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I am curious, why not japan or South Korea? Or even Taiwan, which google is now opening offices there?
Google has offices in Shenzhen, too. And one could debate whether Taiwan is a country or part of China. But that aside, the pull seems to be China's incentives and access to local hardware manufacturing. Not just the idea of living in Asia instead of the West.
At least we can while we're in the west
my impression is that unless you're in a super high-demand and high-level role (ie. Andrew Ng), it's still not that appealing compared to the US. For engineering roles, you're going to be worked harder and for lower pay than in the US. As an engineer with a degree in Chinese, I originally planned on working in China but found much better options stateside. Some of my colleagues have been successful in getting decent…
>for lower pay How is it when adjusted for cost of living though?
Real Estate prices in the best areas of Beijing can easily top $1,000 a sq. foot to buy an apartment (though there may be an inversion in rent). Comparable cars are more expensive. Consumer goods are about par. Education for kids can be expensive.
Food can be cheaper in China. But a western quality life in a first tier city will not be all that cheap.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>for lower pay How is it when adjusted for cost of living though?
Holidays, iPhones and cars cost almost the same everywhere. As an engineer "adjusted" usually means you're underpaid :-)
I live in the city center 5 min away from my office and can eat every single meal in a restaurant + go out every other night for a couple of drinks without even having to look at my bank account.
I'd be bankrupt in two weeks if I had the same lifestyle in Paris. Sure iphones and vacations cost the same, but restraining your day to day life (aka 95% of your life) to get the next apple gadget or plan your next vacation seems like a pretty bleak life plan.
I'm in a WeChat group for Product Managers in China. Someone asked a similar question a few weeks ago. The context of their question was: - product management (not engineering) - working as an employee of a Chinese tech company (not starting something themselves) With those caveats out of the way, below is the text of my answer to them: "As I understand it, until maybe 2000 or 2005, there was a lack of people with sp…
I've heard this argument often, but as a someone actually living and working here, I have to say that this hasn't changed at all or at least not in the tech sector.
Local senior developers here in Shanghai and Beijing are usually equivalent to a western mid- or junior+ developers. Often you see senior devs that couldn't even be hired for junior position in the US or Europe.
Managers are often selected through relationships and connections and only in few rare cases have any kind of ability or competence for their role.
PROS: a) Salary is high, especially if you get to work in finance/insurance/luxury retail fields b) disposable income (aka savings) is extremely high as income tax is low, no more than 17%, also, no capital gains tax! c) great hub to work and explore Asia
CONS: a) IT jobs (development mainly) aren't that exciting as they are mostly outsourced to cheaper countries so you ended up being a lonely team member in HK or in management type of jobs. There's always exceptions to this (Credit Suisse, Lalamove, Chengbao to name a few) b) tech is lagging behind in all aspects, from testing to devops. For example; Continuous Integration I'm yet to see a team in mid to large companies effectively having and respecting the build. This can be seen as an opportunity if you are willing to try. c) You work longer hours, more stress and generally fewer vacation days
However, if you come here to work as a founder to be closer to Shenzhen (factories), you also reap the benefits of an established legal system in Hong Kong. Plenty of highly motivated fresh graduates as well.
I am curious, why not japan or South Korea? Or even Taiwan, which google is now opening offices there?
Google has offices in Shenzhen, too. And one could debate whether Taiwan is a country or part of China. But that aside, the pull seems to be China's incentives and access to local hardware manufacturing. Not just the idea of living in Asia instead of the West.
i've been in Hong Kong for 6.5 years already. Worked in small consultancies, large logistics company, and local startup. PROS: a) Salary is high, especially if you get to work in finance/insurance/luxury retail fields b) disposable income (aka savings) is extremely high as income tax is low, no more than 17%, also, no capital gains tax! c) great hub to work and explore Asia CONS: a) IT jobs (development mainly) aren'…
I doubled my pay by coming back home.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Holidays, iPhones and cars cost almost the same everywhere. As an engineer "adjusted" usually means you're underpaid :-)
Anecdata; I live in berlin and get about the same salary as my uni friends who stayed in Paris. I live in the city center 5 min away from my office and can eat every single meal in a restaurant + go out every other night for a couple of drinks without even having to look at my bank account. I'd be bankrupt in two weeks if I had the same lifestyle in Paris. Sure iphones and vacations cost the same, but restraining you…
Before I could buy iPhone for less than 10% of monthly salary, now it would be more like one monthly salary.
I use iPhone as the example, but the life for me is not 10x cheaper, maybe 2-3x.
Therefore, unless you have some other reasons, choose place with highest salaries or companies which don't adjust or work remotely.