How do salaries compare in Sydney vs the US if you're at a competitive company?
If you knew a talented and ambitious programmer early in their career in Australia would you recommend they stay or move abroad?
If you knew a talented and ambitious programmer early in their career in Australia would you recommend they stay or move abroad?
If you by "ambitious" you mean ladder-climbing/director/co-founder by 40, SV definitely has a lot more options. But if you just want interesting work, it's not too hard to find.
I personally didn't enter the industry until my 30s and in many ways I think I'm fortunate that my first job was at a startup in Beijing and the next 3 years were all in SF. Back when I was there, it was an amazing place to learn, albeit very expensive and without a commensurate quality of life outside of work.
The E-3 visa makes it a lot easier than other countries, too.
The lifestyle is quite different. I am planning to move but am a bit concerned that my (us citizen) partner will find even that adjustment difficult. I think it’s superior or I wouldn’t be longing to move after long term residence in Palo Alto.
One thing about disposable income: you’ll often see people around the Bay Area with expensive cars and toys but who live in a small rented apartment. They don’t make enough to buy, so after rent have a lot of disposable income. Over the long term that’s not financially as good as living somewhere else.
I'm not familiar with Bay area specifically, but I've seen US areas where the car is a requirement.
Mid career you could be earning 3-6x your Aussie salary post tax (depending on the exchange rates, life choices etc.), particularly if you find yourself earning significantly more due to stock appreciation.
*Sydney gets more rain per year than Seattle