[danwee]

To give a bit more of a realistic point of view to this thread: I have around 10 years of working experience as a software engineer working in a few countries in Europe. Just recently I have reached my personal highest salary: 95K EUR/year before taxes, which is around 5K after taxes per month. I know there are fresh graduates in the US that are probably making double of that in their first year at FAANG; but hey that's life, to each their own!

[Communitivity]

An important point is that a distorted picture is produced through a straight salary comparison between an EU position and a US one. There are a number of reasons, but the two biggest are taxes and healthcare. The EU will likely have higher taxes, but much (much) lower healthcare.

I make $170k a year after 20 years, in the US, and I barely consider myself a success (sometimes I don't - had I not messed up I'd likely be a millionaire today). I messed up early on with college and won't have a B.S. in C.S until next year. I pay roughly 30% a year in taxes, and have around a $10k total deductible for self/family, though a lot is covered with only a minimal co-pay of $10-$50 per visit (figure 2 visits per month, $1000 per year).

Look at the whole compensation package:

- Salary

- Taxes

- Employer 401k contribution

- Vacation

- Healthcare

- Profit sharing

- Etc.