Space engineer salary equal to technology driver: Danger to national technology capacity

Dr. Bui Man believes that, from the perspective of national capacity, low income in strategic research sectors will affect technological security.

Dr. Bui Man, senior engineer, Director of GTC Soil Analysis Services Laboratory in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) shared with VTC News Electronic Newspaper his opinion on the issue of current low income for aerospace engineers.

VTC News introduces an article by Dr. Bui Man (formerly a bridge and road lecturer at the University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City National University) discussing this story from his experience working in many different countries.

“Nearly 8 years ago, I received an email with an offer letter from my current boss.

The compensation package was then divided into two parts: base salary and allowances. For reasons of confidentiality and privacy, I will not disclose the exact figures, but there is one notable detail. The base salary only accounts for about 60%, the remaining 40% is allowances such as housing, transportation and an annual return air ticket (away from home allowance). In addition, the company also pays for health insurance, visa costs and other expenses.

For foreign employees like me, if desired, we can also negotiate other support such as the cost of moving personal belongings when changing workplaces, or tuition support if children transfer from school to Dubai.

Keeping the base salary at a moderate level is beneficial for the company in many ways, as severance pay and contract compensation are calculated based on the base salary. In addition, this helps to avoid creating discrimination between domestic and international employees, maintain equality in the working environment, and reduce the risk of forming a “superior” mentality among colleagues.

Another attractive factor in the Middle East is that there is no personal income tax. However, this also means that the State is not responsible for social security for foreign experts and their families. All costs related to education , health care, retirement, or social insurance are paid by the individual.

On the contrary, when I worked in the UK, I had to pay quite a lot of income tax and social insurance. However, in return, my whole family received completely free education and health care from Year R to Year 13.

I also participate in National Insurance and contribute a portion of my salary to a voluntary pension fund. The contributions to this fund are tax-free and managed by professional investment companies, which typically return an average of over 5% per year (except during recessions and pandemics).

Many of my colleagues are very interested in this form of investment, because it is both tax-free and creates a passive income source to prepare for retirement (from 55 years old and up) and letting professional companies invest is better than investing yourself.

However, for those with large financial burdens such as mortgage payments or high living costs in the UK, joining a voluntary pension fund is not always feasible.

Therefore, my company has a policy to encourage employees to participate by “matching contributions” to the employee pension fund, up to 4% of salary (depending on the company). For example, if an employee voluntarily contributes 2% of monthly salary to the salary fund, the company will contribute an additional 2%. If the employee contributes 10%, the total monthly savings will be equivalent to 14% of salary, of which 4% is the company's support.

In addition, the company also has a program to encourage employees to buy internal shares (Employee Share Purchase Plan). Every year, the company opens 2-3 registration periods to buy shares at preferential prices about 10-20% lower than the market. Employees can choose to deduct their salary according to the number of shares they want to buy, and are only allowed to sell after a certain period of time.

Voluntary stock purchases by employees demonstrate confidence in the business model and leadership, and align personal interests with the company's success. When employees see the company's prosperity as linked to their own, they are more likely to give their all.

Recently, Associate Professor Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, General Director of the Vietnam Space Center (under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology), said that the salary of experts and engineers trained abroad working at the center is only from 5 to 8 million VND/month, or less than 100 million VND/year.

With the average price of apartments in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City being around 80-100 million VND per square meter, their annual income is only equivalent to 1 square meter of housing.

In today's global knowledge economy, countries are competing fiercely to attract highly skilled workers, especially in cutting-edge industries such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, data science, automation, biomedicine, high technology, nuclear energy, space science, and materials science.

These are the driving forces of prosperity and the pillars of national defense. Therefore, the salaries and benefits of these industries will show the level of development and strategic vision of the country.

According to salary statistics from websites such as Salary Expert or Morgan McKinley, in 2024, scientists working in London will have an average income of 80,000 pounds for the nuclear industry, 64,000 pounds for the aviation industry, and from 65,000 to 140,000 pounds for artificial intelligence or data science working in London.

This is equivalent to 8-16m2 of housing in London, if the average price is 8,440 GBP/m2 (according to Property Global Guide). It is also important to note that figures from sites like Salary Expert are based on sample sizes, so may not be representative of the entire market.

In addition, large corporations also have a policy of contributing up to 10% of salary to the superannuation fund. This level of pension is also common at top universities in Australia.

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Low salaries at research institutions in strategic industries in Vietnam could pose a direct threat to the country's technological capacity.

Dr. Bui Man

According to data from Destatis (2024), the average salary in Germany - the country with the leading technical background in Europe - of professors, experts and engineers is 79,634 Euros, equivalent to 16 m2 of house in Berlin with an average house price of 5,379 Euros/m2.

Comparable salaries for strategic research careers can also be found in advanced countries such as the US, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.

Low salaries at research institutions in strategic industries in Vietnam could pose a direct threat to the country's technological capacity.

Building a team of experts in fields such as nuclear, semiconductor, or space research requires long-term financial investment and time to accumulate experience.

Low salaries easily lead to “brain drain”, either experts will move to the private sector or go abroad, or stay but their minds will be “longer outside than inside”, labor productivity and creativity will decrease significantly.

Low salaries, high cost of living, and a mentality of complacency, working for the government to get a title, make many employees work just for the sake of it. Such an environment will not produce scientific breakthroughs.

Lack of investment in research in strategic sectors can lead to the risk of falling behind, reducing competitiveness and hindering digital and green transformation.

From a national capability perspective, low income in strategic research industries affects technological security. We may become increasingly dependent on imports of core technologies. The geopolitical tension between the US and China is a good example of the importance of mastering technology.

A single US embargo on semiconductors in 2018 or China’s restriction on rare earth exports could lead to a domino effect of disruption or paralysis of the entire supply chain for the economy. Moreover, technological dependence could threaten national security because many high technologies are present in the defense industry.

From a growth perspective, a lack of investment in research in strategic sectors could lead to the risk of falling behind, reducing competitiveness and hindering digital and green transformation.

Labor productivity of the entire economy in 2024 at current prices is estimated at 221.9 million VND/worker (equivalent to 9,182 USD/worker). For comparison, in 2023, Vietnam's labor productivity, after being adjusted for inflation and the difference in purchasing power between countries at international dollar prices (international USD PPP 2021), was 11 USD/hour. This figure is much lower than that of Thailand (19 USD/hour), Malaysia (29.7 USD/hour), Singapore (65.6 USD/hour).

Vietnam's labor productivity is much lower than that of other countries in the region.

This gap is partly a result of a lack of investment in research and development. According to World Bank data in 2023, Vietnam's investment rate for R&D is 0.43% of GDP, approximately 1/7 of the global average of 2.62%.

By 2025, Vietnam's total investment in R&D (from both the state budget and enterprises) will still not reach 0.7% of GDP, lower than Thailand (1.1%), South Korea (2%), and Singapore (more than 2%).

Increasing research staff salaries is a must. This is a difficult task due to budget constraints. Adjusting income needs to be done in a clear, unhurried manner, with specific goals.

Within 15-20 years, Vietnam’s investment rate in R&D needs to be equal to the average level of other countries in the world, which means an increase of 5-6 times compared to the present. At that time, the salary of research experts in strategic technology industries must be equivalent to that of advanced countries when converted according to purchasing power.

In the process, Vietnam also needs to expand public-private cooperation and international cooperation in the research field to increase income for experts, and create opportunities to access, exchange, and absorb new trends and research results.

Retired overseas Vietnamese experts who want to return to their homeland to live (in their later years) are also a valuable human resource. They have experience in both technical and management skills, which should be effectively utilized in research and development activities.

Salary increases must also go hand in hand with staff reduction, helping to balance the budget and create incentives to improve productivity, with the same amount of work performed by a leaner, more professional and more capable team. The pressure to reduce staff is also a healthy competitive mechanism, encouraging innovation, creativity and eliminating “complacency” in the public sector.

In management, it is necessary to establish specific quantitative criteria and long-term goals to evaluate capacity in a transparent and fair manner. At the same time, there must be a clear accountability mechanism for the leader if the set goals are not achieved.

A nation's strength in the new era is determined by its mastery of core technologies. When the salary of a space researcher is only equal to that of a technology driver, it is a matter of technological security and national future.

It raises the issue of profound changes in mechanisms, strategies, and ways of implementing strategies to develop core science and technology, in order to ensure the country's independent foundation and self-reliance in the new century."

* The article expresses the author's opinion.

Dr. Bui Man is a senior engineer and Director of GTC Soil Analysis Services Laboratory in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). He is an expert in soil characterization research with over 20 years of experience.

He used to be a bridge and road lecturer at the University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, and worked on many large-scale infrastructure projects for leading UK-based consulting companies such as Fugro, WS Atkins, and Amec Foster Wheeler.

Dr. Bui Man

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/luong-ky-su-vu-tru-bang-tai-xe-cong-nghe-nguy-cho-nang-luc-cong-nghe-quoc-gia-ar988702.html