4 ms·

Just a thought about the "huge" salary difference. Are you taking the Purchasing Power Parity(PPP) into account? I know that PPP is too macro for comparing very

Just a thought about the "huge" salary difference. Are you taking the Purchasing Power Parity(PPP) into account? I know that PPP is too macro for comparing very specific cases but it does steer the discussion in the right direction. Let's say, an engineer's monthly salary is $10,000 in the US and he can afford X level of arbitrary "comforts in life". To be able to afford the same X level of arbitrary "comforts of life" in India, he'd need just $3000 - $3500. These numbers are for illustration purposes only. Actuals will vary. of course.

zitterbewegung 9y ago
Companies try to do that in America where they justify your income based on the fact you live in an area where you have high PPP. (Urbana,IL vs Palo ALto,CA) That doesn't make it right to do or that this behavior will get the high quality talent pool every company says they will hire. So why do you think that it will work in this case?
QAPereo 9y ago
That assumes the person in question wants to live in India, not save to leave India.
31reasons 9y ago
No amount of salary will give you clean air and tidy streets. Some people will just prefer that as part of their package. But I guess few months / years of experience won't hurt westerners.
cybernytrix 9y ago
When you talk about PPP, keep in mind to factor in housing and other modern lifestyle conveniences. These are very very expensive if you price it as a percentage of your salary. Even in the Bay Area, a Home is still 5-6X annual income of a typical software engineer. In India, it is more like 10-15X.
- davesque 9y ago
  Sure, but aren't basic necessities less expensive in India?
  - scholia 9y ago
    Do you know Numbeo? https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?city1=Delhi&city2=San+Jose%2C+CA&country1=India&country2=United+States https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?cit...
- nebula 9y ago
  >Even in the Bay Area, a Home is still 5-6X annual income of a typical software engineer. Is this true? I am ignorant of actual prices in Bay Area, but people are always complaining of high housing prices there.
  - stevenwoo 9y ago
    To give some idea of the market - people are starting to count stock options as future income in order to qualify for home purchases. The median home price that sold recently in San Jose is close to a million dollars. http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/25/about-silicon-valleys-crazy-housing-situation-one-real-estate-exec-deconstructs-the-market/ http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/25/about-silicon-valleys-... When I bought in 2001, every house on the peninsula (between San Francisco and San Jose) no matter what condition had at least a dozen offers and it's worse now. http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/13/sjm-shortage-0414/ http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/13/sjm-shortage-0414/
  - xyzzy_plugh 9y ago
    Seems low, I'd put it at 8-10x. You're hard pressed to find a property for less than a million dollars.
  - BeetleB 9y ago
    Yup. 5-6X will not get you a nice house in a nice area. It will just get you a small house. In San Jose, the cheapest ones I'm seeing are in the 500-600K range - smaller than 1000 sq ft.

zitterbewegung 9y ago

Companies try to do that in America where they justify your income based on the fact you live in an area where you have high PPP. (Urbana,IL vs Palo ALto,CA) That doesn't make it right to do or that this behavior will get the high quality talent pool every company says they will hire. So why do you think that it will work in this case?

QAPereo 9y ago

That assumes the person in question wants to live in India, not save to leave India.

31reasons 9y ago

No amount of salary will give you clean air and tidy streets. Some people will just prefer that as part of their package. But I guess few months / years of experience won't hurt westerners.

cybernytrix 9y ago

When you talk about PPP, keep in mind to factor in housing and other modern lifestyle conveniences. These are very very expensive if you price it as a percentage of your salary. Even in the Bay Area, a Home is still 5-6X annual income of a typical software engineer. In India, it is more like 10-15X.

davesque 9y ago
Sure, but aren't basic necessities less expensive in India?
- scholia 9y ago
  Do you know Numbeo? https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?city1=Delhi&city2=San+Jose%2C+CA&country1=India&country2=United+States https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?cit...
nebula 9y ago
>Even in the Bay Area, a Home is still 5-6X annual income of a typical software engineer. Is this true? I am ignorant of actual prices in Bay Area, but people are always complaining of high housing prices there.
- stevenwoo 9y ago
  To give some idea of the market - people are starting to count stock options as future income in order to qualify for home purchases. The median home price that sold recently in San Jose is close to a million dollars. http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/25/about-silicon-valleys-crazy-housing-situation-one-real-estate-exec-deconstructs-the-market/ http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/25/about-silicon-valleys-... When I bought in 2001, every house on the peninsula (between San Francisco and San Jose) no matter what condition had at least a dozen offers and it's worse now. http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/13/sjm-shortage-0414/ http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/13/sjm-shortage-0414/
- xyzzy_plugh 9y ago
  Seems low, I'd put it at 8-10x. You're hard pressed to find a property for less than a million dollars.
- BeetleB 9y ago
  Yup. 5-6X will not get you a nice house in a nice area. It will just get you a small house. In San Jose, the cheapest ones I'm seeing are in the 500-600K range - smaller than 1000 sq ft.