Posted on 08/08/2004 4:55:51 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
They are passed up for best jobs as they have lost touch with fast-changing China, and their Western traits are scorned
BEIJING - Fluent in English and armed with an MBA from the University of Wisconsin, Mr Kevin Wang returned here after four years abroad, confident that his foreign degree would pay instant dividends in China's booming economy.
But Mr Wang's 2002 homecoming was a bust. Responding to countless Internet job postings without success, he soon lowered his US$40,000-a-year (S$69,300) salary goal - based on pay scales in the US.
Finally, after a frustrating two-year search in which he taught English to get by, he recently landed a US$16,000-a-year entry-level position at an insurance company. And he feels lucky to have got it.
'With all my experience and foreign education, I figured I'd really do something here,' he said. 'It's tough not meeting what I thought were pretty realistic goals.'
Over the past two decades, 600,000 mainland Chinese have left to study abroad and 160,000 of them, lured by stories of quick employment and fast money, have returned in search of work, government officials estimated.
They have been known as 'sea turtles', a pun on 'hai gui', which, when pronounced the same way but written in different characters, means 'returned from overseas studies'.
But many have been so unsuccessful at finding work that they have earned a new nickname: 'seaweed' - based on a double entendre that also means 'returned from overseas and waiting for a job'.
Those with work experience in fields such as law or banking can demand top salaries. Many 'sea turtles', however, return with MBAs or information technology degrees to a job market already swamped with such degree holders.
They also lack job experience and have gained a Western outspokenness that is not very marketable back home.
Many 'sea turtles' find that their homegrown counterparts have improved English skills, making them more competitive in a marketplace where the ability to communicate with Westerners is in demand.
The absence of 'sea turtles' also often costs them valuable insight into the ever-changing Chinese marketplace: New terminology, new industries and, in Beijing, new business communities have emerged in just the past two years.
The result: Some 'sea turtles' have taken jobs that pay less than US$4,000 a year.
Beijing headhunter Sunny Yang said: 'The situation for sea turtles is bleak. There are too many foreign applicants with the same degrees.'
Some 'sea turtles' said they are not given credit for the expense and hardships they endured to obtain a foreign education. They also said they are blamed for bringing home attitudes of a foreign country.
Universities in the US and Europe teach students to become outspoken and aggressive, traits that are not well- received in China, they said.
Mr Gao Hang said the pressure on returning students like him was immense.
'Employers figure you must be able to do anything,' said the employee of a Beijing headhunting service. 'You get no time for on-the-job learning. They assume you know it.'
He spent two years at Leeds University in England earning master's degrees in information systems and human resource management.
'British society is developed and stable, but China is changing every single day. And when you go away, you can't keep pace.' -- Los Angeles Times
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ADVANTAGE LOST
Those with work experience in law or banking can demand top salaries. But many of those who return have MBAs or information technology degrees, and the job market for such degree holders has been swamped.
The 'sea turtles' also lack job experience.
They also have a Western outspokenness that is not particularly marketable back home.
Their homegrown counterparts have improved English skills, making them more competitive in the international marketplace.
The absence of 'sea turtles' also often costs them valuable insight into the ever-changing Chinese marketplace.
Very interesting! You'd think Chinese companies would be lining up for Western MBA knowledge about valuations and how to do private equity deals.
We need to Outsource our Lawyers!
Next on the list our Politicians!
The two Johns now have another place to go (if they didn't like my original suggestion of where to go or where to shove it).
You forgot Welfare, Free Health Care, special treatment for your children that don't speak English, the list is long.
Folks that live farther away from the Border may not understand...
Well, maybe they'll stay home now & not take up space in US graduate schools.
A big "OOPS" is apropos.
FMCDH(BITS)
The sea turtles apparently believe (like so many in this country) that there should be vast material rewards for simply going to grad school and getting an academic credential. Capitalism is built on entrepreneurship, energy, and business experience. The kids who stayed at home and helped others build businesses in the crazy business world of contemporary China received an invaluable education. It's when businesses start honoring people with MAs over people with hands-on experience that the business world goes down the tubes.
When privacy is outlawed, only outlaws will have privacy. A Mexican identity might come in handy.
This is probably the crux of the matter.
Neither "That pol is a corrupt hack." nor "7X participating liquidation preferce? You're an idiot to sign a term sheet like that!" play very well in the Middle Kingdom.
Funny the article wishes for us to pity, but who sends the Chinese here? They get subsidized from the State right and have to be pre-approved. At least they did, and had the job usually waiting for them....and all the stolen US tech.
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