| Listen, 10k RMB a month is a very high salary in China, for most Chinese. For a foreign person coming to live in China, it is considered a low-middle salary (low being 5000/month). Cost of Living in Shanghai has risen so much in the last 5 years that 10k is hard to get by on, especially if you want a life similar to what you had abroad. In other cities in China, like Qingdao, Dalian, and Xiamen, you'll get a lot more bang for your buck with 10k. To live comfortably in Shanghai, consider 16k as a minimum.
As far as the salaries of most foreigners go, the vast majority are on some kind of local or what we call a "hong kong" package. Local is quite cheap, in the 8k-20k range. When you think about the top end of that, 20k is around $2500 USD. If you aren't an incrediably seasoned and skilled professional, you may just be making that same amount back in London or L.A. A "Hong Kong" package is different. That is when you get into the 300,000 - 700,000/year range. But you don't really get anything else, just this flat salary. Hong Kong companies have to entice their people to come to the mainland, so they keep their salaries at what the person would be making in Hong Kong. The only downside to that is that PRC taxes are very high. In HK, personal taxes are at 15.5%. In PRC, when you get close to 600k/year, taxes are in the 40 to 45% range. Regardless, this is still a decent salary. Expat salaries, the big fat packages, are very rare. With over 400,000 registered foreigners living in China, only around 2-3% are making that kind of bank. Don't count on this unless you are a senior employee at your org. Would I personally take an offer for 10k/month in PRC? No way! 8 years ago, I did accept a job in Shanghai at 13k/month. I really needed the money and was happy to accept the offer. Durning the first 3 years of that job, my salary steadily rose to 35k/month. I was able to pay off a USD $40,000 debt and $6000 in credit card debt. Then I got an offer at a large multinational and the salaries were even higher. Now I have 11 years experience and am in a MUCH higher bracket - I would probably accept an offer above 100k-120k/month, with benefits and tax equalization to Hong Kong. |
Is 10,000RMB/Month a Ridiculous Offer?