Job Discussion Forums

[p1randal]

Good Evening:

Basic Info
29 Male American Citizen
BA Spanish/English
MA TESOL
4.5 years experience (2 years Korea 2.5 years U.S.A)

I am pretty easy going. I really enjoyed my time in Hong Kong when I visited and I have a few friends there. I see many jobs basically asking me what my salary requests are.

What is a fair request I should make? I know for my first year I will be getting the "lay of the land" and then I can make more informed choice my second year.

Thanks guys,

Phil

[kowlooner]

Oh goody, we all love this question!

Typical answer from the fairytale-land group:

You should definitely ask for $25,000 - $30,000. Anything less than that shows you're not serious and just lowers the salary expectations for everybody else. If you're really desperate, you still should settle for nothing less than $20k. And this is with no experience and no degree. With experience and degree, an easy $30-35k. And etc etc about language mills.

Typical answer from the nitty-gritty reality group:

In your dreams! Realistic $15k-$20k, but low end could be down to $12k, though that could be tough.

Take your pick. And you might want to go have a look through this forum. The topic has been covered ad nauseam.

[sistercream]

Are you looking to work in a private language centre/ mill, or in the Education Board's NET scheme? It appears you already have the qualifications and experience needed for the latter, which provides MUCH better pay (and generally conditions) than private centres - but you will really have to get your skates on if you are thinking of applying for the coming academic year. Vocational Training Council (VTC) - I believe - also has a set pay scale.

For the mills, in most places you'd be looking at the HKD18 - 20K bracket, but with you could do better if you landed a gig with one of the bigger and better known outfits like Wall Street. There are also a few places that provide shared accommodation to "top up" a pathetic ~12K to the minimum income the Immigration Department considers acceptable for issuing an employment visa.

Like Kowlooner said, have a trawl through this forum.

[p1randal]

Yeah, I looked through about the first 3 pages of threads and some somewhat applied while others didn't. I have been looking at Wall Street, they haven't emailed me back as of writing. I'm ok working for a private outfit I know the drill. I'm not real fussy I just want decent money for a decent life. Sounds like 25-28 is fair but I will see what I am offered.

Thanks

[Joshua2006]

[sistercream]

Outside the NET scheme or somewhere like WSI, I think 25 - 28K is on the very optimistic side.

But, as the previous poster mentioned, a "decent" life is totally subjective - living and working in the New Territories, I personally find 20K (gross) a comfortable monthly income - anything over that can go into the "special splurge" or retirement funds.

[Javelin of Radiance]

[kowlooner]

Does Wall Street pay $25k and up? I thought it was closer to $18k, but perhaps a WS teacher could actually weigh in.

For the OP, good luck with the $25-28k range. Since this was about what sort of salary you should put down as expected, please do (seriously) let us know how that goes. I'd be interested to see how many letters you send out and how many interview invites you get in response. And, of course, if you land a job within that range.

Honestly, I'd suggest you try a variety of ranges with different employers and see what happens. For some, quote $25, others $22, others $20, others $18k, or something like that. Perhaps you'll find a sweet spot.

Please do report back. And good luck!

[p1randal]

I will report my findings. I just assumed with a decent amount of experience and an M.A Tesol that a good job should be relatively easy to come across. I am not necessarily looking for the perfect job but something where I am not getting duped. I visited HK but I have no idea what the going rate is (something these employers know) and as a result I don't want to say I am work X when it is closer to Y.

Thanks for the help,

Phil

[Perilla]

[ozman]

Treat with caution any outfit that asks YOU about the salary.
Legit places will have a salary scale.

Joshua is right. You can't have a 'decent' life on around 20,000.
The rents have gone up a lot in the last year.

[kowlooner]

It's been nearly a month since the original post. I was just wondering if the OP could let us know the results. What salary expectations did you state? What sort of response rates did you get? What seemed to be the salary ranges on offer? And did you find a job?

[looseleaf]

Looks like he went to Indonesia instead.