Jobs after Learning Mandarin Chinese in India

In today’s global scenario learning a foreign language or two is the need of the hour to secure better job prospects.

When we talk of foreign language there is enough data to show the rising importance of Mandarin Chinese worldwide specially in India where the demand for Mandarin has risen 500% in the last 5 years.

The key questions a learner has are :

• Is Mandarin Chinese worth studying?
• What are the advantages of studying Chinese?
• What type of jobs can you get after learning Mandarin Chinese language in India?
• How much can you expect to earn after learning Mandarin Chinese in India?

In this blog, we will answer all of these and more!

For this first we need to understand that there are two categories of people who learn Mandarin Chinese in India.

The first type is the ones who are already experts in other fields like lawyers, software developing, engineers, CA, doctors etc. They have a proper degree or expertise in other skills and can get a job in that field but they are learning Mandarin Chinese so that they would have an edge over their competitors, for them learning beginners or intermediate Mandarin Chinese is enough. ( HSK level 1 – HSK level 3 )

The other type is those who are learning Mandarin Chinese language to make a career in this field. They wish to work as Chinese language experts or trainers in companies or as freelancers, for them learning Intermediate to advanced Mandarin Chinese is required. ( HSK level 3 – HSK level 6 )

For the second type let’s talk about the jobs one can get after learning Mandarin Chinese and how much salary can they expect.

1. Corporate Field – MNC, BPO, KPO, IT, and Call Centres

According to a recent survey Mandarin Chinese is the highest paying foreign language in India. There has been a 500% rise in demand for Mandarin Chinese experts in India in the past five years.
The basic requirement in most corporate jobs is that you are HSK level 3 qualified and are able to communicate properly in day-to-day activities.

It’s not difficult to get a job that pays you approximately Rs 30,000 a month with such skills and expertise. As a fresher, one can earn Rs. 4 lakhs package. After some experience along with good communication skills plus translation skills one can at least Rs. 7 to 8 lakhs, while having really good expertise in their respective fields can help get Rs. 15 to 20 lakhs.

Currently there are more than 500 Chinese companies in India, including top Chinese Companies such as Xiaomi, Haier, Volvo, Oppo, Vivo, Oneplus, Huawei and Motorola. The Chinese investors have invested 40% of its total investment in the Automobile Industry in India. 18 out of India’s 30 unicorns (startups with $1 billion valuation) such as Paytm, Ola, Swiggy, Flipkart, Bigbasket, Oyo, Byju, Delhivery have Chinese investors. Almost all international as well as Indian companies have trade relations with China. All these corporate behemoths require staff who can speak Mandarin chinese and the demand only keeps increasing proportionate to the rise of the Chinese economy.

2. Agents for Import & Export Business

Few years back the most common reason for Indians to learn Mandarin chinese was because of their inability of communicating with their Chinese business partners, Chinese factories or sellers. If anyone wants to do any business from China, knowing Chinese is a must.

Businessmen dealing with China are always looking to find a reliable agent to help conduct the deals smoothly. Many businessmen, after learning Mandarin Chinese, have become agents themselves, to help other Indian businessmen do business in China and are earning huge agent commissions on every purchase that is made. Most factories pay 2-5% commission on every deal that is made via an agent. The import/export deals between India and China usually accrue to crores of rupees. As a result, this sector yields very high paying jobs, although securing them needs good networking in China and a good command over the language along with the basic idea of the methodologies utilised in import-export trade.

3. Tour Guide: Travel, Tourism, Leisure & Hospitality Industry

China has a huge population that follows Buddhism and it is very common for them to visit Bodh Gaya and the Golden triangle route in India. They come in packs and are very generous when it comes to spending.

The income of tourist guides can be quite high or fairly low depending on the networking skills, communication or other social skills that they bring to the table. There are tourist guides who earn in lakhs per month even though their Mandarin Chinese skills are not exceptional. They earn a lot of commissions from hotels, restaurants and shopping places since they handle very huge groups of tourists. They earn a portion of nearly every purchase the tourist makes. They get 30-40% commission on colossal amounts of money and average $5-10 tip per day from every person in the group, with a usual group consisting of 20-40 people. This field however is considerably competitive and requires good networking skills.

4. Freelancing as Translators and Interpreters

Translators earn an average Rs. 3-5 per word and an interpreter earns around Rs 2000- Rs 10,000 per work-day (comprising of 8 hours), depending on their skill set. If you are really good at it and build good networks (possibly contact with some agencies) and you have your online profiles on freelancer.com or other websites, then it is not very difficult to earn Rs. 30,000-50,000 or even Rs. 1 lakh per month, working from home. But it’s not easy to reach that level. One requires a lot of expertise in this field as it is possible only after working in Mandarin for a long number of years.

So what do you need to do to get those opportunities in the market ?

For being able to secure these opportunities in the market, you should have HSK level 3 certificate atleast. HSK is the official certificate in Mandarin Chinese by the Government of China. Earlier companies used to ask for a diploma certificate or bachelor’s degree or master’s degree for getting a job but now you have to have a HSK certificate even if you have done BA in Chinese language.

Along with HSK 3 certificate a graduation degree in general subjects BA, B.Com is also desirable and required by most companies. Overall holding a HSK 3 certificate will help you get good jobs as well as many opportunities as a fresher.

How long does it take to get HSK 3 and be job-ready?

With Meiyu you can complete HSK 1 to HSK 3 in a year.

Generally, in India the people who have done bachelors or diploma in Mandarin Chinese language from universities have HSK level 4 knowledge but the minus point in university education can be that such education usually has a lack of exposure to Native Speakers as well as having too many students in one class and too much focus on reading and writing. Student’s speaking and listening skills end up remaining at the beginner level.

Unfortunately, every month we come across students who have completed a BA or diploma in Chinese from a government institute but their speaking and listening skills are equivalent to that of a beginner and therefore they are unable to find a job as they are unable to clear the interview round with the Native Chinese HR. As a result, they need to study again with us, from the beginner’ level.

The problem is not that university doesn’t have qualified teachers. Just that Chinese is a tone-based language and it is very important to get the tones right as a beginner or else the pronunciation will be wrong and the meaning of words will completely change. This is more possible when students study Chinese from a native speaker and are exposed to Mandarin constantly, since this helps the students absorb the tones very naturally after repeatedly listening to them and speaking with them. One must always remember that in a language, if you are unable to speak it, no amount of degree or certificate can help.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you invest a year in Mandarin Chinese learning, you should be able to get a job with an average salary of Rs. 6 to 8 lakh per annum, which is quite impressive. This is in contrast to the scenario where people invest three years doing graduation and yet end up with an average salary of Rs 15,000 – 25,000 per month. I would say that there are a lot of opportunities in Mandarin Chinese language field and with the rise of Chinese economy these opportunities are going to increase manifold. If you are already skilled in some other field, learning Mandarin will be an add-on, and if you wish to make your career in the field of languages, Mandarin is the highest paying language in India at the moment, if learnt correctly, that is.

So, make your choice wisely!