You can play with the numbers here [1] for France. You're right that beginners can be around 30k€ before taxes (although that's a little low), which gives less

You can play with the numbers here [1] for France. You're right that beginners can be around 30k€ before taxes (although that's a little low), which gives less than 2000€/month after taxes. [1] https://mon-entreprise.fr/simulateurs/salaire-brut-net https://mon-entreprise.fr/simulateurs/salaire-brut-net