Ask HN: Is it difficult for non-Chinese to work in China? • Hacker News Board

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

#41

Post by seanmcdirmid » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:34 PM UTC

zerr wrote: post #34

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…

But doesn't it feel wrong when you're treated much better (e.g. have a 2x salary + subsidized apartment) compared to your peers only because you're a [westerner] foreigner?

That was never my experience. My Chinese peers at the same level made similar to what I made...I got a bit more because I didn't have to make contributions into the housing fund. I am/was working with international talent, many of them who would eventually just up and go to the states to work.

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

#42

Post by seanmcdirmid » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:35 PM UTC

United857 wrote: post #15

neverminder wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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?

Yeah, technically Hong Kong is part of China but is distinct from the mainland and most HKers don't consider themselves Chinese. It is indeed much more expat friendly than the mainland due to its British colonial heritage. However, there are far fewer tech jobs in Hong Kong (unless you want to work in the finance industry).

They also pay poorly on general compared to mainland tier 1s, like Shenzhen just over the border.

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

#43

Post by seanmcdirmid » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:39 PM UTC

hacker42 wrote: post #7

I would also be interested whether one takes notice of the oppressiveness of the Chinese government, e.g. the Great Firewall of China.

You don't notice it day to day, but it beats you down over the long run.

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

#44

Post by seanmcdirmid » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:41 PM UTC

cloudjacker wrote: post #30

hacker42 wrote: post #7

I would also be interested whether one takes notice of the oppressiveness of the Chinese government, e.g. the Great Firewall of China.

the irony being that only Americans care about that

Americans are much more oblivious than Europeans. Most of my foreign colleagues over the years have been from Europe, and would complain about it more than me. Other Asians (korean and Japanese) don't mention it much.

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

#45

Post by tater_sent_me » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:41 PM UTC

be5invis wrote: post #3

First you have to remember that China itself's population is as large as the entire western world, so things are completely different here. For example, almost nobody in China use credit card for online payment: they use Alipay as an alternative. 1. Perhaps high salary? Non-local employees are rare here. 2. No in tech companies, but yes in small cities and countries. In tech companies and cities like Shanghai, forign…

or Shoes...

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

#46

Post by SurrealSoul » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:48 PM UTC

Culturally, I was scared of the streets and the public transportation can be really busy at times. However the people are really nice and curious to talk with you. Anyone with any English skills will say hello to you and are generally extremely nice!

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

#47

Post by johansch » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:50 PM UTC

raihansaputra wrote: post #21

fao_ wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

There was some noise about the GFW doing clever stuff(tm) to identify VPN traffic and punish the local IP for that. Was that real or hype?

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

#48

Post by johansch » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:54 PM UTC

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…

Do you speak e.g. Mandarin? If not, how does cooperation with a team that is probably 90-98% Chinese work?

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

#49

Post by sonofbedlan » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 6:02 PM UTC

I have been working in Shanghai for about six and a half years now and don't think I would live anywhere else in China except maybe Hong Kong. Shanghai has a very vibrant international community with a fairly comfortable standard of living ( minus the occasional bad pollution ). There is not a significant amount of xenophobia in the first tier cities though outside of these you are generally looked at as an oddity if you count that. You will never be chinese though so some doors will always be closed to you.

It is difficult to find a job without being here but on the ground there are opportunities. If you are not here companies see that as a liability. Of foreigners abroad we have hired to work in China there is about a 50% washout rate in the first year. Being here is seen as being a more reliable hire.

Regarding visa a good company will provide a z visa for you. Anyone offering less isn't a good company. Pay is less then the states generally but cost of living is lower. As in the rest of the world there is high demand for good software developers. Check smartshanghai.com, Shanghaiexpat.com, creativehunt.com, and craigslist Shanghai for more expat focused jobs. If you are interested in fintech we are hiring through hr@itr.cn.

Overall the business China is more predatory then the states. More weight is often put on relationships then talent. Coming from the west it takes a few years to really understand this culture.

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

#50

Post by auganov » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 6:24 PM UTC

It's trivial to get a job and a work visa. If you just wanna go work there for a bit and go back home - go for it.

But if want to get legit stock options, start a startup or generally settle down then forget about it. You will be legally discriminated against. Not worth it.