The good old salary "conversion" from Pesos to Baht
 

I'm probably stating the damn obvious for many folk out there, but over the last 6 months with some question regarding "What is the salary for ATC in ......... <insert appropriate ATS here>", we've been seeing quite a bit of what I call the "dodgy conversion" (actually, I call it something else, but it's not appropriate for this PG timeslot). You know, the good old "Oh, $80,000 Canadian, that's like 35,000 West European Islandland Dollariepounds or whatever". *sigh*

Like I said, I know most of us out there are a little smarter than this, but I really hope if people are considering making a move somewhere, they are doing more than this simple comparison. The grass may seem a little greener, but look at it this way. In one country you are being paid 100,000 of something before tax. After Mr Taxman and Mr Deductionsman take their cut, you may want to put a litre of go-go juice in your ATCer jalopy. One gallon of go-go juice in that country costs you 4.55 units of what you earn. In another country, the you're being paid 42,000 of something. One gallon of go-go juice costs you 7.92 units. This can be applied to things like insurance, house prices, beer (actually, beer in West European Islandland is cheaper)

Sorry for the rant, but it drives me insane.

From which we can derive that poor old Jerri is paying over a dollar for a litre of gas. He could've been in Alberta where they grow their own.... :ok:

Aye mate, but I ain't paying half a million units for a huge house on 2.5 acres of land.................and a hot tub. ;)

I just saw a pad advertised here, 11,000 sq feet, 5 bedrooms, closet for the maid to sleep in, etc etc, for 41,000,000 units. The units are about 1/3 of Jerri's units, or a 1/7 of the units used by most around here.

You're out-of-date Jerricho! You won't get 2.5 acres and a hot tub for half a million currency units in Alberta anymore - friends have their suburban 1,800 sq ft house on the market for 529,000 units... :eek:

Don't come back to Bris Jer. $700+ for a wood box on 250square metres.

Spot on with the thread intent though. I want to stab people in the face who immediately say 'What do they get in the UK? Oh 60000 pounds? Wow that is 180000 aussie. Sweet.'(back in the olden days)

Jeeesh...60000 pounds is like about 25K NZD ... how the hell you work it out to 180000 AUD..I want to do that job, with that conversion rate....

I hope you don't count for a living.

Hint. The exchange Oz to Sterling was 0.34 in 97 and 0.42 today.

You could make a little project out of it with graphs and things.

It's even more complicated than that
 

It's even more complicated than what you're saying. For example, here in Canada, controllers in Gander, Newfoundland or Moncton, New Brunswick can live like kings on their ATC salary and controllers in Vancouver or Toronto can only buy a condo or row house. The salary is about the same, but the cost of living across the country can be very different.

I'm sure it's the same in other parts of the world too; Los Angeles would be much more than Salt Lake City...

If an American controller working in Gander decided to go home to Los Angeles, his pay would be more on paper, but it would feel like he took a 50% pay cut (at least). Or if I (in Vancouver) transfered to Moncton, I could have a house with a pool on the atlantic for half the cost of the my row house here!

So even if you stay in the same currency, the whole picture is still scewed - let alone switching from one currency to the next and travelling across the world.

There is a thread somewhere calculated in Big Macs :-)

Over here in the sandpit, I can fill my gas tank for about 7 quid (English)

Muahahahaha!!!!

Over here in the desert, I can fill a pint glass for 5 squid.... :{

I didn't realise fuel was so expensive over there.

7 quid- that's about 1500 Dhs, isn't it?

I could do it for free........... :E

"I could do it for free........... "

Yup, and it would still taste better than the cr*p you Aussies call beer!

No argument here mate.

But that's free, Canadian, is it not, my friend? I thought this was the pitfall which the brilliant originator of this thread--an originator which very nearly everyone believes is nice, according to my math--was seeking to avoid...

That's about three bucks US, right?

I said "could" not "would".

100% pure golden Jerricho. That's fricken expensive, whatever the currency.

Especially so when said lager is drawn randomly or post-incident...