Compared to what? I wasn't in FAANG and my first job out of college paid better than the highest average wage in any country in Europe, Switzerland [1], I paid very little in taxes (no state tax), got 20+1 days of vacation with half of those rolling over if I wanted, as well as sick leave, parental, etc, etc. I had the option of taking highly subsidized healthcare as well, but I was still on my parent's plan at that point.
Between 22 and 30 days paid vacation, healthcare, guaranteed payment on layoffs, free time outside official hour works, 35 to 40 hours work week, paid leaves due to illness, childcare, unions,....
All those things are given to a Microsoft software engineer. It's really only the low paying jobs that there's a directly benefit from the European model.
Sure. And the laws could change in any given European country and remove certain protections. Just because a possibility is there does not mean there is any real likelihood of that possibility happening.
Well, all these laws are applicable for privileged natives.
If you are an immigrant, even from the US or other first-world country, good luck — you’ll be given contractor arrangements and fixed-term positions, still with low compensations.
Sure, this is why you won’t be offered a permanent position (say, in France). Too much hassle. Much easier for them to hire you as an unprotected contractor.
It's not guaranteed, but these big tech companies always give severance with layoffs. At Microsoft I believe it was 1 month pay + 1 week pay per 6 months employed. And that's not including any extra downtime where you're not working but technically employed(maybe, due to 60 day notice required by WARN act, for example)
Unemployment insurance is mostly guaranteed if you lost the job through no fault of your own (weren't fired, didn't quit), but the amount varies by state. Good luck with receiving it in a timely manner. Took months for my wife to receive it when she was let go in 2023. If we'd been counting on her income we would have been homeless by the time the first payment came in.
Since I am an immigrant and don’t have access to most of local safety nets anyway, I much prefer working for higher-paying US companies as a contractor.
absolutely eyewatering in comparison to EU wages (outside of London etc). inb4 "but you have healthcare" (which is so good you'll go to jail if you don't pay up)
My understanding is that Canadian FAANG offices are staffed mostly with those who cannot (and often will never get) a US visa, plus the odd local who doesn't want to move to the US for personal or family reasons.
