industrial design salary index for china - any idea?

hi colleagues,

does anybody have a rough salary index for the position of an industrial designer working in shanghai/china? i have been offered a job, and now there is question of paying salary.
is it correct that international designers generally earn lot more in china than chinese designers? i will put myself between these two levels.
i haven`t even a rough idea what salary level i will estimate by now.
does anybody share their experience with me?
by the way i have about 5 years experience in id.

yawl

Is the company you’re negotiating with a Chinese company or a multi-national company with a division in China? That will affect the salary structure.

A Chinese company (with only a few exceptions like Haier and Lenovo) will be paying a LOT less than the typical international scale. They will probably be bench-marking against salaries for Chinese designers. It will be a tough negotiation to get a decent salary.

If it’s a multi-national corporation it will be easier to negotiate a higher salary.

Of course it’s generally cheaper to live in China, but if the job is in Shanghai that’s not the case. It’s the New York of China.

I work for a Chinese company, but I’m based in the US, so I’m being paid a US salary. I spend two months of the year in China - two weeks at a time.

Good luck with the negotiation. Read some Sun Zhu.

it is about a mulit-national design company with an actually small dependence in china. it would be helpful to have something like a Design Salary Report of China. it would be easier to classify myself. there is one by coroflot, but it isn`t representative for my negotiations.
shanghais standard of living is comparable with New York? Is that right?

thanks
yawl

Yes, I have to ressurect the topic.

I am a brazilian designer, based in Germany (where I post-graduated), have about 2 years experience and I’ve made some internships in some good well known companies.
I went to china three months ago for a trainee program. I was naive. And salary and benefits proposed didn’t correspond to the reality. So I moved to another company. Now a German/Chinese one. I am now in the phase of negotiating salary and everything. I do not want to make the same mistakes again and I am doing my research.

Position: Design Engineer
City: Guangzhou
5 days in the Week (I am not working Saturdays)
I speak 4,5 languages (I am doing progress with my chinese)

So… anyone has any idea of a basis salary? I know what is normal for chinese employees. And it varies a lot!!!

Thank you guys

Yeah I’m sort of tied up in a similar situation. I’m not too familiar with Guangzhou living costs but usually around 15k rmb/mo seems average for a junior position. Maybe higher for Shanghai/Guangzhou.

I worked in Guangzhou for three years. You can get around easily with about 10.000rmb/month, but that would be excluding an international health insurance or any chance to save up (those flights home are expensive!). Especially as a foreigner in China and with your experience, I’d make sure to ask for at least 15.000rmb/month nett.

Good luck!

i’m from Colombia and have been working in china for almost 3 years now, near Guangzhou.
The salaries varies a lot from city to city, or if is a Chinese company or a international company, if they want you to speak Chinese? and you can, and so many different variables. for an entry level position in a Chinese company you can expect 6k-10k RMB a month + accommodation ( or subside) depending on your profile. for a mid level position around Guangzhou area from 12k to 18k will be a regular offer ( if you can get close or over 20k will be a good salary for china and you will be able to save good money). shanghai and hongkong are the only really expensive cities in china. so salaries in shanghai around 20k to 25k will be good to rent apartment (around 4k-5k a month) and the rest to spend in all your want depending on your lifestyle but for sure it will get you trough comfortably. you can still live “ok” with 8k to 10k but dont accept less than that.

Hey Guys, thanks for the feedback. :slight_smile:

I was thinking of something around this. Considering that I do not speak the language, I am often dependent on taxi, and some prices sometimes inflate just because I am a foreigner, for now 15k should be ok.

and what about “fapiao”. Should I demand it? Some people I met here from other areas said it is a must. Others like me didn#t even know that this exists until recently, after arriving in China.

The Fapiao is just an official invoice, you need to ask for one when you buy things that you need to declare or if you are paying in name of other person or company, for example i get many sample materials, tools and hardware for the office, dinners with clients, etc. anything you pay you can get a Fapiao, i just have my business card with the company name (in chinese) and show it to them, they write the fapiao with the company name so i can just give the fapiao to anyone in the office and get the money back, anything else in a regular day basis you don’t need a Fapiao for anything.

But this is the thing… I heard this from some people working here.

Their contracts also cover some other personal costs like taxi, supermarkt and a number of dinners (beside business dinner).



Anyway I guess that this job is going to fall through and it is not going to be nothing more than a couple Freelancer Jobs. My German boss has a chinese partner, who says, that 5000RMB is enough for a good life in China. Tough, tough…

Life goes on, I guess… And the search (since I really like China)

Yes living as an expat is expensive, but that’s around the money we pay on internships (+accommodation).
look for some jobs online there’s plenty of offers, especially in shanghai/Hangzhou area and Shenzhen/Hong kong. Im planing to move to shanghai next summer

Good Luck!

But you said on-line. Is there an specific website with jobs in China? I’ve looking for in Linkedin and good old google but tot much luck.

Have you checked right here on Coroflot?
Creative Hunt is pretty good, but depends on what kind of designer you are. There was a lot more graphic jobs on it.
http://www.creativehunt.com/shanghai/jobs/
LinkedIn is ok imo, but a lot of companies actually hire through headhunters, so you might need a bit more experience to get a job through that.

I started working in Shanghai earlier this year. So far I’d say US is still a better workplace, but it really depends on your personal taste. Good luck in your search.

Yeah, I heard that too. Thanks for the tips.

Since I first posted this here I’ve been a lot around. And most of the working situation in China is far from being nice. At least with my experience. I’m soon coming back to Germany. I’ll try again (maybe) but as you said, after getting more experience there.

There are lots of thigs that attract me in China. But having a Chinese boss is definitely not one of them.


But I heard that Shanghai should be the best place for foreigners. As it seems it almost doesn’t feel like China.

Yeah, I heard that too. Thanks for the tips.

Since I first posted this here I’ve been a lot around. And most of the working situation in China is far from being nice. At least with my experience. I’m soon coming back to Germany. I’ll try again (maybe) but as you said, after getting more experience there.

There are lots of thigs that attract me in China. But having a Chinese boss is definitely not one of them.


But I heard that Shanghai should be the best place for foreigners. As it seems it almost doesn’t feel like China.