IT salaries - SA vs Australia

[Bradley Prior]

IT salaries - SA vs Australia

Skilled professionals are leaving South Africa in droves, searching for higher salaries and better opportunities overseas.

 

[Solitude]

Damn, I should move to Australia.

 

[Hamster]

There we go again with those stupid salaries. It's not correct and this time around you don't need to take my word for it, OfferZen did a survey and can show you they are wrong.

Trusted in tech my ass

 

[FiestaST]

Kazakhstan?

 

[WollieVerstege]

Why, like WW2, is the US dragged into the article half way down?
Also, what exacly is the bar graph about the big mac index supposed to depict?
There are great sites that give accurate purchase power comparisons.

 

[Rocket-Boy]

Im sure this has been copy/pasted in every single article about salaries in other countries:

Spending power​

It is important to note that while those working in the United States are earning far more than those in South Africa, they are also spending more.

The cost of living in the US can vary greatly between states, cities, and coasts, and can therefore be difficult to compare.

For example, it is far more expensive on average to rent an apartment in New York than in Johannesburg.

The Big Mac Index can provide a rough idea of how currencies are valued against one another, but it is by no means an accurate tool for currency misalignment.

Not everything comes down to a comparison between salary and taxes – the cost of living makes a big difference in how good your salary actually is.

The Big Mac Index compares the price of a Big Mac in multiple countries across the world to provide a rough estimate of spending power.

The cheaper a Big Mac is in a country, the more purchasing power people in that country have.

While the Big Mac Index is by no means an accurate tool for currency misalignment, it does provide a rough idea of how currencies are valued against one another.

 

[azbob]

Why do mybb and BT love these articles? Not a day goes by without a new salary or moving to another country article. This is a very negative and toxic environment. No wonder the forumites are so miserable.

 

[My_King]

I'll use the Pokemon Index thanks:

 

[hj007]

I feel that these articles are missing a huge opportunity by not including the affiliate link to the agents that could process the visa. I mean you must be running a tremendous leadgen program here, lol.

 

[HavocXphere]

Aussie property prices are rough though. Same for beer

 

[whatwhat]

lol. MyExpatBB

 

[^^vampire^^]

Said it before and will say it again. Those sources of data are for disgruntled or low paid employees and cannot be relied upon.

Also, most salaries in Australia are inclusive of superannuation. As it doesn't state whether they are inclusive or exclusive you could realistically expect to have super stripped out which is 9.5% of your gross. Over and above that, super is set to increase until it reaches 12% in the future.

No mention of skill level, just average pay. Do we assume an average software developer is an intermediate? or perhaps senior developer if the spectrum is from junior to principal?

On my salary, if you strip out super component and only look at gross pay I pay 30% tax in Aus. ZAR equivalent I'd pay 35%.

Difference in cost of living?
* in SA it was always easy for me to get a dev job 30 mins or less from home on the westrand. Aus, jobs are usually based in the CBD. SA I could get a 4 bed 2 bath double brick home with big garden, pool etc close to work for R1.5mil-R2mil. In Aus a 4 bed, 2 bath, wood frame single brick, small garden, no pool, 1.25 hour train ride to work (excluding commute to and from station) was $600k (just shy of R7 mil).
* My elec, gas, and water repayments haven't moved upwards much over the years since moving to Aus.
* Food costs have had no noticeable change in the 4.5 years I've been here.

Salary in Aus if I was working without WFH benefits would be 4 times what I was earning in SA 4.5 years ago. Adjusted for time and skill I reckon would be about 2.5 to 3 times what I would be earning now in SA.

To have a comfortable transition from SA to Aus I would reckon you need to earn in ZAR terms double what you currently earn. That being said if you salary is on the lower spectrum (eg: double your SA salary is less than $60k-R70k) you may struggle depending on your standard of living and expectations. Domestic/gardener in Aus is roughly R350 p/h starting and that's for the basic of the basics. No one's doing any hard scrubbing or weeding for that

 

[CamiKaze]

MyBB should post links of recruiters from Aus to supplement the article.

 

[hj007]

Aussie property prices are rough though. Same for beer

Friends tell me the debt doesn't matter because the monthly payments are the same as in SA . So even though its 5X the price its still ok.
Can you imagine the problems if interest rates ever go back up to the double digits? In Australia or any developed market!

 

[cguy]

Friends tell me the debt doesn't matter because the monthly payments are the same as in SA . So even though its 5X the price its still ok.
Can you imagine the problems if interest rates ever go back up to the double digits? In Australia or any developed market!

I would say that the above is an advantage. So one thing to consider is that the low interest means that the percentage of the payment that is capital is really high, so you eat away at the capital owed quite a bit faster. Also, the interest rate is very unlikely to spike, since the effect on the home loans is known, and every measure will be made to avoid mass defaults. Lastly, at the end, you have a house worth 5x the amount.

 

[hj007]

I would say that the above is an advantage. So one thing to consider is that the low interest means that the percentage of the payment that is capital is really high, so you eat away at the capital owed quite a bit faster. Also, the interest rate is very unlikely to spike, since the effect on the home loans is known, and every measure will be made to avoid mass defaults. Lastly, at the end, you have a house worth 5x the amount.

It's like bonds. They're great if you had purchased one prior to the rate drop. The problem is now with rates at basically 0 purchasers have a problem.the asset is expensive and rates can only go up. If rates stay low for too long you create zombie banks and the property bubble that would wipe out wealth for every home owner. I'm not bullish on property in Aus/EU for a while, but then again I didn't expect the developed world to wipe out it's own banks with zero rates.

Anyway, property ownership in those places just makes me nervous.

 

[cguy]

It's like bonds. They're great if you had purchased one prior to the rate drop. The problem is now with rates at basically 0 purchasers have a problem.the asset is expensive and rates can only go up. If rates stay low for too long you create zombie banks and the property bubble that would wipe out wealth for every home owner. I'm not bullish on property in Aus/EU for a while, but then again I didn't expect the developed world to wipe out it's own banks with zero rates.

Anyway, property ownership in those places just makes me nervous.

Yeah, hopefully there are controls to the granting of credit that assume a worst case bounce back to 4-5%, and verify that the borrower can afford the property in this situation, otherwise one might get something like the subprime crisis again.

 

[hj007]

Yeah, hopefully there are controls to the granting of credit that assume a worst case bounce back to 4-5%, and verify that the borrower can afford the property in this situation, otherwise one might get something like the subprime crisis again.

indeed. and that all the existing homeowners are using this opportunity to keep stable payments and smack down that capital portion. However, the longer the rates stay low, the more likely homeowners will be to tap that home equity line of credit for the new car, renovation or trip. With Australia closed though, at least no-one is doing any spending on consumption for now.

Going to be interesting to see how it all plays out, when the virus ends up outlasting the length of any financial stimulation.

 

[xrapidx]

Remember when I was in aus - one of the junior starters was getting paid considerably more than me (as a senior). He was Australian - I was South African - getting paid in rands.

 

[cguy]

Remember when I was in aus - one of the junior starters was getting paid considerably more than me (as a senior). He was Australian - I was South African - getting paid in rands.

Were you on a work visa? Some companies take liberties if they think it’s too difficult for you to quit.