For some people, working in China is actually "the" career, I mean, in terms of foreigners; for others, it's a stop-gap; it has not ruined my career as I am doing exactly what I did at home; in terms of returning home to continue doing the same job, no, that won't happen.  I intend to see the world before I return home.  I think that this is a case-by-case affair.

Yeah Miss A. I found that it was really easy to find a job when I came home in April and was working shortly after. That said, I wasn't as good as I used to be and it took a lot of work to get back up to par, I'm still not where I was when I left. 

I think most companies appreciate any foreign experience, it shows courage and initiative, plus gives you a better world understanding. All these things are useful in any job. 

This is a generalization that is mainly applied to foreign teachers working in China. Working here can certainly have a hugely detrimental effect on a professional career path if not managed correctly. The problem is that a substantial part of the Chinese ESL industry is so de-professionalized and the salary plus additional benefits are not perceived as typical ex-pat status. That begs the question of why people in the midst of their own career path would choose to do it.

Think about these points when you plan to return home. You have to give a convincing answer to your potential employer as to why you would come to a developing country, on a mediocre salary, with no real career prospects and no real other benefits. Answers do exist but you must think about them very carefully.

A young, newly graduated person can write a year or two off in China as just gaining life experience. Retired or semi retired people have no problem. The biggest group to fall into this trap are those between their late twenties and early forties. Why are they doing such a job when they should be career building back home?

The issue is the so called "lobster pot effect". That is to say, ESL in China can be very easy to get into but a nightmare to escape from. People come with a plan to do ESL teaching for a year or two then go home. But after a year or two, the opportunities to return do not exist. So they extend the stay which ends up year after year after year until they are well and truly trapped.

If you are a career minded person and wish to try ESL teaching for a year or two then come with a strong career development plan - then stick to it!

All of what I have said so far applies mainly to unqualified teachers who flood the Chinese ESL job market. Of course, if you're a qualified teacher working at an international school or top ranked university, the circumstances are different. China can easily be worked into a career ladder if that's the case. The same for ex-pats that work in China in other lines of business. For them, China can look a real plus on their career CV.

I found that the China experience helps get replies on my CV

and it still surprises me how often I get to use the language at work

I can not see how the time in China could hurt except as Nevermind   said

it will take time to bring your other work skills back up to where you need them.

Bye the way when are you coming to Brisbane?

As others said, it is case by case. For me, it has slowed down my career a bit, but I feel I have learnt some valuable things by being here in China that will help me to excel in my job when working back home.

I have also spent time upgrading and studying things related to my job back home, that will help greatly upon my return.

Personally, teaching was / is my second career, I started teaching at age 40 as an instructor in my previous career, found I loved teaching and went about getting my teaching qualifications.

I'm now approaching 50 and I'm teaching in China because this is where my wife's family still live, (mine have long since passed away), however, when my daughter is 12 we'll return to the UK, (education reasons), and by that time I'll be 60. I don't intend to retire so long as my health holds out, (I view retirement as the first step towards death), but appreciate jobs for 60 year old male teachers in the UK may be hard to find. C'est la vie. If I cannot find employment I may just go back to Uni, take up physics (cosmology) , or philosophy, as both interest me.

A big long relevant experience gap hurt my career, but it's an industry where experience is more important than education to many employers. I got a job pretty quickly, but it was a green-thumb type job that involved lower pay and a lot of grunt work (writing endless, mindless simple scripts for senior programmers). Then, when I showed my abilities bit I got moved into something basically equivalent of what I was doing before I came to China at slightly less pay.

When I first moved back to Canada and was doing interviews, the thinking was that China/teaching was an interesting little side note about me, but no one seemed to think less of me for it.

On the contrary if an entrepreneur comes here with the right idea they could make a fortune.

Employers need to hire people on who they are and what they can do. Not about what's written on a piece of paper.