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Ask HN: Startup Salaries in Europe

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Re: Ask HN: Startup Salaries in Europe

#21

Post by fittyfox »

tsamtsam wrote: post #20
fittyfox wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Multiple StartUps. I switched jobs every 6-12 months and got a nice salary bump along the way. I don't know how the situation is at the moment with COVID though.

Any particular reason for switching every 6-12 months and is that common practice? Trying to get a sensing here.

Just me :)

First StartUp was amazing, super professional people. Run out of money and laid people off (StartUp still lives and grows now)

Second StartUp was led by mid-twenty Bros and not the culture I wanted to be part of.

Third StartUp led by people bought in by a bigger corporation. Had no idea how to run a company. Best team I have ever worked in but worst business I ever worked in as well. Almost everyone left after being there for 6 months.

Fourth StartUp ad tech industry. Learned a great deal, solid co-workers, but had enough of "We are a cool StartUp" vibe and went freelancing.

General speaking, I don't dislike StartUps, but oh boy I am too old for this now (35 years old).

Re: Ask HN: Startup Salaries in Europe

#22

Post by Peroni »

Happy to give you specific salaries for London, UK. Let me know what roles you're interested in and I'll post numbers.

For context, I've been running talent functions for tech startups in London for about ten years as well as running a number of tech job boards over the years.

Re: Ask HN: Startup Salaries in Europe

#23

Post by eb0la »

yulaow wrote: post #4
ck_one wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least in Germany they are higher. A friend who is still in college got an offer as a new grad for ~75k. This offer is probably in the top 10% though. I don't know a single friend from college who starts with less than 45k as a new grad. Those who get 45k usually don't have internship experience.

In Italy a senior dev would often get less than half of that (pretax). Basically just in Milan salary are higher but a junior would not get more than 30k

Spain is similar. 30k max for junior dev. Getting above 50-60k means you're either a hero, or Batman own son.

Re: Ask HN: Startup Salaries in Europe

#24

Post by eb0la »

cgb223 wrote: post #8

How does equity or stock options work in Europe? Is it as common as the US? What is normal for percentages/allotments?

The problem with options and stock in Europe are Taxes: rules change from one country to another.

As a rule of thumb, usually you'll be taxed for your gross salary (including bonuses) + (value of stock received).

AFAIK in my country (Spain), you'll be also taxed by the value of the options. Some other countries allow you to deduct the option buy cost - if any.

Re: Ask HN: Startup Salaries in Europe

#25

Post by inertiatic »

I live in Athens, Greece, work for a company that calls itself a startup (but has been around for a decade) and I make ~35k a year.

My general sentiment is that locally that's more than what most startups are paying, but at the same time most startups aren't hiring mid-senior people.

As far as regular tech companies go, it's a good but not great salary.

Re: Ask HN: Startup Salaries in Europe

#26

Post by thiago_fm »

fittyfox wrote: post #14

Living in Berlin, various StartUp experiences. 2013: 34k (junior Frontend) 2014: 40k (Fullstack JS) 2015: 50k (Frontend) 2016: 60k (Frontend) Went freelancing after this... 2020: 85k offer for Senior Software Engineer All numbers are from StartUps. You have to know however that you probably won't find a unicorn in Europe just yet. It's not the same mentality as in the US. I currently work for a US company with a Euro…

Mind to share the company? I can count in one hand companies in Berlin paying more than 80k/year for senior devs. Even for well-seasoned companies, maybe only team leads get paid that much, and for many companies, not even.

Re: Ask HN: Startup Salaries in Europe

#27

Post by bruce511 »

dakiol wrote: post #12
bruce511 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Context matters. You take home more than just money. In most of Europe you take home free, or nearly free, health care, education and so on. In the USA you take home a strong military. And that's before we consider local cost of living. Comparing take-home £ in isolation is almost meaningless - it doesn't equate to disposable income after expenses - or what that disposable income can buy. IOW making 200k in SF is les…

This is not exactly correct but almost. I Europe expect around 40% percent of your gross salary to be gone in taxes. Health insurance is not 100% free (e.g., you go to the doctor and he prescribes you some pills. You have to pay for those pills yourself. Sure the doctor doesn't charge you for the hour). Education is not 100% free. For example, in Germany it would cost you around 400 Euro per semester to get enrolled…

cunningly I covered myself by saying "most of" and "nearly" :)

You are correct, it's "free" only for a loose definition of "free" - but I think the point (when compared to say US health and education) stands...

Re: Ask HN: Startup Salaries in Europe

#28

Post by tsamtsam »

fittyfox wrote: post #21
tsamtsam wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any particular reason for switching every 6-12 months and is that common practice? Trying to get a sensing here.

Just me :) First StartUp was amazing, super professional people. Run out of money and laid people off (StartUp still lives and grows now) Second StartUp was led by mid-twenty Bros and not the culture I wanted to be part of. Third StartUp led by people bought in by a bigger corporation. Had no idea how to run a company. Best team I have ever worked in but worst business I ever worked in as well. Almost everyone left a…

That's still quite the journey! And you must like Berlin enough to working there, I suppose. How's the tech scene there like?

Re: Ask HN: Startup Salaries in Europe

#29

Post by tsamtsam »

Peroni wrote: post #22

Happy to give you specific salaries for London, UK. Let me know what roles you're interested in and I'll post numbers. For context, I've been running talent functions for tech startups in London for about ten years as well as running a number of tech job boards over the years.

I'd be super grateful if you could share numbers for frontend/fullstack roles!
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