Can confirm. As senior software developer I made 25K EUR in 2019.
Salaries in Europe are generally quite low for devs compared to the US. I think it's best in the UK.
Starting salary will average ~£25k, rising to ~£35k as you get more senior, then maybe £~45-55k one you're 5-10 years in.
This is excluding London and contract-based work, of course.
I am just below the £45k mark with 3 years at my current company and 12ish years overall. So should be bang on your numbers when it comes to 5-10 years at this company.
Don't get disheartened when you read these big salaries online. The average reader isn't bothering to post theirs.
The UK is actually pretty good when it comes to IT salaries. Go to France, for example, and they're much lower. The attitude to devs is quite poor in a lot of places, treating us like we're one rung above car mechanics. We also have a good contract market in the UK; in many other EU countries (even Australia) contractors make peanuts in comparison.
Outsourcing and the low barrier-to-entry have all dampened IT salaries. Immigration has also played a part in the UK over the last 15 years; a lot of devs from Eastern Europe have gone where the money is - i.e. here. I know it's a contentious issue here but I say that with no malice. I'd do it too if I was them, and a lot of them are talented devs, but there's no point pretending it hasn't had an impact.
I don't think dev immigration has hurt that much if at all. There's a virtuous circle: the more devs there are, the more startups are created and the more FAANGs set up shop. Devs get more experienced on bigger and harder problems, which makes them more valuable.
There's a huge amount of developer immigration to SV, and yet that's where the highest salaries are. Would they really be even higher if FB, Google, Apple etc. couldn't find enough devs to hire, or would those companies have set up shop in other areas and countries instead, to accommodate their needs? Or would those companies have been growth constrained on availability of talent instead?
Personally heard some horror stories from french IT, any particular reason that attitudes don't change there?
E.g. as a french junior SWE I earn €50k before taxes and I known that’s more than most and less than some.
I am based in the East Midlands, I have been offered up to 50k from other companies in the East Midlands but have either rejected (commute) or withdrawn due to slow references.
I feel like salaries are creeping upwards here but only for in fashion stacks. I am part of a larger organisation here and have the influence I'd like in the team so chasing salary isn't a demand for me anymore, however it does get disheartening at times!
That's mostly London as far as I can tell. The rest of the UK isn't so hot.
Also my experience reflects living in Berlin (& previously Vienna), in Munich or Frankfurt salaries may be higher.
A software engineer should get _at least_ EG10 which ends up being >50k e.g. in Berlin.
All this doesn't hold true for a lot of immigrant labor and people working at startups, where you are offered 30-40k€ with a masters (these kindd employ most of the immigrant labor I think - of course there's the odd 100k YC). Imho this (at current rent levels) is exploitation and something which makes working in Munich not particularly attractive for anyone not from Germany or getting a job at a car company.
2. Big caveat: There are absolutely many conservative managers who insist on speaking perfect German / not switching the team language because of the new junior dev, so there will definitely be job openings where immigrants are discriminated against at those big corporates, but IME that doesn't apply to the companies as a whole.
The reverse is obviously also true: If you want to work in a young, international, open culture, you might prefer startups, but most of them offer lower salaries.
I used to like this job. I was looking for a new one but COVID-19 happened.
As for the remote job, I currently work 6:30-17:00 with 45 minutes of commute, and the work environment is exausting. I don't think I could handle another job.
You can be located in a cheap country making thousands a day while others make that in a month. Just need to be a good at finding people whose problems you can solve.
India has the most unfortunate timezone I guess, so US companies prefer Europeans, as there is at least some overlap. Plus, maybe there's unconscious racism? I.e. subconsciously associating white skin with higher skills.
It's easy to make fun of America, but they still have one of the broadest labour markets; and also one of the highest paying for software people.
I interviewed a lot and it's hard to get more than 70K EUR / GBP at least with my skillset and would need to move. I wonder if places like Amazon/FB/Google pay more in EU?
BTW are US salaries posted gross(pre-tax)? I wonder if it's worth applying for me.
That's roughly the salary you'd get in Poland, but with a lower cost of living.
Not saying you should relocate or anything - I'm just amazed at the state of the Italian IT job market.
I spent a few years in Italy and have a friend who lived and worked in Poland. Hated the experience, but by his account it was the most stable and well paid job he had ever.
I never understood how could that be possible.
Anyway while you'd probably be better off relocating to Germany, France and of course Switzerland if you ever consider Poland then give me a shout at:
hand @ wringing.it
It's a throwaway email that I check once every week.
Perhaps I would be able to help.
In 2013 I was paid 27k€ as a junior developer (2 years experience) in Florence, before taxes and employee-paid social security (I think if you count company-paid social security it adds up to around 33k€), but I think I was a bit lucky. I think software engineers making more than 60k€ as employees of an Italian company are exceedingly rare.
You can make twice that as an independent contractor, as long as you charge by project (if you want to be paid hourly you get killed by the sticker price comparison). Being a contractor demands a different skill set though, as the programming is only half of it; how much you make will depend for the most part on how you can deal with the customer.