if you are 24 and just making 5000rmb a month with no other source of income, then well, you are just wasting time when you should be back home trying to earn and save money and establish yourself.

That would probably be true if there weren't other intrinsic rewards for teaching overseas. As far as just money goes, it might be a choice for a 24 year old between making 5,000 a month in China or occupying Wall Street in America. In other words, with rampant unemployment, suddenly teaching for beer and noodles isn't so bad.