Articles Written by Our International Teachers

Teaching English in China: chosen career or destiny?

by Glenn McMahon
Joined since: 2003 - 2005

Origin: Brisbane, AUSTRALIA

Let me begin by saying what a wonderful time I ‘m having in China, in particular, in Yangzhou. My first Chinese experience was back in 1989, as a tourist, in Beijing. Since then I’ve visited different Chinese destinations including Tianjin, Xi’an, Shanghai and Guangzhou. I’ve held this country in fascination for its rich history, varied cuisine and diverseness of ethnicity. By 2002 the travel bug had bitten me again and I found myself applying for work here to fulfill a dream to spend more time to understand this vast land and perhaps myself.

I’ve made many good friends, both Chinese and foreign, over the past 18 months and developed varied skills, both existing and new, in my chosen occupation as an English teacher at the Beijing New Oriental Foreign Language School at Yangzhou. What brings a person of mature years and diverse experience to work in China? Is Yangzhou a stop off along my journey down the path of life or a diversion down my career path?

I began my working life in Australia over 30 years ago as a young, shy boy who graduated with average high school results. Having then left school at age 17, and deciding against immediate further studies at University, I ventured into banking as my career choice. But honestly, I had no real burning ambition to be a banker having not yet “found myself” or my “true calling”. But I had to do something constructive with my life so a job with the major Australian bank seemed a safe choice.

Career choices! Young people leaving high school generally need to make some kind of major choices as to what they will do with their lives. Some tough decisions may need to be made about further studies: should they major in science, finance, computing, engineering, medicine or agriculture? Others seem to be ordained from an early age to enter an obvious career path: call it destiny, perhaps! My daughter, for example, has a fascination for all things in the bug world and from her toddler days she would wander around playgrounds and gardens collecting specimens for observation. Thankfully most of her captives would be released intact after a short and painless night in the McMahon household. That love of the insect world has continued into her adult and working life, making a successful career as an entomologist in Australia.

So do occupations choose us or do we hope for the best and pick the most likely path that seems easier or most convenient? I’m sure that even the most brilliant, educated people in their field have days of doubt when the work seems impossible or routine causing them to question career choices made so long ago. How many people are lucky enough to really enjoy their vocation of choice? Do they live to work or work to live?

Back to my banking career! I stumbled as a young man of 18 into a career path of banking, laboring along the way at times, not really sure if I had chosen well. By age 28, I was a father of three children and so for the sake of security decided to keep on the “straight and narrow” path I thought was best for my family. I enjoyed aspects of my banking job: it was challenging mentally, demanding physically on occasions and always required complete attention to detail. It appeared that my customers liked me and I related well to my colleagues and superiors. I seemed to possess flair in developing and delivering training sessions for my bank colleagues. What a buzz! I derived such satisfaction in helping people acquire knowledge, the knowledge I possessed. Eventually I was selected to join the bank’s training school to assist new cashiers and supervisors learn their roles. My passion for teaching began and took me eventually into the ranks of management, training new supervisors and managers.

So from a banking career, I was lucky enough to discover what I wanted to do with my life: Teach/train people in anything or anywhere. There began my quest to horde knowledge and expertise from various work disciplines such as finance, recruitment, administration, retail, human resource management, communications and public relations. Having then resigned from the bank in 1996, my work took me around Australian cities and overseas to Papua New Guinea satisfying my travel instincts but also giving great variety of work environments and people.

Some people believe that everything happens for a reason: it’s your fate or destiny, they will tell you. One door closes and another opens and be sure to jump through that window of opportunity before it closes. If you have a dream, follow it. Direct all the energy you can muster to catch and live that dream. It may take a while but it’s worth it.

Do you wait for good luck to land at your feet or do you create your own luck through hard work and determination?

If I have one piece of advice for young people who are contemplating their futures, it would be this: consider your favourite subjects in school together with your interests or hobbies. What do you enjoy doing most? Playing a musical instrument or a sport, tinkering with computers, writing poetry, solving math problems, drawing artworks or conversing in English. Will your favourite pastime become your future career choice or do the skills you possess destine you for an occupation that has chosen you?

My presence in China as an English teacher is my destiny. It took a while but now I’m living my dream!