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Ask HN: Is it difficult for non-Chinese to work in China?

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Re: Ask HN: Is it difficult for non-Chinese to work in China?

#21

Post by raihansaputra »

fao_ wrote: post #20
cleric wrote: post #11

Hello. Im a Swedish Sofware engineer and I have been working in Beijing for the last ~4 years. As others have pointed out, China is huge, and I have no experience from working in Hongkong or Shanghai where the vibe is more international, or so they say. So what to expect? Smooth sailing, as long as you can deliver. There is a lot of companies that value English speakers in general, so dont be surprised if you get pam…

Hm, I'm curious: How much has the Chinese web blocking impacted on your usage of the web compared to Sweden?

I guess if you are working professionally in the tech space, you'd just spring for the 5-15 bucks a month to have a vpn.

Re: Ask HN: Is it difficult for non-Chinese to work in China?

#22

Post by bing_dai »

neverminder wrote: post #12
United857 wrote: post #9

I worked in Shanghai, China for 3 years for Ubisoft (game developer). Senior-level experienced talent is still hard to find, so it's relatively easy to get a job and work visa (which will be sponsored by your company once you accept a offer) compared to first-world countries. This is doubly true if you have a well known tech company on your resume (Google, FB, etc) I'd recommend working for a multinational company (o…

> Shanghai and Beijing are the most foreigner friendly cities in China; huge expat population, many western restaurants, signage in English, etc. Other cities not so much, but nothing a slight sense of adventure can't conquer. I thought that would be Hong Kong?

Hong Kong's tech scene is extremely small compared to Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.

Re: Ask HN: Is it difficult for non-Chinese to work in China?

#24

Post by epynonymous »

have been in shanghai for 9 years working for a silicon valley company.

there's obviously a cost associated with obtaining a working visa, but i don't know the details or the extent of how much a burden that is going to be on the company.

if you don't speak chinese (or write), i think you'll be limited to working for multinational companies (mnc's) like microsoft, emc, vmware, cisco, etc. google has an office here, but the work being done is not very interesting, localization and local advertising. you should probably forget about local companies like alibaba, baidu, etc.

i would suggest you not think too much about xenophobia, or treatment, or cultural differences, if it's really bothering you that much then i suggest you stick to your country and don't venture abroad. obviously every environment/country/company has its challenges so being adaptable is a must.

the questions you should ask yourself:

1. why do you want to be in china? 2. what do you want in your career? 3. what is it in china that i cannot get from current location?

Re: Ask HN: Is it difficult for non-Chinese to work in China?

#25

Post by [deleted] »

fao_ wrote: post #20
cleric wrote: post #11

Hello. Im a Swedish Sofware engineer and I have been working in Beijing for the last ~4 years. As others have pointed out, China is huge, and I have no experience from working in Hongkong or Shanghai where the vibe is more international, or so they say. So what to expect? Smooth sailing, as long as you can deliver. There is a lot of companies that value English speakers in general, so dont be surprised if you get pam…

Hm, I'm curious: How much has the Chinese web blocking impacted on your usage of the web compared to Sweden?

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Is it difficult for non-Chinese to work in China?

#26

Post by Quiark »

zerr wrote: post #2

It is also interesting for Japan. E.g. if you leave on time (i.e. don't do overtimes), take 30+ days vacation, etc... what happens? :)

I heard some horror stories about working in Japan. The country is absolutely astonishing when you visit as a tourist but enduring the rigid traditional culture as a worker is a completely different story.

Re: Ask HN: Is it difficult for non-Chinese to work in China?

#27

Post by gadders »

I have friends that are black that visited Guangzhou. They felt like something of a novelty. On one occasion they went for a meal and had a crowd outside the window staring at them, watching them eat. I think they may also have had people trying to sneakily touch their hair on local transport as well.

So if you're a person of colour, your experiences may be different from the other descriptions here.

Re: Ask HN: Is it difficult for non-Chinese to work in China?

#28

Post by zerr »

Zelmor wrote: post #6
zerr wrote: post #2

It is also interesting for Japan. E.g. if you leave on time (i.e. don't do overtimes), take 30+ days vacation, etc... what happens? :)

You get fired.

But what would be the formal reason? Aren't they obligated to specify the reason?

Re: Ask HN: Is it difficult for non-Chinese to work in China?

#29

Post by FT_intern »

United857 wrote: post #9

I worked in Shanghai, China for 3 years for Ubisoft (game developer). Senior-level experienced talent is still hard to find, so it's relatively easy to get a job and work visa (which will be sponsored by your company once you accept a offer) compared to first-world countries. This is doubly true if you have a well known tech company on your resume (Google, FB, etc) I'd recommend working for a multinational company (o…

Can you give a ball park estimate of compensation for a multinational company / satellite offices of well known US companies?
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