i agree with you but it is what it is. I've had teh same experiences that they rather choose a white dude who is unqualified than a qualified Asian. Just my experience and i say to them "fuck you too" but nothing we can do

maybe you can be one of those guys who hawk new development condos on the street....

Probably look at the better schools, tbh while getting experience elsewhere, in that although the general rule is a white face, the better schools are colour blind.

Or if you have about $50,000HK in capital state your OWN company, though this will probably necesitate hiring white faces too!, oh the irony..

I think that the reason English teacher jobs keep coming up on punters' sites is because 1.) they don't usually require much in terms of qualifications; and 2.) the job can pay for the person's mongering activities.  In the honest truth though, a person shouldn't consider teaching English to fund their sexcapades.

Why?

1.) The pay for a HK English teacher is pretty low (~$30k-35k USD).  This is low for a teacher in any country, and very low (to the point of being embarrassing) for an ex-pat.  You'll barely be able to keep your head above the water in HK unless you're living way outside.

2.) Teaching English in a foreign country does nothing for your resume/CV.  Eventually you'll be heading back to your home country (or another country) and you'll need to get a new job.  Teaching English doesn't have a whole lot of skills or gainful experience that would impress an employer.  And employers know that anyone can teach English with little to no qualifications.

3.) The HK Government NET program is intended for true teachers, hence their requirements for a B.A. degree in English, PGCE/PGDE and TOESL.  Generally, the only people who would have all these would be someone who plans a serious career in teaching.  And if that were the case, well, you wouldn't be teaching English in Hong Kong, you would be teaching regular subjects in a regular school in your own country.

Teaching English doesn't pay well in any country.  That's a cold hard fact.  Another poster in this thread mentioned teaching in Thailand, and my knowledge of it there is that Thais, especially bargirls who even themselves are on the lower rung of the Thai class system, look down upon English teachers.  In Thailand, teaching English pays even less and isn't enough to afford going out on a regular basis.  Even the ugly bargirls make more money than English teachers in Thailand.

Don't look at the job market to see where you can fit, look at yourself and see what you can seriously offer Hong Kong.  For example, a Chinese friend of mine who graduated from a top American university with a business degree and had several years of management experience at a blue chip company, even she was unable to get a job in Hong Kong -- the reason being that she wasn't 100% fluent in Cantonese.  Why should any Hong Kong company hire you over a local with similar qualifications?

Man, it's getting harder and harder to find a job anywhere. You really need to have great qualifications to even land a half-decent job. Feel bad for guys out there who are struggling to find a good job and punt at the same time. how can anyone afford it?

Heh don't I know it! , then again this was probably why I shagged so few WGs this trip, running out of money (I saved a huge amount) but what I have left I'm setting up my own company.


But to freelancer you're wrong, if you don't give a fuck about face then it pays well,

In HK NET teaching jobs with fuck all qualifications for white skins pays 22K~30K. When I was in HK the jobs I saw were offering 8-14K (for locals) for a graduates with 3+ years experience. I can see which one pays better. My cousin delivers bottled gas he makes 13K works 12 hours a day 7 days a week he's been therefor 6 years, my other cousin same works in an office been there for 3 years earns 11K.

Same in Korea the teachers make 3.2-4 million KRW, my friend Ms Choi has worked for an airline for 7 years and only makes 2 million Won.

Also you make the mistake of uselessness, in that many Americans make this mistake in Korea i.e. they go teach english while spending the rest of their time drinking, if you teach and intend to return the key is that you do something else like get an MA degree or something or even a PhD while you are teaching. The english teaching job is to tide you over for this period.

There is also the issue of returning, although I'm old enough to never say never, if I leave the UK I have very little intent on returning to the UK, there is nothing here for me.

As a precis:

I'd rather go teach english on 20K  less even, than be in my current situation where I make nothing on the record I make nothing, but as I freelance and buy and sell things as well as handyman etc I make about 6K, you may notice that there is a jobs apcalypse going on in EU and USA.

Sure I AM qualified as an accountant, took me years to get the letters ACCA after my name, I have 4+ years of experience, exactly a year ago I used to make close to 32000HK$ a month (in UK£) except this is all moot as nobody is hiring in accountancy and nobody will be hiring for the forseeable future...


Big job losses are still being announced everywhere in the UK yesterday:

Astrazenica 8500
Toyota 756
Kings 1200
Swansea council 1500
Bolton 400

And its going to get worse!

Totally agree with you bud. Fresh graduate's pay were down to as low as HK$4000 a month in 2008/2009 and thats IF you're lucky enough to get hired.

I know someone that got rejected as a tutor and NET because he wasn't white and the school wanted someone that 'looked the part' ie white. And yes NETs get over HK$20k+ and get return air tickets, living expenses and bear in mind the working hours are far less than the average 44~?  

For those that are wondering, HK office hours are 9am-6pm monday to friday, plus 9am-1pm on the saturday. Most companies do 9-6pm monday to saturdays though.

My cousin is a minibus driver, 11k a month and 80 hours a week over 6 days. The pay for NET is very high if you calculate it by hourly rate.

My cousin is a minibus driver, 11k a month and 80 hours a week over 6 days. The pay for NET is very high if you calculate it by hourly rate.




Heh no wonder they are almost always universally surly and drive like a racing driver the one on the route I regularly go on when I'm in HK he almost always gets the speedo to 87kph and everybody ignores it!

I guess there isn't much of a market for english.  What are the most popular and easy to get jobs in Hong Kong?

Getting a job in HK isn't easy but if you're willing to work long hours and for little pay, then the catering industry is always hiring (even through the financial crisis 2008/2009)

For the catering industry I can give you a rough idea:

If you're talking fast food chains such as McDonalds, the hourly rate starts from HK$16 plus one meal if shifts are over 6 hours (might have changed because it used to be 2 meals).

Cafe de coral requires experience and pay starts from HK$18 an hour, plus one meal.

More premium restaurants such as Pizza Hut offer HK$21 an hour plus one meal if over 6 hours a shift, two meals if over 12 hours.

The above data is for customer facing posts, earning an hourly rate. Posts as chefs are slightly higher, while the washing up team is lower.

There is no legal minimum wage requirement in HK (until recently when they did a trial period) and street cleaning workers were as low as HK$10 per hour!


Deffo not earning enough to go punting often!

wow... only 16$ an hour.. ? a bottle of green tea is almost 12-13$
how do those guys even survive..?
and i thought it was monthly wages..

You should see Korea the min wage was 2000 KRW about £1, which is $12.

There are various issues one being:

Children leave home MUCH later than their european and American counter parts, I left home when I was 17, most of my mates in the UK left home at 16 or 19. Therefore we simply can't survive on low wages, people will ignore peanuts paid jobs as it won't pay the bills so employers have to offer more. Companies exploit this as they know they have lower overheads and thus a lower rate is acceptable. My cousin still lives at home and she is 26, Bil my other cousin left home at 24.

There is almost an unlimited supply of cheap hardworking labour north of the border.

Anybody can do these jobs no barriers to entry, NETs have to have the advantage of being born overseas, accountants have to get qualified etc.

Culture of acceptance, well if I'm working for this amount and I can make ends meet..... sort of like Japan where employees are made to feel guilty when they take their full holidays.

Which is why english teaching is SUCH a cushy gig!

Heh when I first started out in 2004 my arse hole boss paid me £5500 a year, for an 65 hour week, I made £1.60, I had to sleep in a garage as I was so poor.

[ Last edited by  Kennichi at 30-1-2010 23:56 ]

Is there a income tax, or something that takes a bite out of the paycheck in Hong Kong?

Yes and no, in that it doesn't come out of your pay cheque its like America where you get paid gross and the government asks you to pay twice a year.

In the UK the PAYE system takes a bite out of your pay cheque to the tune of 34% (58% or 72%).

However the tax is laughable,

$240000HK pays about 8000HK$ tax

I.e £19500 pays £655 in tax per year.

In the UK when I earned 19500 or close to I paid £4800 a year


Expats therefore advise you keep two bank accounts, one with the tax you estimate you'll pay, one with the rest of your salary so that you have money to pay when the demand comes.

Tax free allowance is HK$108,000 a year, and as Kennichi was saying, the tax rate is extremely low. If you're earning HK$240,000, you pay $10,440. If you are married your allowance is HK$216,000, and thus tax is only HK$480 a year!!  


You can calculate using this calculator on the HKSAR Government's website:

http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/ese/st ... proposal/stcfrm.htm

[ Last edited by  aaa888 at 31-1-2010 20:32 ]

But if you are a U.S. citizen and you make more than 90k US, you pay full U.S. taxes.  The U.S. has worldwide taxation.  SUCKS!

i think freelancer means that teaching english pays poorly if you expect to be a highly paid expat with a top management position in a major company. but that of course assumes that such expats have useful experience, contacts, skills and probably higher degrees.
where teaching english scores really well is for foreigners who simply have few skills or qualifications other than being able to speak their own language. and even that is not really a strict requirement as such as long as they are white european looking. for these guys, teaching english in hong kong is great, because they can earn loads more than their abilities would suggest in their home country.