For the sake of argument, let’s just say that you want the China experience and don’t care about the money. Unfortunately for you, Chinese companies and foreign companies do not hire foreigners in China; they hire Chinese passports holders, sometimes American Born Chinese (ABCs), and – even more rare – high-level expat management, and only because of their expertise. Whether it is Goldman Sachs, BCG, or a random Chinese company, they all want to hire Chinese locals, who, unlike the majority of foreigners who speak OK Chinese, can actually read and write. It makes sense right? After all, this is China and Chinese people in theory should know how to make things happen best, at least the Chinese way. Any local person speaks better Chinese than you (no matter how many classes you have taken or tours you have been on) and locals simply understand the culture better than any foreigner. Locals can read legal contracts. And they can navigate complex bureaucratic paperwork and bank procedures. So, I ask, why would anyone hire a foreigner?
Some argue that if the Chinese economy continues to grow at 8-10%, then more and more Chinese companies might be willing to hire foreigners at internationally competitive compensation, including those who have the know-how (i.e. English writing skills or basic marketing knowledge for Western consumers) to assist companies enter foreign markets. The point is that right now Chinese and foreign companies in China don’t want foreign labor. For example, a good friend of mine had an interview with a Senior Executive in Beijing. Aware of the majority of foreign companies based in China, the first thing he said to her after showing a list of 100 companies was: “See all these companies? None of them want to hire you.”
Of course it would be smart if more Chinese companies would take on more foreigners to help them liaise with foreign manufacturers, retailers, or competitors, but at this stage, these positions are rare, and generally underpaid. If the economy does continue to grow at 8-10%, then jobs outside of China that require an applicant to have a working knowledge of China and Mandarin will certainly be more common. I’ve been convinced for years that there are numerous jobs that will be created for people with China experience and fluent Mandarin because of China’s growth, but these jobs are NOT in China.
Now give or take, some people will make a joke out of this situation, like the white guy who works at the Starbucks at Dongsishitiao (a neighborhood in Beijing). This is cool. But seriously, other than writing a book, what are you going to get from doing all kind of joke jobs, being underpaid and underemployed for some Chinese startup whose Harvard MBA Chinese CEO is hiring English speaking foreigners for milk money? The idealistic wish of your average Joe working in Beijing for milk-money that ‘this will all pay off some day’ is not happening. Let me tell you: you will get absolutely nothing.
From experience, I can tell you that if and when the miracle happens, when you get a job in Chinese company,
you are alienated. You will be a foreigner working among all those Beijing University top graduates. You will try very hard to eat with them and socialize and make friends. But you will forever be the foreigner and there will be a lot of misunderstandings. Yes, it is going to be a very unique and interesting experience. Just remember life is not a dress rehearsal and this is never truer than when you are working for a Multinational Corporation in China. So how can anyone win? Well that is just it. No one wins and you are not likely to be any different. Again, a few foreigners set a different example, but I would look at the vast majority. Companies like Groupon are hiring dozens of foreigners for their Chinese operations once in a decade, not once a year – so forget about something like that happening again.
Finally, let us run through common misconceptions about China and debunk certain myths that people have used as an excuse to still come in spite of everything I have said above. 1) China is cheap; 2) The culture is fascinating; 3) There are so many awesome people in China; 4) The city is not that polluted; 5) Learning mandarin is cool; 6) It is easy to get a work visa.
China is Cheap
Correction, China is not cheap in major urban centers. Living in Chinese cities like Beijing was once cheap; however, now the only way to live cheaply in Beijing is if you are willing to prostitute your life and live like a dog, renting a soviet-style apartment that was never up to western standards and has fallen even further behind in the thirty years since being built. To live cheaply one needs to eat only local food and drink only Chinese beer from convenient stores. In fact, for years, I have done this – eaten at hole-in-wall Chinese restaurants, snacked on 2 RMB Chinese lamb kabobs, and consumed only Tsingdao or Yanjing beers – and I loved it, but be warned it is not the health or taste equivalent to Mom’s home-cooked meals. (There is one only thing in major urban centers that is still truly cheap – cigarettes. If saving a few dollars on your smoking habit is of great importance to you, then China is the place for you.) What the cost of living basically boils down to is this: in order to live a “western” lifestyle in China, you have got to have money. Western style apartments with conveniences like an oven, shower stalls, or curved pipes (to keep smells out) are expensive and western style food is not cheap either (and don’t get me started on imported cheeses). To live somewhat comfortably and compromise only somewhat in regards to quality of life, you will easily burn through $3000 USD a month. This figure is assuming that one still eats and drinks local products that are cheap. I have known only a few people here who have saved money; far more often the story is of a stranded bankrupt calling his or her parents to borrow money for a plane ticket home.
The Culture is Fascinating
It is not that the culture isn’t fascinating; it’s just that you will not get it. You will not understand the culture and you will not have many Chinese friends. You will have three and it will take three years to generate these friendships. I am not talking about the Chinese who have previously spent ten years studying or working in the US, but about locals without any foreign experience - the people whom so many foreigners are eager to know. Even if you do have a few local friends, there will always be a canyon that is unbridgeable. There is a cultural gap and no amount of understanding and interest can ever truly bridge this. This gap is only overcome when both individuals have spent time in each other’s countries. This type of match is rare. For most foreigners eager to explore Chinese culture and make ‘real’ Chinese local friends, what ends up happening – after coping with initial culture shock and the daily frustrations of an inefficient society – is that they hang out solely with other expats at local coffee shops and bars. Maybe you think you are different, and maybe you are. But I have been here long enough to realize that patterns and norms are patterns and norms for a reason. People say that coming to China is a great strategic move. But this is because a) they haven’t really thought about it. They just say it because they dislike silence and want to be polite; and b) they are looking at the longer term. If pressed, I’d be surprised if they thought a college graduate faced better prospects in China than their home country. It’s no secret that it’s difficult to assimilate into Chinese culture.
The Awesome People Living in China
There are awesome expats in China – undoubtedly. And if one wants to come spend a year hanging out, it can be fun. However, because these communities are very transient, like any expat community should be, one has to constantly make new friends. The only alternative to the hard work that it takes to constantly make new friends is to hang out with those people who have planted themselves in China. You don’t want to become “one of those people.” Who are they and how does one avoid them? Basically the expats who must be avoided at all costs are losers in their home country who are unable to get laid in their own social setting. They end up coming to China to sleep with Chinese girls and then never leave. Twelve years later these people are talking about the good old days of China. Your friends will be the academics, journalists and hipsters that only chose to be here for a few years. And you will need to create new friendships every year or so. Pretty easy process for social butterfly like you, but still very time consuming.
The City is Not That Polluted
Just because the Olympics were here does not mean that Beijing is not the most dangerous city for one’s health in the world. In moving to Beijing, just remember you are moving to one of the most polluted cities the world. Staying indoors doesn’t even help. Your lungs will be upset with you. The world health organization just created a new threat level for the air quality. Trust me, it is really bad (i.e. Crazy bad!). While some friends here, including myself, don’t think twice about the dark grey clouds that settle on this city in the early morning, people must remember that it exists. And, with James Fallows
posting that the fine particulate concentration can take 5-6 years off your life, you can’t forget the choice you are making in moving here. While the fog might not kill you, the fine pollution particles that float in it will, whether you care or not!
Learning and Speaking Mandarin is Cool
Yes it is - it is really cool. In fact, learning Mandarin is awesome. But again, what about your life? In the time I have put into learning the mandarin language, I could have probably learned how to become a solid quant trader. I have nothing against learning new languages. In fact, I have learned four and I have many friends who speak extremely good mandarin. But let me just say, the better the person’s mandarin level, the better the chances that he or she has already left or will leave China after a few years. A person intelligent enough to reach a truly high level is intelligent enough to realize that China is not a place for a foreigner long-term.
Work Visas are Easy
Working visas are
not easy to come by – people under 25 years of age are not eligible for a work visa, according to the Chinese law, even if they find a job. Just FYI. What’s more, two years of work experience at minimum is required of those who meet the age requirements. Then there is the whole problem of expiration dates and you having to leave the country (Hong Kong) in order to get it renewed or using a service. The long and short of work visas is: it’s a pain.
But Beijing is cool! There are so many artisans and hipsters – true! The scholars, journalists, writers and cabaret singers, together with ultimate Frisbee players and choir boys are all having a blast! And, by hanging out with them you will have a blast, too. If you want to come to Beijing, hang out for a year and basically have a blast – then do it. There are amazing things happening here every day and amazing people filtering in and out. Just don’t expect there to be huge business or career opportunities. Before coming, one needs to sit down and think long and hard about what s/he wants out of a Chinese experience. If you are happy to have fun for a year, meet new friends, and hang out in a wildly diverse environment, then by all means come. If, however, you have a career development expectation and will be disappointed if it isn’t met, then I can only advise you to think again – you will most likely be disappointed, and many of my friends found this to be the case after a few years in China.