Chiming in with my experience, I taught English in Beijing this past summer (lived there 3 months, tutored throughout and worked at a school the last one). Being 19 I was with my university’s language study abroad program for the first two months, but stayed in the country on my own after the program ended. I would have had a very tough time starting off on my own but after a month I felt comfortable enough to be fully independent.
Pros:
Good pay even by American standards. 150 RMB/hr roughly equals $25/hr, and if you set up one-on-one tutoring instead of working with a school, you can easily charge 300 RMB/hr with pretty much 0 qualifications. I felt guilty at first for not having real experience to back up my teaching, but eventually realized that native English speakers are in such short supply that it’s worth it to them simply to have someone to have a conversation with in English.
Everything’s incredibly cheap. You could survive on a 20RMB/hr salary (alibiet not well) if you were frugal. Your foreigner salary is going to give you plenty of money to have fun with, live a high standard of living, and have a lot left over. This also means you won’t have to spend nearly as much time working to support yourself as you might otherwise.
Oh god the food.
People have been asking on LW for a while for a good, rational way to make money. This fits the bill perfectly if you’re willing to relocate—good money, nonexistant barrier to entry, plenty of time left to persue what you want, and, depending on how much you like kids/how much effort you put in, has the potential to be very rewarding.
Cons:
Language/culture barrier. One of the most isolating things was the loss of the ability to make small talk, not being able to strike up friendly everyday conversation with people around you. Luckily there will be a lot of foreigners in the large cities.
Smaller social network. Your friends will be almost exclusively other expats, and it will be difficult to branch out.
The pollution will be worse than anything you’ve ever experienced before. Los Angeles is considered polluted in the US, it’s absolutely nothing compared to China. I’ve seen estimates that living in a major city like Beijing takes off 1.6 years (thanks MileyCyrus) over the course of your life. Of course, the fact that 95% of Chinese men smoke might be a confounding factor.
Weak safety net. Your family and friends are thousands of miles away, China has a tenuous political future (I don’t anticipate it purposefully going to war against a US ally but the flashpoints are all there, plus there’s going to be hell to pay when the housing bubble collapses), and a plane ticket back is at best $1000. Make sure you have that money saved before you go.
Neutral
Life will be about 5x easier and 2x cheaper if you can speak a little Chinese already. When bargaining, the price automatically halved when I replied in Chinese. (You won’t bargain most the time. Where this comes in handy is negotiating rent, wages, and buying in tourist traps. Stores have set prices marked.)
White skin is an enormous bonus. In pay, assumed English ability, and protection from harassment.
Recreational drugs are very illegal.
Can’t comment on the local dating situation, I was with a girl who was also travelling for the summer.
All this said, I highly recommend trying this if it’s something that interests you and you feel like stepping away from it all and doing something a little crazy. I fully enjoyed it and though I was definitely ready to head back to the States at the end of it, I fully plan on going back again. Feel free to message me with any questions.
I am looking into teaching in Shanghai.
I know nothing of the area. Am wanting to know if it is suited to myself.
Is there lots to do outdoors there?
How is the weather?
Is it very english friendly?
How is the subway/metro system?
How is it for using foreign visa cards?
Would love to hear your feedback.
Chiming in with my experience, I taught English in Beijing this past summer (lived there 3 months, tutored throughout and worked at a school the last one). Being 19 I was with my university’s language study abroad program for the first two months, but stayed in the country on my own after the program ended. I would have had a very tough time starting off on my own but after a month I felt comfortable enough to be fully independent.
Pros:
Good pay even by American standards. 150 RMB/hr roughly equals $25/hr, and if you set up one-on-one tutoring instead of working with a school, you can easily charge 300 RMB/hr with pretty much 0 qualifications. I felt guilty at first for not having real experience to back up my teaching, but eventually realized that native English speakers are in such short supply that it’s worth it to them simply to have someone to have a conversation with in English.
Everything’s incredibly cheap. You could survive on a 20RMB/hr salary (alibiet not well) if you were frugal. Your foreigner salary is going to give you plenty of money to have fun with, live a high standard of living, and have a lot left over. This also means you won’t have to spend nearly as much time working to support yourself as you might otherwise.
Oh god the food.
People have been asking on LW for a while for a good, rational way to make money. This fits the bill perfectly if you’re willing to relocate—good money, nonexistant barrier to entry, plenty of time left to persue what you want, and, depending on how much you like kids/how much effort you put in, has the potential to be very rewarding.
Cons:
Language/culture barrier. One of the most isolating things was the loss of the ability to make small talk, not being able to strike up friendly everyday conversation with people around you. Luckily there will be a lot of foreigners in the large cities.
Smaller social network. Your friends will be almost exclusively other expats, and it will be difficult to branch out.
The pollution will be worse than anything you’ve ever experienced before. Los Angeles is considered polluted in the US, it’s absolutely nothing compared to China. I’ve seen estimates that living in a major city like Beijing takes off 1.6 years (thanks MileyCyrus) over the course of your life. Of course, the fact that 95% of Chinese men smoke might be a confounding factor.
Weak safety net. Your family and friends are thousands of miles away, China has a tenuous political future (I don’t anticipate it purposefully going to war against a US ally but the flashpoints are all there, plus there’s going to be hell to pay when the housing bubble collapses), and a plane ticket back is at best $1000. Make sure you have that money saved before you go.
Neutral
Life will be about 5x easier and 2x cheaper if you can speak a little Chinese already. When bargaining, the price automatically halved when I replied in Chinese. (You won’t bargain most the time. Where this comes in handy is negotiating rent, wages, and buying in tourist traps. Stores have set prices marked.)
White skin is an enormous bonus. In pay, assumed English ability, and protection from harassment.
Recreational drugs are very illegal.
Can’t comment on the local dating situation, I was with a girl who was also travelling for the summer.
All this said, I highly recommend trying this if it’s something that interests you and you feel like stepping away from it all and doing something a little crazy. I fully enjoyed it and though I was definitely ready to head back to the States at the end of it, I fully plan on going back again. Feel free to message me with any questions.
EDIT: Tagging this post with the keyword Optimal Employment.
Shanghai only takes 1.6 years off your life. (pdf)
Hey everyone!
I am looking into teaching in Shanghai. I know nothing of the area. Am wanting to know if it is suited to myself. Is there lots to do outdoors there? How is the weather? Is it very english friendly? How is the subway/metro system? How is it for using foreign visa cards? Would love to hear your feedback.
Thanks!