[KonstantinAbroad]

Hello everyone,

I'm reading on the RooshV forum for a couple of months now and as I will be soon graduate with my Bachelor of Arts in International Business Administration I already try to plan a few things ahead and decided to register on the forum now to ask some of the experts here for advice.

After my graduation in June i would like to score a job somewhere in Southeast or East Asia. I have already spend six months in Shenzhen and Hong Kong due to an internship which i had to absolve somewhere abroad and at the end i landed in China. During that time i really learned to love Asia eventhough i just had the chance to see those two cities as i also had to work and fullfill my role as an intern .

Nevertheless as i already stated i would like to find a decent job in the SE Asia Pacific region and was thinking of booking a flight and just find a job overseas by networking and introducing myself in person. In regard to that my idea was to start with Singapore and spend a while over there until i score a job however i would like to ask some of the experienced guys on this forum here if Singapore is the right place to do this or if you would recommend other cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok or even Taipei?

Every opinion is highly desired !

Best regards,

Constantin

[Brodiaga]

You already know your way around SZ and HK area and hopefully have some connections there as well. Also, your local internship experience will count if you look for work there. If I were you I would start my job search in HK/SZ but also keep my options open and apply for jobs in other countries/cities as well.

[JayJuanGee]

(03-04-2015 07:05 PM)KonstantinAbroad Wrote:  

Hello everyone,

I'm reading on the RooshV forum for a couple of months now and as I will be soon graduate with my Bachelor of Arts in International Business Administration I already try to plan a few things ahead and decided to register on the forum now to ask some of the experts here for advice.

After my graduation in June i would like to score a job somewhere in Southeast or East Asia. I have already spend six months in Shenzhen and Hong Kong due to an internship which i had to absolve somewhere abroad and at the end i landed in China. During that time i really learned to love Asia eventhough i just had the chance to see those two cities as i also had to work and fullfill my role as an intern .

Nevertheless as i already stated i would like to find a decent job in the SE Asia Pacific region and was thinking of booking a flight and just find a job overseas by networking and introducing myself in person. In regard to that my idea was to start with Singapore and spend a while over there until i score a job however i would like to ask some of the experienced guys on this forum here if Singapore is the right place to do this or if you would recommend other cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok or even Taipei?

Every opinion is highly desired !

Best regards,

Constantin

don't jobs and activities follow your own passions? like what do you find to be fun activities and what are your skills? do you like certain kinds of products, for example or software or computing or services?

sometimes guys start out by teaching english and then exploring other areas that might be available while they are networking through their english teaching gigs.

[WanderingSoul]

If you want a good job in Bangkok it's a much better idea to get hired in your home country by a company who wants to send you there. Very hard to get good jobs in Bangkok. Far too many foreigners want to stay here, so the market is flooded. They pay is also very low if you get hired here by a company, as opposed to placed here by an employer in your home country.

[dogthom]

Aim for a location independent job. That's what I do.

I don't know about your field, but why would anyone hire you when there are large numbers of locals who could easily do the same job for less money and probably less hassle?

There's always ESL, but that's a go no where job unless you plan to start your own school.

[azulsombra]

(03-05-2015 02:59 AM)dogthom Wrote:  

Aim for a location independent job. That's what I do.

I don't know about your field, but why would anyone hire you when there are large numbers of locals who could easily do the same job for less money and probably less hassle?

There's always ESL, but that's a go no where job unless you plan to start your own school.

Can you elaborate on this?

[KonstantinAbroad]

(03-04-2015 07:10 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

You already know your way around SZ and HK area and hopefully have some connections there as well. Also, your local internship experience will count if you look for work there. If I were you I would start my job search in HK/SZ but also keep my options open and apply for jobs in other countries/cities as well.

Hey Brodiaga,

thank you for your insightful post. I totally agree with you on the fact that i should start with Shenzhen or Hong Kong as a destination as i already know my way around in those cities at least to a certain extent.

However during my time in Shenzhen in Hong Kong i couldn't increase my network so much eventhough i'm still in touch with a few girls who are smart but miss more or less good connections to international companies.

As i was working more outside of Shenzhen city center i had mostly contact to locals during that time. Things changed for me when i started to work in Hong Kong at the office of that company. We all know that Hong Kong is the place to be if you aim to meet a lot of international people from all around the world.

At one night i fucked it up by loosing a business card by a very successfull chinese business men who was even owning a hotel in Dubai... Anyways that's past and i can't change what has happened at that night. In the rest of those two months i could gather some more business cards by chinese locals however most of them just own small companies.

Could someone share it's experiences in regard to job hunting in Singapore? Of course there is always the way to start working as an EFL teacher for a while however i don't want to spend the next two years teaching children or students on how to speak a language properly.

[KonstantinAbroad]

(03-05-2015 02:54 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  

If you want a good job in Bangkok it's a much better idea to get hired in your home country by a company who wants to send you there. Very hard to get good jobs in Bangkok. Far too many foreigners want to stay here, so the market is flooded. They pay is also very low if you get hired here by a company, as opposed to placed here by an employer in your home country.

Hey Rionomad,

thank you for your answer. That was exactly what i wanted to hear. Have you ever spend a while in Taipei too? Which cities in SEA or East Asia would you recommend as a well traveled guy?

I think Bangkok is an awesome city however if your salary is way to low it's just not worth it in my opinion as you already stated.

[KonstantinAbroad]

(03-05-2015 02:59 AM)dogthom Wrote:  

Aim for a location independent job. That's what I do.

I don't know about your field, but why would anyone hire you when there are large numbers of locals who could easily do the same job for less money and probably less hassle?

There's always ESL, but that's a go no where job unless you plan to start your own school.

Hey dongthom,

i would like to score a job in the marketing & sales area or find work in the transport & logistics sector ( Supply Chain Managment ).

I totally agree with you on the fact that an ESL job will only be good for a while until you realize you are wasting your time and there are no real chances to climb up the ladder for real...

[Suits]

(03-04-2015 07:05 PM)KonstantinAbroad Wrote:  

....Bachelor of Arts in International Business Administration....

....would recommend other cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok or even Taipei?

What skills do you have that would allow you to do a job that a local employee wouldn't happily do for 1/5 of the money?

How competitive would you be in your home country employment wise?

Do you speak any Asian languages?

Do you have some sort of competitive advantage?

[KonstantinAbroad]

(03-05-2015 02:39 AM)JayJuanGee Wrote:  

(03-04-2015 07:05 PM)KonstantinAbroad Wrote:  

Hello everyone,

I'm reading on the RooshV forum for a couple of months now and as I will be soon graduate with my Bachelor of Arts in International Business Administration I already try to plan a few things ahead and decided to register on the forum now to ask some of the experts here for advice.

After my graduation in June i would like to score a job somewhere in Southeast or East Asia. I have already spend six months in Shenzhen and Hong Kong due to an internship which i had to absolve somewhere abroad and at the end i landed in China. During that time i really learned to love Asia eventhough i just had the chance to see those two cities as i also had to work and fullfill my role as an intern .

Nevertheless as i already stated i would like to find a decent job in the SE Asia Pacific region and was thinking of booking a flight and just find a job overseas by networking and introducing myself in person. In regard to that my idea was to start with Singapore and spend a while over there until i score a job however i would like to ask some of the experienced guys on this forum here if Singapore is the right place to do this or if you would recommend other cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok or even Taipei?

Every opinion is highly desired !

Best regards,

Constantin

don't jobs and activities follow your own passions? like what do you find to be fun activities and what are your skills? do you like certain kinds of products, for example or software or computing or services?

sometimes guys start out by teaching english and then exploring other areas that might be available while they are networking through their english teaching gigs.

Hey JayjuanGee,

can you share some of your experiences in regard to going the EFL teacher route for a while and meanwhile start to build up connections to other expats or locals?

Did you went that route?

Thanks a lot

[KonstantinAbroad]

(03-05-2015 06:34 AM)Suits Wrote:  

(03-04-2015 07:05 PM)KonstantinAbroad Wrote:  

....Bachelor of Arts in International Business Administration....

....would recommend other cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok or even Taipei?

What skills do you have that would allow you to do a job that a local employee wouldn't happily do for 1/5 of the money?

How competitive would you be in your home country employment wise?

Do you speak any Asian languages?

Do you have some sort of competitive advantage?

Hey Suits,

I have learned Mandarin for one year at my university before heading to China for an internship.

Moreover i could already gather experience in regard to chinese business culture during my internship and i come well along with chinese people too. I would say i have a really outgoing personality and that's defenitly one of my strenghts.

If i got you right you recommend me to work on my chinese language skills? I could travel abroad and do a language course for a while and meanwhile start networking. Can you recommend me any good cities to do this?

In regard to your question on competition in my own home country i would say that i don't belong to the best but for sure i'm not bad at all too. The point is it's hard to score a job from somewhere abroad when you are not inside the country to present yourself in person.

As you already pointed out they will find someone who is cheaper and he will be available just in the moment they need someone so why wasting time with Skype interviews with a potential canidate who is 8000 miles away and than there comes the whole visa hassle on top of that too,

[elcidcampeador]

It's not that hard to get a job in HK or Singapore if you have the qualifications to get in the door in London/NYC.

[CodyB]

Hi dude

There is work for graduates in Asia, particularly Hong Kong and Singapore. However, if you don't speak Chinese fluently, then it is going to be difficult to find work outside of being an English teacher and impossible outside of HK and SG.

There's a few guys in here that work in finance in Singapore, maybe if they came out of the wood work they could give you some pointers. My feeling is that you would have to specialise. But i'm not 100% sure on that, I've worked in Asia representing my former employer and also starting my own business. I have however researched this in depth before, know the cities and the dynamics. If anybody has done a graduation job in the region, please feel free to correct me if my advice isn't 100% accurate.

Networking is great. If you meet the right person then they will be able to get you any kind of job you want. The problem is finding them. I was fortunate to meet a A gentleman a few years ago who, after a shitload of vodka boasted he could place me in several different legal firms in Hong Kong. This man was a fucking taipan. I respectfully declined his offer but I did ask if I could pick his brain for info and contacts (struck gold). This was a once in a lifetime meeting and I was incredibly fortunate. You will often meet middle managers and sometimes people a little higher, they can be your friends down the track so use your mack wisely. Make friends with everyone, but trust no one as well. Lot's of bitchiness (in lieu of healthy competition) in Asian work environments.

Graduate positions for non-Chinese speakers are generally going to be available in Singapore and to a lesser degree Hong Kong

You face stiff competition as well. You will be up against foreigners, often with shit loads of (parents) money to burn and the local Second Generation Asian Tiger Kids.They will usually have at least a Masters Degree (and then some) but be for the most part completely socially retarded from a western perspective. If you get taken on in a graduate position you will be working with these people and as I mentioned beforehand, they can (boy or girl) can be absolute cunts. 90% of the well paid foreigners in Asia are on expat packages or were headhunted from their posting in the West. Keep this in mind as well.

If you're competing for graduate positions with locals, your pay will more than likely start somewhere between $2-3,000. In Singapore, you will be able to find some share accomadation for about $1,000 (or less if you rent a room that's been sublet illegally in Govt. Housing) and meet your necessities (if you scrimp like a motherfucker) at about $7-800. Hawker food is cheap and if you know where to shop and how to use the public transport system then you won't spend much there either. Hong Kong is changing so rapidly that by the time I finish this paragraph my info might be irrelavent. If you want to live in Kowloon or Central, it is on par with central Manhattan/London/Paris/Rome in terms of cost. Prices seem to have risen by 20% in the local currency in the last 12 months and they are rising. Rooms are fucking tiny and expensive. Expect 1,200 a month to be comfortable. Other necessities will probably come to $800 a month, unless you're a hermit.

Your working conditions will suck. Many corporate environments are often overstaffed with underpaid graduates who bide their time in the day with little in the way of KPIs or structure. With that being said, they will spend 12 hours a day at the office. Many of your colleagues will be timid and afraid to bring this to your managers attention; for good reason as many managers are on a good wicket and they would prefer not too push the envelope. Read your situation though, if your superior is from the west andhas been in his post for a relatively short period of time, chances are there is a change in culture in the mix. Stand out and be obvious in a non-Arrogant way.

Anyway, hope this has given you some pointers. I love Asia and I am hoping to relocate there permanently within 5 years. It's a tough world for young people though, lot's of educational inflation and the cost of living is a bitch.

[TheBulldozer]

I think what Suits is getting at, and I happen to agree with him - is what do you bring to the table that someone who is already of that culture cannot bring?

Do you have a skill set that is so varied from someone already in the country that that alone makes you a viable candidate? Moreover, from purely a logistical standpoint, obtaining a work permit without requisite experience or special talent in an Asian country is quite difficult to do. China for one would never give you a work permit because you have a bachelor's degree.

In my specific field, I worked my ass off for five years, and developed notoriety and a reputation within my field in my native country. It was only then, after displaying a level of aptitude beyond what is easily found in my field, did I find offers to move abroad.

It took the country I'm living in now seven moths to vet my credentials and issue me a work visa. China will be equally as difficult, I'd imagine.

Point is: I know you have that degree and want to take over the world. It's a perfectly normal and healthy attitude to have. Understand though, that you are a nobody in your field. You have demonstrated nothing. A company in China is not going to see any value to their bottom line in hiring you. Work hard. Get good at what you do. You'll know you're good enough at what you do when offers find you without even looking.

[atlant]

At least in the case of HK, having skills that no local competitor could offer is not just an advantage, it is a requirement to get a working visa at all and your employer has to justify hiring you over a local applicant to Immigration.

[JayJuanGee]

(03-05-2015 06:22 AM)KonstantinAbroad Wrote:  

Of course there is always the way to start working as an EFL teacher for a while however i don't want to spend the next two years teaching children or students on how to speak a language properly.

I taught English in Korea in the 90s for 6 months, and believe me, teaching has the potential (depending on location and exotic value) to lead to all kinds of potential networking possibilities for guys with the right state of mind and/or preparations.

For example, after my first few weeks teaching mostly mid-20 year olds in an after school private school, my employer offered me to teach at the second largest steel company headquarters for twice a week that added up to 4 hours a week, or something like that. In that regard, I was meeting with steel company executives for 4 hours a week, and these guys (mostly guys) were really curious, receptive and nice to me because I was in a position as their teacher for these few hours per week, as sponsored by their company.

I think that part of my point is that if you are fairly exotic in the location, then you can be exposed to a large number of networking opportunities, if you are adequately motivated and prepared for such. In my case, and at that time, I was NOT really motivated or prepared to engage in any additional business with the guys at the steel company because I felt that my plate was sufficiently full at the time (because I was spending several hours a week banging and at that time during that teaching job, I had already felt that I was overextended in the lack of sleep department).

[JayJuanGee]

(03-05-2015 06:37 AM)KonstantinAbroad Wrote:  

Hey JayjuanGee,

can you share some of your experiences in regard to going the EFL teacher route for a while and meanwhile start to build up connections to other expats or locals?

Did you went that route?

Thanks a lot

I think that my above post is an example, but I might have some other examples too - even though my experience was quite a long time ago... and of course, the dynamics are going to vary from country to country and from location to location depending upon how flooded the location may be with English teachers.

[clever alias]

You don't need to speak Chinese to work in China. Even if you spoke Chinese, unless you can speak it a professional level, it's more of a convenience than anything else.

It's hard to network into a big company in China because everybody and their mother is doing the same thing. You're just another American who may not even be able to work in China yet (there's a sometimes overlooked requirement that requires people to be 2 years removed from their college graduating class: I know a guy in the UAE who is literally waiting to get transferred to China because he doesn't have enough technical experience).

RioNomad had the right idea: look for a job in the US that is willing to send people to China or Asia to work. These jobs usually pay better and you're not competing directly with the locals who will work for less.

That said, I'll repeat what I've said before: if you can't land a good job in the US, you probably won't in China. An MNC will hire someone with concrete, in demand skills that speaks no Chinese than someone who has no real skills that can be applied but can speak Chinese. GE would rather hire an industrial engineer to oversee quality control and deal with the language barrier than someone who speaks Chinese but knows nothing about manufacturing.

[Suits]

(03-05-2015 06:53 AM)KonstantinAbroad Wrote:  

(03-05-2015 06:34 AM)Suits Wrote:  

(03-04-2015 07:05 PM)KonstantinAbroad Wrote:  

....Bachelor of Arts in International Business Administration....

....would recommend other cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok or even Taipei?

What skills do you have that would allow you to do a job that a local employee wouldn't happily do for 1/5 of the money.

How competitive would you be in your home country employment wise?

Do you speak any Asian languages?

Do you have some sort of competitive advantage?

Hey Suits,

I have learned Mandarin for one year at my university before heading to China for an internship.

Then it's safe to assume that you're years away from speaking Chinese at an acceptable level for business. Therefore, you can't be part of any Chinese work teams, unless of course your value as an employee is so great, that you're worth hiring a translator.

Quote:

Moreover i could already gather experience in regard to chinese business culture during my internship and i come well along with chinese people too. I would say i have a really outgoing personality and that's defenitly one of my strenghts.

If i got you right you recommend me to work on my chinese language skills? I could travel abroad and do a language course for a while and meanwhile start networking. Can you recommend me any good cities to do this?

If you want to learn more Chinese, that's fine, but what I really want you to understand is that even if you learn Chinese perfectly, you're still no more valuable than any other university graduate in China....except you won't work as cheap as they will.

It's a misconception that "foreign-ness" gives a person an intrinsic value in China (or Asia) and there "foreign insight" makes them highly desirable. This used to be a bit of a thing, but it isn't any more.

Most jobs fall into three categories.

(1)Things that have to be done for a company to function. Employers (being rational) will hire a person competent enough to do the task at the lost cost possible. This means that they will hire a local and not you. The only exception to this rule is if you can do a necessary task that no local can do competently. Think specially qualified engineers, certain doctor specialties, etc.

(2)Sales. Companies don't spend much money to hire people to do sales with products that practically sell themselves. Why spend cash to encourage sales when there is no need? The vast majority of sales jobs relate to products that people don't want. If you can change people's minds and convince them to buy something they wouldn't otherwise, you have utility.

A company will pay you the minimum amount of money they think you will accept to sell a product for a certain amount of profit.

I've been told that there are some sales job in Shenzhen that require high level English (a skill locals usually do not have). Beijing and Shanghai probably do not have very many jobs like this.

Hong Kong already has many high level English speakers as does Singapore. They can hire students out of university to do this. These recent graduates live with their parents and do not pay rent, so they can work for much less money than you can.

(3)Management. Managers jobs are usually to get people to work harder without paying them more money and to makes sure that they aren't slacking off so that the company isn't paying them to sit on their ass. Your pay for this is based on your proven ability to save the company money by motivating your underlings to work harder that they get paid to work.

If you have no management experience, it's unlikely anyone is going to pay you much money to do this, even if they hire you at all. Generally, people enter management jobs as middle management and that pays barely more than non-management entry level jobs. If you can't even speak Chinese (or any other relevant Asian language), you can't manage people who don't speak English comfortably, because you won't be able to motivate them by dancing like a monkey).

Quote:

In regard to your question on competition in my own home country i would say that i don't belong to the best but for sure i'm not bad at all too.

You are as good as your ability to help the employer make money. How good are you at making other people money?

It comes down to skills.

Quote:

The point is it's hard to score a job from somewhere abroad when you are not inside the country to present yourself in person.

Come to Beijing to look for jobs and I'll show you around the city and get you acquainted with life here. Earn some rep points by meeting other forum members and I'll probably let you crash on my couch for a few days if you don't want to shell out for a hotel.

Quote:

As you already pointed out they will find someone who is cheaper and he will be available just in the moment they need someone so why wasting time with Skype interviews with a potential canidate who is 8000 miles away and than there comes the whole visa hassle on top of that too,

Unless you are highly desirable for some special skill (or skills) you have, it's going to be hard to get a job anywhere here in Asia.


I've decided that working for other people is not a good use of my time, because they will hire me to enrich themselves, not to enrich me.

Fortunately, I have a useful skill. I understand the TESL market in Asia very well and am willing to hustle.

After graduating a year ago January, I moved to Beijing at the end of April and spent the last 10 months working my way through a series of day time teaching jobs until I found a stable one that always paid on time, didn't require many hours and was low stress. Most importantly, it didn't require any day time hours or weekend hours, which leaves me free to pursue additional employment.

Currently, I earn $25K USD a year (after tax) just working 17 teaching hours a week with no office hours. I'm don't by 3PM or earlier every day and sometimes don't start work until after 10AM.

I do this, because I don't want to waste my daytime hours doing nothing and I want a stable income to pay rent and expenses with and provide me with a steady visa.

As of tonight, I am beginning some new part time jobs with evening and Saturday hours. Once I fill up 13-17 hours of part time work (depending on the pay) each week, I'll be earning double my current income for a total of $50K USD a year, after tax. Not bad for 30-34 hours of work per week (I need to do very, very little lesson plan, because I know how to minimize that work to nearly nothing and still be highly effective).

Is teaching English in Beijing a dream job? Absolutely not.

But it's a job and I don't mind doing it.

It pays for my lifestyle, which for me in Beijing is a dream lifestyle and more importantly, it will earn me enough cash to significantly pay down my $50K US of student debt and also bank cash to start my own business in about 3-5 years.

If you want to live in Asia, it can be done. The only question is whether you're willing to do what must be done to make it happen.

[GyopoPlayboy]

I love this forum. Everybody's always so on-point with their advice. Can't add much more to their stellar advice (RioNomad + Suits in particular), but here's a look at actual expats I know/work with:

1. British, M, 40s, Oil industry, Project Manager, based in Singapore, company covers his rent, salary of 250K/year plus he makes money from the stock market
2. American, F, mid-30s, Int'l Lawyer, she and her family were sent to Shanghai for 2 years by Big Law firm, rent+driver+maid+daycare paid for by company, 200-250K.
3. American, M, late-30s, Architect, married to #2, headhunter helped place him at a firm, maybe 150-200K? not totally sure.
4. Dutch, M, late-30s, Manager, Shipping/Logistics, HK, 150-200K/year, company sent him for 2 years. Has wife and kids, but they stayed behind in Netherlands.
5. American, F, late-20s, Ivy League grad, director at big retail fashion chain, HK, ~150K, been here 3 years now, sent by her company.

Common threads include: working for a Western company with branches everywhere, in leadership positions or doing something very specific and in demand, company sends them on "tours" that usually last a year or two, company covers a lot of their living costs.

No disrespect to the English teaching crowd (I used to teach ESL too), but it's not exactly an industry I'd want to be in in my 30s.

If I were you, I'd get hired at a big MNC first (in your home country). Do your search in reverse: Look into big MNCs already in places you want to go to like Bangkok or wherever, and look into the people who were sent there from abroad. It's easy to stalk ppl on LinkedIn or Google these days. Check out their background and see how they got to doing what they're doing/what you wanna do. Shoot them an email/message and see if they respond?

[ChasInSin]

I work in Singapore and what's been posted already is pretty spot on. It will be very difficult to get any entry or mid level position in the big industries here with just a degree. Those are the positions the Gov wants local graduates to fill. In general, you really need to have good work experience and expertise in a field to get hired here. The suggestions of finding a job with an MNC in your home counrty, getting some experience and coming later are very good. Read and ask questions on some of the expat forums to get ideas as well. There's one in Singapore with loads of information on this topic.

[TheBulldozer]

Find a niche within your field that you enjoy, and become an expert. That's really the fastest way to get abroad. Hell, it's the fastest way to success.

It makes you irreplaceable, distinguished, and in demand.

[WanderingSoul]

The teachers in Bangkok I know doing fairly well, $3,500-$4,500 per month, are legitimate teachers from UK/America. Some got hired while in BKK, but I know of one in particular who has lived here for years, but flew back to the UK to get hired because he got a better package being hired in the UK, as opposed to BKK, for the exact same job.

LeightonBlackstock has a very good ESL gig compared to most, but most in BKK can expect $1,000-$1,500 per month. The $1,500 per month gigs are few and far between. Also don't count on a work permit, insurance, or any of the stuff you should get from an employer.

Suits sounds like he has a much better gig than the large majority of ESL teachers in BKK.

[KonstantinAbroad]

Guys thank you so much for all those good answers. This is just the incredible value this forum provides to anyone who is part of this community. I see that the best way to score a decent job in Asia is to work for a few years in your home country for an MNC and after that just getting transfered somewhere abroad.

All those answers gave me an realistic picture on what awaits me by taking such a step. However as a fresh graduate i still would like to give it a shot for at least a few months to see if there is a possibility to make it happen in someway.

@ Thank you Suits that you would be willing to show me around in Beijing for a couple of days. Moreover it seems like that working as an EFL teacher for a while just seems to be the only way to get your feet somewhere into the door.

I'm pretty unsure now if Singapore seems to be the right destination to start looking for a job as Singaporeans speak english pretty well and chances of getting a job at the beginning as an EFL teacher might be better somewhere else.

I would like to add that i have read many horror stories of EFL teachers on the internet who talked about the bad experiences they made with teaching in China.
I was wondering if anyone has worked in Shenzhen for a while ( maybe as a teacher ) and could share some of his experiences he made over there?
I still have a few chinese friends over there however my experiences are rather limited as i have spend only a short time working in Shenzhen.

Good to see though that we already have figured out that scoring a decent job in Asia isn't as easy as it is stated so often *thumbs up*