
Airline pilots earn 10 times as much as lowest-paid workers
New figures from the Ministry of Labor have revealed Taiwan’s top-paid jobs! Many people assume that tech is the best-paid industry, but that’s not quite true. Technically, the best-paid job is airline pilot. The long training and demanding mental and physical pressures of the work make this a very well-renumerated job. The figures also show that Taiwan’s lowest-paid workers earn just one tenth of that top salary, a stark income gap that some might find surprising.
What do you think is the highest-paid job? Well, the stats show that in Taiwan, it’s aircraft pilot. The Ministry of Labor reveals that pilots earn an average of NT$315,000 a month – the highest of any profession. Second is actuaries at NT$205,000 a month, and third doctors at NT$171,000.
Voice of Li Hsin-yen
Taoyuan Union of Pilots
The whole training process takes about two years. Every six months, we have to get into a simulator to do an annual test. And until the age of 40, we have to do a physical health test every year.
But that high salary comes with a price, so to speak. It takes a lot to certify as a pilot, and they need to be prepared for an emergency at all times, taking responsibility for the lives of many people. Doctors have life or death responsibilities too. What about actuaries? Well, only 42 people in Taiwan have gained this incredibly exacting professional certification.
Member of public
I would guess an actuary earns about NT$100,000 a month. Yeah. It’s very hard to qualify.
Member of public
You have to be careful, flying a plane. If something goes wrong, it’s a disaster for the whole plane.
Tech engineers have an average monthly income of NT$138,000, and come in at no. 8, lower than many people imagine.
Tseng Chung-wei
Jobseekers’ website spokesperson
There are differences in the starting salaries for manufacturing careers or tech careers, and in their monthly salaries. And at the same time, there are big difference between different types of engineers: low-level, mid-level and high-level engineers have quite a dramatic gulf between their salaries.
The lowest salary is ascribed to “basic workers and laborers,” with an average salary of NT$32,000 a month. They’re earning only about a tenth of what those at the top of the pyramid earn: an astonishing income gap.
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2024-11-21