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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

#141

Post by [deleted] »

balfirevic wrote: post #126
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…

> In Zurich, you can rent a whole flat (50+ square meters) for something between 2500-4000 CHF > In Switzerland a Software Developer can easily earn over 100,000 CHF (1 CHF is around 1 USD) So... A little bit cheaper apartment combined with a salary that is half or third (from what I read, I don't live there) of what you can get in Bay Area. WTF is this article trying to say? Edit: And of course, not to even mention…

[deleted]

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#142

Post by lukeqsee »

nscalf wrote: post #127
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…

How was the process of moving from the US to Switzerland? I'm a senior engineer, and I'm open to moving there to work, but I don't have the slightest idea of how I would go about finding places to interview or find a job. How did you find yours? Are there recruiters to bring in out-of-country talent? I feel like that would be a massive hurdle, considering you would need a visa. Any advice on finding a job? Edit: I'm…

I actually moved because of family (wife) vs because of a job, so I brought my job with me.

The few interviews I've had have been through friends knowing friends, but there's a good number of job sites dedicated to Switzerland.

Getting a visa as a third-country citizen (i.e., not EU or CH) is difficult and you need to find the right company that's willing to jump through the hoops for you. Definitely doable if your skillset is right, but it's going to be unique for each situation. A more viable option may be by using an EU country as a springboard (get EU residency, which, in my understanding, can improve your chances of getting a visa in CH).

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#143

Post by bitL »

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?

Usually blockchain-based stuff around Zug.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#144

Post by eejjjj82 »

victor106 wrote: post #89
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…

> Positively, I work from home. I have four providers I could get 1Gbps symmetrical, unmetered, business-class FTTH for less than 100,- CHF / month. It's hard to go wrong with that. I pay 79.99 USD a month for Verizon Fios 1 gbps in nyc. That is before a $200.00 credit. Fios is FTTH. That’s a good 20-25% discount to what you pay in Switzerland. Plus I heard from several colleagues and friends who are people of color…

not to turn this into a 1-up session, but 100CHF is an overestimate.

i pay 49.99/mo for 10Gbps symmetric https://fiber.salt.ch/en

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#145

Post by dijit »

tiagopc wrote: post #125
dijit wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of Sun, but maybe not as much as Southern California. San Francisco is famously non-sunny (all that cloud). Salaries are certainly not capped at 140k CHF, I've seen a number of job ads for 180K CHF and that doesn't count stock options which is usually the bulk of compensation at the high end. Not sure about the MBA vs IC thing though.

> Salaries are certainly not capped at 140k CHF, I've seen a number of job ads for 180K CHF Are you speaking about CH or USA? Because in CH it pretty much seems to be capped at 140k CHF and below. Unless you are speaking of a very specific role/technology stack.

I was applying for roles recently that were as high as 180K CHF (and that wasn't FAANG).

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#146

Post by gok »

> Companies that offer stock options are generally rare

Missed opportunity, given that capital gains in Switzerland are tax-free.

On that note, the tax rate in the bar chart is for corporate taxes, not personal taxes. Swiss taxes are low but not that low [1]; the average worker burden is around 22%.

[1] https://files.taxfoundation.org/20180917120122/A-Comparision...

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#147

Post by thbr99 »

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…

Why an expat. Is it something with the work permit. How does one transition from expat to immigrant ?

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#148

Post by gypsypunk »

asdfman123 wrote: post #103
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 t…

Sorry, but Austin is not low COL. you’re way off the mark with those numbers for anything near Austin central and it’s going up exceedingly fast.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#149

Post by Double_a_92 »

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. If you don't live in a bigger city forget it. You have to pass "inspection" on comunal, city and state level (in that order). And the people in small villages won't say yes unless you are maybe very active in local (drinking) clubs.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#150

Post by lukeqsee »

thbr99 wrote: post #147
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…

Why an expat. Is it something with the work permit. How does one transition from expat to immigrant ?

Technically, yes. I use the term "expat" to denote that I'm not a Swiss citizen yet; the definition is pretty broad and can include immigrants: https://www.wordnik.com/words/expat.
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