10 ms·

There might be some regionality built in; viewed from the US the range is $265K - $463K/yr.

titanomachy 2y ago
That is outrageous that two seemingly developed countries could have such a huge compensation gap. A senior aerospace engineer in the UK can make as little as 45k GBP, or 56k USD? One fifth as much as the lowest-paid American?? The take-home on that is £35k. The median rent in London is £26k. I suppose the person making £45k doesn't likely live in London, but still pretty grim. https://www.economist.com/special-report/2024/10/14/the-american-economy-has-left-other-rich-countries-in-the-dust https://www.economist.com/special-report/2024/10/14/the-amer...
- paleotrope 2y ago
  You guys get the NHS though.
  - samatman 2y ago
    Yes but those numbers are pre-tax income.
  - winter_blue 2y ago
    I don’t know if you’re making a joke or not, but getting NHS isn’t worth $200,000 USD per year. Most Americans get employer-provided health insurance, which costs money (the amount specified in the DD section of the W2), and its often in the $1500/month range. That DD amount isn’t part of your income or the salary Glassdoor mentions. It’s an added benefit of top of that. In the UK and elsewhere, around $500/month/person in taxes pays for your healthcare. That’s essentially subtracted from your income. So the uk income is even lower when you subtract the taxes the NHS costs.
    - sofixa 2y ago
      > I don’t know if you’re making a joke or not, but getting NHS isn’t worth $200,000 USD per year. Nope, but NHS + no/less student loans + no car dependency + cheaper childcare + time off + a ton of other things shave quite a bit off that $200k. Not equal, and not in every personal case, but a lot.
      - winter_blue 2y ago
        Isn’t housing extremely unaffordable in the UK though? That erases a lot of these benefits, doesn’t it? (I’m aware this is true of a lot of HCOL areas in the U.S. as well.)
  - rangestransform 2y ago
    Canadian and not UKian, but our public healthcare is definitely not worth 50% of my take home cash, I get much better access to care in the US right now. it still says Canada on my passport so I can get healthcare if I get fired or chronically ill
- beezlebroxxxxxx 2y ago
  > One fifth as much as the lowest-paid American?? Americans are often blown away and kind of ignorant of how, relative to the rest of the world, they are really wealthy and well paid. Like, people have way less disposable incomes in other parts of the world, even developed countries. The purchase power of the USD and the power of the US economy is absolutely insane.
- loeg 2y ago
  The UK is really, really poor compared to the US.
  - throwaway48476 2y ago
    The UK is poor because they decided to financialize the economy in the 90s and stop making things. It's like canada where the GDP per capita goes down every year. I'm amazed there hasn't been a revolution.
    - titanomachy 2y ago
      > canada where the GDP per capita goes down every year Couldn't this largely be explained by their importing huge amounts of low-income people?
      - throwaway48476 2y ago
        Of course. Canadians are still getting poorer every year and that's the salient point.
        titanomachy 2y ago
        Sure, but expanding the definition of “Canadian” to include people who were already poor is a bit different from people who were already Canadian becoming poorer.
      - n4r9 2y ago
        I don't think the average migrant salary is much different from the average UK citizen salary. Then again, I also don't find the "financialisation" argument very compelling. Plus, the GDP per capita visibly does not go down every year.
        titanomachy 2y ago
        > GDP per capita does not go down It does in Canada, I think that’s what he meant
- pikclingoil 2y ago
  >One fifth as much as the lowest-paid American?? Quite! A top 10% earner in Finland, a supposedly very developed country, by saving all of their net-income spending zero on food and letting their SO pay the bills, could in 2-3 years afford a new Skoda.
- qmr 2y ago
  Ah I think I see where the confusion lies. The US is not a developed country, rather it is a particularly rich third world country.
- CalRobert 2y ago
  They don’t call them europoors for nothing
- sofixa 2y ago
  Yes, Aerospace Engineers don't live in London because there are very little (if any) aerospace jobs in London. Biggest aerospace employers in the UK are BAE Systems and Airbus, and both have factories in much cheaper locations (Wales, Northwest of England). You're basically comparing "super specialised job in the middle of nowhere with very low cost of living" vs a "super specialised but much more needed job in multiple high cost of living locations" (Seattle metro area, LA metro area to name a few).
  - stonemetal12 2y ago
    Wichita Kansas is home to about 20% of aircraft-manufacturing workers in the United States. Not exactly known for HCOL.
- dccoolgai 2y ago
  The U.S. engineer can be fired on a whim immediately and lose their health care (COBRA) and the company that fires them can even contest their unemployment benefits (that the employee paid into) if they feel motivated enough. That's one of the reasons they get paid much more.
  - titanomachy 2y ago
    I’ve been fired before by a major American tech company. I was underperforming, unmotivated, and depressed about it. They gave me a substantial severance payment in exchange for quitting voluntarily, and for signing an agreement that basically said I wouldn’t sue them. They let me pick my last date, they paid my health insurance through the next three months, and my manager told me I could use my last month of employment to find a new job. I was quickly hired into a better-paid position at another company, with a better manager, and I did well there. I realize this story sounds absurd to anyone who hasn’t experienced it, but my understanding is that this form of firing (“managing out”) is basically the norm for low performers at top-tier tech companies. To get actually fired, you usually have to fuck up big time, like sexually harassing a coworker, stealing trade secrets, or trying to start a union. (That last one is a joke, sort of)
- chipsrafferty 2y ago
  lol, it's not specific to aerospace it's all software. Only the US overpays us
sgerenser 2y ago
I feel like that range is a on the high side, at least for jobs outside the Bay Area. Unless aerospace pays a lot better than software jobs at government contractors. When I was laid off less than 2 years ago and applying to a wide variety of places, the gov contractors were only offering in the $120-$140 ballpark for senior sw engineering positions. They tended to play up gold plated benefits, high 401k match, etc as well but there’s no way that would get it up to $263k.

That is outrageous that two seemingly developed countries could have such a huge compensation gap. A senior aerospace engineer in the UK can make as little as 45k GBP, or 56k USD? One fifth as much as the lowest-paid American?? The take-home on that is £35k. The median rent in London is £26k. I suppose the person making £45k doesn't likely live in London, but still pretty grim. https://www.economist.com/special-report/2024/10/14/the-american-economy-has-left-other-rich-countries-in-the-dust https://www.economist.com/special-report/2024/10/14/the-amer...

paleotrope 2y ago
You guys get the NHS though.
- samatman 2y ago
  Yes but those numbers are pre-tax income.
- winter_blue 2y ago
  I don’t know if you’re making a joke or not, but getting NHS isn’t worth $200,000 USD per year. Most Americans get employer-provided health insurance, which costs money (the amount specified in the DD section of the W2), and its often in the $1500/month range. That DD amount isn’t part of your income or the salary Glassdoor mentions. It’s an added benefit of top of that. In the UK and elsewhere, around $500/month/person in taxes pays for your healthcare. That’s essentially subtracted from your income. So the uk income is even lower when you subtract the taxes the NHS costs.
  - sofixa 2y ago
    > I don’t know if you’re making a joke or not, but getting NHS isn’t worth $200,000 USD per year. Nope, but NHS + no/less student loans + no car dependency + cheaper childcare + time off + a ton of other things shave quite a bit off that $200k. Not equal, and not in every personal case, but a lot.
    - winter_blue 2y ago
      Isn’t housing extremely unaffordable in the UK though? That erases a lot of these benefits, doesn’t it? (I’m aware this is true of a lot of HCOL areas in the U.S. as well.)
- rangestransform 2y ago
  Canadian and not UKian, but our public healthcare is definitely not worth 50% of my take home cash, I get much better access to care in the US right now. it still says Canada on my passport so I can get healthcare if I get fired or chronically ill
beezlebroxxxxxx 2y ago
> One fifth as much as the lowest-paid American?? Americans are often blown away and kind of ignorant of how, relative to the rest of the world, they are really wealthy and well paid. Like, people have way less disposable incomes in other parts of the world, even developed countries. The purchase power of the USD and the power of the US economy is absolutely insane.
loeg 2y ago
The UK is really, really poor compared to the US.
- throwaway48476 2y ago
  The UK is poor because they decided to financialize the economy in the 90s and stop making things. It's like canada where the GDP per capita goes down every year. I'm amazed there hasn't been a revolution.
  - titanomachy 2y ago
    > canada where the GDP per capita goes down every year Couldn't this largely be explained by their importing huge amounts of low-income people?
    - throwaway48476 2y ago
      Of course. Canadians are still getting poorer every year and that's the salient point.
      - titanomachy 2y ago
        Sure, but expanding the definition of “Canadian” to include people who were already poor is a bit different from people who were already Canadian becoming poorer.
    - n4r9 2y ago
      I don't think the average migrant salary is much different from the average UK citizen salary. Then again, I also don't find the "financialisation" argument very compelling. Plus, the GDP per capita visibly does not go down every year.
      - titanomachy 2y ago
        > GDP per capita does not go down It does in Canada, I think that’s what he meant
pikclingoil 2y ago
>One fifth as much as the lowest-paid American?? Quite! A top 10% earner in Finland, a supposedly very developed country, by saving all of their net-income spending zero on food and letting their SO pay the bills, could in 2-3 years afford a new Skoda.
qmr 2y ago
Ah I think I see where the confusion lies. The US is not a developed country, rather it is a particularly rich third world country.
CalRobert 2y ago
They don’t call them europoors for nothing
sofixa 2y ago
Yes, Aerospace Engineers don't live in London because there are very little (if any) aerospace jobs in London. Biggest aerospace employers in the UK are BAE Systems and Airbus, and both have factories in much cheaper locations (Wales, Northwest of England). You're basically comparing "super specialised job in the middle of nowhere with very low cost of living" vs a "super specialised but much more needed job in multiple high cost of living locations" (Seattle metro area, LA metro area to name a few).
- stonemetal12 2y ago
  Wichita Kansas is home to about 20% of aircraft-manufacturing workers in the United States. Not exactly known for HCOL.
dccoolgai 2y ago
The U.S. engineer can be fired on a whim immediately and lose their health care (COBRA) and the company that fires them can even contest their unemployment benefits (that the employee paid into) if they feel motivated enough. That's one of the reasons they get paid much more.
- titanomachy 2y ago
  I’ve been fired before by a major American tech company. I was underperforming, unmotivated, and depressed about it. They gave me a substantial severance payment in exchange for quitting voluntarily, and for signing an agreement that basically said I wouldn’t sue them. They let me pick my last date, they paid my health insurance through the next three months, and my manager told me I could use my last month of employment to find a new job. I was quickly hired into a better-paid position at another company, with a better manager, and I did well there. I realize this story sounds absurd to anyone who hasn’t experienced it, but my understanding is that this form of firing (“managing out”) is basically the norm for low performers at top-tier tech companies. To get actually fired, you usually have to fuck up big time, like sexually harassing a coworker, stealing trade secrets, or trying to start a union. (That last one is a joke, sort of)
chipsrafferty 2y ago
lol, it's not specific to aerospace it's all software. Only the US overpays us

sgerenser 2y ago

I feel like that range is a on the high side, at least for jobs outside the Bay Area. Unless aerospace pays a lot better than software jobs at government contractors. When I was laid off less than 2 years ago and applying to a wide variety of places, the gov contractors were only offering in the $120-$140 ballpark for senior sw engineering positions. They tended to play up gold plated benefits, high 401k match, etc as well but there’s no way that would get it up to $263k.