i am a bit in a hurry so i had no time ti check if there is an thread already about this. So please excuse me and i will go on.
I got an job offer from an taiwanese company called Talus, its in the semiconductor industry and they want me since i can offer 9 year experiance.
I am from Austria and i get an local contract, which includes: 2700 dollar before tax, 1000 dollar a year for flight etc, 21 days of vacation
I get a lot more here in Austria currently, but still i might consider it cause its a new experiance. So i want to ask people if they can tell me if this contract is rly a good one (thats what the hiring manager said) and if i am above average, if there will be enough at the end of the month to save etc…everyhting is helpful.
Honestly i expected way more but i only talked to people who lived in Taiwan 13 years ago and the cant remember exactly.
Thanks
edit: i forgot to mention that the manufacturing is in taoyuan, close to zhongli
You can live very comfortably in Taiwan with that salary. But honestly, with 9 years of experience I would expect more. Sure it will be a great experience if you want to enjoy it, and maybe learn some chinese and possible pad that resume after 2-3 years and find another company that will offer you much more. But be aware of unpaid or expected paid overtime. I worked in my father’s company, one of the biggest companies in Taiwan, and it’s a horrible culture. It’s mostly wasted time with work you really could have accomplished in a 4-6 hour moderately focused time. Most people order food and just kind of look at the computer screen. I do notice they do seem to work harder or at least look like they are doing something when I look at them since I had the big office with a window looking out at the employee, I was like 20 at this time haha.
Also, be aware of KTV and drinking after work with client and playing golf culture in business. Honestly, most of the work executives and upper management is done there.
It’s considerably more than most of the salarymen will get. Your colleagues will be earning about NT$50K a month, 10 days holiday, and obviously no flight allowances! Be careful not to mention this to anybody because they will probably hate you for it.
As Andrew said, US$2700 (NT$80K?) gets you a pretty nice lifestyle here. Living expenses for a single guy shouldn’t exceed 50K, even if you’re out partying every weekend.
OTOH, the others are quite right that you shouldn’t consider this a long-term thing. As some point, you’ll want to go off and start your own business/consultancy, or back home, or somewhere else. Look on it as a learning experience, and try to enjoy yourself.
Well thanks a lot guys, this were some answers i was looking for…not the google average salary blabla or “well this is not enough money, but why…hm i dont know” stuff i got so far.
It’s plenty to live on for a year or two. If you want to make the move go ahead it’s going to be different for sure! Have the exit plan in one and you will enjoy yourself more.
And yes don’t ever tell anybody your salary or that you get a free flight. They have plenty of time on their hands to build grievances here.
I would find it difficult to impossible to live on that salary as a single person. But Taiwanese live cheaper and have entire families living on that salary or less.
Your quality of life will go down compared to quality of life in Austria. But if you want to try something different then go for it.
I don’t see why you would want to come work here. Working culture sucks. You could live decently here on that amount if you’re frugal. But you’ll find a lot of backstabbing at work, horrible food, horrible drivers, and high rent. I regret my decision every day now and am trying to get the hell out of this dump.
It really depends on what you will be doing for this company and what you bring to the table. If it’s management level and/or you are helping them with a new product/process where you have experience and they don’t, well then 2700/mth is a very low offer. 1000 a year for flights won’t get you much. 21 days vacation is above the norm, assuming they are paid days and they allow you to take them. I suggest you insist on your current salary as a minimum, a fixed term contract, yearly flight (with x carrier in x class paid by the company), contract completion bonus, I’d also throw in moving expenses and a company supplied apartment of western standard just for giggles. If you are in management or bringing something they don’t have then you should be asking for a lot more. Don’t sell yourself short and remember to include a golden parachute in the contract as they likely will try to screw you once you’re here.
Don’t listen to grouchy back there. If you can’t enjoy yourself on 80K/month, it’s because you’re being careless with your money (there are whole threads about this). Broadly speaking, you can expect 25K for a very nice apartment in the Taoyuan area, 2K a month for bills, 15K for food, 5K for transport (if you take a lot of taxis). That leaves at least 30K to play with or to save.
I honestly can’t understand people who complain about the food. I suspect they either can’t read the menus or are expecting gourmet fare for lunchbox prices. You can get absolutely anything you want here; although, obviously, you get what you pay for.
Yes, working culture is a bit shit, but it depends a lot on the company. Some are worse than others. If they offered you 80K and 21 days holiday without too much complaint, they might be OK.
Taiwan is a very enjoyable place to live if you have the right frame of mind and learn Chinese.
I agree with SuperS54. Taoyuan and Zhongli have much lower rent costs so that is good. One of my family members teaches English and earns 72KNT per month working 23 hours. English teaching in Taiwan averages about 600NTper hour to 800NT in Taipei.
I think an average salary for an engineering manager is about 85K US.
If they have hired foreigners, then that is great because they will know how to process the visa, work permit, health insurance, Chinese New Year bonus.
I worked for a tech company in southern Taiwan. I have lifelong friends from that experience, but it took a lot out of me. Constantly hearing that you are a foreigner as an excuse is draining. In the most traditional companies, engineers do as their told and don’t sync up ideas. My old company did very sloppy work and made poor design decisions to save a penny.
Locals get company stock that can be worth more than their salary. It is really difficult for them to offer you stock because they have to get approval from the government.
Finley is right about learning Chinese. Even though it is not perfect living in Taiwan, I am enjoying my work here and have started a consulting business. I’m not sure if I could have done the same in the US.
100% agree with this. If they found you and are giving you an offer, it could mean that they cannot find someone else to fill the position. If you can’t negotiate for a better monthly salary, have them throw in rent and moving expenses. Make sure BOTH of these are taken care of by the company. I’ve had friends who had to deal with the rent/moving on their own and where the company handled everything. Have the company handle it, it’ll save you lots of time and no one will be lost in translation.
As others have said, ask for more and make sure you have a golden parachute, if not, at least a silver or bronze parachute. Don’t come with holes in your parachute.
This company is a joint venture of Lam research (located in US) where i work. Since Lam is trying to americanise the location in taiwan the want to hire people who are familiar with the Lam workflow and ofc with their tools since Talus is only a refurb center.
My job there will be the assistant engineer, means i should assist the engineers in refurbing tools (mechanical and electrical), also improve Lam standards and ensure top quality.
Yesterday i had another conference call with the COO from Taiwan and he said: “This package is the best we can do for you and we really want you hear” then he talked about cheap living here and so on.
Well after calculating this isn´t a small gap of money i would lose compared to austria, it´s huge!! So i could for sure live with a small gap in mind, but the way it looks now and with this as the best offer they can get me. I should not accept it.
Life isn’t all about money, or the here-and-now. People who have experience abroad can often re-enter the rat race in their home country with a greatly enhanced CV.
Also, consider your living expenses and taxes in Austria: while your salary might be higher, do you really have that much left over at the end of the month? If you do, then fine, stay where you are: otherwise, consider the non-tangible benefits.
Having said that … if you’re being posted abroad by your existing company, you should be getting an expat salary (that is, you should be getting paid in Euros). I suggest talking to your local boss.
As i mentioned above, yes the salary isn’t amazing, in fact it’s lower than what I would take with 9 years in a field. But As I also mentioned, you can gain experiences and do this for 2-3 years and get a much better offer with this in your resume.
Is there a contract like how long you have to stay or a non compete in the offer? You should also consider that. I would not sign for a contract more than 2 years. Maybe 3 if they offer a signing bonus that makes me think about it.
You might also look at it this way: where do you want to be in 20 years time? Are you content to be a rotund 50-year-old middle manager, who has never really been anywhere or done anything exciting with his life? Or would you like to take a punt and see what else the world has to offer, while you have the opportunity?
When I came here I didn’t have any immediate plans except to carry on with my work, but life has gone off on some very interesting tangents. I know if I’d stayed in England in my safe, well-paid job at British Telecom, I’d be balding, fat, and miserable, silently raging inside my blue cubicle, dropping in at the doctor’s every month for my refill of statins and antidepressants.
Very few people get the kind of offer that you’ve had, and it will probably not come again. Don’t just dismiss it without considering all the angles.
I did. They used to pay me a shitload of money for doing next to nothing, although when I left it was to go to another company in England (a startup, on less money). Best decision I ever made
