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Jobs in Kunming for foreigners

gaoxing (63 posts) • 0

What kind of jobs are available in Kunming for foreigners other than teaching English and acting?

laotou (1714 posts) • 0

gaoxing
First - congrats on finding a nice girl - hopefully she's the proverbial pearl. As for jobs - depends on your age, education, and skill sets. I'll skip the university jobs as I'm guessing at most, you have a bachelors. If you don't have a university degree - you're in for a tough time as it'll be tough for you to get a legitimate work visa.

1 Restaurant Manager
2 Investor - if you have roughly USD15k+ (CNY 100k) you may be able to start up your own business - example - a grocery delivery biz for expats, etc.
3 NGOs - I'm not well versed in this area - so you'll have to search the forums for the list of NGOs and see if you have the skills they seek.
4 Trading firms - you MAY be able to work for domestic trading firms seeking english fluent traders. Trading equals buying and selling of stuff made or grown in china - pharma, vitamins, shoes, etc. You might surf e-bay - see what people like to buy - see if you can source stuff from china - but beware (caveat emptor) - lots of thieves on both sides of the trade.
5 IT and other outsourcing firms seeking english native sales - but you'll probably need a college degree and some experience.
6 Outsourcing firms - some outsourcing firms seek english native speakers to help with their sales, project management, etc - again usually requires a college degree.
7 US embassy - you can "try" to look for expat work at the consulates - but that's a toughie.
8 foreign startups - these are tough to find as they don't advertise - so it's usually by word of mouth - but as you've experienced, the kunming expats are rather snobbish and tight-lipped - so you'll probably starve before anyone drops a job lead.
9 foreign hotels - these jobs usually require some degree of putonghua fluency

That's off the top of my head...but again - hope you have your college degree (minimum BA/BS) or a stash of cash (investment visa), as getting a work permit here for unskilled labor is improbable.

Danmairen (510 posts) • 0

Gaoxing eh? How about a career in clapping? As a professional Clapper you'd be responsible for drawing pedestrians' attention to cheapish shops -mainly clothes and shoes. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really get in touch with your inner annoying child, get plenty of fresh air and exercise your hand and arm muscles at the same time. As an added bonus you can shout and complain all you want while yelling at random people in English, since they won't be able to understand you anyway. What's not to like?

Yuanyangren (297 posts) • 0

Still, why the snobbish attitudes by some expats though? If there are jobs around, and if some expats have some leads, then why not let interested candidates know?

Yuanyangren (297 posts) • 0

Although I agree with the above response about possible jobs here in Kunming, there just isn't a whole lot of work in this city. In terms of IT jobs, they're all on the east coast or in Chengdu. Prowl through gochengdu.com and you'll find job advertisement after job advertisement looking for IT professionals. By comparison, I haven't found a single job advertisement for a role in this industry here in Kunming. Also, the nearest US embassy is in Chengdu, not Kunming. You might find work with one of the 6 regional consulates here in Kunming, but again that's unlikely. The Australian trade comission has an office here though, and I'd imagine some other western governments maintain something similar here too, but that's a long shot.

sendero english (21 posts) • 0

In China: 50 to 500 per hour.
In Kunming: 80 to 250 rmb per hour, with most positions paying between 100 and 200.

Lots of schools are still paying 100. There have already been threads on GoKM about this. I have made comments, and it seems that the majority of teachers think 150rmb should be the bottom, especially if there is no housing/visa/ticket included, and if the teacher is qualified.

The teaching situation in Kunming is great for newbie or unqualified teachers, the extremely frugal, or for those who mostly live from their bank accounts. There is a big demand for teachers. Otherwise, the prospects are pretty grim compared to most of China's second tier cities.

davidp (2 posts) • 0

laotou, I understand Kunming attracts a large number of expats, many looking for work. I am also very interested in living and working in Kunming. I have a M.A. in Southeast Asian Studies and a B.A. in Political Science/Public Administration and an Associate degree in Legal Assisting. I have been teaching English for about five years in Southeast Asia but while teaching is an interesting occupation, I am certainly open to other opportunities... You mentioned above managing a restaurant but, like most of the positions you listed, I expect someone would need to be fluent in Mandarin in order to be considered. I also have a wife and child to support.

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