There is a dilemma happening in our country. Professionals are not respected, and not worth much! We have a disease called "Jordanian Salaries". What this means is that no matter how much you are really worth anywhere in the world, if you are in
Jordan, you can consider yourself worth much much less. Why? Because it seems that many companies believe that since they are in Jordan, it gives them the right to pay very low salaries, even though they are charging their clients (many of them in the Gulf) huge sums of money, even more than what the top global companies charge!!!
The typical salary for a fresh grad engineer is around 300 JDs. This has been the typical starting salary for a fresh grad engineer for the past 30 years. Yet, cost of living has gone up at least 20 times since then. How can this equation work?? No wonder educated people are running away to the Gulf, Australia and Canada. Who can blame them? 300 JDs is the equivalent of $420. Yet,
Amman is classified as one of the most expensive capitals in the world. How can someone survive on 300 JDs in a very expensive country? I can't get it. How can they save up for marriage, apartment, graduate school, or anything else?
For the more experienced professionals, it doesn't get much better. Let's take an example. A
Project Management Professional (PMP) is someone who has
project management experience and was able to pass a very rigorous examination by
PMI to prove project management competence. Most PMPs have at least 5 years experience. Typical US salaries for PMPs start around $90,000 a year according to
this and
this sources. Actually, depending on where you are in the states, PMP salaries can easily exceed $100,000 a year with a few years experience. Yet, the highest salary a PMP can get in Jordan is around 2,500 JDs per month. That is equivalent to $42,000 per year. So, we are talking about the same competence, same skills, but around 0.4 salary. Same human being, but worth much less here that there!!!
So, what's the solution? I suggest that professionals ask for what they are worth and insist on it. If everyone starts doing this, companies will have no other choice but to raise salaries to compete for talent. I know holding out is not easy, but selling yourself short is much worse. You should ask for a fair salary. It's a globalized world, and this means that there is no such thing as "Jordanian Salaries" anymore.
