Living in China

In the beginning of the trip I remember Dr. Li telling us that students in the past who have been in this China program, come back to work and live here. Ever since hearing that and all throughout our travels, I've been wondering if I could do it. Last night I spoke with an exchange student from Columbia about this topic. My first concern was learning Chinese; if i'm going to come live in a foreign country, I'll need to become conversational. He told me that he's been here for just under a year, didn't know one word of Chinese, and said with daily practice and normal conversations with the students he became conversational. The biggest problem he has with it now is understanding someone if they talk too fast.
Another concern I had would be finding a job. My job back in the states treats me very well, and not knowing Chinese would limit my options here to teaching English. The optimal situation for me would be to find a job that is based in America, but allows travel to China for projects or meetings and vice-versa. Regardless of a job, I plan to visit China again in the future because I really do like it here.