Opportunity with Parallax hardware in China: seeking adventurous person!
Ken Gracey
Posts: 7,392
Hello there,
For the past two years Parallax has been establishing a distribution in China through RobotC China Xi'an. This distributor is a Hong Kong-born American with dual citizenship and a staff of 20 in Xi'an, China. Their goal is to proliferate the use of Parallax robot hardware (mainly the ActivityBot) through Chinese universities. I have worked with this company for two years and spent two weeks in China with them for expositions, staff training and planning. Aside from the educational training they are also interested in supporting the use of Propeller in commercial products.
The distributor is seeking a Parallax-capable person who is interested in training RobotC China staff and university customers. The salary package and benefits work out quite well with a scaled return based on sales, yet the environment is very demanding. The commitment is probably four months to as long as both parties desire.
The distributor will be successful in China.
This is a legitimate offer and I am in the position to make recommendations. If this interests you please send your resume and any additional information via e-mail. Though I am acting on behalf of the distributor your submittal will be confidential to both parties.
Thanks,
Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
For the past two years Parallax has been establishing a distribution in China through RobotC China Xi'an. This distributor is a Hong Kong-born American with dual citizenship and a staff of 20 in Xi'an, China. Their goal is to proliferate the use of Parallax robot hardware (mainly the ActivityBot) through Chinese universities. I have worked with this company for two years and spent two weeks in China with them for expositions, staff training and planning. Aside from the educational training they are also interested in supporting the use of Propeller in commercial products.
The distributor is seeking a Parallax-capable person who is interested in training RobotC China staff and university customers. The salary package and benefits work out quite well with a scaled return based on sales, yet the environment is very demanding. The commitment is probably four months to as long as both parties desire.
The distributor will be successful in China.
This is a legitimate offer and I am in the position to make recommendations. If this interests you please send your resume and any additional information via e-mail. Though I am acting on behalf of the distributor your submittal will be confidential to both parties.
Thanks,
Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
Comments
I would like to say that in today's world with stagnating economies and a lot of other uncertainties, there might be only one way to get a head start on a stable career. That is to go where the Gross National Product is the highest in the world and spend several years slogging away in a far and away place.
If I were young, it would be hard to decide between China, Korea, and the United Arab Emerates.
It is no longer 'Go West, young man.' It is "Go where the growth is highest, young man."
It certainly would not hurt to be a second generation Chinese-American that easily handles Mandarin and maybe Cantonese and Hakka. You might think that Chinese all speak the same language, but there really are not any one billion people that easily understand each other anywhere. At least, it wouldn't be as severe a culture shock. It could be fun, rewarding, and the adventure of a life-time with life-long rewards.
But be prepared to start out with long hours and a lot of isolation. My first three years in Taiwan, I worked 7 days a week, and another four years at 6 days a week. There were rush periods of 80 hour weeks (for less than a month), and slow periods of 25 hour weeks.. but even the 25 hour weeks were 7 day a week affairs. You could find yourself on a train or an airplane whenever you weren't working... it is a huge country and a lot to cover.
Benefits? To begin with, over $80,000 USD of salary (or in some cases salary and certain employer-paid living expenses) can be earned before you have to pay any USA income tax on it. And if you have a real employer, you may not have to pay any of the 15.3% Social Security and Medicare taxes while abroad.
But wherever you go in the world, the IRS does expect to hear from you each and every year. And you will likely have to pay local income tax where you reside abroad. (Your foreign employer may help with the local income tax filings. I have medical and dental in Taiwan that is very good for about $25 USD a month... visits to the doctor are about $2 USD, the dentist cleans my teeth every three months for less than $4 USD.)
You will have to look at the whole package. It is not about how much you are getting paid in total, but it is about how much you are able to sock away in savings each and every month, with maybe a big traditional year-end bonus (it could be 2 months wages if the company is doing well). I have made much less per month in Taiwna than I did in the USA, but always saved more.
Got two fishes so far, need more. Come on, throw a hat in the ring. The future is the direction where the sun sets.
Ken Gracey
@SRLM: it can start as soon as we get your visa and airline ticket.
Anybody doubting the realism of my proposal above? Cody knows it's real - the real deal....
I wish I could apply, but my current contract is through January. After that I'm free, but as I suspected it's too late to apply for this opportunity. Sounds like fun for whoever will be going!
Not necessarily. The distributor is in it for the long haul. If you've got a CV in any form please send it to me.
No. Several years ago I would've suggested that some Chinese would be necessary, but not today.
Loving (or tolerating) high heat & humidity is a plus!
I was in Shenzhen for two weeks in May/June. All the Chinese people I encountered were extremely gentle and polite, and very eager to try to communicate and practice English. Fortunately for us Americans, that's true in many places around the globe. Of course it's always appreciated if you make any attempt at speaking their language, even if it's just hello, please, and thank you. There are many ways to learn the language (Rosetta Stone, etc), but nothing like being immersed in their culture.
@Ken: Yes, I have my China Visa, but no, I'm not volunteering to move there!
Good luck to the adventurer that is going. I am sure the adventure will find you. Pack a set of silk long underwear for the coming winter ... easy to hand wash and dries very fast. You may just need it. Even Taiwan gets winter cold snaps when the wind blows directly out of Siberia.
The willingness to learn is necessary, however. But speaking Chinese before somebody accepts the mission is not required.
Mandarin has 4 tones
Cantonese has 8 tones
Taiwanese has 7 tones
Most phonemes have about 100 meanings, so creating a topic and observing the context are really important. Talking to young kids is wonderful, they really try to help and are very honest about correcting. Adults are often too polite to know if you make any sense at all.
And of course money talks. If you are buying something, people will always try to understand.
http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Chinese
http://freelanguage.org/learn-mandarin-chinese/fsi-language-courses-com-us-foreign-service-institute-mandarin-chinese-free-audio-lessons-downloads
Do consider a copy of Pleco Dict in an Apple or Andriod touch pad. I have been using this software for about 10 years with great satisfaction. It will help you with street signs and menus. It really helps to have a device that fits in a shirt pocket so you can use it quickly.
www.pleco.com
Peter
Pronuciation is a bit part of getting started. And I have had to learn a lot of different phonetic systems for reading Chinese. But the texts appear to use what Mainland China prefers.. generally referred to as Romanized Pinyin.
The important clues are the use of the Q and the X at the beginning of words. But do NOT expect the sound of Q or X to related to English, that particular phonetic system was created to teach Russians, so the Q and X approximated sounds in Russian. It is an excellent phonetic system to use these days as it is clearly not anything else (and annoying problem of six of the others).
Taiwan uses a different system that is a little bit better, called Ba-Pa-Ma-Fa and spelled at Bo-Po-Mo-Fo. Learning numbers for money, time, and dates is extremely empowering. So it helps to make one feel they can hear and speak properly. Expect to be a serious student of phonology for 3 to 6 months. Learn each and every phoneme. That will make speaking and listing a lot easier. And don't try to make that Q and X into something they are not. CNN does that all the time and sounds like a bunch of idiots.
When actually in China, learn the local sound of the language and speak like a local. All the tapes I have are of Beijing dialect and people in Southern Taiwan are taken back by it. Some won't even talk to you if you sound that way. Travelling a mere 100 miles can affect pronunciation and word choice, so be a bit flexible. Trying to learn to talk like a gentleman and educated person. There is no payoff in learning to swear like a sailor.
If anybody wants info about living and working abroad, I'd be happy to receive a PM for your questions.
Most importantly, I have seen lots and lots of people arrive in Taiwan and neglect to file income taxes every year with the USA. It is a huge mistake. Generally, you have nothing to pay the IRS, but you create a big mess if you return home 5 years later and try to explain why you ignored what it says on page 3 in your passport. You are allowed an extra two month after April 15 just because you are out of the country... and you can extend that another 4 months if you need it just by asking.
Yay for the USA being one of two countries in the world (the other is Eritrea, which uses extortion to enforce worldwide collection) to tax worldwide income of its citizens... :P
BS2E's were just ~$12 several years back when I stocked up. Still have a box full.
BSEE's cost a wee bit more these days.
And don't forget the state of California... the only state that taxes world-wide income. Their Franchise Tax Board can be very nasty.
Three years after I arrived in Taiwan, California filed a $3,000 tax lien against me and my major credit cards were revoked. They had assessed the $3,000 against an estimated income (guesstimate) plus late penalties for my last partial year in California.
I told them I had requested tax forms for the year in question and they had neglected to send them. I gave up after two requests (this was pre-internet era).
Of course they said they had to have proof of this or pay the $3,000 to get my credit rating back.
I produced copies of postage receipts and the registered letters I sent to them, so they actually backed down and recognized I had a $300 refund due. But they never did give me the refund.
I became a resisdent of Missouri which is far more reasonable.
Conclusion, if you can become a resident of Nevada (which has no income tax), it may be to your advantage when living overseas. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Califorinia's right to tax world-wide income.
And you need someone with a mailing address in the USA to put on your bank accounts so you can invest in USA companies via a brokerage account. I file all taxes by registered mail, and any letter to the IRS. You never know when they want you to produce proof.
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As you can see, there are quirks and details with living abroad that are hard to find out unless you ask the ex-pat community to share their experience. A US Embassy might help a little bit, but they really try to do only what they have to by law.
Unless you establish a different state residency, your right to vote by absentee ballot is tied to the state you last lived in before going overseas.
Thanks, after 2 years in Taiwan I have found that trying to work at any other job other than "buxiban" (native english speaker) is like climbing everest.
http://www.overseas-exile.com/
There's a lot of info on the IRS and any other subject you can think of there. There's also a lot of discussion about the US statistics of citizenship renounciations, which he believes is faked.
All in all a pretty informative site.
It is difficult to figure out the residency permit and work permit regulations. Employers don't want to help you and the bulk of the laws are in Chinese
Yes indeed. Working teaching English merely requires a university degree, not work experience to fulfill the work permit and resident alien requirements. But you do have to be from a short list of countries - USA, UK, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, or New Zealand. If you fit in those parameters, you can easily get work if you are young and willing.
You cannot qualify to teach something like Spanish or be from Spain. They want English teachers from those seven nations. If you have the right passport, it doesn't matter that you were originally from someplace else and can barely speak English... you qualify.
Working in other categories requires two year of documented prior experience outside Taiwan, and may have to deal with proving a real need to hire a non-Taiwanese. No experience, no work permit.
You can stay in the country if you have a residency permit, but that alone does not allow you to work. It is a common problem with foreign spouses.
Eventually, you might qualify for permanent residency and then be allowed to apply for an open work permit (work anywhere). I did this after seven years with one employer.
Every country is different is what you can and cannot do. Thailand has a retirement visa that lets you stay there as long as you can show enough to support yourself, but it doesn't allow you to work. And it seems you can't even leave the country for one day without loosing it and having to start over.
If you plan to live abroad on hidden assets, like a Swiss bank account... this has all gotten much harder. The USA managed to put a lot of pressure on the Swiss after 9/11 because the Swiss provide services for the US Treasury in Europe. It is all a long story and with the 2008 meltdown came further restrictions of moving your millions out of the USA.
I will just mention the simple part. If you bank over $10.000 USD outside the US, you must file a Treasury Department form each year. Failure to do so is a 50% or $100,000 penalty, whichever is larger.
I keep about $12,000 USD in Taiw an (for a year's worth of living expenses). So I file this each year. Under $10,000 is no problem. This is Not IRS, but an entirely seperate Treasury Department regulation.
Now the IRS has also added an asset disclosure for over-sea that is a higher amount than that and is looking for alll sorts of investments, included your overseas real estate holdings.
So, it wouldn't surprise me that sucessful Amereican ex-pats that have acquired wealth in foreign lands may increasingly opt to give up citizenship. Things like ObamaCare are a nightmare if you live abroad and don't have national medical insurances...you have to buy something to avoid being fined.
Well, I've been learning Mandarin for about two weeks, and I have a valid passport... :-)
Loopy - I thought Mandarin has 5 tones?
Mandarin is officially 4 tones, but there is a fifth non-tone that appears in some phrase endings as a 'dot'.
Generally, Mandarin is the easiest tonal system to learn of all the Chinese dialects.
The link I posted has texts and tapes that are very good and free. I particularly like the presentation of tones... this is something I keep going back to re-study ... even after 19 years. Here is south Taiwan, pronunciation is very localized. Occasionally I just give up on trying to get the tones right. Watch cartoons on TV in Chinese is a big help.. also has Chinese sub-titles.
For people interested in this position, tomorrow (Thursday) I will have Robot C China's director Terry Sy in our office.
He is available to talk to anybody who might be interested in this position. So far we have Skype calls scheduled for Pacific Time 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm but we have openings at 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm.
If you are interested in this position you would need to let me know today via e-mail. It would be appropriate to include a resume if you have one, or an explanation of what you've been doing professionally.
Thanks to Loopy for providing the background information in the meantime, too!
Ken Gracey
When you first get off the plane, it may all seem too much. Drop me a PM if you really are in a panic or just curious about where to begin. Things will certainly be different. Smells might be overwhelming for a few weeks. And get lots of rest. My first year I seemed to catch a lot of colds -- maybe I just wasn't immune to all the viruses on this side of the world, maybe I was just a bit stressed.
Find a few places where you can have a bit of quiet time to yourself -- a tea house or coffee shop. It will get easier and fun.
Before you depart, put a big 8 1/2 x 11 sheet in each suit case just before you close them with the address of where you intend to be upon arrival (and a contact telephone).
That way, if you lose your luggage for any reason... it may find its own way to your new home.
I found that nearly everyone that I met on the street in China wanted to exchange US dollars for Renmen Bi. They offer you a better rate than the official rate.
You are supposed to only exchange US dollars at specific banks. Aside from this being illegal, these people are extremely gifted in short changing you. They don't count the bills in an open and honest manner, but fold the bills so that the count seem right, but there are less bills than the count indicates.
So beware of friendly money changers. You can endup with less that what the bank gives at the official rate, and no recourse.