Does your Chinese wife have a job in USA?

[Sebastian]

David - spot on - you echoed what i would have written (sans the personal bits).

[BillV 8-16-2004]

I found my wife a job working in the kitchen at a private college on 20 acres within walking distance of our home, it is mostly an all english speaking enviroment, they raise their own vegetables, fruits and animals, it is mostly vegan and vegetarian menu, she does baking, food prep and cooking she says American cooking is very easy. In China she own a couple of restaurants and had a goverment job as a food inspector. She also has worked part time at an American fine dining restaurant and at a catering service for special events. She doesn't need to work but she like to make an extra income which we use for vacations, home improvements and helping her families children with their educations and it gets her out of the house which has helped her to acclimation to America so much easier.

[Guest Rob & Jin]

Jin's going to start Cosmotology school this fall, then work part-time after that.

[Cronos]

My wife and I are also having a bit of trouble figuring out a good job for her when we get Stateside.

 

She just recently graduated from college with a B.A. in English Literature -- she's pretty much fluent at this point in time, standing way above her classmates as far as functional English skills are concerned (though she gets nervous and her voice gets shakey when she meets new people that she has to speak to in English -- it's really cute). Of course, it helps that we've been together since her first year of school, almost four years ago. All the same, in China that degree basically only qualifies her for teaching positions and she's pretty sure she'll HATE teaching. She's going to teach at a couple Universities during the coming Fall semester, while we wait for our CR-1 to reach completion.

 

She seems really interested in getting into an American business with Chinese ties; perhaps as an interpreter or something. Of course, I'm from Central NY and I'm at a complete loss as to where I might find such a business for her to work at. The other option, of course, is tutoring or teaching Chinese at a private school -- if she's qualified. Is a B.A. enough to teach at a private school in the States? I know she'd need her Master's to get into a college or to teach in public schools (permanently, that is; she could possibly start with a temporary certificate in NY, so long as she takes a minimum amount of credits every year towards a Master's. I have a friend who did the same and almost lost her job because she waited 'til the last moment to complete her Master's).

 

Izus, if you don't mind my asking, what kind of qualifications/education does your wife have? Is she teaching on a Bachelor's? Does she have any extra certifications that allow her to teach? Did her teaching experience in China help her a great deal in getting work in the States?

[Reddragon75]

This is a good discussion.

 

I have talked to my fiancee before about it. She has a college degree in Accounting, and her English is pretty good. She works as an accountant/bookkeeper for a reputable company in Nanning and has had many years of experience in this field.

 

However, we don't know how likely it will be for her to get that same kind of job after she arrives here in the US. She doesn't think her English is good enough to work in that kind of job here. I hate to say it, but she might be right. She has been working on her English, and just since the time we first met, it has greatly improved. And, I know that after she gets here and gets used to hearing English on a regular basis, it will maybe get to the point where she speaks it better than most Americans.

 

I don't live in what could be called a big city, so the jobs available in her field of experience are rather limited here. But, that is ok because we have already discussed the fact that after I graduate, we will more than likely be moving to a different city because the job availability for my field is even more limited here than hers. She is ok with this, but I still have at least a couple years until graduation and she wants to work during that time. I did tell her that she might have to work in a restaurant or department store for awhile until she could get a job in her field, and she doesn't have a problem with that. I also told her that if she is not comfortable enough with her English skills, she could possibly work in a Chinese restaurant(my city has plenty of those) until she thinks she is comfortable enough to work somewhere else. She said that is probably what she will do.

 

Actually, since it is very likely that we will be moving after I graduate, it would probably be a good idea for her not to worry so much about getting her "ideal" job right away. After we move, there will be more availabilities in the job market for both of us.

 

Amanda...my suggestion to you is to talk to your husband about it when the time comes to do so.

[amanda1969]

Thanks for all of your answering my question. I have found that not only me who is interested in this...lol.

Well, I have talked to my husband about this for several times. He said maybe my first job in USA could not be as good as mine in China but I have to accumulate working experience in USA.

I have been as an accountant for 18 years in China. I had part time jobs for a few years which I taught accounting lessons to adult and taught a few middle school students to learn English( I have B.A. degree on English).I do not know if my working experience in China will be helpful for me to get a job in USA but I will prepare for everything for my future in USA.I like the feeling of working. And I have responsibility to raise my son and support our family.

Edited July 23, 2008 by amanda1969 (see edit history)

[Sebastian]

Thanks for all of your answering my question. I have found that not only me who is interested in this...lol.

Well, I have talked to my husband about this for several times. He said maybe my first job in USA could not be as good as mine in China but I have to accumulate working experience in USA.

I have been as an accountant for 18 years in China. I had part time jobs for a few years which I taught accounting lessons to adult and taught a few middle school students to learn English( I have B.A. degree on English).I do not know if my working experience in China will be helpful for me to get a job in USA but I will prepare for everything for my future in USA.I like the feeling of working. And I have responsibility to raise my son and support our family.

 

You might want to ask Richard about starting out as an accounting clerk, then prepping for a CPA certification.

 

(and now I remove my career advisor hat)

[dnoblett]

So far Yu has been a Chinese Teacher at an weekend school held at a local public school, and an on call teacher's aid at another public school. I guess her experience in China as an English teacher helped get these jobs, and also involvement in the local Chinese community got her the Chinese teaching job.

 

http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/arch...05/5/Who+we+are

http://www.fcc-rochester.org/index_files/Page2332.html

 

Mostly her work has been our home based internet business, and going to college for ESL, and other classes of interest.

Edited July 23, 2008 by dnoblett (see edit history)

[lostinblue]

This is a good discussion.

 

I have talked to my fiancee before about it. She has a college degree in Accounting, and her English is pretty good. She works as an accountant/bookkeeper for a reputable company in Nanning and has had many years of experience in this field.

 

However, we don't know how likely it will be for her to get that same kind of job after she arrives here in the US. She doesn't think her English is good enough to work in that kind of job here. I hate to say it, but she might be right. She has been working on her English, and just since the time we first met, it has greatly improved. And, I know that after she gets here and gets used to hearing English on a regular basis, it will maybe get to the point where she speaks it better than most Americans.

 

I don't live in what could be called a big city, so the jobs available in her field of experience are rather limited here. But, that is ok because we have already discussed the fact that after I graduate, we will more than likely be moving to a different city because the job availability for my field is even more limited here than hers. She is ok with this, but I still have at least a couple years until graduation and she wants to work during that time. I did tell her that she might have to work in a restaurant or department store for awhile until she could get a job in her field, and she doesn't have a problem with that. I also told her that if she is not comfortable enough with her English skills, she could possibly work in a Chinese restaurant(my city has plenty of those) until she thinks she is comfortable enough to work somewhere else. She said that is probably what she will do.

 

Actually, since it is very likely that we will be moving after I graduate, it would probably be a good idea for her not to worry so much about getting her "ideal" job right away. After we move, there will be more availabilities in the job market for both of us.

 

Amanda...my suggestion to you is to talk to your husband about it when the time comes to do so.

Yan talks to her qq group and nursing seems to be best for employment with accounting a close second among chinese woman here. Edited July 23, 2008 by lostinblue (see edit history)

[Guest WenDylan]

Yan talks to her qq group and nursing seems to be best for employment with accounting a close second among chinese woman here.

Maybe a year in school to get a quick A.S. degree in Radiology might pay off. Talk about an easy job where you can definitely make plenty of $$$. (What was I thinking when I signed up for classes?)

[david_dawei]

She has a college degree in Accounting,

very common among chinese ladies... doesn't seem to gain much at first...

[kangjie]

I found my wife a job as a housekeepr at a summer lodge in the country. It is a temporary summer job.

I set the whole thing up with the manager and told them I was looking for a postive work experience as her first job so even if she didn't like the job or they didn't like her she could get over the fright of working in America, and that was the most important thing(no bad experiences with co workers, no bad neighborhoods etc ).

I told my wife she could quit at the drop of hat or even on the same day if she wanted. I tell her this all the time

So far three months have passed and she thinks its a very hard job for little money but gets along great with the other girls and boss. They love her.

The first six months in america she stayed at home and went to a school to study english. She was getting bored

Its a summer job so it ends in September

[The Jeff]

The first job my lady had here was as a private Chinese tutor. She posted some ads on Craigslist and replied to some ads in her College's job board. We are both students, and now she works part time as a hostess at a Chinese Buffet. To get that job, she went to all the Chinese joints in town. She applied to those that were the most popular and seemed to be busy.

[kangjie]

The first job my lady had here was as a private Chinese tutor. She posted some ads on Craigslist and replied to some ads in her College's job board. We are both students, and now she works part time as a hostess at a Chinese Buffet. To get that job, she went to all the Chinese joints in town. She applied to those that were the most popular and seemed to be busy.

 

What kind of money is she naking at the chinese buffet?

My wife has been checking those things out as well whenever we go to one. The waitresses seem to pull in 2 grand a month(10 bucks a day with tips) but work 6 days a week 10 or 12 hours a day.

[Cody]

When my wife arrived three years ago, she could not speak any English at all. After about a year, she could carry out a very basic conversation, so she decided to get a job. She applied at Target, but was rejected because of her weak English skills. Then she applied for a job at Subway, and took the position for $5.15 an hour. She worked there for three months, but didn't like the prospect of making minimum wage.

 

So we tried something different. We contacted a temporary staffing agency, and they found her a job at a cosmetics factory for $9 per hour. She spent her day putting labels on bottles of make-up.

 

From that job, her English skills improved enough to take a job at a before/after-school program at a nearby school district. This job paid $12.70 per hour, and it has really helped her to improve her language skills through interacting with elementary school children.

 

Today she is motivated to attend college, although her English is only at a basic conversational level. We picked up a book on 6000 essential English words for her to study, and she plans to tackle 10-15 each day. With some effort, her dream of going to college may come true.