4 ms·

The large software groups i.e. FAANG have very high margins and are very profitable. This means they can afford to pay their staff very well. I live in the UK

The large software groups i.e. FAANG have very high margins and are very profitable. This means they can afford to pay their staff very well. I live in the UK and the cost of living in London is roughly the same as NYC but salaries are lower for the same job. Certain companies and countries (Luxembourg, Switzerland, UAE) have structural advantages which means staff get paid more. It is not always merit based. So you will have some very talented people who are are in the 'wrong' region or industry and get paid materially less than they could be.

devilmoon 9y ago
What really pisses me off about FAANG branches in EU is that they will pay you way less than what they're paying for the same role in the US, which feels like an insult. London I believe is the best market in the EU for cost of living/salary tech-wise - luxembourg, switzerland, UAE have a cost of living which is off the charts, i.e. yes in switzerland you can get 5k€/mo for an entry level job but having breakfast outside will probably cost you in the 10€-20€ range, which is madness compared to the rest of EU
- friedman23 9y ago
  It's definitely not fair to you that you get paid less because you were born in a different country but that's just how it works. The rest of the world simply doesn't have the demand for tech talent that the US does.
  - Daniel3 9y ago
    Imagining a world where all the candidates from everywhere could move to SF, etc for their ideal job, do you think wages would rise or fall? Hint: They'd fall. A free market economy is left no other choice than to treat the job "environment" as a "job market", complete with the dynamics of supply and demand.
- Blackstone4 9y ago
  It's frustrating right. Stating the obvious: the world isn't fair. If you're in software, the US is the place to be. Haven't said that it's not always easy. I almost got an investment job in the UAE with a SWF. They had a change of strategy which I didn't fit into. This was after 7 stages and me flying out there for two and a half days of back to back interviews. Comp included accommodation and a tax-free salary in the $200k range....
samfisher83 9y ago
Netflix and Amazon's margins aren't that great. How are they able to afford these salaries?

devilmoon 9y ago

What really pisses me off about FAANG branches in EU is that they will pay you way less than what they're paying for the same role in the US, which feels like an insult. London I believe is the best market in the EU for cost of living/salary tech-wise - luxembourg, switzerland, UAE have a cost of living which is off the charts, i.e. yes in switzerland you can get 5k€/mo for an entry level job but having breakfast outside will probably cost you in the 10€-20€ range, which is madness compared to the rest of EU

friedman23 9y ago
It's definitely not fair to you that you get paid less because you were born in a different country but that's just how it works. The rest of the world simply doesn't have the demand for tech talent that the US does.
- Daniel3 9y ago
  Imagining a world where all the candidates from everywhere could move to SF, etc for their ideal job, do you think wages would rise or fall? Hint: They'd fall. A free market economy is left no other choice than to treat the job "environment" as a "job market", complete with the dynamics of supply and demand.
Blackstone4 9y ago
It's frustrating right. Stating the obvious: the world isn't fair. If you're in software, the US is the place to be. Haven't said that it's not always easy. I almost got an investment job in the UAE with a SWF. They had a change of strategy which I didn't fit into. This was after 7 stages and me flying out there for two and a half days of back to back interviews. Comp included accommodation and a tax-free salary in the $200k range....

samfisher83 9y ago

Netflix and Amazon's margins aren't that great. How are they able to afford these salaries?