Struck out in job recruitment at a target school. Go teach in Asia?

So this is going to sound a bit absurd, but basically, I struck out in recruitment. Didn't get a full-time offer, and it's not looking too good for me. It's funny because I knew since high school I wanted to do investment banking, had to go to a target school and get good grades, and was reading interview tips while I was in high school. But unfortunately, things didn't end up working out, and I'm okay with that.

I have very good grades at a strong target school, but poor work experience. Now this is the part that's a bit out there. So I ended up applying to all kinds of positions just because I was worried about having no job whatsoever, and I got an offer to become a teacher in China. They will pay me $3K USD a month, give me free private housing, and free on-campus food. They have campuses in Shanghai and Beijing, and I would choose one, although there may be opportunities at both campuses if I wanted to take on private tutoring work on top of the actual job.. The hours are ridiculously easy, 20-25 hours a week. So obviously I'd be able to get a second gig as well if I wanted. And I'd imagine I'd be able to save a lot of my $36K USD salary, which obviously isn't that much money but if rent and food are paid for and taxes relatively low...

So now I'm just wondering.. is this worth maybe doing? I never thought I would find myself teaching English abroad, and if you asked me a couple years ago, I would probably scoff at the idea, but now it doesn't seem that bad. I've always been a humanities person, and so teaching kids English sounds pretty fun to me. Especially since the kids I'll be teaching are already intermediate English speakers.

If it comes down to this, doing Ops at a BB, or doing Commercial Banking, what would be best? Probably just work a low-prestige job in the US? I was thinking that some combination of teaching abroad and doing entrepreneurship, on top of good grades at a top three undergrad institution, might put me in the running for a decent MBA? Or am I deluding myself?

5 Comments
 

I wonder whether people in Asia/SE Asia look at all these college-educated Americans teaching English like we look at people who went to med school in the Caribbean...

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 
Most Helpful

Molestiae hic dolore qui ad. Voluptatem velit eaque alias eos. Doloribus est et iste libero est suscipit id facere. Blanditiis beatae provident aut repellat possimus dicta. Sunt in deleniti cupiditate dolorum. Porro cupiditate est et est labore.

Corrupti doloribus hic eos quae. Non quibusdam qui atque ipsa praesentium molestiae. Est ut neque illum voluptatem. Cum pariatur doloribus facere harum est voluptates fugiat similique. Ut qui laboriosam quaerat odit. Sequi assumenda laborum voluptates natus odio corporis velit.

Fuga pariatur harum sed qui est. Quia rerum enim ipsa quis. Iure ea aliquid nesciunt enim.

Molestiae dolor non porro perferendis quos est. Optio autem deleniti ut. Odio minus aut et est. Unde optio officiis est alias debitis praesentium. Voluptatem voluptatum omnis ipsa.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”