Tired of doing ESL? Want to try something else in China?

Tired of doing ESL? Want to try something else in China?
Robk Jan 14, 2014 13:17

I was in this boat after teaching in China for a few years. Just felt trapped.

 

Not all of us are cut out to be English teachers. And many of the establishments in the ESL industry are either greedy training centers or totally unorganized public establishments with 50-100 kids in one classroom that prefer to sleep. Universities aren’t bad, and if I stayed in ESL… this would have been my choice. The only drawback for teaching in universities is the low compensation.  

 

I think we can all agree that the cost of living is rising significantly but the conditions of the ESL salary in China have pretty much remained stagnant.

 

Not wanting to go back home because of a Chinese wife, I thought about finding another type of career in one of the larger cities. However, my wife and I are not really interested in living in top-tier cities and also, finding those types of jobs is becoming quite rare. So I had to find something outside the box.

 

Basically, I taught myself some skills online (UI/UX design, etc.) and found out that if you get good enough, people are willing to pay via online freelance marketplaces. I started doing this part-time while still teaching ESL to test the waters. In some time, the part-time work started to match my ESL salary and eventually I quit ESL to put all my energy into freelancing.

 

Fast forward to today (a few years later) and now I run a small online business that makes six digits (USD). I work wherever I want and I choose my clients. Most importantly, it is all within my control and not some incompetent fool that was only my boss because he had rich parents or had “guan xi”.

 

You might be wondering how you can do this and still stay in China. What about the visa right? Here are a few ways you can handle that situation:

1)    Family Visa (which is the route I have taken, if you are married)

2)    Purchase a visa from a company (usually 5-10k RMB)

3)    Business Visa (possibly have to make runs to and from HK)

4)    Student visa (you can study Chinese while you work)

 

There are many ways around it. And since you are not technically making your money in China through illegal methods, they don’t really care. If you have connections in your city, this will make things a lot smoother.

 

What I did wasn’t anything special at all. There are millions of online freelancers already and companies are seeking out the good ones. Saves them money and they have access to the world’s talent, rather than just local. Stay in China, leave China… travel… it doesn’t matter. All you need is an internet connection.

 

When I speak to foreigners and Chinese about it, they have no clue what I do or how I do it. But they all wish they had a similar job. So that gave me the idea to create a kit to help people who want to follow the same methods I have. Initially though, you need to have or learn a skill that is in demand.

 

That should be easy, because ESL teachers have a TON of free time!

 

You also have a back-up plan in the event you have to leave China and you got a skill that you can turn into a job when you go back home or just continue to find clients online. This is a huge safety net. What are you doing to do when you go back home? Teach English?

You can sell your skills online as long as they are ANYTHING that have to do with computers, such as website design, graphic design, business consulting, marketing, sales, coding, legal matters, proof reading and editing passages, writing blogs, customer service… and on and on.

 

This kit I did up called “The Home Freelancer” includes a guide, some procedural documents for communication, excel templates and a few videos. It is a project of mine and the idea came when I saw so many others wishing they had the same lifestyle I have. I am not going to go too much into that, you can check the links below in the comments (not sure if they will be deleted, I hope not cause I think it will help out a lot of depressed expats)… If you love ESL and you work in an awesome place, I am happy for you.

 

If you want to do your own thing, make your own money and do it from anywhere. I invite you to take a look. 

 

Tags:Visa & Legalities Teaching & Learning Business & Jobs Lifestyle

7 Comments

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coineineagh

I sent this message to your site, but I'll repost it here. (BTW, you should add a 'message sent' notification in your contact section) The first time i saw you mention this was in the Answers section, and *boy* did you get ridiculed for it. I looked at your website, and a potentially life-changing career kit for less than 300yuan is either a bargain, or a fairly harmless scam. Don't raise the price just coz I said it, now. I want to read it. Are you in China? Can I pay you via Chinese Bank? I have aspirations of starting a bakery in my wife's county, but I also face the problem of getting into Britain with my 2 kids in the future with no useful training or experience (I'm a Brit who lived in Holland my entire adult life). Web editing may be the solution to all my problems. I know a guy in my city who sells his web skills online, so I'll ask him for input in the future, too. I'd also be interested to hear what you'd recommend me: I'm thinking of offering Chinese companies "internationalization" services, updating or creating a website in English for them. Does that sound profitable? Thanks for any advice.

Feb 06, 2014 19:52 Report Abuse

Robk

Hey, Sorry been in travel since Spring Festival. Yup, I am in China and sure I can accept payments via other methods. I remember reading that you wanted to open a bakery (a good idea). I will send you a personal message soon. Thinking outside the box seems to be the only way to get out. Even the freelancer business (which I mentioned is what my kit teaches), has grown by 10 fold users (1 000 000 to 10 000 000) on many sites I frequent. Anyway, talk soon.

Feb 08, 2014 13:30 Report Abuse

coineineagh

here's my latest question about it: http://answers.echinacities.com/question/any-tips-help-me-start-freelancing I'm going to speak to my programmer friend this evening; he's giving me some starter info on a memory stick. He suggests that full-time computer science study might not be the best way to develop my skills due to my busy life, so I'll listen to his suggestions. He says that if it all goes well, expecting a 15-20k income is quite reasonable. We'll see.

Feb 08, 2014 13:59 Report Abuse

hbwoodburn

Hi I am interested in becoming a physical therapist who is also studies Chinese and East Asian History. I was wondering what you think the situation of the medical field in China is for expats and what opportunities it presents. Thanks!

Jan 29, 2014 22:45 Report Abuse

expatlife26

I can give a little bit of insight into this, but by no means is this definitive so take it as being strictly "in my experience". I have met a few western doctors working at the international clinics in Shanghai, their situation is that they were private practice doctors in the west and were hired by these clinics to come here. That being said, they function more as consultants than as licensed medical practitioners, regardless of their specialty and licensure back home. They can diagnose and make recommendations (which are followed pro-forma) to a Chinese doctor who actually has the authority to do something. I have met ONE guy (a european) who was actually licensed to practice medicine here (i.e. perform surgery, issue prescriptions on his own name and authority) and to do so he had to take a license exam which is NOT offered in any written language but chinese. So...it's possible to become a doctor here but it's not likely unless you can pass a written medical exam in Chinese (and be able to pass a medical exam period).

Feb 01, 2014 16:21 Report Abuse

expatlife26

This is good advice. Definitely should be spending your free time learning skills. From my experience, high-level computer skills are WAY more important than Chinese language. I said this in my own blog too...I have NEVER met a single expat who got what I would consider a "good career" (defined as something that you can take home with you and qualify as middle class in the west) as something like a chinese major, a foreigner who can speak chinese but has no other tangible skills or experience. It just doesn't seem to happen, though im happy to be proven wrong. The jobs that I have seen available to people like that are basically a white face for a customer service role. Is that worth a two year time commitment? Tangible skills...that's what people need to have to open doors for them. Whether as a salaryman like myself or someone more entrepreneurial like Robk.

Jan 28, 2014 09:52 Report Abuse

Robk

You can find this website for advancing your skills: wwww.eclasses.org They offer about 50+ online courses. And for The Home Freelancer here: www.thehomefreelancer.com The guide I was speaking about.

Jan 14, 2014 19:19 Report Abuse