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Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

swissdevjobs.ch

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Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#51

Post by lukeqsee »

wwayer wrote: post #20
lukeqsee wrote: post #3

I'm an American expat in Switzerland working as an independent software developer and startup founder. I can agree with a lot of the points listed in the article, but they apply universally to almost all jobs (not just to software developers). I would raise a few points it doesn't mention: - Negatively, it is much harder to find meetups close to you that apply to you. Unless you're based in Zürich (the tech hub of th…

What type of visa do you have and how did you qualify for it? Was it difficult to get?

Answered here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21258550.

I'm very much an exception to the norm. I would have looked at Germany first if I were unmarried.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#52

Post by Ayesh »

jermeh wrote: post #35
lukeqsee wrote: post #3

I'm an American expat in Switzerland working as an independent software developer and startup founder. I can agree with a lot of the points listed in the article, but they apply universally to almost all jobs (not just to software developers). I would raise a few points it doesn't mention: - Negatively, it is much harder to find meetups close to you that apply to you. Unless you're based in Zürich (the tech hub of th…

Have you found there to be a significant language barrier when moving to Switzerland? I know Europeans generally know English, but is there an expectation that you speak German or another local language?

Not OP, but I have so e experience particularly in Zurich. English is widely spoken by a majority of the people you'll be working with, but some sort of basic German can go a very long way. Compared to other cities like Paris or Strasbourg (other tech-ish cities), Zurich is far more English friendly, perhaps only second to Amsterdam.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#53

Post by greatgib »

Bullshit alert They start with: "Maybe it is because of the outrageous rents eating over 30% of the salary and houses you cannot afford unless you joined Facebook or Google at the right time? " Regarding the SV.

Then, this is what they (proudly) say about Switzerland: 1) "In Zurich, you can rent a whole flat (50+ square meters) for something between 2500-4000 CHF " 2) "In Switzerland a Software Developer can easily earn over 100,000 CHF (1 CHF is around 1 USD) "

So, that means that we can calculate your rent there to be between 30% to 48%. But I guess, just because it is in Switzerland, it should not be outrageous?

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#54

Post by coldcode »

Varqu wrote: post #37
vasili111 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. How easy/difficult to get Switzerland citizenship if you live and work there? 2. How popular is English language is in Switzerland IT companies?

This guide answers a lot of questions: https://swissdevjobs.ch/blog/how-to-find-job-as-software-dev... Long story short: it's super easy if you are from the EU. If not, it is quite hard.

AS an American I am sure its almost impossible. On a positive note I do speak German already.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#55

Post by Galaxeblaffer »

notus wrote: post #8

What about formal requirements? The software field in the US is known for not caring a whole lot about people's educational backgrounds as long as they can do the job. Is Switzerland the same or are degrees hard requirements?

Maybe the companies don't care, but apparently the US government does. There's a hard requirement for H-1B, that the applicant hold at least a four-year bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or its equivalent, and will be employed in a position which requires such a degree.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#56

Post by nickik »

jermeh wrote: post #35
lukeqsee wrote: post #3

I'm an American expat in Switzerland working as an independent software developer and startup founder. I can agree with a lot of the points listed in the article, but they apply universally to almost all jobs (not just to software developers). I would raise a few points it doesn't mention: - Negatively, it is much harder to find meetups close to you that apply to you. Unless you're based in Zürich (the tech hub of th…

Have you found there to be a significant language barrier when moving to Switzerland? I know Europeans generally know English, but is there an expectation that you speak German or another local language?

I'm Swiss but we have a lot of people from different places working here. Many Swiss people are totally fine with English, and since we speak Swiss german, nobody expect you speak it anyway.

That said, in our case, working for Banks, you do still connect to the 'old school' Swiss buissness who are a little less English driven then the Tech sector. That has caused some issues for us, but not all that significant.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#57

Post by lukeqsee »

pierre wrote: post #50
lukeqsee wrote: post #3

I'm an American expat in Switzerland working as an independent software developer and startup founder. I can agree with a lot of the points listed in the article, but they apply universally to almost all jobs (not just to software developers). I would raise a few points it doesn't mention: - Negatively, it is much harder to find meetups close to you that apply to you. Unless you're based in Zürich (the tech hub of th…

> - Negatively, it is much harder to find meetups close to you that apply to you. Unless you're based in Zürich (the tech hub of the region), expect any meetups to be irregular and if you don't go to the next one, it might be the last one. In my experience there is a lot of meetup in Lausanne and Geneva. However it is a different kind of tech hub mostly focus on deep tech, where Zurich/zug focus mostly on Fintech/Blo…

Ah—that's quite possible. I'm close to St. Gallen, so either of those cities are 3-4 hours by train for me (so a bit out of the range I'd normally travel for a meetup).

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#58

Post by gniv »

akhilcacharya wrote: post #16

> If you want to save on the premium and keep yourself healthy then you pick the 2500 franchise and pay as little as 300 CHF per month for healthcare insurance. That's..surprisingly expensive for someone that's not self-employed. I didn't think it would be that expensive. Meanwhile for me it's about $30 a month for my HSA employer plan with a lower deductible.

Insurance is not linked to employment in Switzerland. You shop around. Employers might help defray the cost. I know at least one large employer who gives 400CHF/mo towards insurance ( on top of salary).

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#59

Post by amyjess »

krak12 wrote: post #25

Go to Spain, same salary, free healthcare, better quality of life, better weather, no crunch culture, better social life (good luck making new friends on Switzerland), less taxes and the last nobel prize of literature was inspired meanwhile lived here like many others.

As a trans woman, Spain is also one of the only parts of Europe where hormones are easily accessible, so if I ended up having to live in Europe, no other country would be an option.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#60

Post by hocuspocus »

vasili111 wrote: post #14

1. How easy/difficult to get Switzerland citizenship if you live and work there? 2. How popular is English language is in Switzerland IT companies?

1. The path to citizenship is pretty long as an adult: https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/buergerrecht/ein...

But once you tick the boxes it's not particularly hard.

2. Very.

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