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Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU programmer. Why?

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Re: Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU programmer. Why?

#81

Post by jleyank »

Keep in mind that in the States health insurance is a function of full-time, reasonably well-paid work. When this ceases, you have, I think, 18 months of COBRA which lets you pay 100% rather than 20% of your previous health insurance while you look for work. This number can grow rather large as one's age and/or family increases. This also acts as a problem-to-surmount when retiring before 65.

Housing costs might/will be higher in parts of the States than elsewhere, and one pays in life quality to get the cash at times. It depends on what you're interested in doing I guess.

Re: Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU programmer. Why?

#82

Post by nocubicles »

fleddr wrote: post #71

I do have a cheat code for making money in Europe. Freelance as a SAP consultant. The learning curve may be a few years, and its soul crushingly boring. But once you're qualified and competent at it, you just put on a suit and take your trolley from one large business to the other, whilst charging 200€+ per hour. You don't have to actually implement anything, only advise. It's like the modern COBOL. Every sizable bus…

As a former SAP consultant now Microsoft ERP consultant Id argue on the point "You don't have to actually implement anything, only advise." I remember installing SAP on Linux servers, writing ABAP and Javascript, holding workshops to discuss business processes and then implement these business processes in SAP.

To be honest I haven't seen any SAP or ERP consultant who only advises and doesn't implement or write code and I have been doing this for 10+ years. I think its very interesting job because you will get access and understanding to the most granual levels of very different businesses. I mean you work with from general ledger entries to manufacturing to e-commerce while also understanding all the business context.

Re: Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU programmer. Why?

#83

Post by sceptical »

I think it is competition for local talent. I worked for a US tech company in a remote office in a smaller Scandinavian city and at senior levels we got comparable salary/stock compensation. There was a slight adjustment for COL, ~10%.

There are other US based tech companies in the city which helped drive up the compensation. And at senior levels (staff+) employees are much much harder to replace.

Re: Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU programmer. Why?

#84

Post by dagw »

fleddr wrote: post #71

I do have a cheat code for making money in Europe. Freelance as a SAP consultant. The learning curve may be a few years, and its soul crushingly boring. But once you're qualified and competent at it, you just put on a suit and take your trolley from one large business to the other, whilst charging 200€+ per hour. You don't have to actually implement anything, only advise. It's like the modern COBOL. Every sizable bus…

You don't have to actually implement anything, only advise.

I'm sure those people exist, but every successful SAP consultant I know in Europe also spends a lot of time coding and implementing.

Re: Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU programmer. Why?

#85

Post by rizn »

baybal2 wrote: post #25

Proximity to Eastern Europe, with some Eastern European nations now being EU members.

Not sure where the stats come from, but €57k is not even that much in EE. Currently making slightly over €100k in Eastern EU state. Magic word "contracting".

Re: Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU programmer. Why?

#87

Post by giantg2 »

What about the median and other characteristics of the distribution?

Looking at tails seems to me to be more prone fluctions based on outliers or other characteristics. The median might be a better comparison, and would likely be less than 2x. Employer costs/benefits/taxes would also need to looked at, and then compare total comp vs salary.

Re: Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU programmer. Why?

#89

Post by ryanlol »

rctec wrote: post #51

This is a funny question. And it's telling that European vs American is clearly unfair while Indian salaries, got example, aren't considered. Economies are faith-based.

This only tells us that it’s primarily Europeans taking part in the conversation.

Re: Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU programmer. Why?

#90

Post by mmmmmbop »

xiphias2 wrote: post #31
mmmmmbop wrote: post #21

It all comes down to U.S. tech companies being much more successful, mainly because of the scale of the U.S. market. Any U.S. startup can immediately address a market of $21T (GDP) without any regulatory overhead or language considerations. This causes engineers to be insanely productive in terms of economic productivity. In comparison, Germany, the largest country in the EU, has a GDP of only $3.8T. It's much harder…

I’m not sure that G from FAANG underpays: I stayed in Zurich because I got much better pay than if I moved to US. Also the pension system in Switzerland is awesome. The big downside though was that the male-to-female ratio was beyond unhealthy, so it’s a much better deal for women and men who have a family already.

Where did you move after Zurich?
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