[throwaway-oid]

Is staying in the US really that much better than trying to make it big in India?

Ironically, many of my Chinese colleagues have returned to China because they can make a lot more money there. And they will have a higher chance of being promoted to executive positions.

In addition, among my Chinese American friends, just about all of them say that their relatives that stayed in China are wealthier and more successful than those that came to the US.

[wozniacki]

There's another oft-ignored dimension to why some not-so-well-connected Chinese do not return home, that doesn't always surface in these discussions.

It boils down to favoritism and nepotism that is rife back home. This probably doesn't get much airtime since its hard to even grasp for people in Western societies. The closest that comes to mind is the Italian concept of Raccomandazione - the practice of using social connections to gain an upper hand in employment and in other aspects of public life in general [1] [2]. The Chinese-origin UK lady in the video explains this in the Chinese context.[3]

I'm sure the Indian context is much the same in substance if not in the degree, to which this factor plays a role in determining why they rather not return.

[1] Raccomandazione (Italy) - Global Informality Project

http://in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Raccomandazione...

[2] Italy's culture threatens its economic future - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/italys-culture-threatens-its-...

[3] Why Chinese people choose to stay in the UK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRk3qoVcDxY

[diogenescynic]

We just have a different term—-we call it the old boy network: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_boy_network

[throwaway-oid]

I have to agree with diogenescynic here (and I'm surprised he's being downvoted). That just sounds like the "Old Boy Network," or even just basic networking.

It's not unlike the fact that many VCs often only work with those from schools like Standard, Harvard, and MIT.

[jorblumesea]

I find this hard to believe, are Chinese software engineer salaries FAANG level? It's not unheard of for senior engineering salaries to push 250k easily for a large company.

Also, isn't the work life balance horrible for Chinese workers?

[B0btheBuilder]

I don't know about the salaries, but let's keep in mind that Alibaba and Tencent are two of the biggest companies in the world.

[jorblumesea]

Sure, but do the employees see any of that? Do Alibaba employees get generous equity grants? Vacation time? Cash bonuses? SV type salaries?

I'm not doubting China has some great companies and things going on, it's just a very bold claim with seemingly no evidence behind it. It's the kind of claim I hate.

"everyone knows" -> insert anecdote here

[maksimum]

> Sure, but do the employees see any of that? Do Alibaba employees get generous equity grants? Vacation time? Cash bonuses? SV type salaries?

Logically speaking, the employees are probably paid near their global market value. The converse (they're grossly underpaid) seems less likely because of the global free market.

If Alibaba has SWEs of equal or greater skill than their global counterparts, they could get a job in the US or Switzerland. If they want to stay in China, they may be willing to trade a small amount of salary for that. I don't think most developers would be willing to trade more than 20% though.

[azurezyq]

My previous colleges in Baidu and Alibaba in China are paid similarly as in US (6~8 years SWE). USD $200K~$300K is very common. The range is very broad though.

Also, Beijing is not a cheap place. Real estate prices are comparable to NYC.

Due to demand and supply, SWEs are among best paid jobs.,