Everything else is fine. If you pay 100k usd for your degree but make 2x youll pay it well over in the next 30 years of your work life.
Cars are much cheaper. Fuel is cheaper. Housing is mixed. WFH is easier in USA so you can livr somewhere cheap. Food is cheaper usually.
Ive been hearing we get a lot of things in Europe but other than healthcare I fail to see what we get. I still have my private pension as the public one I cant live on for example even though I pay close to 50% in taxes. Healthcare is free and great thsts true but thsts it.
The guy making 400kusd a year can probably save and invest 100k a year and retire after 10 years. He can then come enjoy all the european benefits if he wants. Im sure he lives better off.
Im aware one of the few ways to get some decent salary here is do contract work. Same job as regular employee but 2x the salary. Ofc no sick leave, etc.
Still US companies pay according to my union statistics 30-80% more and they cant go around the law.
The US companies still pay quite more in Europe and not only the FAANG ones.
All these benefits come out of my taxes. The before taxes salary is still higher in USA for most people. Whether your government is inefficient is another question but your companies pay more even here.
But theres american companies here and as I wrote pay 30-80% more. They need to follow the law like everyone else yet still find possible to pay so much more without issue.
In the US the gap is even higher but we can focus on Europe then. American companies in Europe pay a lot more. Why can they afford it and why european counterparts consistently pay around their average? American companies like to come to Europe because they can get away paying less they pay in USA.
Most people take these statistics where I work and are very reliable. Theyre so reliable than when you go take a salary negotiation they pull them out and say you should get around that and its not much more you can get usually. Unless the company is american. Then again 30-80% more than average is expected according to these surveys which have been correct so far everytime Ive used them.
Its so ridiculous than a newly graduated engineer that is lucky to work for an american company can get more salary than a person with 20 years experience in an average company. And thats why I created the post why do americans pay more even outside of America.
Why USA pays so well to developers (or rarher Europe pays so bad)
Or rather why Europe pays so bad....