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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

#311

Post by ChuckNorris89 »

HorkHunter wrote: post #178
tasuki wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes, this is exactly why I'm not in Vienna. Software developers are curiously underpaid in Austria. I got offered a better salary even in Brno (Brünn), which is a much cheaper place. A pity, Vienna is a beautiful city and consistently ranks among the best places to live.

I mean its pretty strange in Austria, In smaller cities "Graz, Linz" where rent could be as low as 50% lower than Vienna, you'd get pretty much the same salary.

Depends on your field. You can make insane money as an overpriced contractor in Vienna financial sector that you'd never dream about in Graz.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#312

Post by kgwgk »

IdontRememberIt wrote: post #310
ElDji wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Usually, I work 6 month per year for taxes. Having worked as freelance in switzerland, that sound weird and make me thing : "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"

Each situation is different and depends on an infinity of parameters (for exemple do not forget that a married couple pays more taxes than two individuals). Income city+state+federal (30%), VAT (7,6%), AHV (11%) + all the rest I have lost count of. For exemple, I pay 2,7% for PCI (Family allowance tax). I have a very good revenue by Swiss standard. Everything from work, nothing from capital gain. - I work in Romandie…

> for exemple do not forget that a married couple pays more taxes than two individuals

Not necessarily, it depends on details like the canton and the income of each person.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#314

Post by microtherion »

config_yml wrote: post #15
zerr wrote: post #2

Cons: no Sun and the salaries seem to be capped at CHF 120-140K. Has that old school European mindset that managers and MBAs should be paid more than individual contributors, engineers.

This is my experience as well. Even with > 10 years experience, it's hard to find engineering jobs paying > 120k. > In Zurich, you can rent a whole flat (50+ square meters) for something between 2500-4000 CHF and if you are single and open to living with other people you can find a room in something called Wohngemeinde for as little as 800-1000 CHF. Good luck if you have a family, it's ~4k for 4.5 rooms (100sqm). Che…

>> In Zurich, [...] you can find a room in something called Wohngemeinde

This was an error in the original article, by the way. The correct word is "Wohngemeinschaft". "Wohngemeinde" means "city/town/village you're residing in".

> Good luck if you have a family, it's ~4k for 4.5 rooms (100sqm).

Well, yes and no. Rents can be quite high for new arrivals. But about 20% of rental apartments in Zürich are owned by non-profit Wohnbaugenossenschaften, where rents are a lot cheaper, rise very modestly, and as long as you're on good standing, you pretty much never get kicked out, but you need to get onto a waiting list for a number of months/years.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#315

Post by jupp0r »

DiogenesKynikos wrote: post #183
d--b wrote: post #110

They have no shame. They went as far as praising Switzerland's diversity and inclusiveness... Come on... Healthcare may be the only reason, but you also have it everywhere else...

Switzerland is extremely diverse. There are four official languages, and 20+% of the population is foreign-born. In Zurich, that rate is much higher.

That's like saying Texas is extremely liberal. Moving to most places in Switzerland that are not Zurich, Bern or Geneva will yield a similar experience as moving to non-Austin Texas.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#316

Post by microtherion »

i_am_proteus wrote: post #11
zerr wrote: post #2

Cons: no Sun and the salaries seem to be capped at CHF 120-140K. Has that old school European mindset that managers and MBAs should be paid more than individual contributors, engineers.

Not only does Switzerland have a Sun, it has the same Sun as California, just on a slightly different schedule.

Just keep in mind the geography. Zürich is roughly as far north as Seattle, while San Francisco is a bit further south than Athens.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#317

Post by joyeuse6701 »

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…

Anecdotal: a friend (filipina) was married to a Dentist in Switzerland. She was generally assumed to be a prostitute or mail order bride.

Needless to say she's struggled to integrate and make friends and the country has forever tainted their experience for the worst.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#319

Post by dang »

selimthegrim wrote: post #181
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.

[flagged]

We've asked you repeatedly not to break the site guidelines by taking HN threads into flamewar. If you keep doing it, we will have to ban you. Please stop.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#320

Post by dmode »

saiya-jin wrote: post #140
asdfman123 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

You obviously never lived in Switzerland. Can't explain all the US-CH differences in few words, but some benefits: better healthcare, better social system, much much safer, actually working public school system, great clean nature on your doorstep, I can be in 2 minutes of drive in beautiful France and 1 hour drive in Italy and rest of Europe is just around the corner. Very health and sport-oriented mentality. Super…

Not sure why you are getting downvoted. But Switzerland is a stunning country, with snow capped mountains and lush green hills everywhere. And unbelievable public transit and train system. I don't think anywhere in the US is comparable. Even in Colorado and Sierras you have to drive down treacherous roads with mad traffic. In Switzerland, you just relax in a train as it takes you to 12K feet elevation
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