Is experience working in China valuable?

I think probably no.

Even inside China, any work you do is, at least as far as performance is concerned, essentially unmonitored. Potentially everything you do will be noted down by someone, but that's all about security (and theft), and likely none of those notes or records will be used in the more mundane transaction of work feedback. If you have your own metrics, you might be able to work out how well you're doing at your job, but if you wanted your boss to manage your performance and measure your progress, that is just never going to meaningfully happen. You will be chided for tardiness, you will be be blessed by the attendance of others but not by much of their attention, and for whatever role you take you might well never see any stated objectives.

In short, whatever you do here is so completely non-standard, there is no one who can ever say what it is you really did. No one can attest to your experience. No one can understand even your own report about you. Nothing you do here is real on a resume.

Is it different outside the realm of teaching? Has anyone found out how to translate Chinese work experience into achievement recognizable in the "real" world?


Imma still think it will be no, because why would it be yes?

It depends on what you do and who you do it for.

Some outside employers will find Chinese experience shows a potential employee is capable of functioning in unusual situations.

If you work for the Chinese division of a foreign corporation, all the usual good and bad things like annual reviews will take place in the Chinese office.

Some outside employers will find Chinese experience shows a potential employee is capable of functioning in unusual situations.

Agreed, if you're there/here for no more than a year.

Longer than a year, it shows the potential employee stuck around in a messed up situation longer than was needed for a visitor to cause any change and and even so still didn't cause any change.

That's gonna look like wasted time.

That can vary a lot.

I've met a few foreigners who've been here longer than a year who will emerge with some impressive items to put on their CVs.  Others just need to be creative in their presentation of the work to make it look like something other than being stuck.

Matter of fact (aka opinion), stay too long employed in China, feels a bit like a stay in prison. Seems like it looks that way on a CV too. You might have learned a trade while "inside", but, yeah, would have been better if you'd stayed out this time

There's another option.  Settle down and get a life sentence.  It's worked well for me.

I'd be a lifer if they weren't going to bury me in the yard when I hit 65.

There's still time to get yourself a life sentence.  Find someone nice and marry her.