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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

#101

Post by [deleted] »

gniv wrote: post #58
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).

[deleted]

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#102

Post by mistrial9 »

my brilliant colleague went to Zurich for a year to work with finance people on math problems. He said that it was not the culture to mix socially, he liked to ride his road bike in the good weather, and basically, he worked the entire year without making any friends or being social. Then he left. It was expensive for him at the time (no details) even as a well-paid young math programmer, so it was not a big financial win. His french is not great, so that was also a problem. He did not recommend the experience.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#103

Post by asdfman123 »

greatgib wrote: post #53

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 e…

Also, a lot of the "pros" of living in Switzerland are basically the same as in the US. In any other low-key metropolis (Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Austin, Phoenix, Des Moines, whatever) a software developer with 5 years of experience can earn $130k and buy houses for $250k - $350k. If you're single, you can get luxury 1 BD apartments for $1500 in happening parts of town.

Plus, in the enterprise world it's very easy to find 40/hr wk (or in practice, sometimes less!) jobs.

Not all of them have the natural beauty of Switzerland, but if you want that, you can find that too.

My next move might be working for Amazon in Nashville after I put in a few good years at my current gig. That seems like it could be a nice place to live.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#104

Post by tiagopc »

JanSt wrote: post #23
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…

Are there 95-100% remote jobs?

I've been working in Switzerland for 6 months, from what I've seen it is very common to find jobs with 1 day a week working from home but very unusual to find 100% remote jobs

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#105

Post by xz0r »

greatgib wrote: post #53

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 e…

> 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?

The article assumes that you would share the flat with others. Sharing with 2 others would mean effective rent is 800-1300 CHF.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#106

Post by mikkelam »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #75
aty268 wrote: post #67

Few things: 1) Salaries are essentially capped at $120,000. 2) Stock options are very rare. Basically, you can't get rich. No different than working at Google but with lower salary potential. This is why Switzerland will never be the next SV.

I’m pretty sure Google Zurich pays more than $120k.

According to https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Google-Salaries-E9079.htm

$131k/yr as avg base salary for software engineer and 173 for senior software engineer.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#107

Post by kgwgk »

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.

> Go to Spain, same salary

The difference is that in Switzerland you get paid that salary every month, not over the full year. (I’m exaggerating, but not that much.)

Edit: by the way, the “less taxes” remark is also quite funny.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#108

Post by asdfman123 »

kick wrote: post #28

The founder of Autodesk, John Walker, has written extensively on this topic since moving to Switzerland decades ago. https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/pourquoi_la_suisse/

So I'm guessing it's not quite as easy to hire in Switzerland?

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#109

Post by david927 »

ElDji wrote: post #19

Please note that the labour market is regulated in Switzerland and that, depending on where you come from (especially outside EU), it may be difficult or impossible to obtain a work permit.

In other words, if you're American, it can be next to impossible to get a work visa.
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