Ask HN: Which countries have salaries $150k+ for software engineers
I am currently a senior dev in the UK and I would like to move to a different country for a few years but I am not sure which countries have good enough markets for software engineers. I am looking for a country where a job would provide me with a salary around 150k or something comparable to a UK salary. EU countries except Switzerland don't seem to have comparable salaries and US is out of the picture since I do not have a visa.
43 comments
Why do people focus so much on dollar amount for salaries?
They aren't very informative when you don't take into account the differences in local/state/national tax rates, purchasing power, cost of living, etc.
You need so much more information to get a decent picture of how much better or worse a job offer is relative to what you currently are getting.
They aren't very informative when you don't take into account the differences in local/state/national tax rates, purchasing power, cost of living, etc.
You need so much more information to get a decent picture of how much better or worse a job offer is relative to what you currently are getting.
Some people have fixed expenses, besides cost of living and other normal expenses which depend on your location.
absolutely. Wanting to know the salary without looking at the full context is like wanting to know the run-time of a function and only looking at one of its many subroutines.
For instance, 60k in some areas of the USA means you are living like a king, have acres of land, a lake, multple cars, etc. That same amount in NYC probably makes you homeless.
For instance, 60k in some areas of the USA means you are living like a king, have acres of land, a lake, multple cars, etc. That same amount in NYC probably makes you homeless.
An iPhone costs roughly the same no matter where you live, it’s still more fun to visit Vietnam on an SF salary then it is to visit SF on a Vietnamese salary.
And for the most part when the prices differ 9 out of 10 times it's more expensive outside the US (and sometimes significantly so).
Whenever I go to the US it's shopping time. Pretty much everything is cheaper. And many items you just can't get elsewhere (which is another aspect many ignore).
I know this is going to be controversial, but healthcare-wise high earners might be better-off in the US too. Generally it would seem to me, the more money you make the better US is in comparison.
Whenever I go to the US it's shopping time. Pretty much everything is cheaper. And many items you just can't get elsewhere (which is another aspect many ignore).
I know this is going to be controversial, but healthcare-wise high earners might be better-off in the US too. Generally it would seem to me, the more money you make the better US is in comparison.
agreed. But that's a fundamentally different concept you are describing. The point is you cannot compare $100 salary and living in A with $100 salary and living in B unless you know the values of A and B. This definitely holds for "modern" western countries where social welfare/tax systems/costs of living/healthcare have a huge impact on living standards and hence what a salary of value X means. Generally speaking you might say more money == more fun, but I don't know of any data to back up that claim once we are talking about some dollar amount above the poverty limit.
I specifically have a calculation I use to be real with myself. I subtract all taxes and expenses from my gross pay, and then divide by the number of hours I work.
Believe it or not, I'm only saving 3 dollars an hour of my pay. That's about $6300 a year because I work about 2100 hours.
If you account for commuting time and emotional/physical toll of working, I'd say it's nearly negative pay.
Believe it or not, I'm only saving 3 dollars an hour of my pay. That's about $6300 a year because I work about 2100 hours.
If you account for commuting time and emotional/physical toll of working, I'd say it's nearly negative pay.
Different countries have different cost of living expenses. Housing+food+transportation in SE Asia is much, much cheaper than the US or Western Europe. For USD1500 a month you can live like a king in Bangkok, or a pauper in SF.
Saving money isn't just about making more money, but just as much as cutting expenses.
Saving money isn't just about making more money, but just as much as cutting expenses.
Salaries around 150k for senior engineers aren't even that common in the states outside of the Bay Area and New York. Can you keep your current position but work remotely from the EU?
This hacker news paradox always pops up, where people say this isn't common, but literally every SDE I know, even those straight out of undergrad, makes more than that all-in.
Maybe people are only looking at base salary instead of total comp.
If anyone’s curious what the going rate is these days, visit levels.fyi and read some threads on Blind. Senior SWEs often land over 300K TC at the big companies.
If anyone’s curious what the going rate is these days, visit levels.fyi and read some threads on Blind. Senior SWEs often land over 300K TC at the big companies.
And outside of those areas, usually in finance, specifically trading shops and specifically very skilled people doing low level algo multi threaded type stuff. I've also heard of some good starter salaries at Atlassian which means it might be possible that the seniors there can get $150K US +.
I've seen that compensation in Seattle, Denver/Boulder, Portland, Chicago (quant trading + Google n co), Boston, Austin, LA, Houston (two sigma). Some cities that had salaries that almost got there (100k+): Pittsburgh, Dallas, San Diego, Cincinnati (saw a 110k job ad, didn't interview, that would be a great comp to cost of living ratio), Madison WI, Atlanta (really close to 150k+)...
To check, usually you can find examples on h1bdata.info
To check, usually you can find examples on h1bdata.info
..add "Seattle" to US cities with decent numbers of software engineers making $150k+.
Not common in San Diego either... the sunshine tax is real.
Vancouver / Canada and Toronto / Canada for senior software engineers who have been in the company for a long time.
Entry Senior would be around 120k base in a good company, yearly raises will get you there.
P.S: Talking in CAD not USD.
Entry Senior would be around 120k base in a good company, yearly raises will get you there.
P.S: Talking in CAD not USD.
As a Canadian, familiar with the markets in the mentioned cities I'm going to have to ask you to be more specific than that. What specific companies, industries etc?
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I'm in finance and earn $120k. Canadian dollars not US.
Are you a quant / trader or doing run-of-the-mill engineering in back office?
Devops. I don't even know how banks work I just keep shit running.
How easy is it for non-canadians to get a visa?
Is pretty straight forward if you fulfil the requirements. Have a look in the Express Entry for permanent residency or you can get a job offer with an LMIA supporting it for a skilled worker visa.
As a software developer under 35, fluent in English, with a degree in computer science not that hard.
Only the US. There are exceptions to every rule of-course but you'd have to be in a niche field or live in an insanely expensive place such as Luxembourg or Zurich.
It's possible in the UK at VP level in Banking, or as a contractor. You'd need either niche technical skills or financial services experience or both.
Definitely NOT Berlin.
Are you sure you can’t get an US visa? There aren’t a lot of other places...
>something comparable to a UK salary
How much (roughly) is the UK salary you have in mind?
AFAIK salaries in the UK are not that much different than - say - Germany or Sweden, and with the exception of Switzerland and Denmark that are surprisingly higher, they often compensate for the local cost of living.
https://www.daxx.com/blog/development-trends/it-salaries-sof...
I believe that the US$150K+ that you look for are actually valid only for some selected companies in places like the Bay Area where the cost of accomodation is "crazy" and can easily amount to 1/4 of that.
How much (roughly) is the UK salary you have in mind?
AFAIK salaries in the UK are not that much different than - say - Germany or Sweden, and with the exception of Switzerland and Denmark that are surprisingly higher, they often compensate for the local cost of living.
https://www.daxx.com/blog/development-trends/it-salaries-sof...
I believe that the US$150K+ that you look for are actually valid only for some selected companies in places like the Bay Area where the cost of accomodation is "crazy" and can easily amount to 1/4 of that.
At the moment I make around that in the UK. The cost of living while higher is not comparable to the salary difference. I am open to moving to a non-eu country as well.
Unless you are 10x engineer, bay area.
Depending on your goals, another interesting question might be:
"Where could one work as a software engineer that gives the quality-of-life and retirement-lifestyle that I'd get from making $150k USD in the US?"
"Where could one work as a software engineer that gives the quality-of-life and retirement-lifestyle that I'd get from making $150k USD in the US?"
I feel HN really needs to start making a distinction between salary and compensation. Especially for mid level to senior deva, equity and bonus can make up over 50% of total compensation, changing the nature of the question and the conversation.
For example, every dev I know in the bay area nets over 150k in total compensation
For example, every dev I know in the bay area nets over 150k in total compensation
If you can sell the equity immediately I would consider that salary, although I know technically it isn't.
Salary or contract?
Depending what you do, Australia, but you may need to be somewhat specialised/niched.
Depending what you do, Australia, but you may need to be somewhat specialised/niched.