外国人在中国的就业机会如何？

An Overview of the Job Market in China for Expats

外籍人士在中国的就业市场概况

For many expats, what makes China a desired place to seek job opportunities is its position of being the second largest economy in the world. It is predicted that it will be on the top of the list in some years. What China did very well to develop that fast is to focus on being a global player by attracting foreigners and harmonizing their talents with Chinese workforce. None of the countries developed by ignoring the outside market. Neither did China.

对于许多外籍人士来说，中国之所以成为一个理想的就业机会来源，是因为中国是全球第二大经济体。据预测，在未来几年内，它将成为这份名单的首位。中国在快速发展方面做得很好，那就是通过吸引外国人并使他们的才能与中国劳动力协调一致，专注于成为一个全球性的参与者。没有一个国家是通过忽视外部市场而发展起来的。中国也没有。

There are unlimited number of job opportunities in China for foreigners especially in first tier cities. The number of workers increased from 180.000 to 950.000 since 1996. No doubt there will be more than 1 million foreigners in a couple of years.

外国人在中国有无限的工作机会，特别是在一线城市。自1996年以来，工人数量从180,000增加到950,000。毫无疑问，在未来几年内将会有超过100万的外国人。

Foreign workers are divided into three categories in China. The ones that are in Category A are considered as “highly-talented”. These are the foreigners China wants at most. Foreigners in Category B are mostly the ones with only Bachelor’s Degree. They also have many job opportunities; but they need to be more patient and ambitious while trying to prove they can do more than the local employees. Category C foreigners are very limited. Most of them do not have any degree. There are some job opportunities for them as well, but it is extremely hard for them to find a suitable one.

在中国，外籍工人分为三类。属于 a 类的被认为是“高才”。这些是中国最想要的外国人。B 类的外国人大多只有学士学位。他们也有很多工作机会; 但是他们需要更多的耐心和雄心壮志，同时努力证明他们可以比当地雇员做得更多。C 类的外国人是非常有限的。他们中的大多数没有任何学位。他们也有一些工作机会，但是对他们来说找到一个合适的工作机会是极其困难的。

Industry Sectors that Need Foreign Talents

需要外国人才的行业

Education

教育

ESL (English as the Second Language) industry needs foreigners at most. The more China develops, the bigger it gets. Chinese people know the importance of learning English; and they are ready to pay the price for it.

ESL (英语作为第二语言)产业最需要的是外国人。中国发展得越多，就越大。中国人知道学习英语的重要性，他们愿意为此付出代价。

Due to the high demand for English teachers, there is always thousands of job opportunities for teachers. A professional English teacher who is eligible to get the work visa can find a teaching job anywhere very easily. Teachers who are from native English-speaking countries with 2 years of experience or with a relevant teaching certificate can work in China “legally”.

由于对英语教师的高度需求，教师的就业机会总是成千上万。一个有资格获得工作签证的专业英语教师可以很容易地在任何地方找到一份教师工作。来自母语为英语的国家，有2年工作经验或有相关教师证书的教师可以在中国“合法”工作。

Depending on the location and the school, English teachers can make 120,000RMB to 300,000RMB annually.

根据地点和学校的不同，英语教师每年可以挣到12万到30万人民币。

Technology

科技

It is not a secret that China’s focus is technology these years. They give a lot of support for technology companies and want to be the technology hub of the world. First tier cities like Shanghai, Beijing or Hangzhou are always welcoming the foreigners to work on improving technology.

这些年来，中国把重点放在技术上已经不是什么秘密。他们为科技公司提供大量支持，并希望成为世界科技中心。像上海、北京或杭州这样的一线城市总是欢迎外国人来改进技术。

An HTML designer can earn between 180,000 to 350,000RMB annually where a Java developer can make up to 550,000RMB.

一个 HTML 设计师每年可以赚到18万到35万人民币，而 Java 开发人员每年可以赚到55万人民币。

Manufacturing

制造

Heavy industry is not as popular as it used to be; but manufacturing will never end until the end of the humanity. A skilled foreign engineer, accountant or manager can be paid higher than their country and enjoy low cost of living in China.

重工业不像以前那样受欢迎了，但是制造业永远不会停止，直到人类灭亡。一个熟练的外国工程师，会计师或者经理可以拿到比他们国家更高的工资，并且在中国享受低成本的生活。

Foreign engineers can make 300,000RMB to 500,000RMB annually and enjoy free apartment with a private driver.

外国工程师每年可以挣30万到50万人民币，还可以和私人司机一起享受免费公寓。

Top Careers in China for Foreigners

外国人在中国的顶级职业

English teacher

英语教师

As I have mentioned above, there is a very high demand for English teachers in China; but there is not enough teachers to meet this demand. That’s why some schools have no other choice but hiring illegal teachers. Nearly half of 400,000 English teachers in China are considered as “illegal”. These are the ones who are not eligible to get work visa to work as an English teacher.

正如我上面提到的，中国对英语教师的需求很大，但是没有足够的教师来满足这种需求。这就是为什么一些学校除了雇佣非法教师别无选择的原因。在中国40万名英语教师中，将近一半被认为是“非法”教师。这些人没有资格获得英语教师工作签证。

IT

China started to export Chinese technology and being a creative IT means a lot to them. On the other hand, they want “smart cities” that adapt technology into daily life. Their demand for talented ITs will definitely be more than now. Anyone who understands technology and who is creative can have a very good career in China.

中国开始输出中国的技术，成为一个创造性的 IT 对他们来说意义重大。另一方面，他们希望“智能城市”将技术应用到日常生活中。他们对人才的需求肯定会比现在更大。任何懂技术和有创造力的人都可以在中国有一个非常好的职业生涯。

Translator

翻译

Even though Chinese people study English, only 10% of them can speak English conversationally. A good translator who can speak Chinese and English, German or Japanese can use his/her talents and enjoy a very high-standard life.

尽管中国人学习英语，但只有10% 的人会说英语。一个会说汉语、英语、德语或日语的优秀翻译可以发挥自己的才能，享受高水准的生活。

Sales Manager

销售经理

A lot of Manufacturing and trading companies want to grow internationally. They need foreigners who know outside market and the differences of business cultures. An experienced sales manager can become one of the key players of these companies very easily.

许多制造业和贸易公司都希望实现国际化发展。他们需要了解外部市场和商业文化差异的外国人。一个有经验的销售经理很容易成为这些公司的关键人物之一。

Foreign sales managers representing foreign companies with the aim of growing in Chinese market can also be very valuable. There are a lot of companies that need foreigners who can take care of their sales in Chinese domestic market.

代表外国公司在中国市场发展的外国销售经理也是非常有价值的。有很多公司需要外国人来照顾他们在中国国内市场的销售。

Engineer

工程师

There are millions of new engineers graduate from universities in China every year; but not many of them are really talented. So, a foreign engineer who can do what locals can’t means a lot for any company. Good computer and mechanical engineers can have better career than anywhere else in the world.

在中国，每年有数以百万计的新工程师从大学毕业，但是他们中真正有才华的并不多。所以，一个外国工程师能够做到当地人做不到的事情，对任何公司来说都没有多大意义。优秀的计算机和机械工程师比世界上任何地方都有更好的职业生涯。

Accountant

会计

There are plenty of accountants in China; but not many of them know much about financial issues in other countries. A foreign account who knows the details of accounting in different countries can find a very good job.

中国有很多会计师，但是他们中的很多人对其他国家的财务问题了解不多。一个了解不同国家会计细节的外国账户可以找到一份非常好的工作。

Top Manager

高级经理

There are many foreign-owned multinational companies in China. Interestingly, most of them require foreigners for their top management positions. Good thing for top managers is they have more benefits than many other countries in the world. Anyone who has management experience can find his/her dream job in China.

在中国有许多外资跨国公司。有趣的是，大多数公司的高层管理职位都需要外国人。对于高层管理者来说，好处是他们比世界上许多其他国家有更多的好处。任何有管理经验的人都可以在中国找到自己梦寐以求的工作。

Conclusion

结论

As a foreigner who has experienced how much China changed in the last decade, I can easily say there are still a lot of job opportunities for foreign experts and there will always be.

作为一个经历了过去十年中国变化的外国人，我可以很容易地说，对于外国专家来说，仍然有很多工作机会，而且永远都会有。

In order to be a foreign expat in China, what we need to do is knowing our talent and how we can help this fastest-growing economy in the world. Once we do what we really can do, finding a job in China will not be a hard thing to do.

为了成为一名在中国的外籍人士，我们需要做的是了解我们的人才，以及我们如何能够帮助这个世界上增长最快的经济体。一旦我们做了我们真正能做的，在中国找到一份工作并不是一件困难的事情。