Basically, I don’t want to be an engineer in the US, but I have no choice but to go to college in the US due to my situation. What would I need to do to take steps toward working abroad? Preferably in China. I can imagine learning Chinese is a must, but what about citizenship and other things?
EDIT: Also, what other options you want to suggest?
You’ll definitely want Chinese language ability. The good news is that Mandarin is not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be. There is a pretty steep initial learning curve as you get used to a tonal language, but it actually gets a lot easier (and more fun, imo) after that period. Grammar is extremely straightforward, especially for an English speaker.
Citizenship isn’t incredibly easy, but neither is it totally impossible. China does not recognize dual citizenships, so you would need to renounce your existing citizenship. Assuming you are USian, that is a headache in itself (and will cost you a good chunk of money to do). Honestly this would be something that could come after the job. Get a job, move to China, eventually get permanent residency. You could move from PR to citizenship eventually, but that’s going to be something that happens after you have lived in China a very long time. Permanent Residency will give you many of the benefits of citizenship. If you are married to a Chinese national, have relatives there, or can prove Chinese descent the process becomes a lot easier.
As far as the job prospects. Engineering is obviously a sought after position, but also a very competitive field. Your language ability and cultural knowledge will obviously never be as good as a native person in China, so you’d need to offer something that locals didn’t already. Otherwise why would a company want to hire you instead of giving the job to a Chinese citizen. Like darkcalling mentioned, some kind of very specialized niche would be best.
There is also the possibility of working in an international company that might transfer you there, especially if you have language skills already. My company’s regional head offices are there, and I have been angling for a transfer the past year or so as I brush up on my Chinese.
There is also the possibility of working in an international company that might transfer you there, especially if you have language skills already.
There is risk with this move though in the years that follow.
Why? The US is seeking a decoupling and sanctions war on China that will likely mirror their moves against Russia which could easily prompt many western companies to pull out of China or reduce presence dramatically at which point OP you’d be scrambling against all your co-workers including native Chinese to get a job to be able to stay in China.
Of course China might mirror Russia’s moves to absorb some of these companies in counter-sanctions but there’s no guarantee that they’ll go out of their way to protect and keep western workers who after all are largely white/western chauvinists who aren’t particularly pro-China in most cases. Having permanent residency by this point means you’d be more likely be kept on, lacking it means it’s easier for them to dismiss you and focus on their own people and problems.
Think that US corporate interests will stop such a plan? Maybe. Maybe not. The biggest companies in the US were trying to do business and expand into the USSR and had money to gain but the US government blocked them and threatened them. It denied them the right to make profit from an enemy to hurt that enemy. Just as it has done successfully with Russia. They’ll put up so many measures that inflict compliance requirements and costs and roadblocks and just plain distractions and tariffs that most western companies will choose to voluntarily exit or draw-down presence greatly I believe.
I believe this will be over an instigated, US-led Taiwan declaration of independence that they will prompt their obedient puppets there in the DPP to make which will lead to either a mainland invasion or severe coercive measures that are adequate for the US to portray China as a bad guy threatening a good guy democracy and rally the "garden’ of Europe on the side of liberalism with them to do to China what they now do to Russia. As we’ve seen with Russia it won’t be complete or sudden but gradual turning of screws which prompts companies for ideological and financial reasons to leave. One must also remember things like Epstein, the point of which is to have compromising material on business leaders that government can leverage in instances like this to force them to act in the way they desire. And of course open government blackmail that companies can either do business with the US or China which prompts them to leave to save their larger western government contracts.
It’s possible this won’t actually happen but there are a lot of planners and people trying to make it happen and making the moves setting the stage for it happening so if that’s your way to China I’d say don’t slack on getting permanent residency as soon as possible.
I have a stupid question. I doubt that this would make a big difference, but like, if my grandma is like 2 percent Chinese, would that help my family and I get citizenship, even slightly?
Very unlikely it would make any real difference. Even if your parents were Chinese, if they had naturalized to another country it wouldn’t guarantee your ability to get citizenship (though if they had retained Chinese citizenship then yes, you would get citizenship).
I figured that would be the case, but good to know. Do you mind if I keep in touch and ask you any questions I come up with?
By all means, feel free. Just so you know I do not [yet] live in China myself either, but I am happy to provide what information I have.
Ahhh the tones! So fucking hard. I haven’t studied Chinese, but another tonal language and it is the biggest roadblock for me. I can learn the grammar and the script, but I feel like I’ll never be able to choose the right tones when speaking.
From what I’ve read, don’t worry too much about it. Tones come naturally, eventually.
I hope so! I tend to think I’m just tone deaf :(
Yes but you will have steep competition in China unless it’s highly specialize
I don’t think American citizens can work (unless it’s volunteer work or tourism) or live in Cuba (unless married to a Cuban person, but they do recognize same-sex marriage). Iirc the US doesn’t let you buy property in Cuba or trade with Cuban companies due to the Embargo. I believe China is much easier, the only major problem is the language barrier.
Presumably the cuba option is predicated on cutting ties with the US, though it’s bad for other reasons unless you can get to Cuba with a significant amount of machinery, fuel, and food
Cuba is under embargo. They’re not able to just welcome and take tons of random people who want to live there so I really, really would not count on that happening. They’re a country that has been struggling in the face of US imperialism and embargo for half a century, they’ve recently had wide-spread power outages again, moving there will not help their situation.
China on the other hand is not in the same boat. Learning Chinese is indeed a bare minimum I’d think. As to citizenship, it’s near impossible to get for the average person. The best you can realistically hope for is permanent residency status which gives you most of the rights of a citizen without any political rights and certain others. You can get that after living there for a certain amount of time and applying for it or by marrying a national.
Of the two China is the more realistic plan but understand that China has tons and tons of engineering graduates, it’s a very popular discipline so competition will be very steep and getting a job there on that basis could be tough. I’d recommend having some other angle, a very specialized discipline, perhaps something the west is slightly ahead of China on or something that’s just come into vogue and will have increasing demand but hasn’t hit it quite yet.
And as others mentioned your pay will be much lower than in the US (lower cost of living makes up for it), if you have student loans you need to consider you may never be able to pay them off even with decades of work in China, though as others mentioned if you can move to China, get permanent residence status, renounce your US citizenship and/or simply never return to the US it may not matter if you never pay them off but realize if something goes wrong, if your plans don’t work out and you end up back in the US things could be very rough for you if you have loans you haven’t paid anything into and they go after you.
What suggestions you have besides engineering that could bring benefit to China? I want to secure a job and actually contribute towards something. I’m a bit at a crossroads with this now :(
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Accord_(credentials)
Washington accord includes China.
Yes but it would be much cheaper to get the degree from somewhere else. Don’t expect to be paid enough in USD in Cuba or China to pay off your university debt, unless you intend on never repaying it ;)
if u leave the US and never want to go back u can 100% just not pay it.
Wait… really? How does that work?
By not going back
Short answer: Credit Scores are a US thing and dont exist elsewhere. And they cant come after money you have in a bank in another country.
If you don’t reside or bank in the US, how are the loan servicers going to make you pay? They can’t. You wouldn’t have trouble visiting the US, but if you were to to live here, you’d have trouble getting loans or credit cards or apartment leases, etc, because your US social credit score (AKA credit rating) would still haunt you. Missed Student Loan Payments Will Hurt Your Credit Again. What to Know.
Not to mention the possibility of wage garnishment and bank levies.
If you’re at it, borrow copious amounts from banks that have zero branches within China
moving to another country is very expensive so what id do is have as much credit card available credit as u can and use them to cover expenses when u first move
