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Ask HN: Which countries have salaries $150k+ for software engineers

20 points by fargo ↗ HN
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

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anaccountwow
Are you sure you can’t get an US visa? There aren’t a lot of other places...
efficax
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?
quickthrower2
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 +.
artemisyna
..add "Seattle" to US cities with decent numbers of software engineers making $150k+.
natalyarostova
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.
chillacy
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.

wholien
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

gnulinux
In Boston, I found a $100k job straight outta college and I know my seniors are paid twice me. Basically, you're wrong.
misframer
How common is that though? Your example doesn’t necessarily make the parent comment wrong.
[dead] thwy12321
this isnt true, stop posting about things you arent well informed on
caspercrf
Not common in San Diego either... the sunshine tax is real.
jaclaz
>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.

fargo
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.
ashtar
Those salaries exist around the minneapolis/st. paul area at a few of the larger corps nearby.
b3b0p
Can confirm and the upside is that cost of living is still manageable.
DoofusOfDeath
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?"

fierro
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

quickthrower2
If you can sell the equity immediately I would consider that salary, although I know technically it isn't.
airbreather
Salary or contract?

Depending what you do, Australia, but you may need to be somewhat specialised/niched.

gorm
What kind of tax level in percentage would you need to pay on that in the UK? Do you also get pension benefits on top of the salary?
fargo
around 40% tax and pension depends on your contributions.
aprdm
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.

fargo
How easy is it for non-canadians to get a visa?
aprdm
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.
digianarchist
As a software developer under 35, fluent in English, with a degree in computer science not that hard.
stuxnet79
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?
digianarchist
I'm in finance and earn $120k. Canadian dollars not US.
stuxnet79
Are you a quant / trader or doing run-of-the-mill engineering in back office?
digianarchist
Devops. I don't even know how banks work I just keep shit running.
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sn9
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.

hashr8064
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.

chillacy
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.
hashr8064
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.
thetricia
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.

anoncoward111
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.

dirktheman
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.

anywherenotes
Some people have fixed expenses, besides cost of living and other normal expenses which depend on your location.
farseer
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.
gadders
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.