Hi,

I'm a mixed-race black guy who's been teaching in China for five years.

A lot of advice on forums such as this can be useful in giving you some background as regards what to expect in China. On the other hand a lot of stuff is exaggerated and blown out of proportion and does not give an accurate picture of what China is really like.

My qualifications are pretty average, and I can't say I've noticed any particular difficulty in acquiring positions for myself here. I always send a photo while trawling on the Internet for job positions. Among scores of applications that I have made, the issue of my skin colour has been bought up twice by employers. When looking for a new position I make plenty of applications and always end up with a good few offers. There may be a few schools who don't reply because of the colour of my skin, but there's no real way of knowing. I've never made a comparison with any white collegues when job-hunting. I personally think it's irrelevant, because it never takes me long to find a decent position, anyway.

I believe it's much easier for blacks to acquire positions in public (government) schools in China. Those institutions, particularly colleges and universities, are much less concerned with physical appearance than qualifications, ability and experience. The college I am working at now has a Scottish-born Chinese, Indian, South African, and a mixed-raced black (myself). In my time here most of the teachers employed here have been "over-forties". There is a black teacher from Cameroon, happily working in a neighbouring college. The young, female, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, preference, is found mostly in training centres.

If you believe all you hear on forums like this one, you would think it was impossible for a black person to get a teaching job in China. Impossible in SOME private schools and training centres, yes, but there are plenty of schools, especially public schools, that won't have any problem with your skin colour.

As regards pecking order, if it came down to two applicants with similar skin colour and qualifications etc. then probably in a public school, at least, the more conservative looking, or more attractive of the two will probably be picked. I worked with a black teacher who had dreadlocks while teaching in a language centre in Beijing, and he was well liked by both his employer and students. Did I say language centre? Yes! So never say never in China. This is a big country, and the thinking is changing gradually, everyday. I think it's easier for blacks in larger, more developed cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where the Chinese have a greater exposure to people from all over the world. However, these places are swamped with foreigners now (in a relative sense), particularly Beijing, because of the upcoming olympics, so the competition will be stiff.

In some smaller, less developed towns, there may be more fear of a big black guy appearing suddenly from nowhere, but I've worked in such a town and was well recieved, and had a great time there.

Ironically, I'm less conscious of my black skin in China than I was of it back in my home country, England. Of course I'm VERY conscious of being a FOREIGNER, the Chinese in general don't let you forget that fact. What I'm trying to say is that when out with my white colleagues I haven't found that I've been treated any different because I'm black, and the stares and snickers that I receive when walking down the road, sometimes, are common to all foreigners, white or black.

My advice to you is just come. The best way to find out about a country is through first-hand experience. When I first came I didn't know what to expect at all. I never even knew that forums like this existed. I came blind. Sometimes that's the best way rather than coming with preconceived misconceptions that could have a negative effect on your experience.

Don't believe the hype. It's not really difficult for blacks to get teaching jobs in China, if they choose the right schools and cities. As a native-speaking black American, I don't think you will have many problems here.

The best of luck in your job search!