Salary Expectations

[grggry]

Hello everyone!

I'm hoping someone can help me. I'm relocating to Buenos Aires in a couple of months and I've been in touch with a company about potentially joining their BA office. They want to know my salary expectations and I have no idea what it's reasonable for me to respond!

Just for some context - the position is quality management for a major, international translation company, basically giving documents in English the final check and ensuring they're up to scratch. I've worked in similar positions before in Barcelona, and was earning 19,000-21,000 euros a year.

Since then I've done a masters degree (at the University of Cambridge, if that matters...) which I feel has upped my earning potential slightly. Additionally, this is a much larger and more established company than the very small, relatively new places I've worked previously, and I now have more experience under my belt. If this were Barcelona, I'd probably try for around the 23,000-25,000 euro mark.

Of course, I understand that this isn't Barcelona and that salary expectations and living costs are not the same in Argentina as in Spain. Does anyone know what would be a reasonable salary to expect for this sort of position? Any guidance much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Georgia

 

[Girino]

Georgia,

you were paid very little in Barcelona! (I suppose you talking about your gross salary, if not - congrats! You earned more than the average European translator!)
I don't know about salary in Argentina - it is quite hard to find out because most job ads have no salary posted and there is no resource such as Glassdoor in the US.

I remember I saw a PM position at a translation agency in BsAs which was advertised for 5000 pesos a month, which is NOT enough to live on, not even if you share an apartment.
Then you should clarify if you will be employed or if they will ask you to work independently (monotributo). I suppose that you will be an employee and they will sponsor you for a VISA, so you should indicate them a gross salary (salario bruto). I don't really know how much is the taxation here, but you should think about the kind of lifestyle and saving plan that you are expecting, then you can ask for the cost of living on this forum to get a picture of the money you will need to live here, and then turn them into a gross amount.

Are you planning on living alone or in a shared accommodation? What are your expectations in term of quality of life? Would you be okay with literally a bed and a desk or do you like fancy stuff? Where is the company located and how much commuting are you willing to do? Is it important for you to stay in touch with the international community? Do you plan to stay here for a short period of time or longer?

 

[RodalfoWalsh]

Years of experience in the field and a masters from cambridge and you were hoping for 23k a year? Must be a labor of love...


That would be 18000 pesos a month here (at the official) which, without knowing the specifics of the translation industry, seems reasonable for your education and experience. That will leave you with about 14000 after tax and contributions which is not exactly an easy life but isn't undoable. Like all jobs in Argentina ask about inflation based income adjustments.

 

[estebandepraga]

Come to Argentine to spend money, not make it because you wont! sad but true!

 

[grggry]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your replies, they're all very much appreciated you've certainly given me some things to consider. I especially wouldn't have thought to ask about the inflation-based adjustments, but will now. My previous salaries had never seemed particularly low to me (I was quoting gross figures) but maybe I've been selling myself short!

Come to Argentine to spend money, not make it because you wont! sad but true!

Just to clarify, I'm not coming to Argentina with any illusions of getting rich! If that was my intention I would certainly have chosen a different career path I just want to earn whatever will allow me to live reasonably comfortably and whatever is considered average for the position. I don't have expensive tastes and many years of being a student mean I'm used to living on very little.

Of course, the other option is freelancing, but I'm so completely baffled by the visa situation that I don't even know where to begin. But I guess that's a topic for a different thread...

 

[Ceviche]

Come to Argentine to spend money, not make it because you wont! sad but true!

Sorry, Got to disagree.

Depends on the skillset of each particular person and as well which industry one is working in. Its possible to earn LOT of money here but of course ..depends on the specific skillset.

 

[wongjoh]

Hello everyone!

I'm hoping someone can help me. I'm relocating to Buenos Aires in a couple of months and I've been in touch with a company about potentially joining their BA office. They want to know my salary expectations and I have no idea what it's reasonable for me to respond!

Just for some context - the position is quality management for a major, international translation company, basically giving documents in English the final check and ensuring they're up to scratch. I've worked in similar positions before in Barcelona, and was earning 19,000-21,000 euros a year.

Since then I've done a masters degree (at the University of Cambridge, if that matters...) which I feel has upped my earning potential slightly. Additionally, this is a much larger and more established company than the very small, relatively new places I've worked previously, and I now have more experience under my belt. If this were Barcelona, I'd probably try for around the 23,000-25,000 euro mark.

Of course, I understand that this isn't Barcelona and that salary expectations and living costs are not the same in Argentina as in Spain. Does anyone know what would be a reasonable salary to expect for this sort of position? Any guidance much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Georgia

It's a good first step to post here in BAExpats, but since it seems that not many of us have your kind of experience (or maybe those who do haven't yet seen your post), maybe you can take a more direct approach. My suggestion would be to look up people on LinkedIn in your industry and/or similar target companies and ask them for advice such as comp expectations, etc. If you are able to find a link to them (e.g., other Cambridge alums, or people who have also lived in Barcelona), then there is a higher likelihood they will respond positively. This will also open the way for you to network into Argentina and potentially open up new friiends when you arrive. Good luck!

 

[Supercharged]

there are plenty of folks from different walks of life with many degress, so in regards to translating and basic mgt, there are very many folks qualified and salaries are very low. Translation languages are not well paid here.

 

[grggry]

there are plenty of folks from different walks of life with many degress, so in regards to translating and basic mgt, there are very many folks qualified and salaries are very low. Translation languages are not well paid here.

I would expect that to be the case, as the industry in general doesn't pay well, unless you speak a very unusual and in-demand set of languages or have very specific technical knowledge. I'm totally prepared to be offered a low salary - what would 'low' be, in your opinion? They want to know my expectations and I don't want to respond with something totally unreasonable for BA!

 

[RodalfoWalsh]

Tell them 20. They can always say no. If they do, it's not the end of the world. Salaries are a funny thing in Argentina there's not much logic to them.

Argentina is a great opportunity to get experience in different positions if your willing to put up with the low wages. Start networking I'd try to break into simultaneous interpretation, there will always be some peronista who doesn't speak english and has managed to weasel his way into a ridiculously out sized position.

I know a guy who went from proofreading documents to working as one of Evo Morales's interpreters within a few years of graduation.