As an EU-based employer, I'm seeing a post-WW2 soviet vs usa style defection of engineers between USA and Europe.
By the way, if anyone US-based is in this situation and wants to "defect" to an EU-job, send me a message, I can help you.
By the way, if anyone US-based is in this situation and wants to "defect" to an EU-job, send me a message, I can help you.
Sydney's beaches and weather helps a bit too.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/am/deepseek-engineer-...
I've worked in Australia, Europe and Canada, and the ecosystem of scientists, funding and support for develop of science into products is far much further ahead in the US it's not even funny.
In general, it’s easy, just highly bureaucratic. If you compare to what most other countries have to go through, getting a work visa as a skilled us citizen is quick.
If you want to support some of the efforts I'm pushing hard for, check out EU Inc: https://www.eu-inc.org/
Many entrepreneurs here know what the advantages are in the US compared to EU when it comes to startups etc and understand what needs to change. There's real willingness to get it done and the trump election has been fast-forwarding through so many of the steps, giving the EU the kick it needed to wake up.
All the momentum is there, now. I'm feeling super optimistic about Europe. But the recession will be hard to weather.
https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/visa-residence/types/e...
The politics there are a little concerning at the moment but should be stable for at least 4 years. With residency, the rest of the EU becomes a lot easier if things change.
My impression is there's some weakness from the auto industry struggling which is flooding the job market; but there's a lot of upside. They're investing big in a lot of new industries that don't even really exist in the US (energy related).
Rheinmetall and the rest of the defense industry seems like its set to really take off over the next few years, which even if you aren't eligible for (citizenship requirements), it'll lead to other industries needing labor though.
I'm not from there and don't follow it super closely so am not an expert, but that's kindof been my read on it.
For what its worth, this started because I struggle to find 2-3 jobs in the US per week worth applying for in my field. I can find 8-10 a day over there without much trouble (had several interviews, 2 final rounds, 1 "you weren't a fit for this role, but we really want to talk to you again in May").
Not great. Its economic growth has stalled. European Commission forecasts GDP growth of 0.7 percent in 2025, the slowest in the EU. Since 2017, the German economy has grown by 1.6 percent, while the EU average has been 9.5 percent.
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/german...
If you own a home in your own country, please stay there. From my experience with EU it is not worth it. On the surface it looks crazy good. But west has their own share of problems.
The cultural mix is difficult, second class citizen is always going to be a thing. There won't be racism or anything like that. It just the aura of people change when they speak with natives vs non-natives.
Ask this important question before moving to EU: is it worth trading your family, culture, connection, and your ability to communicate for a foreign land where you are going to be second class citizen, your struggle will only give a glimmer of hope for your children?
Left EU for my home. Never returning there. The promise of paradise isn't appealing at all.
Experience it once in your life, but do not stay.
Who do I call to press charges?
EDIT: It might not be possible to flag or downvote comments. So, I recommend you to contact the moderators or your local police. You can find my name and address on my GitHub profile.
- You can't call people pedophiles unless it was proven in court.
- You can't say black people are inferior.
- You can't say Israel is doing a genocide.
and only one of these is a valid thing to be worried about IMO...
Please stay away from Europe.
And otherwise you simply ensure that you have more than IIRC 5? people in the photo because taking and publishing a photo of a group of people is not illegal.
Privacy and not being harassed and free speech are of course exactly where the rubber meets the road. There is an intersection and naturally people will have differing opinions as to where the line should be drawn. One can always come up with examples where favoring free speech will lead to really bad outcomes for someone and vice versa.
This is like saying the US's gun law is "reduced" to everything "viewed as" the right to keep and bear arms. I don't think you can legally own a nuclear missile anywhere in the US, even in Texas.
Which part of taking someone's picture is speech, anyway? I didn't see that in the first amendment.
US also has free speech issues. For instance, libel has civil penalties I disagree with. However not being able to post a photo I took of someone in public for me is completely intolerable and barbaric, and a harassment against people exercising right to free speech. Opinions differ so I'm pretty pleased with Germany doing their thing and me doing mine and never stepping foot on their soil.
I agree that you should stay in the USA and let everyone else go to Europe.
- You can't call people pedophiles unless it was proven in court.
- You can't say black people are inferior.
Since October 2023 it's like:
- You can't call people pedophiles unless it was proven in court.
- You can't say black people are inferior.
- You can't say Israel is doing a genocide.
And has remained there since. Is this what worries you?
Anyway I’m sure people can be in whatever bubble their algorithmic news gives them. At the end of the day, today, it’s shameful to be American and many of my American friends feel that shame right now. The same cannot be said for most European countries.
> it’s shameful to be American and many of my American friends feel that shame right now. The same cannot be said for most European countries.
So you're proposing you are immune to a bubble? One of the people I referenced was _literally_ ashamed of the German government. It's happening on both sides.
I find the whole thing odd, to be honest. I had a ton of disagreements with the prior administration, and I think the way many things were handled was "shameful." However, I never once felt "ashamed" of being American. Administrations come and go. The will of the people is fickle and changes like the wind.
US life is more plentiful in terms of cash but not in terms of hard value. Why do you think we get so many American tourists?
Unfortunately Europe is full of self inflicted wounds, especially around entrepreneurship, but we are working on those.
Because the US is a young country compared to most of Europe?
Something to consider, a huge number of people feel personally alienated and under threat of harm by the current administration’s party rhetoric.
Those people may, bizarrely, value life and liberty over top dollar. The revulsion expressed on the matter of taxes may also seem odd to the people for whom paying taxes means the state can provide for their safety and wellbeing.
That salary comparison was valid pre-Trump.
Is it not valid now?
And if we focus specifically on the academia, American salaries have never been that high. Sure the numbers in the paycheck are bigger than in most countries, but the cost of living is also high. Particularly because good universities are often in very expensive areas, such as California, New York, or Boston. I've worked at a foreign university where grad students on dual income could buy a starter home. Now I'm at an American university, where you need to be tenured faculty on dual income to afford a similar home.
When the US model used to be to attract top worldwide researchers, that's pretty much the targeted demographics.
> I've worked at a foreign university where grad students on dual income could buy a starter home.
Back when I was in the job market and looking for a permanent position, we had a rather silly government that did poorly justified budget cuts. Academic positions were scarce at the time. I was looking for a position in Europe, but I somehow ended up accepting an offer from the US. I had never thought seriously about moving to the US, but when you are in the academia, you learn to take the opportunities you can find.
That used to be the American advantage. You had a less competitive academic job market and higher chances of winning grants. The downsides were a bit lower position in the social and economic hierarchy than in Europe. And the American way of life, which is not for everyone.
What it does have is extremely high wages, and despite my inclinations to the contrary I'm absolutely staying for the next year or three, but taxes aren't to blame there. A small number of tech oligarchs made that possible (FANG driving up wages for certain skillsets).
Sure, in America why would anyone move from State A to State B to get less paid and pay more taxes. The social conditions are (in a wide-stroke) the same.
This is ofc not the case if you move to say, Europe or SK/Japan. The amount of money you need to live a similar socio-economic lifestyle is different.
And we already know that many people don't put certain value to increased income past a certain threshold (people want to feel safe and well-off; not necessarily be a millionare). We are in the HN/US-Tech bubble so ofc it feels like "everyone want to be the next Zucc with their startup" but if you once leave that bubble, you'll notice that most people are not a over-fitted model to one metric called income.
Didn't mean for this to be a wall of text. Basically, money's not everything, and even if it was, it could still make sense for a lot of folks from the US to want to move to Europe.