China

Thank you Chris!
I will DEFINATELY look into it. Aviation is just such a great interest for people to have! It is the best thing ever and the opportunities are endless. I am glad I am replying to somebody who I will become one day. I greatly appreciate everything you have done for me.
Dylan

No problem, glad to help :slight_smile:

While I lack the flight experience I did spend two years working in Beijing and feel I can clarify a few points.

First to the “tax free” income part:
While I worked in the PRC I paid no US income tax because my income was below the threshold however you are liable for US income taxes above the threshold ( about $97,000 if memory serves). Additionally I paid taxes to uncle Mao. While there may be some provision that the airline pilots are exempt I find that hard to believe and expats are still liable for income taxes in the PRC. I feel most of this idea that you net the whole income comes from expats working in Dubai where foreigners pay no income tax, however Americans are liable for paying income taxes on foreign earned income anywhere in the world.

Additionally one subset of Chinese culture that many expats had trouble getting adjusted to was the concept of guanxi (likely misspelled the pinyin there). While many of the cultural quirks could throw you the idea of guanxi was the biggest. To put it simply it is networking and favoritism on steroids and is not only accepted but an expected part of any business life there. Your ability to maintain relationships with your Chinese coworkers and managers will always determine your fate more than your abilities. This is seen as perfectly normal and even good. While many may be ok with this I found it flew in the face of most Americans ideas on how a workplace should run.

Beyond that you have to deal with the fact that you are living in a country where you are not a citizen. While I never feared for my safety once in two years it was well known that if something went down and the police arrived it would not go our way, to the point it was commonly believed that if you got a beating and the cops called you should get out. Again, I never had to put this to the test but it was an understood reality.

Ultimately I had the time of my life in China and, while it was a love hate relationship, I would recommend it to many. The truth is however, the entire salary is not tax free and moving there for a tax advantage overlooks many far more significant issues in your daily life.

Carl

Carl,

Very interesting insights. Thanks for sharing.

Chris

Thank you Carl. Good stuff.

Adam

Hey
Even though I don’t personally work in a Chinese airline yet I have had two interviews and am on the road in that direction.
I am a American but grew up in china and speak Chinese fluently.
As said above"guanxi"/relationship play a HUGE role in job opportunities. I know many people in the airline industry so I don’t have difficulties finding airlines interested in me.
As for the work environment: yeah some of the pilots aren’t fun to work with, but the safety standards in the aviation industry here are so much stricter than the US.
If you can get a job here it definitely is worth the experience. You can easily get a job here with 4000 hours total time, they prefer type ratings but some are willing to work with you around that.
Ezra

Ezra,

With all due respect, as I said I do have friends who are currently flying for airlines in China. Apparently while the CAAC does have stricter regulations there is minimal oversight and the airlines routinely “bend” the rules making use of their “guanxi” relationships.

Adam