4 ms·

At $225,000 what was your total compensation and did that include healthcare (which is basically universal at that salary)? If you're earning that much, essenti

At $225,000 what was your total compensation and did that include healthcare (which is basically universal at that salary)? If you're earning that much, essentially all of your healthcare costs should be getting covered by your employer, as would be typical (it's typical at half that salary). I can easily understand a preference regarding culture and ease of transit, however it's hard to believe that 20 subsidized lunches per month is a perk worthy of losing a million plus dollars per decade over.

countryqt30 8y ago
WELCOME to Germany! <3 Lovely and smart people all around, great foreigner scene and startup scene as well, so you’ll never feel alone. People super open and approachable, love Americans :))
xacaxulu 8y ago
That was total comp. I was a Solutions Architect at Dell EMC. But I worked 60 hour weeks, did the usual client facing bs, used my own time to fill out reimbursement forms yaddayadda. Id rather make 80k in France any day of the week.
- ido 8y ago
  At the end of the day time is one thing you can’t easily buy - even if you’re making out like a bandit you can’t pay to work fewer hour or get more vacation days (it’s possible sometimes but I always had a much harder time negotiating for those than for higher pay).
  - xacaxulu 8y ago
    You realise that peace of mind, a social safety net, paid maternity/paternity leave, walking home while the sun is still out, etc. all are infinitely more important than overworking just to get the next Porsche SUV or whatever. Peace is it's own reward.
    - magduf 8y ago
      >walking home while the sun is still out While the rest is all true and great, this one isn't true in western Europe for a good chunk of the year. Remember, Europe is at a higher latitude than the US, so the days are really short in the wintertime. Expect it to get dark by 4pm or so.
- magicalhippo 8y ago
  When I was studying a buddy got a programming job and his salary was insane, or at least I thought it was. Then I learned he never worked less than 10 hours a day, usually more like 12, and a lot of weekends etc. Effectively he worked 1.5x a normal job here. Taking his salary and dividing by 1.5 I got something which was quite mediocre.
  - xacaxulu 8y ago
    Thats it exactly. The math lays bare the truth of the hampster wheel in the usa. And Europeans rarely overwork. Its weird to be in the office after 7. In france its illegal for my employers to contact me after hours or on the weekend or when im on sick leave.

countryqt30 8y ago

WELCOME to Germany! <3 Lovely and smart people all around, great foreigner scene and startup scene as well, so you’ll never feel alone. People super open and approachable, love Americans :))

xacaxulu 8y ago

That was total comp. I was a Solutions Architect at Dell EMC. But I worked 60 hour weeks, did the usual client facing bs, used my own time to fill out reimbursement forms yaddayadda. Id rather make 80k in France any day of the week.

ido 8y ago
At the end of the day time is one thing you can’t easily buy - even if you’re making out like a bandit you can’t pay to work fewer hour or get more vacation days (it’s possible sometimes but I always had a much harder time negotiating for those than for higher pay).
- xacaxulu 8y ago
  You realise that peace of mind, a social safety net, paid maternity/paternity leave, walking home while the sun is still out, etc. all are infinitely more important than overworking just to get the next Porsche SUV or whatever. Peace is it's own reward.
  - magduf 8y ago
    >walking home while the sun is still out While the rest is all true and great, this one isn't true in western Europe for a good chunk of the year. Remember, Europe is at a higher latitude than the US, so the days are really short in the wintertime. Expect it to get dark by 4pm or so.
magicalhippo 8y ago
When I was studying a buddy got a programming job and his salary was insane, or at least I thought it was. Then I learned he never worked less than 10 hours a day, usually more like 12, and a lot of weekends etc. Effectively he worked 1.5x a normal job here. Taking his salary and dividing by 1.5 I got something which was quite mediocre.
- xacaxulu 8y ago
  Thats it exactly. The math lays bare the truth of the hampster wheel in the usa. And Europeans rarely overwork. Its weird to be in the office after 7. In france its illegal for my employers to contact me after hours or on the weekend or when im on sick leave.