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In my experience, this is mostly wrong. You don’t get 500-600k Silicon Valley offers in Europe just for being a solid engineer. You do get a total comp that is

In my experience, this is mostly wrong. You don’t get 500-600k Silicon Valley offers in Europe just for being a solid engineer. You do get a total comp that is 2-3x local market if you manage to get into FAANG like companies and even the tier below. I think this is what Gergely is describing. That is still life changing for a lot of engineers, and worth the 3 month grind to get through the interviews. At least it was for me, and this article was a big part of why I made the jump.

jokethrowaway 4y ago
2-3x local market is doable even outside of fangs, usually with more flexibility (remote was a nice perk pre-pandemic) and no bullshit interview. If you pair it with working via your own limited company and get your taxes down to single digits or low double digits you can make as much as salaried people on 300k - and with no equity that can go up or down (sure, and no holidays or sick days if you're the kind of person that does those). Yet, even when you hit 200+k in EU, you're still left thinking you could be making 600k in SV.
- FrenchDevRemote 4y ago
  >(sure, and no holidays or sick days if you're the kind of person that does those). the kind of person that does those? you mean humans?
  - kortilla 4y ago
    Usage of sick days seems to follow a bimodal pattern. There are people that use them up like vacation days for all kinds of reasons and people who very rarely use them (<1 day a year on avg). This was true through my entire career and even back in high school. I think usage of sick days is likely to follow a learned behavior from parents/siblings growing up.
    - stkdump 4y ago
      So what if you are sick? You are using your normal vacation days?
      - kortilla 4y ago
        I don’t get sick that frequently? I’ve had a cold like once in the last decade.
        stkdump 4y ago
        I envy you.
      - ido 4y ago
        It’s more about the definition of “sick”. I’ve seen people take a week off because they had a bit of a throat/head ache. And others that worked from home when they had a flu.
        Aeolun 4y ago
        Except for the first few days when your fever is through the roof, I think that’s reasonable? I dunno, my mom taught me that if I’m only really sick if I spend the day in bed (in preference to anything else I could be doing). I think it’s a fair definition.
      - atq2119 4y ago
        Honestly? I stay home and might check email when I'm bored but don't do any real work, but I don't usually file sick days either because the bureaucracy is a pain (seriously, I'm already sick, I can't deal with that added stress and I'm not going to the doctor just to spread my viruses and be told to go back home and rest). And as long as we're talking about 2 or 3 days, nobody really seems to care.
        stkdump 4y ago
        So you are on sick leave without letting your boss know. I guess that works, but it puts the 'bimodal' comment in a different light.
- dubswithus 4y ago
  You mean consulting?
  - granshaw 4y ago
    Yes

jokethrowaway 4y ago

2-3x local market is doable even outside of fangs, usually with more flexibility (remote was a nice perk pre-pandemic) and no bullshit interview. If you pair it with working via your own limited company and get your taxes down to single digits or low double digits you can make as much as salaried people on 300k - and with no equity that can go up or down (sure, and no holidays or sick days if you're the kind of person that does those). Yet, even when you hit 200+k in EU, you're still left thinking you could be making 600k in SV.

FrenchDevRemote 4y ago
>(sure, and no holidays or sick days if you're the kind of person that does those). the kind of person that does those? you mean humans?
- kortilla 4y ago
  Usage of sick days seems to follow a bimodal pattern. There are people that use them up like vacation days for all kinds of reasons and people who very rarely use them (<1 day a year on avg). This was true through my entire career and even back in high school. I think usage of sick days is likely to follow a learned behavior from parents/siblings growing up.
  - stkdump 4y ago
    So what if you are sick? You are using your normal vacation days?
    - kortilla 4y ago
      I don’t get sick that frequently? I’ve had a cold like once in the last decade.
      - stkdump 4y ago
        I envy you.
    - ido 4y ago
      It’s more about the definition of “sick”. I’ve seen people take a week off because they had a bit of a throat/head ache. And others that worked from home when they had a flu.
      - Aeolun 4y ago
        Except for the first few days when your fever is through the roof, I think that’s reasonable? I dunno, my mom taught me that if I’m only really sick if I spend the day in bed (in preference to anything else I could be doing). I think it’s a fair definition.
    - atq2119 4y ago
      Honestly? I stay home and might check email when I'm bored but don't do any real work, but I don't usually file sick days either because the bureaucracy is a pain (seriously, I'm already sick, I can't deal with that added stress and I'm not going to the doctor just to spread my viruses and be told to go back home and rest). And as long as we're talking about 2 or 3 days, nobody really seems to care.
      - stkdump 4y ago
        So you are on sick leave without letting your boss know. I guess that works, but it puts the 'bimodal' comment in a different light.
dubswithus 4y ago
You mean consulting?
- granshaw 4y ago
  Yes