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Young, Educated, And Bi-Lingual And Making Less Than $20,000 A Year?

By Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson

The always interesting BizCult is in the midst of a decidedly unscientific expat salary survey. In its post, "The Real Slim, Shady Expat Wages Stand Up," BizCult reveals that of "15 respondents so far, the majority are 26-30 year old professionals from North America making US$10,000-$19,000 a year." I find this numbers both fascinating and highly believable. There are countless young and talented people working either legally or illegally in China at what in the United States would be absurdly low wages. BizCult correctly notes that Starbucks in China costs about the same as in the US, but fails to mention that one can rent a decent apartment in Shanghai or Beijing for around $300 a month (or less, depending on the definition of the word decent) and that many ex-pat (or perhaps more properly, half-pats) are taking jobs with Chinese companies these days. China's second tier cities cost less and salaries there are presumably also less. I knew of an American lawyer who worked for a Chinese law firm for $2000 a month and of another, very experienced lawyer who was paid $30,000 a year. BizCult's post proves that though there is money to be made in China, there is also a whole lot of job competition there as well, even for foreigners, particularly those without a great deal of applicable experience. I would love to hear from readers regarding salaries in China. Please mention the city and how your salary (or those of others) impacts your standard of living. Anonymous is fine.

Full post as published by China Law Blog on December 09, 2008 (boomark / email).