The European tech job market is plenty competitive, especially if you're not looking just at money. I gladly moved to Germany from the US, taking a lower salary. I have never had less stress.
Is it really that bad being a software/hardware engineer in Europe? I was thinking of entering via Holland (easiest work rights) and then after a few years try to work in France or Italy where it is almost impossible to fire someone, so I could retire on the job.
I gave my boss at the time an ultimatum to transfer me to Europe or I'd resign after requesting a transfer for over a year. I bought a 1-way plane ticket to Berlin that same day and left 6 weeks later.
I initially got a 1 year working holiday visa but eventually changed over to a working visa 18 months later (I spent last 9 months of that time trying to apply for a working visa, but was repeatedly turned back due to insufficient paperwork and handed a 3-month extension to my original visa each time). Getting a tech job here is incredibly easy, so you're generally better off waiting until you arrive and have the chance to network with people.
I've been here 2.5 years now and it's a pretty great place, but I'm planning to move to France next year to co-found a company.
You might be surprised, but if you move to Europe, it is actually so! Move to Berlin of Frankfurt. There is always work for Software Developer here, it is hard not to get one and you get spammed by recruiters all the time.
You don't have to take shit from management, you can just go elsewhere. Everything is also very near.
the trick to living in Europe as a software engineer is to work remotely and live in small town / village outside of big cities with overpriced properties and people of questionable morals and goals.
special achievement for tough lads / lassies is to move to dodgy eastern countries like czech republic, croatia, romania to save on tax. forget about doing the grown up stuff in english there and when your child gets sick or needs education you need to fly right back to daddy germany.
portugal and ireland also have tax incentives but I dont think the quality of life, services or health care are comparable to germany.
all in all since brexit, interesting and realistic solution seems to be switzerland, but it has its own quirks.
in my opinion you would do better to stay in Germany but move to a more sensible location than Berlin. Get a piece of land where still possible. Germany is a safe bet and will be last one to crumble of the EU states, on paper...
If you are in an EU state why not move somewhere with a better job market like Germany, UK, the Netherlands or the nordic countries (you don't need to be able to speak anything but English to get work as a programmer in any of these)?
I am born EU and work here and would not want to leave. But you are corrct in the sense that there is little respect for software developers and the hard work they have to cope with.
I have a similar concern as an American living in Europe for the last ten years. It was OK-ish when I could work remote and price myself in USD but given the softness in the software job market and the very weak Euro (combined with very low pay in Europe in general) it does make it harder to consider ever being able to move back.
Wait, you're French? As in, you're an EU citizen??? Go there. Find a hackerspace. Meet people. Show off your skills. You should be OK. If not, you can go back to France. I would have killed to have your ability to just go anywhere in the EU a few years ago; even now I'm ecstatic just being able to work in Ireland.
Sometimes life involves tasks that are very slightly unpleasant, like paperwork. You might find that learning a tolerance for this minimal degree of inconvenience will yield benefits down the road.
Hi, how is the scene for software engineers in Paris? I am getting a master degree in Computer Science soon (I hope) and I would love to relocate to Europe, mainly something like Madrid, Paris or London. How hard is to get a job in Paris? How is the payment? Is it good to have a good life or barely to rent a small apt? Thank you.
Fellow Italian here, started working in Germany 5 years ago right after my B.Sc. in CS, will be moving to Paris in March. I have not been working for a startup, but if you love programming there are plenty of cool things to do.
I know what it means to feel isolated, but as you noticed you are only isolated "locally", online you can find plenty of like-minded people. Keep applying in the US if you wish, but you should know we have a lot of opportunities here in Europe as well.
I have no concrete lead for you, my professional network in Germany is limited and the companies I know require some knowledge of German, but feel free to contact me on twitter, would love to have a chat (username is the same as here).
That's a huge advantage tho, especially if you don't already have a job offer at hand. In fact if you're not in a well paid/in-demand profession like software dev it is almost impossible to immigrate legally from outside the EU.
I feel insanely lucky to have a well paying job in this job climate right now.
One thing I suggest trying is applying out of North America, and look towards relocating somewhere like Germany. They've been thirsty for talent for a while, it hasn't died down as much as it has in this bubble bursting in Silicon Valley, and although they haven't exactly been attracting it given they don't pay as much it's probably a sacrifice you should be willing to consider if you want to stay in this industry. [1]
An important first step if you're considering this route is signing up here at EURES. [2] That alone will make you more attractive to recruiters out in that direction if you choose to try and go through them, although personally I don't like them taking a cut and can apply just fine on my own.
Any advice on being a software engineer and moving to a Scandinavian country, Germany, or Austria specifically? I know German and would feel comfortable learning a Scandinavian language after studying Swedish for a while. My ideal would be to work remotely and live in the countryside, but if another situation is more realistic then that's fine too.
You have the entire EU to live in, go move to berlin. I know it will be better weather wise (but not ideal), everyone says how great it is for young people socially, and there is a tech industry growing there. And the rent is cheaper. Go become a startup employee, bootstrap yourself a bit, learn how it is to work in this industry for a while. Many european startups have a more relaxed pace, so you'll still have a life while working in less BS startup land.
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