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Ask HN: Those who moved careers from the West to China, what's your experience?

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81–90 of 178 posts

Re: Ask HN: Those who moved careers from the West to China, what's your experience?

#81
post #45

I’ve sort of done the move. If you are not ethnically Chinese and speak the language, there will be a few things to get used to. The degree will depend a bit on where you end up. For example: - pollution can be a big problem. - if Chinese company, work culture can be very different. More top down, longer hours etc. - noisy. Most places you go in big cities you are surrounded by noise. Cars, people, construction. It d…

I would like to add: Even if you are ethnically Chinese and speak the language, don't go back to China unless you really cannot find a decent job in the west. Especially if you are young and educated in the west, here are the things to consider: - It is not very hard to find a STEM job in the west, and the pay is good. - Your parents are healthy now, not much to worry. It's better to get a green card before they get…

> get a green card before they get old

parent age and green card -- how do these two things relate to each other?

Re: Ask HN: Those who moved careers from the West to China, what's your experience?

#82
post #46

A warning for folks considering working in China (love to hear this debunked if untrue): https://www.chinalawblog.com/2016/09/the-china-stock-option-... > no foreign person can own stock in a Chinese domestic company not already listed on a stock market. So any such option or stock transfer is void from the start. Foreigners are not permitted to be shareholders of Chinese domestic companies, nor does China recognize…

you can via ADRs, at least for large companies they usually follow the market. However under the hood this seems unfair. Why does China get to be protective but the the west does not? Just greedy non-chinese companies that don't care where the investments are coming from?

can there be an ADR for a company that is not listed on the stock exchange?

Re: Ask HN: Those who moved careers from the West to China, what's your experience?

#83
post #75
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Care to expand on your last point? I haven’t heard that before.

One thing is the stress and pressure on kids to perform well on testing in school, which transfers to the parents. It's already pretty bad in the US, but it's nothing compared to China (or Asia in general.)

Ahhh... ok, I have heard that can be an issue from my wife's side of the family. I've also heard that the education is much more rigid and doesn't really encourage independent or creative thinking. More memorization.

Re: Ask HN: Those who moved careers from the West to China, what's your experience?

#84
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I turned a blind eye to the power abuse, human rights violations and corruption" I'm not sure how you can compare the US, which does have it's problems, but is one of the least racist (and offers many more opportunities to people that start with nothing) countries in the world to China, one of the most corrupt and authoritarian. In China, for example, you need to include your head shot on your resume and I've known…

You don't see reports like that about the US because of US hegemony, and most things that do come up is usually by the UN and isn't taken seriously. I'm not saying china is perfect by any means, but things ain't great in the US either. They just seem normal to us because we're used to it.

Only someone who has never lived elsewhere would say that.

Re: Ask HN: Those who moved careers from the West to China, what's your experience?

#85
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it was the money and opportunities. I turned a blind eye to the power abuse, human rights violations and corruption, and moved to the US anyways.

From Finland? Why bother when you have such a high quality of living.

Apparently not when it comes to money and opportunity!

Re: Ask HN: Those who moved careers from the West to China, what's your experience?

#86
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I turned a blind eye to the power abuse, human rights violations and corruption" I'm not sure how you can compare the US, which does have it's problems, but is one of the least racist (and offers many more opportunities to people that start with nothing) countries in the world to China, one of the most corrupt and authoritarian. In China, for example, you need to include your head shot on your resume and I've known…

You don't see reports like that about the US because of US hegemony, and most things that do come up is usually by the UN and isn't taken seriously. I'm not saying china is perfect by any means, but things ain't great in the US either. They just seem normal to us because we're used to it.

What? The media thrives off of "the US is crap", especially international media. There is no lack of negativity about the US.

Re: Ask HN: Those who moved careers from the West to China, what's your experience?

#87
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you're going to get away from this. By living in and working in China, paying Chinese taxes, and supporting Chinese companies, you are directly supporting an authoritarian regeime.

As a Canadian living in and working in America, I have a similar although less dramatic moral difficulty. The fact is that the American government is curiously abusive compared to your average developed national government.

Yet, you're living in the US.

So I assume the positives outweigh the negatives?

Re: Ask HN: Those who moved careers from the West to China, what's your experience?

#88
post #76
post #45

I’ve sort of done the move. If you are not ethnically Chinese and speak the language, there will be a few things to get used to. The degree will depend a bit on where you end up. For example: - pollution can be a big problem. - if Chinese company, work culture can be very different. More top down, longer hours etc. - noisy. Most places you go in big cities you are surrounded by noise. Cars, people, construction. It d…

"- pollution can be a big problem." This would already be a showstopper for me. I have spent a week in Mumbai and never want to be in such an environment again.

To be fair I've heard it varies a lot depending on the season in Mumbai. I was in Mumbai in December and it was honestly fine, at least in my opinion.

Re: Ask HN: Those who moved careers from the West to China, what's your experience?

#89

Why would anyone willingly move to an authoritarian dictatorship?

For me it was the money and opportunities. I turned a blind eye to the power abuse, human rights violations and corruption, and moved to the US anyways.

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