4 ms·

There certainly are jobs in the US (typically on the coasts) where you can make a lot of money, but the average country wide senior developer salary in the USA

There certainly are jobs in the US (typically on the coasts) where you can make a lot of money, but the average country wide senior developer salary in the USA is $107k https://www.indeed.com/career/senior-developer/salaries https://www.indeed.com/career/senior-developer/salaries Your €75k directly translates into about $90k USD. Add on top that most US employees get two weeks of vacation (at least initially) and that more than 3 weeks is relatively uncommon. So that equates into an extra $3k $5 a year. Now add on top that most US employees work at least 40 hours a week not at most with no overtime and if you want a hot coastal job you are likely looking at 60 hours a week. So taking a conservative approach saying that you would be looking at working "only" 1/3 more hours a week and suddenly your €75k is effectively $123k US. This is now effectively more than the average US senior dev makes when hours worked are factored in. But you want to make big coastal money. That is likely double the hours on a weekly basis. Here are employees begging to limit work to 80 hours a week https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56452494 https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56452494 So let's take it that it is "only" 60 hours a week. That potentially makes your €75k equate to $180k and is in-line with what a coastal senior dev might make only they have the coastal cost of living to deal with. If you want to work for a coastal US company as a contractor then you will be competing (from a time shift perspective) with your Eastern European peers that are likely offering their services at half your current rate. I wish you the best of luck but I think you should not be so negative about your current situation. If you wanted to make more money you could likely hustle a second job and work the same hours as you would working for a coastal FAANG.

orangecat 6y ago
if you want a hot coastal job you are likely looking at 60 hours a week Startups, maybe. FAANGs, no.
- cm2012 6y ago
  At Goog and FB plenty of people start at 11 and log off at 6 (36 hours a week). Nothing wrong that but it's pretty common.
comp_throw7 6y ago
Please don't take this as an accurate map of reality. There are some FAANGs where you have decent odds of ending up on a team that expects more than 40 hours a week - Amazon and Facebook, in particular (though there are plenty of teams in both companies where that's not the case). Google is much more relaxed; I know plenty of people that do 20-30 hours a week there, and nobody that does over 40 (but I hear it's possible). Also, you can easily break €100k by working for a FAANG branch office in the EU. Senior engineer comp will be €200k+.
throwaway1278 6y ago
I'm not sure where this trope of people working 80 hours a week at FAANG companies comes from. In Silicon Valley it's well known that people at FAANGs are mostly just chilling compared to people at startups or unicorns while collecting a fairly good salary. Sure, there are teams where people work much harder, but there are also many teams just working on some slow-moving project where everyone clocks in at 10 and leaves at 4. Plus, at all of these companies there is a "terminal level" where you can stop worrying about career growth (eg. L4 for Google, E5 at FB) and no one will stop you. It isn't necessarily fulfilling and you will never become truly wealthy, but if you just want to make $300-500k/year for 35 hours a week it's possible and quite common.
- fatnoah 6y ago
  I landed at a FAANG after about 15 years at startups. It's a hustle and there's pressure to perform, but the work schedule is downright relaxed compared to my startup days. My hours are roughly 8-5:30, which includes time for breakfast, lunch, and a trip to the gym, and I've not worked on a single weekend. I do miss the energy of a startup, but it'll be hard to go back at this point.
ceilingcorner 6y ago
That link is about finance, which is a totally different world from tech. Virtually no one, even FANG, is working 80+ hours a week.
quantumofalpha 6y ago
> But you want to make big coastal money. That is likely double the hours on a weekly basis. Here are employees begging to limit work to 80 hours a week You're confusing FAANG with investment banking. FAANGs for the most part are pretty cozy places with few people working excessive hours. Some even too cozy - Google is full of coasters and rest'n'vesters, practically a retirement home. Speaking from experience of working there. 100% go for a FAANG over taking up a second job, you will not regret.

orangecat 6y ago

if you want a hot coastal job you are likely looking at 60 hours a week Startups, maybe. FAANGs, no.

cm2012 6y ago
At Goog and FB plenty of people start at 11 and log off at 6 (36 hours a week). Nothing wrong that but it's pretty common.

comp_throw7 6y ago

Please don't take this as an accurate map of reality. There are some FAANGs where you have decent odds of ending up on a team that expects more than 40 hours a week - Amazon and Facebook, in particular (though there are plenty of teams in both companies where that's not the case). Google is much more relaxed; I know plenty of people that do 20-30 hours a week there, and nobody that does over 40 (but I hear it's possible). Also, you can easily break €100k by working for a FAANG branch office in the EU. Senior engineer comp will be €200k+.

throwaway1278 6y ago

I'm not sure where this trope of people working 80 hours a week at FAANG companies comes from. In Silicon Valley it's well known that people at FAANGs are mostly just chilling compared to people at startups or unicorns while collecting a fairly good salary. Sure, there are teams where people work much harder, but there are also many teams just working on some slow-moving project where everyone clocks in at 10 and leaves at 4. Plus, at all of these companies there is a "terminal level" where you can stop worrying about career growth (eg. L4 for Google, E5 at FB) and no one will stop you. It isn't necessarily fulfilling and you will never become truly wealthy, but if you just want to make $300-500k/year for 35 hours a week it's possible and quite common.

fatnoah 6y ago
I landed at a FAANG after about 15 years at startups. It's a hustle and there's pressure to perform, but the work schedule is downright relaxed compared to my startup days. My hours are roughly 8-5:30, which includes time for breakfast, lunch, and a trip to the gym, and I've not worked on a single weekend. I do miss the energy of a startup, but it'll be hard to go back at this point.

ceilingcorner 6y ago

That link is about finance, which is a totally different world from tech. Virtually no one, even FANG, is working 80+ hours a week.

quantumofalpha 6y ago

> But you want to make big coastal money. That is likely double the hours on a weekly basis. Here are employees begging to limit work to 80 hours a week You're confusing FAANG with investment banking. FAANGs for the most part are pretty cozy places with few people working excessive hours. Some even too cozy - Google is full of coasters and rest'n'vesters, practically a retirement home. Speaking from experience of working there. 100% go for a FAANG over taking up a second job, you will not regret.