Hello all, I am a Charterholder based in NYC with about 9 years experience in derivatives, structured products, and operations. I want to move to Shanghai in the next few months. Times were tough and I am consulting for a large NY based bank at the moment after a longer stint being unemployed. What is the likelihood of finding a reasonable job (to support a family there) for an American who doesn’t speak Mandarin? Thanks
you can be hired as a white-guy-in-a-suit, very big demand ! http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/06/14/why-china-wants-to-rent-a-white-guy/
^If they pay that for doing nothing, think of what I could get for actually adding value…
Those “for-hires” only get paid next to nothing, cant really survive for a day in Shanghai. On a serious note, with the way things are now that you are more likely to find a job in Shanghai than in NYC. Fortunately, there are many Chinese firms constantly looking for people with experience in major markets. But these positions are advertised though “connections” it can be hard to spot if you dont have the social network here. If you do find an ad online, your experience in NYC is a big advantage. if you are a blonde Causasion male, that helps too. Things work very different here, so dont get offended if your expertise is totally ignored or you find that you have very little responsibility. It may not be the case, but it may very well be. Having said that, your chance of finding a job with a local firm is very slim if they dont advertise online. Shanghai has struck me as a very peculiar city in a sense that there are so many tiers in its urban “ecosystem”. The living cost can be expensive or next to nothing. If you want to live like a “white guy” who only socialises with other “white guys”, Shanghai can cost as much as NYC if not more. If you are willing to experience new culture and accepting the Chinese lifestyle, its a very manageable city to live in. The way salary works is strange too. There are two major “tiers”, or “local pay” and “global pay” as the new graduates refer to colloquially. Obviously you want to be paid at the global rate and NOT the local rate, apparently the difference is about 10 fold (but I dont have any evidence to substantiate that). Start looking for jobs when you are in the US and see what kind of offer you might get so you get. DO NOT get there then look for jobs, the fact that you are in the US is one of your biggest wager, once you are over there, they automatically think that you are desperate for it, you dont get as much of a good offer. Having said all that, I have not worked in Shanghai before and what I have said is purely based from what I have heard from friends who work there and anecdotes on the internet. It may not be all that accurate.
OP, Chances are little to none that you will be hired without a background in Mandarin. Even with Mandarin it is a difficult transition to make, with quite a few major hurdles in finding someone to hire, obtaining work permit, etc.
Check out the tax implications as well- you should be able to claim Chinese income taxes as tax credits rather than deductions for the US, but would be wise to verify this first as it can have a significant effect on after-tax pay.
he is a white guy in Shanghai. He will have no problem getting hired. He will have to learn how to defend against all the chicks that will be flocking to him as well. shanghai loves white guys and given your experience, the sky is the limit. dude, i wouldn’t go if i were you. you would be sexually worked out so much that you won’t be able to use it for a looooooong time.
I agree with all reply but, FrankArbia is exactly correct…unfortunately
I am quite concerned with not knowing Mandarin. Will this factor eliminate me from the job market? The one saving grace is that I will try to get an internal transfer through my present company. I have been told they are looking to expand significantly in Shanghai and given that there are very few people currently in the office there, it might work in my favor to have someone from the US office moving there. Although, this may just be wishful thinking on my part. As for being “Worked Out” not really an option for me, as I am definitely moving there with my spouse and two kids…
sallyseashells Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I am quite concerned with not knowing Mandarin. > Will this factor eliminate me from the job market? > The one saving grace is that I will try to get an > internal transfer through my present company. I > have been told they are looking to expand > significantly in Shanghai and given that there are > very few people currently in the office there, it > might work in my favor to have someone from the US > office moving there. Although, this may just be > wishful thinking on my part. > > As for being “Worked Out” not really an option for > me, as I am definitely moving there with my spouse > and two kids… We have a situation here… ok, the wife has to go. you can visit them on vacations and on a biweekly basis. With technology these days, you don’t have to be in the same continent to stay in touch anyways. Don’t worry about your mandarin. the girls know how to speak english. it is just liek in eastern europe, “you like?..”…
Honest question… don’t they speak Shanghainese in Shanghai?
justin88 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Honest question… don’t they speak Shanghainese > in Shanghai? The natives do, but even the Chinese from different provinces can’t understand Shanghainese. Mandarin is increasingly penetrating China, just about everyone under 30 can speak Mandarin (tv stations broadcast in mandarin, not regional dialects). sally- no I don’t believe not knowing mandarin will eliminate you from the job market. If you pick up a few words they will be thrilled to see you try, and very few westerners are fluent enough to conduct complex business in Chinese anyways.
No need for Mandarin. Especially in finance, you probably would only work with foreign customers, who wouldn’t speak a word in Mandarin. There are companies which provide investment consulting services for expats. Just an idea. It’s still cheap, so most probably you will raise your life standards by a notch, luxury 5-star brunches with free flow alcohol every weekend, champagne on the 88th floor bar, a chauffeur, a cook, a babysitter and an every day cleaning, taxis for a 100 meter distance, and all that for a junior expat, or even a student. Well, a student usually does not have a car, and even some expats are not given a car with a chauffeur. And juniors usually don’t have kids, hence no babysitter. Everything else is affordable.
Having some nostalgia here. Count in inflation, I can quote only 2005 prices. 100 us dollars per month cash is a salary of a full-time highly trained home assistant, who would keep the exact amount of beer in the fridge you need and clean your shoes the way you want 50 dollars the best buffet brunch in town, best champagne free flow. Regular one costs 30 dollars, but still 5- star hotel, free flow of champagne, 4 kinds of buffets, including best seafood, any alcohol 20 dollars, and still the same price, all you can eat high quality Japanese restaurants, and importantly all you can drink as well, sake, beer, liquor. They give you exactly 3 hours from 7 till 10pm to get drunk and crawl out. “All you can eat” is ordered a la carte, and cooked on the spot. Delicious. Still the same price, I checked last year 3 dollars per person for a dinner in a Chinese place, very traditional, very simple. Delicious food. Important: to go with a bunch of people, at least 5, order a lot of food and beer, half of that will be left because it is impossible to finish, even beer. Also important to know the place, there are too many not so good restaurants of this type. Tourists definitely don’t go there. 1.5 dollars is a minimum taxi charge, and it includes 3km. Basically maximum you pay within the city centre with traffic is 4 dollars. I remember I paid 1.5 dollars almost anywhere.
^^ Does the home assistant (just a maid, right?) stay in your house or just come and work a few hours a day?
That one would be an invisible worker, she would come when nobody’s home. Supposedly 6 hours per day
Yep, Chinese beer, good quality by the way. A bottle 0.7 liter costs 30 us dollar cents at the supermarket. You can return the bottle for 10 cents, but who would bother? However in correct restaurants they charge 20 cents, discounting the bottle
I’ve never seen a maid that quality again, so I raised her rank. Now I have a Spanish one, not so good
Valores & Sundevl21, Thank you so much for the very helpful insight. I won’t be overly discouraged as of this point and I will keep plugging away in my search. Is it possible to have either of your emails to discuss some points in further detail? Thanks again for all the helpful info.
Sally is giong to be pimping it up in Shanghai…