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?
Most people take these statistics where I work and are very reliable. Theyre so reliable than when you go take a salary negotiation they pull them out and say you should get around that and its not much more you can get usually. Unless the company is american. Then again 30-80% more than average is expected according to these surveys which have been correct so far everytime Ive used them.
Its so ridiculous than a newly graduated engineer that is lucky to work for an american company can get more salary than a person with 20 years experience in an average company. And thats why I created the post why do americans pay more even outside of America.
On the off chance you’re actually serious.
The thing I was pointing out is that you have a union. Unions are actively and aggressively busted by US companies. Almost every US state has “at-will” employment laws that mean you can be laid off at any time for pretty much any reason at the drop of a hat.
All of a sudden that 400K or whatever you were expecting to make this year turned into $0. You no longer have health insurance. Those RSUs you had vesting this year are gone (and those RSUs made up a big chunk of your compensation - that’s how people get into the 300-400K+ a year numbers).
The highs can be high, but the lows are very low.
Everyone or almost everyone is in an union here. My point was these statistics that come from the union are very reliable so when I say american companies pay 30-80% more consistently here it is quite accurate. Its not some online poll or something I have heard.
My point still stands that while laws and welfare are different in the US when an american company comes to Europe it must follow its local laws. At that point its the same as a local one but chooses to pay way more.
There is a clear difference in pay between american and non american companies here and that I think can only be attributed to american companies choosing to pay more to attract talent and european ones being more relaxed and pay average attracting more average talent. I think this is a cultural thing where the US is a more competitive country and benefits us (developers).
American companies pay more because they have huge investors. They have huge investors because they know the company won’t have accountability to do things right because they are in America.