Job Discussion Forums

mondrian

[quote="bendan
1.8 million won was well above average (for an advertised post) in Korea in 1996. .[/quote]

I was one of the many KORETTA teachers employed by the Korean Municipal Governments

bendan · Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 739 Location: North China

Super Mario · Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:43 am Post subject:

I got 2000Y for my first job in Guilin in '97. Maybe now that would be 3-3.5. However, it was plenty then.
More recently I was on a base 8 in Shanghai, with slightly longer hours and cost of living.

william wallace · Joined: 14 May 2003 Posts: 2869 Location: in between

Super Mario · Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 7:31 am Post subject:

I didn't know about forums until 2002! Stone Age I know. And yes, I was known by other names. I settled down and stopped trying to take everyone on.
But yeah, after my first semester in Guilin I had 4000 spare, ie 50% of my princely 2,000 a month. It's still really hard to spend money there; so cheap[unless you're a tourist], so I did the Silk Road. Must admit I dipped into "hometown" funds to fly back from Urumqi. No way was I doing the train again.

Ger · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 334

I've been thinking about this issue of salaries and conditions way back then and now.

It seems to me that the salaries in the PRC have increased only slightly but the workload in terms of teaching periods and office hours has increased.

In addition, that same salary way back then would include accommodation, bills, food, legal documents, and transportation, bonus.

Whereas now, the only slightly increased salary pays your accommodation only for a month, you have to pay your own taxes, you'd be lucky to get your flight money reimbursed, you'd be diddled out of your bonus because you'd be fired under some pretense a month before the end of your contract, you have to buy your own food save for say one meal a week at the school canteen, and there are many schools that won't give you legal documents but will have you buy your own F visa to keep you on the edge.

Not to mention other things like the revaluation of the RMB.

brsmith15 · Joined: 12 May 2003 Posts: 1142 Location: New Hampshire USA

1999 - 1,500 RMB a month and I was ok because I had a school apartment with utilties paid, medical covered. I do remember carrying around a PDA and recording my expenditures, though. I could spend an average of 50 RMB a day and so, if after the first 10 days of the month I had spent 800 yuan, then I could only afford an average of 35 yuan a day (the 700 left divided by the 20 days left) for the rest of the month.

I also remember an FT who wanted to change 11,000 RMB to NZ dollars and how amazed I was that anyone could have that much money!

bendan · Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 739 Location: North China

I don't really find it any more expensive to live here now than I did in 1999. Yes, I know the price of many things has risen, but other things have fallen in price as a result of competition or technological change. I remember buying lots of VCDs for 13 RMB, being restricted to living in fairly expensive foreigner-approved apartments, and being astounded by the prices of crappy cars.

I know many basic foodstuffs have gone up in price, but they were always a fairly small part of my expenditure.

It's hard to judge what has happened to salaries, but I'd say the average has gone up 40-50% since 1999. One of the strange things about ESL in China is the huge range of salaries. In Korea and Japan, there seems to be quite an established scale, but here you could earn five times what someone else is earning down the road, without any more qualifications or experience.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

My first job paid RMB 1300; half a year later there was a devaluation to the tune of 40 percent; the salary then was adjusted - 2500.

But I have just read in a 1997 expat guide that many schools paid 800 to 1600 prior to 1997 (up to 1996).
THis never happened to me but apparently to others.

icebear · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Posts: 40 Location: Alaska

vikdk · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 1676

you can get a higher wage through effort - this being to negotiate a wage and not to accept the intitial wage offered - of course this process is much easier when done in China, which allows you to shop around, get a much more realistic idea over what you're actualy bargaining about and to market yourself as an "in country" product just waiting to be snapped up by the highest bidder.

by the way the 5X times more is pushing it a bit but 2X should be quite realistic - so many jobs offer arround 50RMB/ academic hour when 100 seems the kind of wage many FT's here would find acceptable and reachable - maybe asking here what kind of wages can be expected in a certain city could give some usefull leads - but then again it could just aswell give the usual bull from the forum ayotollahs Laughing

bendan · Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 739 Location: North China

Yes, I think luck does play a big part. Just being available and in the right place at the right time can make a huge difference to your income.

I don't mean you can necessarily look around and get five times what you are currently earning. What I mean is that in my city, there are (one or two) FTs with degrees earning just 2500 yuan a month. There are other jobs in my city that pay five times that. Admittedly, you have to work more hours, but I don't think such a disparity could be found in Japan or Korea.

Lots of FTs get 3,000, and quite a few get 10,000 or more. With the exception of those working at real international schools, I doubt that qualifications have much to do with the difference - most employers don't know anything about western diplomas and certificates. Experience seems to help a bit, as the employers can at least understand that.