> The average salary of a software engineer in Japan, Germany and other highly developed nations is only slightly better than let's say an accountant's. I don'

> The average salary of a software engineer in Japan, Germany and other highly developed nations is only slightly better than let's say an accountant's. I don't know. A quick search shows me accountants to start with 25-35k, while software developers start at 42k and peak significantly higher. Sure, depends on your definition of slightly, I guess. If you're in Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich or Hamburg and you're not getting 50k, call a head hunter. And a lot of unpaid overtime? That's rare even for startups because labor law is pretty strict over here, so lots of overtime is a liability for the company, and, since it's pretty easy to find a new job if you're anywhere near a metropolitan area, companies do take care to not drive their employees away.