I'm currently an emergency certified teacher, but I'm really interested in maritime work and know a little bit about the career path and some options of how to navigate it.

I tried finding a maritime community on Lemmygrad, but I didn't have much luck, so if it exists I'd appreciate a redirect. Any comrades here familiar with maritime work and law?

I've got some friends who want to move to Shenzhen. I used to live in Beijing for a time as a ESL teacher. I don't really enjoy teaching, and I want to do maritime work, but I also rather miss China. So, I was curious: can I live in China, doing maritime work? As an ESL teacher I know companies will hire and help me with visas and the like in order to live there, but shipping is an altogether different matter. I know in most countries, maritime work hires foreign nationals all the time, but it's also a security thing. As an American citizen, would it be possible for me to get a Chinese visa and work in the maritime industry while living there?

This is really just a pipe dream at the moment. I don't have much maritime experience, and I don't have a maritime job at the moment. This is more of a five-year plan type of situation - something to start working towards, if possible.

Any help would be appreciated!