Every since Jobstreet unleashed that service that allows you to view the average salaries that different positions get, it made me feel a lot sadder about our state of economy.

I know businesses have been having a hard time keeping themselves afloat. It’s pretty much understandable why there are no common across the board wage hikes or larger bonuses to be given.

I used to think that I’d been low-balled in the salaries that I previously get. But seeing these data, I figure, it really depends. Well, perhaps I’d been low-balled. If that’s the case then a whole lot of other people are low-balled too.

No doubt, the ICT sector gets the whole shebang while one of the lowest paid are those in the academe. I mean a rookie college instructor for Php 8000? No wonder we’re churning out morons for college graduates. Imagine getting your general education and 101 courses from a guy who gets 8K a month? High-class prostitutes get that for tips a night! Which means by logic, one can make more taking off her bra than teach kids algebra.

Let’s see. Given the distress and everything else, an average middle-class household needs about 60K net of wages to be able to live comfortably. No luxuries there, just enough stock of food, bills, sending kids to decent schools, and moderated family leisure.

Check this out – manager positions average out at 30K gross. Does this mean that even if parents hold management positions, they’d still fall short of that 60K. Jeepers! Who’s middle-class again? No wonder my mentor has been telling me to really think teaching in college over!

Definitely it’d be the multinational corporations who could afford shelling out higher wages. Internally, there’s a diaspora in our country. Brainy people would rather work for multinationals. But where would this leave everyone else? The entrepreneur? The start-ups? The government agencies?

So salaries are low. But here’s a harsher thought. Even if you get 40K a month, you still fall short of the $5.15 hourly minimum wage in the US. Low-balled indeed!

Check out these other posts:

1. The meager yuppie salary and expenses
2. It just got too old
3. Oh yes, I do bother myself with Capitalism
4. Rant on the “futility” of staying in the Philippines
5. Blend 45 special for Alex