[HN Gopher] Low salary likely to cause exodus of European tech t...
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       Low salary likely to cause exodus of European tech talent
        
       Author : WWWMMMWWW
       Score  : 27 points
       Date   : 2024-07-10 19:40 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.tradearabia.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.tradearabia.com)
        
       | alephnerd wrote:
       | Pretty much. Salaries across Europe are extremely low compared to
       | similar roles at a similar caliber abroad.
        
         | fwsgonzo wrote:
         | Hard to disagree, but have you seen abroad? Seems like outside
         | Europe you're at a constant one health crisis away from
         | homelessness. Is that even an exaggeration at this point?
         | 
         | https://i.redd.it/e2u2h3la7e1b1.jpg
        
           | decafninja wrote:
           | Frankly speaking, European healthcare does not seem that
           | attractive to me versus decent to good employer backed
           | American insurance. I'd rather have a (often significantly)
           | bigger US salary.
           | 
           | If there is a healthcare system that I'm envious of, it's
           | those of some East Asian countries.
           | 
           | I know of some Asian-Americans in the US that do medical
           | tourism to Asia despite having company insurance. Ends up
           | being not only less expensive, but more importantly - also
           | massively faster and more efficient to get treatment.
           | 
           | Heck, I don't know many, but I know there are Asian-Europeans
           | that make the same trip too.
        
             | cooolbear wrote:
             | Aside from the usury of US healthcare, even with insurance
             | from your employer, dealing with the healthcare in Canada
             | is a dream to the US. You might have to wait to see a
             | doctor (most people probably still have to wait in the US
             | if you're lucky enough to get treatment), but there's
             | essentially no fight with layers and layers of occult
             | insurance for anything you get a referral from a doctor
             | for. No surprise or hidden 'networks' to speak of. I think
             | that people who are fine with US healthcare don't really
             | realize how incredibly inefficient and harmful it is to be
             | so uncertain about whether or not insurance will cover your
             | treatment.
        
               | floxy wrote:
               | Is there a way to find out which CGRP medications for
               | migraines are covered by which provincial health plans?
               | Seems like a few of them are available if you have
               | private insurance. Or if you could pay the fairly steep
               | costs out of pocket.
        
           | constantcrying wrote:
           | I think you are completely delusional about the US. They have
           | healthcare as well, you know, they just pay it from their
           | paycheck and it isn't deducted from their salary.
           | 
           | >homelessness
           | 
           | In Germany the state guarantees you housing. Yet it has a far
           | bigger homelessness problem than the US.
        
       | Zyten wrote:
       | I agree that salary is not necessarily the highest in the EU.
       | When looking at job offerings outside my current job, it
       | sometimes feels like I would actually get less salary than I
       | currently do. However, my current job has almost no chance of
       | promotion. In addition, no permanent contract which will force me
       | to switch jobs in a couple of years as they cannot provide fixed-
       | term contracts due to law anymore.
        
       | mkl95 wrote:
       | EU salaries have been risible for years. My employer will give
       | you a 3% raise every couple of years if you are lucky. When
       | people leave management's answer is we must keep hiring.
        
       | HillRat wrote:
       | The underlying thesis of the article is that high salaries in the
       | Gulf will outweigh the downsides of working in low-rule-of-law
       | authoritarian states with onerously rigid managerial and social
       | structures, which ... might work out for some folks, but if you
       | haven't worked with Gulf-domiciled companies before I wouldn't
       | recommend signing a long-term contract before testing out those
       | waters.
        
         | ls612 wrote:
         | I was under the impression that for ordinary commercial stuff
         | that won't touch politics that Dubai at least was pretty tame?
         | Or at least fairly low on the corruption index.
        
           | NomDePlum wrote:
           | Depends on your circumstances.
           | 
           | My cousin worked there quite a while back so things may have
           | moved on but 2 experiences he told me where reasons I
           | wouldn't ever work there.
           | 
           | 1. His wife was involved in an accident with an immigrant
           | worker. She was fine, they weren't. She tried to insist on
           | the Dubai police calling an ambulance. They flatly refused as
           | they didn't value the immigrant workers life and threatened
           | her with arrest and jail if she didn't leave immediately, on
           | the basis if she hadn't been in the country the accident
           | wouldn't have happened.
           | 
           | 2. They and their other friends had pacts that if either
           | couple both died they would immediately take their children
           | out of the country, as otherwise they became wards of the
           | state, which is almost impossible to reverse.
           | 
           | Corruption is rife too but the cultural differences and
           | consequences are if anything more significant.
        
       | blackbear_ wrote:
       | Using salaries in Italy, Spain, and Hungary as means of
       | comparison and pretending they are be representative of the
       | "European market" reeks of dishonesty. Salaries in Germany,
       | France and UK for those same roles are 2x or sometimes 3x higher
       | than those mentioned in the article. This is certainly a factor
       | for migration within Europe
        
         | culopatin wrote:
         | And yet half of the ones in the US. At least based on when I
         | got some offers last year when I was considering moving to
         | Europe
        
           | cherryteastain wrote:
           | London is competitive with tier 2 US cities (i.e. not
           | SF/NYC/Seattle). Switzerland is competitive even with Tier 1
           | US cities. COL and taxes are higher though.
        
             | culopatin wrote:
             | So it's not competitive if taxes are higher and COL is
             | higher. What one cares about is the final income in pocket
             | and purchasing power. I don't really care if my salary says
             | "1 million" if I keep 50k of that, I only care about the
             | final number unless there is some tax loophole one can
             | exercise like pre tax deductions, but still...
        
               | theodric wrote:
               | I don't buy that COL is significantly higher unless
               | you're firehosing money everywhere for the hell of it.
               | You _can_ spend scads of money, but you 're not obligated
               | to. I lived there for five years, and left in December.
               | My grocery bill was the same as it is now in Ireland (but
               | still less than my parents pay in Chicagoland) and while
               | I don't pay rent in Ireland, a friend just got a "steal"
               | on an apartment @ EUR2500/mo in outer Dublin, while I was
               | paying CHF 2250 for a 3-storey townhouse with private
               | parking in outer Zurich. Road tax is similar. Health
               | insurance more in CH, but we're talking 6k/yr vs 2.4k.
               | And income tax was so low in CH that the foreign tax
               | credit didn't do much for me, and I ended up having to
               | cut a check to the IRS for 5 figures every year.
               | Switzerland is truly exceptional, and you can make crazy
               | money there.
        
           | poincaredisk wrote:
           | What are you saving for? I keep hearing people in the US earn
           | much more, and it's certainly true in absolute terms, but...
           | I live in a poorer (but not poor, just not germany/france) EU
           | country, with a relatively good but not great salary. I earn
           | way more than I need - I can afford the apartment I want
           | (recently moved to a bigger one due to becoming a parent), I
           | know medical bills won't bankrupt me in case of emergency, I
           | can afford things I want (computers, clothes, eating out,
           | sport equipment, car). Despite not really trying I still save
           | a lot of money.
           | 
           | At the same time, I hear about IT people living in an
           | American metropoly, earning much more than I do, and
           | supposedly struggling with bills. I wonder if the cost of
           | living differences are that huge, or maybe I just have low
           | standards, or is it something different altogether.
        
       | constantcrying wrote:
       | Why would you move to Saudi Arabia if you can move to the US?
       | Certainly if I had any inclination to move my target would be the
       | US, high salaries, low taxes, wide range of companies, can choose
       | climate/geography and even political leaning of area, etc.
       | 
       | I have been to Dubai, it was one of the worst places I have ever
       | been to. Extremely unpleasant climate, revolting atmosphere of
       | completely incoherent architecture, even culturally it seem to
       | have just adopted the worst consumerism of the west and
       | transplanted it into their native culture. I am not sure what
       | money could even compell me to live there.
        
         | beaglesss wrote:
         | Dubai has far looser work visa and banking laws. And low
         | taxation. Infrastructure may not be as cheap but it is
         | accessible.
         | 
         | If your goal is to get in make money and leave Dubai might be a
         | lot more approachable from both company owner and employee
         | perspective.
        
           | constantcrying wrote:
           | >If your goal is to get in make money and leave Dubai might
           | be a lot more approachable from both company owner and
           | employee perspective.
           | 
           | Sure, but if we are talking about a place to move to and live
           | the US is _definitely_ my preferred choice.
        
             | beaglesss wrote:
             | Makes perfect sense. It's a different target. In terms of
             | being able to start a business up and bring people in from
             | about anywhere, get them working and some semi-modern
             | infrastructure with not a ton of regulatory and immigration
             | hassle though I struggle to think of an easier place to do
             | it.
             | 
             | There are definitely a fair number of EU citizens
             | exploiting this and UAE tax residency.
        
       | devwastaken wrote:
       | Exodus to where? U.S. isn't hiring, and even when they are you're
       | living in broken cities in one of the most corrupt capital
       | markets in the world. Whatever job you get a visa for is
       | indentured servitude.
       | 
       | The vast majority of people are not going to uproot, because
       | living in a sane country with sustainable long term employment
       | more than pays for itself.
        
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       (page generated 2024-07-10 23:01 UTC)