Grad School at home after studying in China

[Harvey]

Hello,

Has anyone here ever done the year or so in China language school thing, and then gone immediately to Grad School?

Just curious!

- Harvey

[roddy]

I presume you mean not within China?

Roddy

[Harvey]

Yes that's right, sorry to be unclear.

I mean, doing Chinese Language study in China, and then going on to Grad school in home country (or some other location).

[Zhende ma?]

Well, I studied Chinese for a semester (though I orginally planned for a year) and now I'm going to get my MBA in the US. Chinese language is always a plus on an application, especially for business or international relations type studies. It could also possibly help you get a job on graduation if you want to go back to China.

[Jive Turkey]

Harvey, perhaps you could be a little more specific about your questions and goals. The answer to your question is pretty obvious. There are plenty of people who spend a year in China studying Chinese as an undergrad or after graduating, and then go on for post-graduate study. Some of them do it because they have aspirations to work in academia and are specifically interested in Asian studies or other liberal arts fields where they will be doing something with a China focus. Others do it because they know they will be interested in doing business in China after they finish an MBA. Others might go back to the US, do an MA in something like international relations or translation and then go to work for an intelligence agency. The number of people who do this sort of thing is not small, so perhaps you'd get information that's more relevant to your plans if you were a bit more specific.

[Harvey]

Well, I studied Chinese for a semester (though I orginally planned for a year) and now I'm going to get my MBA in the US.

Thanks for the info.

Sorry for the interview, but let me ask you two questions.

At what point in your life did you go to China to study Chinese? Was that immediately after undergrad? Or were you mid-career?

What made you decide to cut China from 1 year to 1 semester?

As for my motives, I have been working in Japan as an IT professional for (oh man) 3! years, going on 4 now. I'm confused about my next move.

I'm thinking, go to China to a language school.... or

Go to grad school in US and study International Development.... or

Transfering within my current company to China and learning the language on my own...

And a mix and match of order. LIke, go to Lang school, then go straight to grad school... Or go to lang school -then- get a professional job in China... or transfer to China to work and -then- go back to US for grad school...

Things I'm worried about are...

Money for grad school.

I want a career change if possible. Grad school or language school could be the catalyst.

Maybe I should go work in China first to build the work experience on my resume.

I don't know!!!

Just looking for people who have done this sort of thing to get their personal stories. It gives me energy!

- Harvey

[Jive Turkey]

Harvey,

One thing you could consider is going to China for a couple of years. In that time, you could probably achieve FSI level 2 to 3 proficiency. With an IT background and demonstrated ability in Chinese, the NSA, CIA or DIA would probably be interested in you. If you did manage to get a job with them, then they would probably be willing to pay for most if not all of your tuition if you decided to go on for a graduate degree. You could also look into NSEP scholarships for graduate students.

[Harvey]

You could also look into NSEP scholarships for graduate students.

I love this forum. I love Jive Turkey. This scholarship looks like it was made for me.

In that time, you could probably achieve FSI level 2 to 3 proficiency.

What is FSI? Is this the same as HSK?

Thanks for the info, that was a godsend.

[Jive Turkey]

FSI=Foriegn Service Institute. Actually, the scale is now referred to as the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) proficiency scale. If you ever go for an interview to do language work at State, CIA, NSA, FBI or DoD, you will be given at least a speaking test that will be graded on the FSI/ILR scale. For Chinese, I think you have to have at least a 2 on the ILR scale to be seriously considered for employment with NSA or CIA. I don't know about the other agencies. For more common languages, CIA and NSA will take nothing less than a 4. A 3 on the ILR scale is roughly equivalent to a Superior on the ACTFL scale. Both the ILR and ACTFL scales are used in conjunction with criterion referenced exams to describe the testers proficiency. The Elementary/Intermediate HSK is norms referenced, so you can't really compare an Elementary/Intermediate HSK score with an ILR score. However, the Advanced HSK is criterion referenced, so someone could do a comparison study to see how it matches up. My rough guess is that an Advanced C on the HSK is something like an ILR 3/ACTFL superior.

[Zhende ma?]

Sorry for the interview, but let me ask you two questions.

At what point in your life did you go to China to study Chinese? Was that immediately after undergrad? Or were you mid-career

What made you decide to cut China from 1 year to 1 semester?

I worked in the US as a management consultant for two years after college. I studied Chinese on weekends as an interest. After two years I decided to go to China and study for at least a semester. I originally planned to study for a year and then go to grad school but due to personal issues back in the US I was not able to go until earlier this year and so only spent a semester. I plan to go back next summer and work if I can find a good job.

So I am not exactly mid-career but I'm not a wet behind the ears college graduate either. I think I went at a good time. My work experience helped me keep my goals in perspective while I was there. If you go there and study hard you could do fine. I don't know how easy it is to change careers in China. They are mostly looking for foreigners with management experience I've heard. If you are just going to be the regular IT guy (I did this during college too) it will be harder since there are a thousand Chinese guys and gals willing to play with the Cisco routers for cheaper than they will have to pay you. If you want to completely change careers from IT my game plan would be:

1) Go to China for a year or two and learn Chinese as well as possible

2) Network while you are in China

3) Go to grad school, I would say the US or Europe but Chinese grad school has some good options. Chinese will be a plus on your application too

4) With new skills and a degree (which always helps) go back to China and change into the career of your choice. This could be with a Chinese firm or a multinational.

Other people may have different advice. I am suggesting the grad school before career change because my expat friends were telling me it is getting harder for an expat just to drop in China and land whatever job they please. Learning Chinese will also open a lot of doors too.

[Harvey]

4) With new skills and a degree (which always helps) go back to China and change into the career of your choice. This could be with a Chinese firm or a multinational.

One question to this.

If I were to do that, I wouldn't be an expat in China, with a foreign currency salary right?

Not that money rules my world, but I always wonder, with the large difference currencies, if I worked in China and was paid in Yuan for 3 years or so... would I feel the crunch when moving back to the US or Japan?

In Japan now I work for Yen, but the economy is so close to the US that it doesn't bother me. I always wonder about this when thiking about China.