salary for china
salary for china
Most schools that I have researched and applied to provide furnished housing, round-trip airfare, medical insurance, etc. What I'm wondering from those of you who have recent experience teaching in China is what is considered a "good" salary after considering those benefits?
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wrldtrvlr123
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Re: salary for china
[quote="julie33"]Most schools that I have researched and applied to provide furnished housing, round-trip airfare, medical insurance, etc. What I'm wondering from those of you who have recent experience teaching in China is what is considered a "good" salary after considering those benefits?[/quote]
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There were some useful numbers thrown around in this thread:
http://community.tes.co.uk/forums/t/629819.aspx.
My feeling is that you need at least 25K rmb a month (gross) plus benefits to be doing well in most parts of China. You could do alright or even good on less if you are single, have no real bills from back in your home country, live frugally etc, but 25K is a good number to shoot for.
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There were some useful numbers thrown around in this thread:
http://community.tes.co.uk/forums/t/629819.aspx.
My feeling is that you need at least 25K rmb a month (gross) plus benefits to be doing well in most parts of China. You could do alright or even good on less if you are single, have no real bills from back in your home country, live frugally etc, but 25K is a good number to shoot for.
Are you single or have dependents? You also need to know who pays the income tax, you or your school. I think 25000 RMB would be a healthy salary for a single person if everything else was paid. Travel can be expensive but certainly doable, flights to Bangkok range in price from $500-$800 roundtrip, to HK about $350-500 and flights within China range from the cheap to the very expensive depending on where you are going.
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wrldtrvlr123
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[quote="julie33"]Thanks wrldtrvlr123! I tried the link but it says the page is not available. But I did the conversion on the 25K RMB. I guess that means that one should shoot for $40,000 USD salary per year if they want to teach in China...[/quote]
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Hmm. Try this, and/or cut and paste it: http://community.tes.co.uk/forums/t/629819.aspx
Well, our family of 3 lived on 10K rmb a month for transportation, groceries, utilities etc. If you use that as a conservative estimate, then you could figure something like 21K net - 10K for bills = 11K per month then you would be looking at saving around $21,000 a year before vacations etc. So, not too bad. Anything over $40,000 a year would be icing on the cake. Rough figures but gives you an idea.
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Hmm. Try this, and/or cut and paste it: http://community.tes.co.uk/forums/t/629819.aspx
Well, our family of 3 lived on 10K rmb a month for transportation, groceries, utilities etc. If you use that as a conservative estimate, then you could figure something like 21K net - 10K for bills = 11K per month then you would be looking at saving around $21,000 a year before vacations etc. So, not too bad. Anything over $40,000 a year would be icing on the cake. Rough figures but gives you an idea.
Reply
The top of the ELL/bottom 3rd tier IS market is 20K RMB. Tier 2 Schools is around 25k RMB, 1st tier schools are around 30K RMB and elite schools are 35+K RMB.
China now has a 25% tax on expat income. Some schools pay it, some schools subsidize it, some schools dont collect it, some schools collect it and dont pay it (or pay only part of it). That tax makes a big difference in your net salary.
There are ELL teachers living off of 5K RMB in China, and i worked with a guy that lived off of just under 2K RMB a month and saved over 30K RMB a month doing it. A lot of it depends on your lifestyle expectations, and saving/expenses back home. He ate school breakfast (2 RMB/day) and school lunch (Free, because he ate with his 5th graders). He did what chinese people do and stir fried some vegetables and cheap cuts of meat and rice for dinner. He took the free school shuttle too and from school. He didnt go out on the weekend, he bought local/regional brand soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. If he lost a button on a shirt he sewed it himself, I never saw him buy clothes except a couple suits in HK, which was a big splurge. He spent most of his free time learning Mandarin and Cantonese. He used less then 20 RMB a month on his mobile. He taught ELL a couple saturdays a month at university to meet college woman. His two biggest splurges were Jameson whiskey, and his athletics association membership. He practically banked his whole salary and lived off his weekend ELL money. His second year he was the only single people who got a housing allowance. He talked the head into giving him 60% of what the school paid, and he took that and rented a tiny one room (think 1DK Japanese) apartment, that catered mostly to university students. At that price he was able to pay the rent utilities and internet and still have some money left over.
You need closer to 20K RMB net to get by and like a cozy liefestyle. You can go out to nice dinners on the weekends and eat out on the week days. Buy new clothes when you need them. Have Starbucks, and drink at a bar/pub. Youll be able to afford a girlfriend or save some money for the summer.
At 25K RMB net youll be able to do the same but can save the difference, or go to real clubs on the weekends, buy some high end clothes, go to the spa, massages weekely. feed an electronics/gadgets addiction. Treat your girlfriend well enough that she will brag to her friends about you.
At 30K RMB if your outside the major cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou) you can live pretty much like a king. You can have a maid, take cabs everywhere, eat out at nice restaurants everyday, go shopping at high end stores on the weekend, go to the hottest clubs and travel often. You can pretty much buy imported everything. Your girlfriend will want to introduce you to her parents pretty soon.
At pushing 40K RMB you can live like a god in the outer cities and live very well in the capitol cities. Tailored clothes (you can get your underwear MADE for you), fill out a very nice wardrobe, you have a maid, and you can use a car service instead of taxies (or you have a car). You eat at the best restaurants and have your saturday dinner (with the GF) catered at home. You have top of the line furniture, and electronics. You can have a second apartment for "nights downtown". Your gfs friends call you and 'want to be friends"
At 50K RMB your pushing in the socialite scene. You get invites to exclusive events and parties. You have a small second apartment in the "gangnam" district, your gf is "someone" with some status. You have a car service on call, or you own a nice car. You have a real kitchen and prepare your own food with top of the line appliances (no one can cook good enough for you). You know the wait staff at fine restaurants and dont need reservations anymore. Dinner is a double cut of Kobe fillet and a 4 Kg lobster. Your gf's "just started college sister" is on speed dial.
China now has a 25% tax on expat income. Some schools pay it, some schools subsidize it, some schools dont collect it, some schools collect it and dont pay it (or pay only part of it). That tax makes a big difference in your net salary.
There are ELL teachers living off of 5K RMB in China, and i worked with a guy that lived off of just under 2K RMB a month and saved over 30K RMB a month doing it. A lot of it depends on your lifestyle expectations, and saving/expenses back home. He ate school breakfast (2 RMB/day) and school lunch (Free, because he ate with his 5th graders). He did what chinese people do and stir fried some vegetables and cheap cuts of meat and rice for dinner. He took the free school shuttle too and from school. He didnt go out on the weekend, he bought local/regional brand soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. If he lost a button on a shirt he sewed it himself, I never saw him buy clothes except a couple suits in HK, which was a big splurge. He spent most of his free time learning Mandarin and Cantonese. He used less then 20 RMB a month on his mobile. He taught ELL a couple saturdays a month at university to meet college woman. His two biggest splurges were Jameson whiskey, and his athletics association membership. He practically banked his whole salary and lived off his weekend ELL money. His second year he was the only single people who got a housing allowance. He talked the head into giving him 60% of what the school paid, and he took that and rented a tiny one room (think 1DK Japanese) apartment, that catered mostly to university students. At that price he was able to pay the rent utilities and internet and still have some money left over.
You need closer to 20K RMB net to get by and like a cozy liefestyle. You can go out to nice dinners on the weekends and eat out on the week days. Buy new clothes when you need them. Have Starbucks, and drink at a bar/pub. Youll be able to afford a girlfriend or save some money for the summer.
At 25K RMB net youll be able to do the same but can save the difference, or go to real clubs on the weekends, buy some high end clothes, go to the spa, massages weekely. feed an electronics/gadgets addiction. Treat your girlfriend well enough that she will brag to her friends about you.
At 30K RMB if your outside the major cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou) you can live pretty much like a king. You can have a maid, take cabs everywhere, eat out at nice restaurants everyday, go shopping at high end stores on the weekend, go to the hottest clubs and travel often. You can pretty much buy imported everything. Your girlfriend will want to introduce you to her parents pretty soon.
At pushing 40K RMB you can live like a god in the outer cities and live very well in the capitol cities. Tailored clothes (you can get your underwear MADE for you), fill out a very nice wardrobe, you have a maid, and you can use a car service instead of taxies (or you have a car). You eat at the best restaurants and have your saturday dinner (with the GF) catered at home. You have top of the line furniture, and electronics. You can have a second apartment for "nights downtown". Your gfs friends call you and 'want to be friends"
At 50K RMB your pushing in the socialite scene. You get invites to exclusive events and parties. You have a small second apartment in the "gangnam" district, your gf is "someone" with some status. You have a car service on call, or you own a nice car. You have a real kitchen and prepare your own food with top of the line appliances (no one can cook good enough for you). You know the wait staff at fine restaurants and dont need reservations anymore. Dinner is a double cut of Kobe fillet and a 4 Kg lobster. Your gf's "just started college sister" is on speed dial.
This is great information. I was pretty sure I'd be fine but this pretty much confirms it - my school is including housing and paying Chinese income tax. My impression was that that was standard for any school in China but I guess it is not.
I know it is kind of dumb to be relatively clueless about how far my salary will go... but it's just me, no dependents, so I didn't think about it too much.
I know it is kind of dumb to be relatively clueless about how far my salary will go... but it's just me, no dependents, so I didn't think about it too much.
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westcoaster
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expatteacher99
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expatteacher99
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I never said I "know" her preferences. Lol. I explicitly said that it was a "hunch" and that I was "guessing." I also never stated or even implied that there would be anything wrong with julie33 wanting to date an Asian woman.
It was a joke. Chill out and stop trying to turn every conversation into a confrontation. :-)
It was a joke. Chill out and stop trying to turn every conversation into a confrontation. :-)
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wrldtrvlr123
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- Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
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[quote="expatteacher99"]I never said I "know" her preferences. Lol. I explicitly said that it was a "hunch" and that I was "guessing." I also never stated or even implied that there would be anything wrong with julie33 wanting to date an Asian woman.
It was a joke. Chill out and stop trying to turn every conversation into a confrontation. :-)[/quote]
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I think that was more like his attempt to turn this into a different kind of "Forum".
It was a joke. Chill out and stop trying to turn every conversation into a confrontation. :-)[/quote]
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I think that was more like his attempt to turn this into a different kind of "Forum".