Hacker News Reader

Comment by alextingle | Hacker News Reader

What kind of person do you think you'll get for those peanuts? $6 per hour is below minimum wage here. A PA is a skilled worker, not a cleaner.

View on HN

For $6/hour I typically, though not always, get someone with a 4-year college degree.

While it can be hit and miss, just like hiring someone in your own country (in my case, the U.S.), if you screen them well you can find someone solid and reliable. One of my best VAs costs $3 per hour, but I had to go through 4 or 5 others before I found her.

Where's 'here'? His $6 rate if for Filipinos, which I'm guessing is an ok rate (given a minimum wage of $2k / yr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_countr...)

$6/hour is a very high rate for a virtual assistant in the Philippines. I pay $4/hour for skilled web/graphic designers and programmers, all with at least 4 year degrees, some with masters or higher. For virtual assistants/data entry/data mining, I pay around $2.50/hour. That works out to $400/month for virtual assistants, $640/month for designers/coders. Even better, my team is in Cebu, Philippines, which enjoys a much lower cost of living than Manila (think Atlanta vs New York City), so this money goes even farther for them.

For those of you outraged by those numbers, consider that a typical nurse in the Philippines will make $120/month, and a doctor will make $300-800 (http://bulatlat.com/news/4-37/4-37-sick.html or http://doktorko.com/_blog/index.php?mod=blog_article&a=1...). The president of the Philippines earns $1000/month (officially, that is).

Do you typically use the same firm/people? If so, would you mind passing along their contact info or posting it here? (my contact info is in my profile)

Hi I'd be interested in the firm that you use as well. My contact info is in my profile. Thanks.

So many downvotes? Did I touch a nerve perhaps?

Let me reiterate, in stronger terms: This kind of unregulated outsourcing is selfish, irresponsible and socially corrosive.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com