Ask HN: Am I being paid enough in Europe?

[throwaway_EU]

I'm a software developer in Europe, (more precisely south of France).

After 3 years I'm making around 44K€ before tax (~33K after tax).

I'm one of the better paid in my peers, however seeing salaries talk online, I feel a bit "cheated". People are talking about making 100Ks and vesting.

Should I be asking for more? Should I move elsewhere (possible VISA requirements) ?

Whats your take on this gap?

[onion2k]

A few things to consider;

- No, you're not being paid enough. No one is.

- You don't say what level you're at. 44k for a junior is good. For a senior it's not great.

- Salaries posted online only tell part of the story. For example, if you compare your wages to the USA they're low, but you don't need to pay for things like health insurance.

- Very few developers are paid a lot. There's usually other responsibilities that account for the higher salary (eg leading a team, architecture design, being more client-facing, etc). That takes the role some way out of being a developer and into something else. If you love the challenges coding that could be a problem.

- Re "vesting" - Ignore equity in salary negotiation unless you're taking on a role that could genuinely influence the success of the company and won't be diluted to zero before any exit.

- Always ask for more, but don't expect to actually get it unless there's a good reason. "I could earn more elsewhere" is a reason for you to leave; it's not a reason for the business to pay you more.

[throwaway_EU]

> - You don't say what level you're at. 44k for a junior is good. For a senior it's not great.

I'm somewhere in between, not old enough to be considered a senior, but I don't need any babysitting.

> - Always ask for more

How do i know how much i can ask for without turning potential contracts off?

[scawf]

44k€ gross ? (before social security?)

That seems about right to me. In Paris I know several people getting about 42/46 at the same level of experience. So 44 outside of Paris is not bad at all.

Although, there is a huge disparity. There are some opportunity at 70k in Paris for 5Y of experience..

[throwaway_EU]

44k€ Brut (if you know the french system)

I mean where i'm is not as expensive as Paris, but still, after rent I'm left with ~1800€

And I don't see any big breaks coming when i look at the salaries of more senior people around.

[scawf]

Most people don’t get crazy big salary. That’s it.

Also, French company are not very good at giving what you’re worth. They are kind of strict on the salary range given some amount of experience.

But if you are good, you can either get the top 10% of salary, or create your own company.

The top 10% don’t advertise much about what they have, but it exists. You can reach 100k level in France. (Not with only 3y of experience of course)

[clement_igonet]

Place you live matters a lot for salaries. Come on Silicon Valley to win 100k$ and discover home prices. You won't be rich.

[juangacovas]

Curious about "minimal homes" there. Do they exist?