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> while you still can Are you referring to ageism or is banking moving out of Switzerland? Semi relatedly, big tech has US tier comp in Zurich and I’ve never

> while you still can Are you referring to ageism or is banking moving out of Switzerland? Semi relatedly, big tech has US tier comp in Zurich and I’ve never really been sure why. Is the market rate there driven up that much by the banks? What about London?

ulfw 3y ago
Big Tech? You mean Google? who else is in Zurich? Google's salaries in Europe never really made sense
- EuropeanTech 3y ago
  Meta, Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia are also present in Zurich/Switzerland and are all currently hiring engineers.
shiroiushi 3y ago
>Semi relatedly, big tech has US tier comp in Zurich and I’ve never really been sure why. Is the market rate there driven up that much by the banks? It's probably driven up simply by the cost of living. Switzerland is a very expensive place to live compared to most of Europe. Just look at how much hotels cost there for a vacation, and then compare to some nearby cities in Italy or Germany or Austria.
theodric 3y ago
Not ageism, not when I was there. We'd hire people in their 60s if they could do the job. But in a way, banking is leaving Switzerland: the general trend across industries is against putting more and more roles in Switzerland when they could just as well be done for much less elsewhere. That's what is happening everywhere. The Swiss folks weren't impressed because "it's a Swiss bank!" but the thing is, it's not a Swiss bank-- it's a global bank with Swiss heritage. As of when I departed, nobody was being shoved out of their seat, but people who left weren't being replaced in-country unless their job involved turning a crank that had to be physically located in Switzerland. If the crank could be moved, it got moved. Perqs like company cars and a special restaurant for execs and boni 2* comp are long gone for newcomers. Also there are half as many huge banks in Switzerland as there were a little over a year ago, and there certainly aren't twice as many jobs in that one remaining huge bank as there were a little over a year ago, because of economies of scale. As for comp: Zurich is expensive, Switzerland is expensive, and the FAANGS have to kick out proper comp to attract people because EVERYTHING pays good money. A semi-skilled entry-level physical laborer at one of the financials can come in the door at nearly 100k, because that person has to be able to pay rent and food, too. But it's not more expensive than California. My rent on a 3-storey townhouse with parking in a close Zurich suburb on the train line was 2250 CHF, and I bought our food at Lidl and Aldi for maybe 150/week. Health insurance 550/mo for both of us. You'll pay that kind of money for rent and food in Dublin these days on a far lower salary, and you'll lose a lot more than 10-15% to tax, as well. Switzerland is a special place. Big tech has fantastic comp anywhere for the right person, tho! A FOAF at a FAANG in Poland recently bought outright a new-build $500k house with 3 years of salary-derived savings and bonus.

ulfw 3y ago

Big Tech? You mean Google? who else is in Zurich? Google's salaries in Europe never really made sense

EuropeanTech 3y ago
Meta, Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia are also present in Zurich/Switzerland and are all currently hiring engineers.

shiroiushi 3y ago

>Semi relatedly, big tech has US tier comp in Zurich and I’ve never really been sure why. Is the market rate there driven up that much by the banks? It's probably driven up simply by the cost of living. Switzerland is a very expensive place to live compared to most of Europe. Just look at how much hotels cost there for a vacation, and then compare to some nearby cities in Italy or Germany or Austria.

theodric 3y ago

Not ageism, not when I was there. We'd hire people in their 60s if they could do the job. But in a way, banking is leaving Switzerland: the general trend across industries is against putting more and more roles in Switzerland when they could just as well be done for much less elsewhere. That's what is happening everywhere. The Swiss folks weren't impressed because "it's a Swiss bank!" but the thing is, it's not a Swiss bank-- it's a global bank with Swiss heritage. As of when I departed, nobody was being shoved out of their seat, but people who left weren't being replaced in-country unless their job involved turning a crank that had to be physically located in Switzerland. If the crank could be moved, it got moved. Perqs like company cars and a special restaurant for execs and boni 2* comp are long gone for newcomers. Also there are half as many huge banks in Switzerland as there were a little over a year ago, and there certainly aren't twice as many jobs in that one remaining huge bank as there were a little over a year ago, because of economies of scale. As for comp: Zurich is expensive, Switzerland is expensive, and the FAANGS have to kick out proper comp to attract people because EVERYTHING pays good money. A semi-skilled entry-level physical laborer at one of the financials can come in the door at nearly 100k, because that person has to be able to pay rent and food, too. But it's not more expensive than California. My rent on a 3-storey townhouse with parking in a close Zurich suburb on the train line was 2250 CHF, and I bought our food at Lidl and Aldi for maybe 150/week. Health insurance 550/mo for both of us. You'll pay that kind of money for rent and food in Dublin these days on a far lower salary, and you'll lose a lot more than 10-15% to tax, as well. Switzerland is a special place. Big tech has fantastic comp anywhere for the right person, tho! A FOAF at a FAANG in Poland recently bought outright a new-build $500k house with 3 years of salary-derived savings and bonus.