Im based out of Geneva(Switzerland) and have been for the last 2 years. I can't comment on the rest of Europe however, regarding Geneva:
Minimum wage in the IT industry, (for example for a junior, no experience, PC support technician or help desk) is about USD 40,000 per annum
Going up scale (eg. skilled junior software developer- max 1 year professional experience, in MS technologies - eg. VB or ASP) USD 45,000 - 55,000 per annum
Further up (eg. DB certified specialist - Oracle, MS SQL Server etc. with knowledge at least 1 development language, eg. Perl, C/C++, VB, Delphi) USD 60,000 + (assuming about 2 yrs experience)
After that it really depends on you, I don't reckon you could realistically average it out. I know a couple of guys technically down the ladder from me, working in development earning up to 55% more than I do.
If you working with *nix's or the large (non-MS) DB servers - you can usually name your own salary. I mean this!;-)
Quality of Life in.ch it is extremely high, in fact I think the highest in Europe. Living is expensive, high tax rate (so you try to get a tax-free position with an organization like the UN)
I would recommend that you dont try and get an equivalent of your current US salary - aim for a minimum 15% higher or else you're talking a noticely drop in lifestyle;-)
You'd probably get a better idea of things talking to your embassy over here to get an idea of the differences. I think they have some sort of professional counsel who can talk you through the various aspects of relocating to various countries in western Europe.
BTW, above are my own observations. You really would have to get a more authoritative source of info. But I doubt you'll get much definitive info.
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Im based out of Geneva(Switzerland) and have been for the last 2 years. I can't comment on the rest of Europe however, regarding Geneva:
;-)
.ch it is extremely high, in fact I think the highest in Europe. Living is expensive, high tax rate (so you try to get a tax-free position with an organization like the UN)
;-)
Minimum wage in the IT industry, (for example for a junior, no experience, PC support technician or help desk) is about USD 40,000 per annum
Going up scale (eg. skilled junior software developer- max 1 year professional experience, in MS technologies - eg. VB or ASP) USD 45,000 - 55,000 per annum
Further up (eg. DB certified specialist - Oracle, MS SQL Server etc. with knowledge at least 1 development language, eg. Perl, C/C++, VB, Delphi) USD 60,000 + (assuming about 2 yrs experience)
After that it really depends on you, I don't reckon you could realistically average it out. I know a couple of guys technically down the ladder from me, working in development earning up to 55% more than I do.
If you working with *nix's or the large (non-MS) DB servers - you can usually name your own salary. I mean this!
Quality of Life in
I would recommend that you dont try and get an equivalent of your current US salary - aim for a minimum 15% higher or else you're talking a noticely drop in lifestyle
You'd probably get a better idea of things talking to your embassy over here to get an idea of the differences. I think they have some sort of professional counsel who can talk you through the various aspects of relocating to various countries in western Europe.
BTW, above are my own observations. You really would have to get a more authoritative source of info. But I doubt you'll get much definitive info.