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Ask HN: What EU country has the highest developer salary?

by tsingy on 6/20/23, 2:36 PM with 46 comments

Where in EU should I move if I'm looking for the highest salary for a developer? What sector? Switzerland is famous for finance but I'm self-taught, I know some country are ok with it, and some not at all. No idea for Switzerland.

  • by ltadeut on 6/20/23, 4:57 PM

    If you're just focusing in the European Union, it's definitely Ireland.

    Stripe, Square, Microsoft, Google, etc will all pay more in Ireland than they pay in any other EU country.

    The problem with Ireland is that you will get no real benefit from the taxes you pay.

    If you have family, you'll probably be better off moving to Germany or the Netherlands. There are some serious tax benefits for couples and parents. You will not get that in Ireland.

    Specifically, someone close to me left Meta Dublin and moved to Google Berlin and had more money (post taxes) in Germany despite a significant TC cut.

    If you don't care about EU, Switzerland. High cost of living but Meta, Google, and Nvidia will offer a salary comparable to the US and lower taxes than the rest of Europe.

  • by iwangulenko on 6/20/23, 3:56 PM

    If you have EU passport (blue card not enough, really have to have a EU PASSPORT, like a Polish or German one) then Switzerland is easy to move to because it takes part in the "free movement of people" - if you want, send CV to the email in my handle and i hook you up with fitting firms.

  • by resonanormal on 6/20/23, 5:53 PM

    Switzerland, Zurich has lots of tech jobs and great salaries. It's not officially Europe but easy enough to work here if you have an EU passport / have 3yrs of industry experience. I'm on 200k here

  • by bartislartfast on 6/20/23, 4:06 PM

    If it's strictly EU, I'd say probably Denmark

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_...

    But you mention Switzerland which is not in the EU, so maybe you just meant Europe?

    Ireland is a little lower on the list but has a large number of European HQs of big companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Paypal, AirBnb etc. But the price of housing here is extortionate right now.

    Consider the cost of living, not just the highest salary. Norway, Denmark and Switzerland are among the most expensive places to live in the world. You'll pay a lot of your wages in rent, food, tax, utilities etc.

    https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.js...

  • by zn44 on 6/20/23, 2:42 PM

    It used to be UK, London specifically. No longer in EU but still reasonably easy to get in.

    After that I'd guess Berlin or Stockholm? Note this is from anecdotes and not hard data.

  • by compulsivenomad on 6/20/23, 6:17 PM

    I've lived in nearly every EU country mentioned here. Almost everyone is wrong. The only European country worth considering is Switzerland, all the rest come with serious shortcomings:

    - UK: Dystopian, collapsing infrastructure, London is super-expensive.

    - Germany: Salaries are not generally high, taxation/bureaucracy/housing in the desirable parts.

    - Ireland: High taxes, extreme dysfunction, crazy housing costs.

    - Netherlands: High taxes and insane wealth tax on your savings and investments based on fictitious assumed rate of return. With current inflation, if you want to build wealth, NL should be last on the list.

    - Sweden/Norway: Average (not high) salaries, high cost of living, high taxes.

    - Spain/Portugal/Italy/Greece: Low salaries, high taxes, extreme dysfunction.

    - Belgium/Luxemburg: Salaries can be higher than average, but I found living there depressing. Cost of living is high.

    TL;DR Go to Switzerland. Better yet, move to US. There's no country in Europe that comes close.

  • by nanoxide on 6/20/23, 7:07 PM

    Self taught makes it difficult in Germany unless you have demonstrable and very good experience to show or have excellent references. Might be easier for startups, but for corporates you'll be likely filtered immediately without a bachelor's/master's.

    Also good luck finding a reasonably priced flat in metropolitan areas.

    Salaries are a lot lower than in the US, 100k+ are uncommon even among C-levels.

  • by speedgoose on 6/20/23, 4:16 PM

    Having enough money to live well is important, but you should probably consider a few more criteria before immigrating.

  • by sandipagr on 6/20/23, 3:48 PM

    Based on my research, either Switzerland or London?

    Even better, work remotely for a US company? Developer's salary in SF/NYC are unlike anywhere else in the world.

  • by dchftcs on 6/20/23, 3:49 PM

    If we limit to EU, perhaps Netherlands or Ireland?