How much should I be making?

[UnderpaidPinoy]

My company gave me a title as Project Manager but I only make P17,500 a month -- thats $437.5 US a month or $5,250 a year.. There are a few allowances like "electricity to run my computer", dental and health (full list is somewhere in my email)... but... its still pretty low actually. I don't get paid for overtime, and I work at least 10 hours a day just staring at this computer screen.

I dont have any skills like Perl, MYSql or Java... (I was a C+ average student) but I did graduate from college, Management Information Systems... my job entails me guiding both Graphics people and Software Engineers into developing features on the site that I think of. I write up all these documents giving the specifications on those features, but a lot of it is common sense... and basically make sure the whole thing goes smooth from programming to release.

am I even a Project Manager? They gave me this title. Or am I some glorified document writer?

My company is based in Hong Kong, and I live in Manila. According to this article I found, I make about as much as a maid in Hong Kong did 5 years ago.

[PDLM]

You earn about the same as a maid makes in Hong Kong. You earn about 8 times what a maid makes in the Philippines. If you could get an employment visa for Hong Kong (which you wouldn't with your qualifications & experience) then you might earn 4 times what a maid earns here.

I'd say that relatively you're better off where you are.

[cloudybay]

So your question is whether you are underpaid given the scope of your responsibilities and qualifications?

You are underpaid by what standards and compared to whom? You are based in the Philipines and I assume educated there as well, you can find the answer to your question by comparing yourself with those who have similiar qualifications and job descriptions and finding out how much the their average pay is.

Those women from your country go overseas to work as maids because they can't get a job back home and/or they can make substantially more working as a maid than whatever jobs they can get back home. And let's not forget that many of them are as well educated by your country's standards as, if not better than, you. Compare your salary to people in other countries or your compatriots working overseas is like comparing oranges and apples, pointless and useless.

[UnderpaidPinoy]

You earn about the same as a maid makes in Hong Kong. You earn about 8 times what a maid makes in the Philippines. If you could get an employment visa for Hong Kong (which you wouldn't with your qualifications & experience) then you might earn 4 times what a maid earns here.

I'd say that relatively you're better off where you are.

I know huh? Its like my folks spent P80k a year on college and high school so that I wouldn't have to move to Hong Kong? lols

heres the link:
CNN.com - Hong Kong faces maids embargo - Mar. 5, 2003

its from 2003 though! so im pretty sure maybe one or two of them get more than me

[lemonlenny]

i have colleagues in the philippines who make around 1/6 of what we are earning here. so i reckon if you had the same post in HK (assuming only) and based in HK, you would be earning 25,000HKD->30,000hkd a month. but you are in manila...

[cloudybay]

You apparently have a huge hang-up about making less than a maid in HK. But as I have mentioned earlier, many of them have as much as or more education than you so I don't know why you think you've been short-changed. My helper has a university, not college, degree.

You can always try to come over to HK to work as a house boy.

Or you could have studied harder in high school so instead of ended up as a C student in a college you might have gone to a top elite university in your country and scored a real profession job and pay.

Your company maybe from HK but they pay you based on the pay scale in the local market, the way every corporation does, since you are based locally not in HK. You could try to get them to relocate you to HK which should bump your compensation up to HK standards; but then again, let's not forget the cost of living is not exactly the same as in the Philipines.

[KnowItAll]

Lenny - I would not pay $25-30K for the skills that UP has listed.

I Would outsource it out at around the cost that he has mentioned.

UP - Project Manager is a title ... but it depends on the projects and the amount of management you do. If you're managing projects which are say of $10K value .. that is different from a project manager at a bank managing $10M projects.

[UnderpaidPinoy]

So your question is whether you are underpaid given the scope of your responsibilities and qualifications?

You are underpaid by what standards and compared to whom? You are based in the Philipines and I assume educated there as well, you can find the answer to your question by comparing yourself with those who have similiar qualifications and job descriptions and finding out how much the their average pay is.

I looked around online, some research I found:

http://myjobstreet.jobstreet.com/premium/basicSalaryReport.asp?param=Project%20Manager|000| ph||my
(not sure if you can see that) -- but the PM's there have at least 10 years experience under their belt. I couldn't find anything that told me about 1-2 year PMs in the Philippines. A friend of mine from college tells me starting pay for my position is P30k, easy. But I haven't found any credible, reliable statistic.

Those women from your country go overseas to work as maids because they can't get a job back home and/or they can make substantially more working as a maid than whatever jobs they can get back home. And let's not forget that many of them are as well educated by your country's standards as, if not better than, you. Compare your salary to people in other countries or your compatriots working overseas is like comparing oranges and apples, pointless and useless.

I kinda have to compare apples and oranges, since pretty much everyone else "from my field or country" is working for a company outside the Philippines. Many of them are earning dollars, dirhams or dinar. I think of it more as comparing apples to... cheaper apples. LOL! I based it on the HK Maid because:

1. My boss is from Hong Kong, and if he pays his maid the same amount as me, his "PM", then that's just flat-out unfair. I seriously doubt he's got a maid writing these specification documents for him.

2. Case in point: the above post mentions how "much more" than a maid I earn. It's simple math. I can't limit myself by comparing my pay to professionals here (in Manila) when everyone else is working for a companies outside the Philippines. The world is my standard now, it has to be (especially since the Philippines is one of the world's largest outsourcing countries -- 3rd largest English-speaking country in the world, and is ranked #1 in the availability of knowledge-based jobs and workers worldwide).

Source:
Business process outsourcing in the Philippines - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Okay I know it's a little stupid of me to quote Wiki as a source, but i'm too lazy to find anything better, just didnt want you guys to think I was talking outta my arse lol)

There are a lot of easier jobs out here that I could do too: (a) Telemarketing (b) Teaching English (I can teach Koreans English and make BANK) (c) Medical Transcription... there are almost too many jobs to choose from. I feel reluctant to leave since my company was patient with me and taught me what I now know.

How much would you pay me (hypothetically?)? More than a maid? Less than a maid?

Should I leave my company?

[UnderpaidPinoy]

Lenny - I would not pay $25-30K for the skills that UP has listed.

I Would outsource it out at around the cost that he has mentioned.

UP - Project Manager is a title ... but it depends on the projects and the amount of management you do. If you're managing projects which are say of $10K value .. that is different from a project manager at a bank managing $10M projects.

Oh yes... maybe I didn't mention it but these are VERY SMALL projects. Btw, i'd DIE HAPPY on a salary of $10k a year hahahaha

[KnowItAll]

HK$ 10K or US$ 10K?

Now let me clue you in on the realities of managing someone remotely in the PI. First few weeks .. things go well .. then "sorry sir, my computer broke down ... "my broadband is messed up" .. "I promise to catch up over the weekend" (and this story is being repeated to 3 or 4 other people who the guy is working for at "freelance rates".

From your posts, you come of as one of thousands of folks who would respond to a query on craigslist or similar freelance sites.

I know you're trolling the boards for a competitive offer, but seriously, if I were you, I'd go work at a BPO in Manila and figure out what you want to do.