Philippine Salary

You salary will have a lot to do with the type of work you get and your skill base but there is one thing you can be assured of.  It’s going to be a hell of a lot less than you get back home (unless you have that Company Sponsored Employment). If you find a job paying between $1000 and $2000 per month you are still miles ahead of most locals, as many don’t even make that much per annum.

The best paid job I had was teaching English in Manila to Korean students. It paid US$1,000 per month in salary, plus free accommodation, meals (you learn to love Kim Chee) laundry and a flight back to my family in Cebu every month. Mind you, when the off season hits you might find the employer wanting to cut back on your salary and conditions and have you find your own place to stay.

The worst rate of pay I experienced was either working as a Dive Master on a per diver basis and there is a major problem with the tourist trade such as bad weather, international terrorism or a pandemic of some kind; or writing. I once wrote hundreds of short essays varying in language points, grammar useage and length for the equivalent of a tenth of a cent per word. You have to write a lot of words to feed your family at that rate!

I also had a job as Travel Editor for an expat owned company that paid less than US$300 a month plus ‘per diems’. This meant I had to live away from my family for several weeks at a time and stay in dumps of hotel room and eat on less than ten bucks a day. I did get to see a lot of the country though and it was quite an experience but as a money maker, not what I would call a going concern!

If you can arrange the expat fat cat salary pack before you go, then do it. You will get comparable salary to what you made back home plus allowances and freebies such as car and driver, maid, private schooling for the kids and flights home every year or so. Providing there isn’t another global meltdown or Asian financial crises, you should have a ball.