What salary is good enough?

shri · 31-08-2004, 12:46 PM

>> Dear sir don forget, we Indians are one of the most adjustable creature on earth..

I'd rephrase that. Indians who want to get out are willing to bend over backwards and allow their employers to rip them off.

I take particular offense to such stereotypical statements... which unfortunately prolong the sterotype of .. if you want it done cheap hire an Indian. (Am I making sense?)

A few months ago, I happened witness some conversations at a currency issuing bank in Hong Kong which has substantial operations in India and got to hear the hostility that the local chinese staff had towards "those indians" because of their willingness to accept Indian salaries, live in below average conditions in Hong Kong. No productivity gains as such .. but the employer was saving a few dollars.

I have no problems with jobs moving overseas, I have no problems with people bargaining on salaries both ways (upward and downward negotiations are just fine).

I do have problems with people making silly statements like the one I've highlighted.

In anycase, I have no desire to prolong this debate.

In my opinion $25K is not enough if you're paying for housing and is generally a good salary where there will be plenty of local talent. (To give you an idea, my last assistant who basically answered the phones, co-ordinateed sales staff and well... managed the office got that much and she sure as hell could not stick a LAN cable where it belonged, made about $24K/month). You can cut corners on housing and you can live in Hong Kong with $25K, many people do. However, you're most probably never going to get much further than

While berryplucker chimes in with his statistics, you have to take into account that a number of people live in housing estate or live with parents. This is usually not an option for expatriates in Hong Kong. There are several lifestyle issues... while it is natural for many of us to walk into a dai pai dong and have a cheap meal, it is not that easy for many foreigners (specially Indians...) to do this. There are travel issues (trips back home) and yes there are lifestyle issues...

Antde · 31-08-2004, 02:16 PM

wow!! thanks for all the responses... u see my wife is going to accompany me as i said..and she is keen on doing phd in life sciences preferably from hkust if possible.could anyone plz help by giving some info..like do hkust encourage outside students for phd...how hard /easy is it to get in???/
if her phd materialises we expect to take an apartment around hkust or some place easily commutable from there...
my slightly negotiated salary is 25 + 5 for taxable salary and reimburse rent now ..plz shower me with some more valuable responses and comments on the new development
thanks again in advance

berryplucker · 31-08-2004, 02:16 PM

What are your grounds for disagreement? The statistics on household and personal incomes are those published by the HK Government Statistics Department based on the latest census - in 2001 I think...

motogod · 01-09-2004, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by berryplucker:

What are your grounds for disagreement? The statistics on household and personal incomes are those published by the HK Government Statistics Department based on the latest census - in 2001 I think...

I totally agree with Berry ... Most of the locals I have met work for a pittance .. they are either employed in front desk as a CS or in a hotel ...
25 K is quiet good for 3 yrs of exp .. cannot expect more for that experience .. and it should suffice for a couple .. but do expect problems when ur family grows ..
expecting your wife to find a job is rediculous .. there are no jobs in HK .. infact there are no industries in HK besides Finance .. marketing and Hotel .. and more over if you plan to settle in HK ... it would do her more good career wise if she learnt to read and write in chinese rather than do a Phd knowledge of local language is far more important to the employer ...

forget the salary ... the things you should be worried about .. if the firm you are going to work for is a local chinese firm you might want to look at other options within an year or two. even when you are invited to a meeting or a lunch gathering you would find all of them speaking in their native language ... you can totally forget about making friends with your colleagues .. and complaining about one's job is a national pass time here .. and so is speaking loud .. looking for other options is how ever not .. coz there are no other options .. n the bend over stuff is what all the juniors go through .. that's what they are hired for .. expect to get fired for no reason atall .. how ever do not expect any labour laws to act in your favour .. if your boss is chinese the work timing would be 8:55 till your boss leaves .. 10 - 12 hours a day is normal .. efficiency and hard work are not the kind of traits an employer would hire you for .. showing your are efficient .. following your boss blindly .. talking loud .. showing you are working however are ...

expect nasty politics at your work place .. you will find the country very developed how ever that does not apply to the locals .. you will find all the infrastructure in place like the hospitals .. transport . schools .. however do not expect the education system or the health care system to be great .. it's not even average .. and that includes even the private health care ..

Incase you decide to come to HK always follow these golden rules ...
it is not important to show your intellect .. infact it is better to hide it .. other wise expect conflicts .. and when amids a conflict your convincing power and the volume of speech are your only true friends .. but if your opponent can convince in local language you stand no chance ..

- Mohan

berryplucker · 01-09-2004, 05:11 PM

It isn't worth the effort to respond to that ridiculous diatribe - Mohan is clearly someone with a huge chip on their shoulder who wishes he'd never come here.

motogod · 01-09-2004, 05:23 PM

Berry ...
w'll I don't intend to contradict myself but .. there are some positive sides to being in HK (very little though) and I am very happy that I came here .. I have gained a lot from Hong Kong .. HK is where I met me fiancee .. HK shall always be a special place for me .. but it's time for me to leave .. : )

fly · 01-09-2004, 09:40 PM

The problem with statistics is that the can be creatively used to back up almost any argument. The census #'s take into account too wide a scope of people to make much meaningul sense when you try to bring it down to a more personable level - sure 10k p/m may enough to get by for some folks, but would you (if given the choice) want to live like that? If your skills on the market are worth more, wouldn't it be better to know where you fit on that scale? It's a tough call to make when you are trying to gauge COL numbers without the benefit of actually being here, and yet it's more tough because it's too personal a call to make. So while there's nothing wrong with stating the statistics per se, their usefulness will vary with each individual where applied.

Antde,
By "+ 5", do yo mean +5 months (fixed or performance-based bonus or whatever), or +5K, i.e. 30k p/m? My personal view (again, no banking experience mind you!) is at least 30k p/m to make a comfortable, not extravagent, lifestyle for 2 in HK. If any couples are able to make it on less, my hat is off to them.

janagarajan · 24-09-2009, 12:29 AM

i got a offer to do research in HPU and they offer 20000 HK$ .
is this a relative good amount?

I can do some part time job to increase this income , b cas my family is most dependent on me...

though 20000 HK$ comes around 1.23 L indian money, how much can i save is my doubt....?

Please suggest.....