Am I getting underpaid?

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  1. #11

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    Agree with previous posters...most regular office jobs are being paid at that rate and with no real work experience, it doesn't sound unreasonable although 7 days holiday and one day sick is definitely quite low. As to pay rises, it's entirely up to the employer and the economy... Many people didn't get much pay rises for a few years but in the last couple, employers have tended to catch up a bit. In you case, 10% wouldn't be unthinkable...

    Best way is to see whether you can get a better job... Your relatives are not exploiting you badly but they are certainly not overly generous either...


  2. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by DanielandHayley:
    we are all being underpaid aren't we
    Very true.

    I've been in recruitment for a long time and I've yet to meet a single person who thought he or she was overpaid!

  3. #13

    My BA was in Communications specializing in PR. It actually is relevant to my field. I took the marketing diploma just to gain some general business knowledge. I'm not the huge numbers guy is the reason why I didn't go into business, but I do understand that it is needed to be successful in the working place.

    I work for a jewelry manufacturer, so I deal mainly in B2B marketing.

    At my work I do pretty much anything writing related to english, Press releases, website content, press kits, product promotional brochures. I also do a lot of data base research, analyzing customer data and making it relevant in excel(business nature, life time value, analysis of dead customers etc). I go to trade shows and have input on how the booth is designed and set up.

    And yes, I do have a HKID

    Last edited by sharingon83; 15-08-2008 at 02:19 PM.

  4. #14

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    Wow, maybe for your field you are paid properly, but considering your background you could be making much more.

    I know at least 5 ABC/CBC Native Speakers who make more than double what you do with no experience and having just graduated. Not in marketing mind you.

    p.s. isn't it law in HK to have 1 sick day per month?

    Last edited by Jon.E.Kong; 15-08-2008 at 02:59 PM.

  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by sharingon83:
    My BA was in Communications specializing in PR. It actually is relevant to my field. I took the marketing diploma just to gain some general business knowledge. I'm not the huge numbers guy is the reason why I didn't go into business, but I do understand that it is needed to be successful in the working place.

    I work for a jewelry manufacturer, so I deal mainly in B2B marketing.

    At my work I do pretty much anything writing related to english, Press releases, website content, press kits, product promotional brochures. I also do a lot of data base research, analyzing customer data and making it relevant in excel(business nature, life time value, analysis of dead customers etc). I go to trade shows and have input on how the booth is designed and set up.

    And yes, I do have a HKID
    On that basis I would say you are absolutely being underpaid. I'm no expert on the HK market though, but if that were any other country (e.g NZ, whose wages are often lower than HK) I would expect you would earn much more.

    How long have you been working there?

    If less than 6 months, I would consider leaving asap and finding something else. If around a year, I'd stay until it was at least a year before leaving, possible abit more. (I always think that if people move really quickly, that's ok because they just realised it was not the right job for them, but if they stay awhile, then they really should give it a chance.....)

    But - how are your family connections going to fare if you do leave or ask for a pay rise? Is there "family emotional blackmail" going on here? Or do they think they are doing you a favour by giving you any job at all, not realising how much better you could do for yourself?

  6. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    On that basis I would say you are absolutely being underpaid. I'm no expert on the HK market though, but if that were any other country (e.g NZ, whose wages are often lower than HK) I would expect you would earn much more.

    How long have you been working there?

    If less than 6 months, I would consider leaving asap and finding something else. If around a year, I'd stay until it was at least a year before leaving, possible abit more. (I always think that if people move really quickly, that's ok because they just realised it was not the right job for them, but if they stay awhile, then they really should give it a chance.....)

    But - how are your family connections going to fare if you do leave or ask for a pay rise? Is there "family emotional blackmail" going on here? Or do they think they are doing you a favour by giving you any job at all, not realising how much better you could do for yourself?
    I've been working here 6 months and almost 7 months.

    I made this post just to get a second opinion, get some sort of idea of how good or bad my situation is. Right now I will probably end up grinding it out for a year at minimum so I can just get that some valid experience on my resume.

    When I came here and was told about the wage, I realized it was substatially lower than what I could make back in Canada. I figured with the lower cost of living and taxes would some how even it out, now that i'm living here I guess I see that it hasn't.

    Yes, I believe they do consider it a favor that they offered me a job to work for them. But then again this company is complete a local company, they have never hired an expat or a native english speaker, so they probably do not realize expat market value. Leaving would probably not be a huge issue, but it would not look good on my part either. =(

    I will say one thing though, if I am being underpaid, one benefit of working for a completely local company is your chinese will improve immensely. When I came here I could barely speak, now I can speak decently(with accent) and prolly survive fairly well in HK. So it hasnt all been that bad.
    Last edited by sharingon83; 15-08-2008 at 03:48 PM.

  7. #17

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    7 days annual leave is the starting point according to the labor law.

    Sick leave is that you must be sick for 3 days or more with a doctors note, the company must pay 3/4 salary per day. if you just are sick for 1 day then the company can deduct your 1 day salary, its sucks but i have worked for such a company before, the worst thing about it was that it was an American company, they thought following the labor law was good enough. Only after the local guy that setup the HK office was fired then did they boost the Annual leave and sick leaves.


  8. #18

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    Sounds like a good strategy to me. Gain what you can, stay on good terms with your family, get experience and then move on. Good luck.


  9. #19

    It sounds like best bet is to just tough it out a few more months for the one year and then respectfully tell your relatives that you want to move on. $11k is not horrible, but you can get more. Just file this year under helping your relatives out, learning more about the local work environment and culture, and first work experience. Money isn't everything some times.


  10. #20

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    good luck.