Posted by
Welshy
15 yrs ago
I've finally got to speak to somebody about potential jobs in HK for what i do.
I was disheartened to find out that it would be a pay drop for me :(
I appreciate that the tax is lower there but not by much.
It would be about 31000k (gross) a month.
From looking at accomodation alone, I dont think i could support myself and my wife until she found a job?
Would appreciate your comments but I think I know what you're all going to say.... :(
Please support our advertisers:
taxes lower only a bit? where you live now? SG?
Please support our advertisers:
Please support our advertisers:
vak
15 yrs ago
as a chartered enginer you should be making in excess of 50k - month. on that yr tax will be less than 10000hkd /yr based on the 2010 rates for married couples. I have not heard of 30k salaries for Chartered Engineers. J E with 3-4 yrs experience maybe??
Please support our advertisers:
lalib
15 yrs ago
Welshy,
They are low balling you.
I'm by no means gloating, but I earn more than that and I'm a bachelor.
Please support our advertisers:
Thanks for the replies.
I'm not a chartered engineer, I'm a Quantity Surveyor (nearly chartered).
The 31k includes a housing allowance, its separately identified from the salary.
The problem i've got is that the only way i can seem to make any kind of progress job wise is going through this UK agency. He says he cant get me more than that money because the local people will accept less. How true this is i dont know, but i've received no response to any of the job applications i've sent.
My wife has been looking at accomodation and is concerned that for reasonably high rent we get a very small place. We have comfortable living here, our combined salary is around £60,000. To drag her to HK when she would have no job and we would have to scrimp and save to get by doesn't seem worthwhile.
You may be asking why i'm even considering HK. I love the culture, the place and the projects that are going on in HK are awesome. If i accepted a pay cut to go there, I would imagine once i'm there it would be a lot easier to find a better paid job because i'm actually in HK. Am i just being naive?
Please support our advertisers:
My advice is " NO " !
You won't have " quality of life " here if you have to live in a match box. Food is much cheaper here in compare witht the UK and that's all !!!
Please support our advertisers:
S.Kan
15 yrs ago
31 is 3 times the family national average here.
Please support our advertisers:
Oski
15 yrs ago
Comparing expat income to local median is irrelevant. For starters, HK median household income is between 15k to 16k, (2005 data) not 10k as often quoted on this board.
In anycase, it does not matter. close to 50% of HK residents live in some sort of public housing, plus various forms of public assistance.
They are not available for expats. (not before PR anyway.)
Expats don't have roots here. No family support, unfamiliar with local environment, etc. Everything costs considerably more at least for the first few months. Add in private school and child care, the baseline cost structure is much higher for expats.
I agree with the majority, the OP is worse off coming to HK on these terms.
Please support our advertisers:
My reflexes are probably better compared with those of a mongoose rather than a domestic cat but thank you for the heads up.
It certainly isn't an easy decision but i'm sure the 24/7 availability of beer will swing the missus. Thanks for the post
Please support our advertisers:
How many years of experience do you have?
If you have a wife to support, this is an impossible income to live on, especially for expats who seem to tend to go to the more expensive "targetting expats" kind of places for meals, shopping, etc.
Please support our advertisers:
Milty
15 yrs ago
What does your wife do? You will also need to see the chasnces of her finding work when you do arrive.
I came to HK (with a 30% paycut) and I was on a little less than 31K. Within 3 months that was increased by 10K and after 18 months my salary has now doubled (in talks now to increase again).
The opportunities here are endless and maybe you and your wife need to take a cut before having the opportunity to earn more than at home.
Has your agency gone back with an counter offer from you? Maybe you can offer 40K per month and see what they say? Is it a local or intl company that you will be working for?
Please support our advertisers:
ceeh
15 yrs ago
Welshy, I mentioned in your other post somedays back that Expat Engineers are not getting the Expat packages any longer. I work in the Engineering Recruitment field and although we are getting asked by the big foreign engineering companies here to find skilled people they are only willing to pay 'local' rates so we are having to source local people to fill those positions.
$31,000 per month is about right for your field.
Please support our advertisers:
Thanks again for the posts, much appreciated!
Nhoj: Not signed a contract yet, if you dont mind me asking, why would you want my CV?
cara: No kids at present.
Milty: Interesting to hear you story, that was a plan that i was thinking about....once i'm there, better chance of increasing my pay or finding a better paid position
anyone got any comments on that?
Please support our advertisers:
Singapore is a complete drama, every single job advertisement clearly states that the positions are only applicable to Singaporean and Malaysian citizens only. You wouldn't be able to get away with wording like that in this country! haha
As far as i'm concerned, Asia is amazing. I would work almost anywhere in asia. My profession is not recognised in every country, there are very few jobs in thailand, they tend to be oil and gas jobs...too specialist for me.
India have more than enough people to fill their jobs. I want international work experience, HK would be dreamy for me. Unfortunately i can see me going more along the lines of Australia...but purely for the money. I dont particularly fancy oz but there's good money there. I'd rather experience eastern culture but would need some sort of financial incentive even if it wasn't much.
Please support our advertisers:
Welshy, if you want to come here , take it. I would. You can always move on. China is where all the business is and once you have a Hong Kong visa, you're in. How much construction work is going on in the UK right now with all these cut-backs on public works? When did the Tories ever pour concrete?
Please support our advertisers:
Loyd I very much agree with your point and I would do it but being married its not just me to consider. Taking the missus over there and having to scrape by until something comes up isn't going to pursuade her to leave our life here to go there. I do want to go there, more than anything but I can't make her leave her job, move around the world and not know for sure that i'd be able to get a better job in the near future.
Please support our advertisers:
Have to agree with Cara & Loyd G. Plenty of guys in my old office get around that- it depends how employable your wife is too. What's her field? Look, if you hate it or you can't manage, you can always go back. Whatever your budget, you'll be living in a smaller space than the UK, unless you're some expat banker.
Please support our advertisers:
Cara - are they looking for civil engineering quantity surveyors? Whats the company he works for? If they've got any contacts that would be superb.
Please support our advertisers:
Welshy. Of course you must consider your wife's feelngs but you are probably going to be the breadwinner going forward if you have a family. This is where the work and experience is and no one is going to pay you top dollar until you have proved yourself. You can always go back to the UK.
Please support our advertisers:
Welshy. Your wife's not from Holyhead is she? I used to have a girlfriend from Holyhead and her main goal in life was to go back there to live.
Please support our advertisers:
JinHK
15 yrs ago
Welshy, I have PM'd you with a name and contact number of a guy in HK who is recruiting for a group of companies in HK for the new MTR constructions projects coming up. Will be worth talking to him.
Please support our advertisers:
Kegs
14 yrs ago
I'm a recruitment manager for Asia for a large architectural firm and think $31K is pretty low...but then again I have not seen your cv so can not really comment. I agree with one of the other posts though, I came here took a pay cut and 6 months later got a better job and doubled my salary. Good luck with it.
Please support our advertisers:
SGgal
14 yrs ago
Mr H,
Where is the location of your flat.It is seem so cheap. My is HK$10,000 for 560sq.ft. I live in NT. Does your area has MTR?
Please support our advertisers:
You must be logged in to be able to reply.
Login now
Copy Link
Facebook
Gmail
Mail