Or rather why Europe pays so bad.
I wonder whats the reason behind many american companies being able to pay 200-400kusd a year while its hard to get past 100k usd in the richer countries of Europe (Germany, Scandinavia, UK, etc.). A junior in USA gets more than a senior in Europe. And after 10 years the american may get 2-4x the salary of the european counterpart. In contrast life in USA is often even cheaper.
- Are european companies greedy?
- Are european companies less competitive?
- Are the high taxes and equality in Europe pushing companies to not try harder to reward talent while USA rewards the high performers as they can see the benefits it brings?
Tbf, 100k debt for a 4 year CS degree isn’t as common as people on the internet make it seem. Most people do instate tuitions in a state university. They rarely hit that high. At least that was true 5 years ago, perhaps things have changed since then.
You also probably won’t get that 200k job either because of it. You only get those super high paying jobs if you know someone and you get that by going to an elite college
That’s typically not what I’ve experienced, and I don’t think I’m outside the norm. In my company there are very little employees who have prestigious degrees who are making 150-200k+. And most of these people aren’t even located in silicon valley or any high cost of living areas. Many IT jobs are still fully remote thanks to COVID.
You are absolutely right that you won’t get those high paying jobs out the gate. It takes time, talent, drive, and being strategic in the skills you choose to develop. It’s not that uncommon.
Surely there are people who have shortcuts, but honestly those are not so common.