The IT market is really very different here to the country you have worked in for a numbers of years. Where have you worked?

IT is a confusion-zone here, with highly paid jobs in the West being paid low wages, and low paid IT jobs in the West being paid very well here.

If you are absolutely sure China is the correct place, Beijing is perhaps not the best place to go. Chengdu or Shenzhen may be better choices, or Shanghai, where more Western companies have a presence.

I personally would not advise coming to China at all unless you are extremely prepared to network many times per week in the evening to even get the chance of what you would see as a career here. Any foreigner can get a job, but really even I, with many years of experience and many qualifications, have had a difficult time achieving what I deserve here.

If you have real talent, self-employment may be the way forward. If you desire to get into consultancy, that is a growing area here also. Depending on what you mean by 'unix environment', you could potentially make a reasonable living here. If it's design and project management, you may have something. If it's just mostly a technical background with the odd project thrown in, I would really suggest you try for other countries.

Remember that most people who read your post will be relatively young, and perhaps not as demanding as yourself. Certainly, going by the category of postings here today, you would be better off directly contacting companies here, and hope you get lucky with a head-hunter.

Good luck.

Keep in mind that most headhunters, the solid ones at least, don't want to hear from you. If you are credible, they will scout you out.

What is the going rate for western scalps these days?

I'm working for Kelly Services an American headhunting company here in Beijing. If you have any questions about jobs in Beijing give me a call or send me a message.

Matt Bartoloni
13621264957
86-6588-5258 /104
matthew_bartoloni@kellyservices.cn