What is an acceptable salary for a fresh graduate in Indonesia? Well, one’s first salary is determined by a lot of factors, and alma mater is certainly one.
But a social media post has sparked a debate online recently over whether or not graduating from a top university entitles one to earn a high salary and be upset if they don’t get it.
It all started with an Instagram story by an anonymous user — which was shared by @askmenfess, a popular Twitter account that aggregates online confessions — The story’s author says that they had recently graduated from Universitas Indonesia (UI), one of the country’s top universities. In the post, the fresh graduate bemoaned that they were only offered a monthly salary of just IDR8 million (US$572) during a recent job interview.
https://twitter.com/askmenfess/status/1153642394849402880
“So I was invited to a job interview by a local company. And they offered me a monthly salary of only around IDR8 million. Hellooo even though I’m a fresh graduate, I’m a graduate of UI, Sir!! Universitas Indonesia. Don’t equate me with fresh graduates from other universities… UI’s level is that of international companies, I’m okay with local ones as long as the price is right,” the Instagram story reads.
IDR8 million is actually quite a high salary in many industries in Indonesia, even for senior positions. To put that in perspective, according to the World Bank, Indonesia’s GNI per capita for 2018 is US$3,840, which translates to an average income of US$320 per month (before tax).
It’s easy, then, to see why so many were critical of the viral post and its sentiment.
anak ui tapi pikiran kaya anak lulusan smp. untuk fresh graduation itu keitung gede lah goblog, coba kalau lu digaji dibawah UMR? makanya sekarang banyak fresh graduation sarjana pengangguran. karena kerjanya gak mau dari bawah, padahal pengalaman kerja pun gak punya🥵
— astroboi (@astrobooi) July 23, 2019
“UI graduate but the way they think is just like a middle school graduate. That’s considered high for a fresh graduate, fool, what if you were paid under the regional minimum wage (UMR)? That’s why there are so many unemployed fresh graduates nowadays. Because they don’t want to work their way up from the bottom, even when they still don’t have any work experience”
Some pointed out that graduates from reputable universities don’t always turn out to be model employees.
Pernah punya rekan kerja seumuran lulusan UI. Kerjanya gajelas tiap hari ngeluh. Excel amburadul. 5 months later resign, anggap kerja surveyor bukan level dia. Sekarang jadi spv di pabrik fast moving. Saya belum 30, manager di top oil company. Lulusan kampus kelas dua di bandung
— Subvillain (@ministryofluck) July 23, 2019
“I had a co-worker around my age who was a UI graduate. What he did everyday was unclear, all he did was whine. He was bad at Excel. He resigned five months later, he thought the job of a surveyor job was beneath him. He’s now a supervisor at a factory. I’m not 30 yet, but I’m a manager at a top oil company. [I’m a] graduate of a second-tier university in Bandung.”
Others tried to sympathize with the fresh graduate, to a degree.
Hak dia menerima atau menolak 8jt, ini ranah pribadi. Walopun pembaca banyak yang nyesek menolak gaji pertama sebesar itu.
Tapi pas bilang membandingkan “kampus lain” terbaca merendahkan kampus lain😁
Emang se hebat apa UI itu?
Kok bisa meluluskan anak kerdil begini?— ahmad nurcholis (@ahmad_nurcholis) July 24, 2019
“It’s their right to accept or decline IDR8 million, this is a personal decision. Even if many can’t understand why anyone would decline such a high first salary. But when [the fresh graduate] compared UI to “other universities”, it came across as belittling other universities. Is UI even that great? How could they let such a small-minded student like this graduate?”
As of this afternoon, netizens are still heavily engaged in a discussion about salary, so much so that it culminated in a hashtag called #gaji8juta (#8millionsalary) being the top trending topic on Twitter in Indonesia.
Anak #LulusanUI melamar kerja, dia merasa pantas dihargai lebih dari #gaji8juta. Itu hak dia.
Pemberi kerja bisa menerima atau menolak. Itu hak dia.
Bikin jadi trending topic. Itu kewajiban netizen.
— glennmars (@glennmars) July 25, 2019
“A #UIGraduate applying for a job, they feel like they deserve to be paid more than #8millionsalary. It’s their own right. Employers can accept of reject. It’s their own right. Turning [the debate] into a trending topic. That’s the obligation of netizens.”
Yesterday, UI released an official statement on their social media channels to have their say in the debate. It was first posted as a digital brochure from their career development center emphasizing that UI has produced some of the best employees in Indonesia.
Hai Mahasiswa UI!
Tahukah kamu dengan menempuh pendidikan di Perguruan Tinggi membuka banyak peluang dan kesempatan kamu untuk bisa mengeksplor potensi, bakat dan minat serta membuka jaringan yang luas dengan teman-temanmu semasa berkuliah. pic.twitter.com/cPbsKlkzEz
— UniversitasIndonesia (@univ_indonesia) July 24, 2019
That said, UI did poke fun at the fresh graduate’s contentious post with one that looked like it.
Mau tau faktanya tracer study tentang #lulusanUI tahun 2018? Silakan geser gambarnya ya.. Untuk selanjutnya kamu bisa cek infonya di website https://t.co/SAykOiwPwm atau follow IG @cdc.ui.#gaji8juta #lulusanUI pic.twitter.com/okZbTcMmHz
— UniversitasIndonesia (@univ_indonesia) July 24, 2019
“So guys, UI students wherever you are going to work, whether in local companies, international companies, or becoming entrepreneurs who hire people, don’t forget to always enrich yourself with knowledge and always be humble!”
Read more Coconuts Jakarta
