. For example if you were a chinese language major or if you came right after college with a humanities degree took a teaching job and learned fluent chinese you are now in the Chinese language/no work skills & experience boat that millions of local university grads find themselves in every year. The only difference is that person might be white or something. The jobs that person can get are just gonna be the same teaching jobs a non-speaker can and then maybe some customer service roles.
The difference maker is always going to be skills one brings to the table. A CPA from Chicago with 10 yrs experience at PWC that knows Chinese could be a valued employee. Ditto an engineer or senior manager in a relevant industry.
I dunno...i've personally never seen any expat here just Chinese language their way into a really good career. It was always what they already brought to the table, even if that was just something like a personality well suited for management, a degree in something valuable or just tons of initiative and the networking/corporate politics skills to get themselves in a good situation.
Again, an expat who brings none of those things to the table but speaks chinese is by definition only more valuable than a local employee because of their race. Which means they are an expensive luxury and usually the first to go.
RiriRiri:
Depends... there's also one fact to consider: many people assume to be fluent but really are just overestimating themselves. For someone who takes the fluency path for Chinese (and any Asian language for that matter), there's a damn long road ahead where their actual level will just be dead weight professionally speaking: good, but not good enough for anything relevant.
Very few people actually reach a level where they can get the locals to actually value their fluency as something more than just an extra convenience. And I don't blame people for that, because the investment required is roughly the same as any good engineering background.
Actual, good translators are very, very scarce. I started as one but now I'm slowly shifting to a mix of translating/consulting because I could have my insights to be valued along with the language skill.
paradoxically, speaking Chinese opens up a world of tempting but deceptive jobs in China, where you are not vital. we are treated badly even in schools where our input is vtal, so imagine how quickly we can lose a job here if we aren't even vital. i once applied for a job as hotel greeter. 4 chinese speaking foreigners were hired, and all fired after 2 weeks. on awhim? to save money? because the boss didn't like how girls smiled at them?
Many people around the world do not realize that language is just a tool. Yes, very important tool but just a tool. May be with exception of interpreter/translator where the language is the main tool, but even with this knowing the language well still does not have to mean you are a good translator.
Generally on top of knowing the language you shall also have your specialization. Language then 'just' helps you in sharing your ideas (and receiving your colleagues and partners comments) about the topic.
So to come to your question - foreigner speaking the language well can do the job according to his/her specialization.
I think that ability to speak Mandarin is a big asset as long as you are also good in your own specialization. Then your chances are pretty big.
And if good so can earn quite nice salary (even according to Western standards).
My experience then is that, unlike somebody mentioned here, I do not know a lot of foreigners speaking good Mandarin; but I know plenty who claim it.
And those who are frequently do not have any specialization as they came here and started to teach English; after several years learned the language but other than teaching English and speaking two languages they have no other specialization. If they want to change the job/specialization so they have to start from the bottom ...
RiriRiri:
"Language is just a tool" is that kind of utter nonsense you'll hear from no one else in the world but a Chinese. Along with "Maybe Mao did some mistakes but" and "I don't know... my parents chose for me" Keep it in mind for your next assignment.
sunderlandt:
I'm sure most people realize communication is a means to an end. You aren't some mythical prophet who figured that one out.
And if you really think you have a valid point to make, be less passive aggressive. Otherwise I look at it an think: Ego, teenager, government worker.
I bet you would judge me as an "English teacher" who came to China with no 'specialization' but in the real world it is Chemistry and even if I spoke Chinese there is no opportunity.
Alas who would want the opportunity at a whopping 6k a month. By a comparison of 35k a month in Australia. RMB figures.
RiriRiri:
He is a government worker. Don't waste long sentences on him.
gouxiong:
Dear sunderlandt,
Firstly I do not think that being a good English teacher is a bad thing - just opposite. Nevertheless I also do not think that being a native speaker immediately makes a person good teacher but that's a different story.
Nevertheless if you are aiming for high paying jobs so you shall probably have another specialization.
Having then several years of experience (5-6) before coming to China together with speaking the language well can secure you quite a good job with salaries certainly above EU countries level.
When you then reach mid thirties, having over a decade of experience in and our of China so you can earn relatively big money.
My point was just to say that speaking one or two languages does not guarantee you a success anywhere.
As I am from non English speaking country so we are used to that we have to learn a foreign language (usually more than one as my country is small). And we also know that speaking two foreign languages is not enough to get a good job and earn nice money.
But I admit that this is an experience which majority of English speaking people may not have ...
Still then do not understand where is the aggressiveness of my initial post ...
sunderlandt:
Money isn't even on a comparable scale.
I have 7 years experience and you are talking crap if you really believe that.
It is some peoples Major at university to learn a foreign language. My ex girlfriend for example. She will then most likely work for the Australian government earning a decent wage. Your experience is not the only thing on the planet.
Your extreme passive aggressive attitude comes from all the ridiculous assumptions and generalizations you throw around without any information or conclusive evidence other than 'my experience'
Think why every user on this website argues with you.
gouxiong:
Well I do not think it's every user.
Usually these are the people to big extent frustrated as they came to foreign country, to certain extent learned the language (some of them) but are totally missing the culture of the country and the reasons behind the Chinese people behavioral patterns.
These people are then to the big extent lost and disoriented - probably from there is coming their negativity - but I also admit that some of their reactions more indicates plain stupidity ...
My experience is of course not everything.
But I can assure you that in business there is quite a demand for the young professionals who can understand the language and the Chinese environment. And the salaries the companies are paying are really not bad. But the person should be firstly skilled professional and only after that shall be able to speak foreign language (preferably two).
For one of my young, former colleague it took 2 months to find a job with the salary on par (or a bit higher) than she would be able to achieve in Australia and with lower living costs in China she is relatively rich.
My previous company is employing a young European guy who is now learning Chinese and paying him more than he would get back in Europe. But again - these people were already professional before coming to China, so it's their profession, experience and abilities what matters. If they manage Chinese so their salary will go plainly up.
If the person studies literature, history or language as such so such person will certainly find a job but anywhere in the world such professions rarely bring too much money. But the person must make own decision - for a lot of people the money are not that important and they are happy with their choice.
I even met some foreigners who are earning here just a bit more than are the local salaries level and they are happy here (also met those who are earning in millions of RMB per year and still unhappy) - everybody's choice.
Go on those awful television shows and have people laugh when you say 你好我是外国人.
sunderlandt:
I was serious and it actually happens. Also, useful is an opinion.
I don't know what's your profession. Appanrently with the ability to speak Chinese isn't enough to get job in most areas. If you are capable of speaking fluent Chinese and English(other languages),you may apply the interpretor job.
Technically,having the ability to speak Chinese can enable you to get a job deals with China and another country.
I am working on international sales and purchasing as a Chinese capable of speaking English and Chinese. But surely the language skill isn't enough to work on my job.
Stock trading and export and import type jobs and as well as Tech jobs or CEO assistant jobs and or business travel jobs.
Mattaya (Matty) Silva99 was banned for trolling a long long long time ago
yet he/she can still reel them in 
sorrel:
there are plenty of new (and older) trolls still hard at work on this site, making it useless for anyone who wants any helpful information about China.
I live in hope that it will one day soon be back to useful/interesting debates.
Language with skill = very very useful
Language by itself = useful but not for highly paid employment
jetfire9000:
Agree with this wholeheartedly. This explanation is much better than the oversimplified " language is just a tool" statement from our newest Wumao Guoxiong ( can't say I never heard that one before, it's another chinese type maxim that gets put into english like the coin with two sides) Language is a passion, but I don't expect flat math and science oriented types to see it that way all the time. There are definite lines of work with objectives mostly rooted in language. It's your mission to identify those. The humanities are broad so you definitely need to take some time with this. And with anything else, you can't get a job in your craft unless you are good at it. So be prepared for the investment.
Not sure what's the answer to this question if you take the visa into account.
I do happen to have over 7 years experience in business plus 4 languages including Chinese (far from perfect but enough to communicate consistently and read and write whatever I want). Every week I apply to dozens of job ads relevant to my experience - most of which I fulfill each and every requirement. I make sure to apply to ads written in English, by international companies who supposedly use the language on a daily basis. . .
After more than one year all I got is "sorry, you don't fulfill the requirements" mass-reply emails.
Once, I had a headhunter put me through to an entrepreneur who specifically wanted a foreigner to run his finance department and NOT a Chinese person - for performance reasons. Reasons he described and that my experience dealing with local employees confirms. However, the government would not authorize his company to hire a foreigner other than himself - as the only difference between them and us is that us laowais can speak (teach) English, right? - so I chose to wait a little longer. . .
. . . and here I am only a couple months away from packing and off to a country where I don't need a visa to work.
