4 ms·

Can you throw out some numbers? I almost never hear of London developers making >$200k.

user5994461 10y ago
I'd rather not talk numbers sorry. Let's just say that if you want easy money in London, you should get into consulting. It's also very tax friendly. (200k = 1000 daily rate, don't expect that for most people). > I almost never hear of London developers making >$200k. Yeah. £150k is extremely rare (pre-brexit exchange rate) I dunno know about the costs of living in SF but it is my understanding that at $100k you can barely afford a one bedroom. At £100k in London, you're doing incredibly well.
- morgante 10y ago
  Yea, if you're not going to give any numbers I'm calling bullshit on the notion that finance pays better than big tech. From my experience in NYC tech, finance developers (not quants) make less than big tech by far. With $100k you can easily afford a one bedroom. Don't listen to all the griping on Hacker News—it's an exaggeration. Yes, prices are exorbitant but you're still doing incredibly well. It's not like London is especially cheap. $100k in SF is $70k in London. [0] [0] https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&city1=San+Francisco%2C+CA&country2=United+Kingdom&city2=London&amount=100%2C000&displayCurrency=USD https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?cou...
  - user5994461 10y ago
    I am genuinely confused by London salary in dollars. That makes absolutely no sense. $100k in SF = $70k in London = £55k in London - is that what you're saying? In that case, we both agree, the costs of living are a lot cheaper (so are the salaries). Google top salary is 85k base for senior developers, which is shit (numbers from the guys I know, some of which are openly mocking Google and advising people to never go there because of the pay). Not sure about the other big 4 (Facebook/Microsoft/AMZ), not much more allegedly. Quants make a shitload more than developers. The standard in finance institutions is £130k base + variable bonus. (Well, now that I think about it, the difference might be the industry, not the role :D) As for what the top developers make in the top few financials institutions. I need to get a few guys drunk to get accurate numbers. But I already know that it is definitely higher than at Google. What's your numbers for top performers in NY and SF? In London, there is no money in the usual valley companies. That's just how it is.
    - morgante 10y ago
      > $100k in SF = $70k in London = £55k in London - is that what you're saying? Yes. You're right that European developers (even at the big 4) make far less. My comparison was more with SF/NYC salaries, where big 4 developers will easily break $200k and reach $250k without excessive effort.
      - user5994461 10y ago
        Well, in Europe, the best is London, and the best in London is either consulting (easy and awesomely low taxes) or finance (hard). In the USA, obviously SF against NYC, you need to get information from Americans. I can't help you. In case anyone wonders: inter-continental comparison are worthless so don't bother. It's [almost] impossible for Europeans to get VISA to work in the USA, and even if they get one they won't have the leverage to get the top range salaries.
        morgante 10y ago
        > In the USA, obviously SF against NYC, you need to get information from Americans. I can't help you. Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I'm based here and making those comparisons myself. Specifically, NYC has both finance and tech. For developers (not quants), big tech pays better.
        user5994461 10y ago
        Can you throw out some numbers?
        morgante 10y ago
        I already did. $200k is very achievable for senior developers in big tech, with potentially another $50-100k in RSUs on top. Finance you're typically looking at $180k total comp.
        user5994461 10y ago

I'd rather not talk numbers sorry. Let's just say that if you want easy money in London, you should get into consulting. It's also very tax friendly. (200k = 1000 daily rate, don't expect that for most people). > I almost never hear of London developers making >$200k. Yeah. £150k is extremely rare (pre-brexit exchange rate) I dunno know about the costs of living in SF but it is my understanding that at $100k you can barely afford a one bedroom. At £100k in London, you're doing incredibly well.

morgante 10y ago
Yea, if you're not going to give any numbers I'm calling bullshit on the notion that finance pays better than big tech. From my experience in NYC tech, finance developers (not quants) make less than big tech by far. With $100k you can easily afford a one bedroom. Don't listen to all the griping on Hacker News—it's an exaggeration. Yes, prices are exorbitant but you're still doing incredibly well. It's not like London is especially cheap. $100k in SF is $70k in London. [0] [0] https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&city1=San+Francisco%2C+CA&country2=United+Kingdom&city2=London&amount=100%2C000&displayCurrency=USD https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?cou...
- user5994461 10y ago
  I am genuinely confused by London salary in dollars. That makes absolutely no sense. $100k in SF = $70k in London = £55k in London - is that what you're saying? In that case, we both agree, the costs of living are a lot cheaper (so are the salaries). Google top salary is 85k base for senior developers, which is shit (numbers from the guys I know, some of which are openly mocking Google and advising people to never go there because of the pay). Not sure about the other big 4 (Facebook/Microsoft/AMZ), not much more allegedly. Quants make a shitload more than developers. The standard in finance institutions is £130k base + variable bonus. (Well, now that I think about it, the difference might be the industry, not the role :D) As for what the top developers make in the top few financials institutions. I need to get a few guys drunk to get accurate numbers. But I already know that it is definitely higher than at Google. What's your numbers for top performers in NY and SF? In London, there is no money in the usual valley companies. That's just how it is.
  - morgante 10y ago
    > $100k in SF = $70k in London = £55k in London - is that what you're saying? Yes. You're right that European developers (even at the big 4) make far less. My comparison was more with SF/NYC salaries, where big 4 developers will easily break $200k and reach $250k without excessive effort.
    - user5994461 10y ago
      Well, in Europe, the best is London, and the best in London is either consulting (easy and awesomely low taxes) or finance (hard). In the USA, obviously SF against NYC, you need to get information from Americans. I can't help you. In case anyone wonders: inter-continental comparison are worthless so don't bother. It's [almost] impossible for Europeans to get VISA to work in the USA, and even if they get one they won't have the leverage to get the top range salaries.
      - morgante 10y ago
        > In the USA, obviously SF against NYC, you need to get information from Americans. I can't help you. Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I'm based here and making those comparisons myself. Specifically, NYC has both finance and tech. For developers (not quants), big tech pays better.
        user5994461 10y ago
        Can you throw out some numbers?
        morgante 10y ago
        I already did. $200k is very achievable for senior developers in big tech, with potentially another $50-100k in RSUs on top. Finance you're typically looking at $180k total comp.
        user5994461 10y ago