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| The salary debate | ||
| You've seen all the job postings for 5000 RMB, and you've seen all the postings here saying you're a fool for accepting anything less than 10,000 RMB. What's the deal? Well, the reality isn't so black and white. Salaries vary here just as anywhere else, and these are some of the reasons: 1. Your qualifications. If you just got out of high school and took an online/weekend TEFL course, you can't expect a high salary. The higher your qualifications and the more experience you have, the higher salary you can expect. 2. Location. Salaries should be higher in Beijing, Shanghai, and a few other big-name cities, but the majority of the jobs are not in these places. The further inland you go, and the more 'rural' the location (a city of 1 million can be considered rural in China) the lower the salaries. You can't expect a Shanghai salary in Urumqi. 3. The employer. If you work for a private language center (evenings and weekends) you should be offered a better salary that reflects the customer fees. If you're teaching Business English you should get even more. But if you're teaching in a government school or university you can't expect much because they don't have much to offer. They're not charging exhorbitant fees and there are no owners driving Benzes. 4. The work load. Some jobs offer a lot more than others because they expect you to do a lot more. Some require you to commute or travel to different locations (which takes time). Some offer unattractive work schedules (evenings and weekends). If you're willing to do more in order to get more, try the language centers. 5. The whole package. Maybe this job offers a great salary, but no paid holidays, airfare or housing, and you don't get paid for cancelled classes. Maybe the other job doesn't pay as well, but when you add up all the benefits it works out better. Some jobs offer a lot of money to pull you in, but don't provide working papers and screw you in the end. Government jobs tend not to offer much salary-wise, but you'll be offered stable working conditions, legal residency, and nice holidays. I was never paid to take a one-month holiday in the US, and many people I know work a lot less hours "full-time" in China than they did in their home countries. As for earning more in a fast-food joint in the US, try taking your fast-food salary and subtracting your rent and utilities (often provided in China), then adjusting for the cost of living difference in China, and you'll see you're doing just fine here. I've heard teachers say they save more in China on 5000 RMB a month than they did "back home". When considering a job, you have to look at the whole picture. Bogini bogini@lycos.com 1 March 2004 Shenzhen, China |