Where are those super salaries in excess of 200k USD coming from in the US and do such opportunities exist in Europe?

[teachmaster]

@crescima Healthcare in the US is provided fully by your job in any company with more than five employees. You only have to pay for it yourself in start-ups and as a freelancer, but certainly not as a regular employee.

 

[377483/]

@teachmaster

Healthcare in the US is provided fully by your job.

Ummm… what company do you work for? I want to join. My deductible has gone up like clockwork every year. Currently it stands at $4,500.

This means I have to have a yearly medical bill higher than $4,500 before they think about helping a little bit.

Thank goodness I had a $3,000 surgery a couple years ago and nothing else. The insurance company almost had to pay for something that year!

In all seriousness though, there’s a reason why healthcare is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the US.

 

[newlifewithjesus]

@teachmaster This isn’t true though. They subsidize your healthcare but you still have to pay monthly. I pay ~$120/month for the “standard” health insurance, and that’s in addition to what my company pays for me. Work at a company with thousands of employees for what it’s worth.

 

[aa12x]

@teachmaster Having insurance hardly makes healthcare affordable in the US.

 

[ashley03]

@aa12x This. Most Americans, including ones with salaries in 6 digits and seemingly good insurance are one health crisis away from bankruptcy.

Here is the simple reason: your insurance depends on you being employed and being employed depends on being healthy

 

[themancalledv]

@teachmaster Not true, you still pay for a good portion of it. That’s not including copays, deductible and total out of pocket.

 

[elleoj]

@teachmaster Didnd they had deductibles that could be atrocious depending on which one they have? Something like "its only covered if it cost over 10k" and anything below has to be paid out of pocket?

 

[smitty7000]

@teachmaster So what happens when you get fired ?

 

[teachmaster]

@smitty7000 A similar thing than compared to Germany at least. You register for unemployment and are covered under Social Security, same thing happens when you reach retirement age, and it also covers children whose parents don't have one (like freelancers who decide not to get insured), as they are included in the regular healthcare plans if they are employed, also includes their spouses. Same program that pays out retirement checks btw. Unemployment benefits are worse overall, but severance packages are standard and should you fall below poverty line you qualify for food stamps and other benefits.

Because that is a very tense topic especially on a sub like this, let me just say that I neither like nor dislike either system. They all have their benefits and drawbacks and are based on very different philosophical backgrounds. Anyone who seriously thinks that one is objectively better than the other should not be taken all too seriously. They follow wildly different goals, and both achieve them very well, and have different drawbacks associated with them, and could both be wildly improved. And even inside of europe systems vary drastically (Germanys system is unique in itself, with only Chile having a comparable one), not to speak of differences between U.S. States, so blanket statements are completely useless. So my statements are only about federal policy, individual states and behaviour can be better or worse (pretty sure Massachusetts has by far the best system worldwide, meanwhile Alabama, not so much).

 

[getupjohnnyboy]

@teachmaster This is misleading because “provided” is only referring to employer assistance with premiums. You still pay part of the premium, and then the policies themselves are becoming worse and worse in terms of deductibles and max out-of-pockets. You can be a regular employee and still be paying huge amounts out of pocket in addition to premium if you get, say, cancer. That’s what’s meant by saying people in the US pay more for healthcare. Huge amounts more than their European counterparts. We’re essentially propping up the insurance sector of the economy with enforced consumer spending. It’s just not done that way elsewhere.

 

[sarahgren]

@teachmaster Glasses and teeth covered for you and your family?

 

[trust55]

@teachmaster “Provided” for very low values of $PROVISION

 

[dkwassom]

@smitty7000

Most of these salaries being for big tech in the bay area or similar places, you can easily divide them by 2 or 3 due to cost of living.

That's still 2x to 3x more savings after all is said and done.....

 

[resjudicata]

@dkwassom No it's not, i made 150k+/yr (USD) in The Bay. I lost up to 37% to taxes (filed taxes as single and overtime was taxed horribly high), 60k to housing (rent) and 50k to other living expenses and bills. I could save 2-5k on a good year without getting sick. My wife made 37k and after taxes and other miscellaneous expenses we saved around 10k/yr between us both. If the ER was in the cards it would usually wipe out savings out for the year and this is with average insurance.

Now, living in Europe, we make about 100k/yr combined (EUR), own our own house, own our own vehicles, pay cash for everything (no loans) and save about 15k/yr.

Making higher wages is not necessarily a great thing and unless you can keep your hours low and savings high then it just isn't worth it. I went from working 60-90hrs/WK down to 35-40. I can now be bored with my down time instead of not having any .

 

[rathnakumar]

@resjudicata When I was younger I was often bored, and it bothered me. At some point I couldn't be bored any more, there was too much to do all the time. It lasted about a decade, and a few months ago I started to be bored again. Not much though: an hour here, an hour there. And I fucking enjoy it. It made me able to enjoy very simple things again like playing with my dog in the garden, watching the stars in the evening, or enjoying a cup of coffee while the mist vanishes with the rising sun. I feel like living again.

 

[davecalifornia]

@dkwassom Till he has to go to hospital

 

[chuckkarev]

@smitty7000 You can get similar salaries in Switzerland, namely Zurich. Also, post pandemic if you take in consideration stock you can get up there doing remote work for the US.

 

[trickster454]

@ericn I am really happy that everyone here writes that salaries over 100k are normal. In Italy the situation is exactly as you describe, as a senior tech lead, in a team of ~15 dev I was getting paid around 40k, in a mid - big company. Had to move to Germany to get a better salary, and we sell our software to US and places where it would cost 3 times.

 

[rburge4]

@trickster454 what was the jump in salary after moving to Germany?

 

[trickster454]

@rburge4 Not moved, just remote work. Salary is 2x