What's The Most Common Job In China

Over the past 30 years, China has made significant progress in transforming its economy from a labor-intensive, manufacturing-based economy to a service-based, export-oriented economy. More and more people are (increasingly!) earning more money, which in turn allows them to spend more money, thus creating jobs for others.

Service sector jobs are essentially all jobs that produce nontangible products such as food and clothing, which are exchanged for money. Employers in this sector include the following: restaurant, retail businesses, housekeeping, logistics, healthcare, engineering, consulting, advertising, information technology, hospitality, and administrative services. Human resources might be the most important factor to consider when assessing a company. One example is the e-commerce company Alibaba, which employs about 20,000 workers.

Teacher

However, despite the number of opportunities being technically decreasing, teaching jobs are still ranked as the most common job for foreigners in China. Go on any job site and you’ll find an endless stream of posts about all sorts of teaching jobs available.

Although China’s salaries are still relatively low, some really good packages are still available. These professional-development trips usually include an apartment, reimbursement for your flights, medical insurance, a working visa, and a bonus at the end of your contract.

Some people have been put off by new regulations, which seem to make it harder for some people to be teachers. However, the new rules are really targeting unqualified teachers. In the past, all it took was a good level of English and some charisma. Now you will most likely need a bachelor's degree, a TEFL/TESOL, be a native speaker and, most likely, you will need some experience. So the jobs are out there, you just have to make yourself a little more suitable in order to get them.

Freelancing – Translating, Editing, Proofreading

One does not necessarily need an advanced degree to become a translator, just an advanced level of Chinese and the credentials to prove it, the most common of which is the HSK test. There are a number of ways through which to make a profit translating between Chinese and English. For example, if you freelance through websites like Elance or any China-based expat website with job listings, you'll be able to earn about 80-130 RMB per hour depending on your educational background and Chinese language proficiency.

Editing and proofreading are great part-time jobs with flexible hours that foreigners can do in China to make some money on the side. Due to the enormous size of the education industry, Chinese students who write entrance letters for universities, both local and abroad, in English will often want their writing edited or proofread. This business is rapidly growing in China. There are now entire companies based around pairing proofreaders with students who have written essays that need to be proofread.

Hotel management

After China's booming economy, the hospitality industry in China, which has been growing by leaps and bounds, has also grown in recent years Radisson, Hilton, Shangri-La, and Portman-Ritz are all international hotels brands associated with prestige and money. With the increase in the number of famous movie stars and high-level CEO's coming through town, the managers and upper-division staff at such luxury hotels are seeing big salary increases to match the many demands of their jobs.

According to China Hotel Magazine's 2011 Salary Survey Report, in the 5-star hotels, the average salaries for department managers and directors are 11,000 RMB and 21,000 RMB respectively. If you are promoted to the general manager of a five-star hotel, you can expect upwards of 50-60,000 RMB per month. And as an added bonus, you never know when you'll get the chance to meet someone famous.