To those who've taken low wages for their ideals and been degraded by companies until you lost confidence—it's time to wake up.
Have you noticed that many industries require "passion" to persist, and even list "having passion" in job postings? But think about it—why is only "passion" acceptable, and nothing else? Because when you take inventory of these jobs, they're literally "poor with nothing but ideals"!
When former Premier Lai Ching-te said "Taiwan's average salary is 50,000!", it immediately sparked backlash from young people scrambling to say "Sorry, I'm bringing down the average!". The reason? This figure includes year-end bonuses, performance bonuses, overtime pay and other non-regular compensation, so it's higher than expected. If you subtract these, workers' average monthly salary is actually only 39K. For job seekers under 30, over 50% earn between 30,000 to 35,000 yuan.
When ideals become bargaining chips…（Image source: Visual.hunt）
Imagine if you're already 30 years old and earn only 35,000 yuan. After deducting 10,000 for rent, 3,000 for student loans, 4-5,000 for insurance and phone, and 10,000 for living expenses, you're left with 7,000 to 9,000 yuan. Yet you still need to cover daily expenses and filial duties—you literally can't save money, let alone dream of getting married or living a fulfilling life.
So why do you stick with low-wage jobs? Actually, think about it differently: it's because companies offer too low a price, leading us to mistakenly believe "we're not worth more." Take the TV industry as an example. Entry-level salaries for reporters are 25K-28K. If the company "mercifully" gives you a 10% raise, after a year you might reach 27K-30K, and after two years 29K-33K. Does that seem reasonable to you?
Sure, some people negotiate better, or jump ship early. They might wonder how anyone accepts such low pay. But most people, when stuck in the worst circumstances and given slightly better benefits or treatment, mysteriously develop a humble sense of "gratitude"—even thinking this is pretty good, that others might not get a raise in a whole year. But why do you compare yourself downward? Why do you deny your own abilities?
Take public relations as another example. Entry-level salary is around 32K, working until midnight is common, with no overtime pay because your boss says "I didn't ask you to work overtime," using this to save company costs. You wouldn't even dream of claiming overtime.
Don't accept perpetual low wages as inevitable—advocate for yourself（Image source: Visual.hunt）
But here's how you should think about salary: companies charge clients over 3,000 yuan per hour. That means when you serve a client for 3 hours, the company makes 9,000 yuan. Not to mention when an entire team serves one client, the hourly revenue breaks 10,000 yuan—utterly disproportionate to employee wages, and the gap is enormous. When companies profit, they should care for employees, but most people overlook this entirely, even thinking "speaking up won't help" and silently accept it. This leads to becoming habitually accustomed to "low-wage conditions," so that when a higher-paying opportunity comes, you doubt whether you have that capability and worth.
If you imagine a company's "low wages" as "violence in romantic relationships," the lies they feed you create cognitive dissonance—what communication psychology calls "cognitive disharmony." When behavior and belief conflict, you change one of them.
So when you consciously recognize low wages as a form of violence, yet still endure this environment, unable to accept your own behavior, you change your thinking instead: "There's still things I can learn here," "If I persist, I'll be noticed," "Anyway, I won't stay forever"—and then, without taking action, you might actually stay forever.
I'm not denying that companies genuinely offer learning opportunities, or that they can't provide what employees want to learn. In fact, more and more startups offer salaries so attractive that even 10-year veterans wonder if they're scams.
But don't accept low wages as inevitable. When companies hold ideals and dreams as bargaining chips and negotiate with employees while harboring this twisted mentality, stop being so submissive! You should ask yourself: "Is my value worth being trampled on?" and "What's next after being trampled?" rather than passively waiting for things to happen. Otherwise, in the end, all you'll be left with is yourself—with nothing.
