The influence of exchange rate
I noticed a rather interesting phenomenon among a couple of Hong Konger friends that I know, what they share in common is that they have a part/full time job in Sydney or Melbourne as a waitress, and they both do not want to go back to Hong Kong.
Inclusive of tips offered by the customers, a rough hour rate of a waitress in Sydney or Melbourne could be up to $20 AUSD, which is almost $120 HKD, by the current exchange rate.
If you work 10 hours a day, you will earn approximately $120 HKD x 10 = $1200 HKD, say you work for 5 days a week, that would be $1200 HKD x 5 = $6000 HKD.
If you work regularly like so for a month, then you will earn $6000 HKD x 4 = $24,000 HKD.
The monthly salary for a fresh graduate University degree holder in Hong Kong, as I heard, is $8000 (or even lower) HKD in average now.
One of my friends in HK has an Engineering Master Degree holder, which he obtained from London University, and he is earning $12,000 HKD per month now.
The difference is clear enough, a waitress in Australia is earning almost two times the salary of a Master degree holder in Hong Kong! An optimistic estimation is that it will takes at least two years for my friend to reach this monthly salary level.
No wonder many Hong Kongers want to stay in Australia as a permenant resident, because as long as they can get a job here, a higher quality of life seems to be, within the reach of their arms.
I must say, I feel a bit sorry for the friend in Melbourne, she used to be my classmate when we were in City Uni law school in HK, and now she is actually doing Master of Laws at Melbourne University. Considering the education that she received and still receiving, it's such a waste for her, as she is seriously considering the possibilities of staying in Australia forever, not as a lawyer, but a waitress!
True, earning money here in Australia through labour is even more than a young professional in Hong Kong, in a short term, at the least. And I suspect the situation is applicable to many other Asian countries as well.
Sigh...my friend, given that, don't you think you have made a mistake of the pecking order?
Inclusive of tips offered by the customers, a rough hour rate of a waitress in Sydney or Melbourne could be up to $20 AUSD, which is almost $120 HKD, by the current exchange rate.
If you work 10 hours a day, you will earn approximately $120 HKD x 10 = $1200 HKD, say you work for 5 days a week, that would be $1200 HKD x 5 = $6000 HKD.
If you work regularly like so for a month, then you will earn $6000 HKD x 4 = $24,000 HKD.
The monthly salary for a fresh graduate University degree holder in Hong Kong, as I heard, is $8000 (or even lower) HKD in average now.
One of my friends in HK has an Engineering Master Degree holder, which he obtained from London University, and he is earning $12,000 HKD per month now.
The difference is clear enough, a waitress in Australia is earning almost two times the salary of a Master degree holder in Hong Kong! An optimistic estimation is that it will takes at least two years for my friend to reach this monthly salary level.
No wonder many Hong Kongers want to stay in Australia as a permenant resident, because as long as they can get a job here, a higher quality of life seems to be, within the reach of their arms.
I must say, I feel a bit sorry for the friend in Melbourne, she used to be my classmate when we were in City Uni law school in HK, and now she is actually doing Master of Laws at Melbourne University. Considering the education that she received and still receiving, it's such a waste for her, as she is seriously considering the possibilities of staying in Australia forever, not as a lawyer, but a waitress!
True, earning money here in Australia through labour is even more than a young professional in Hong Kong, in a short term, at the least. And I suspect the situation is applicable to many other Asian countries as well.
Sigh...my friend, given that, don't you think you have made a mistake of the pecking order?
posted by Zenneth | 8:14 am
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