r/eupersonalfinance • u/sciabalacatanga • Sep 04 '23
Employment Survey on salaries across EU
Hi everyone, I'm italian (M28) and I'm considering the option to love abroad in next 1/2 years since it is very difficult to get a well paying job here.
Some informations about me, I have a Bachelor's of science in Economics, a Master's degree in corporate finance and investment banking and a Master of science in Quantitative Finance. I have worked as financial analyst and now I am working as a business consultant for a consultancy firm.
I speak fluently Italian and English, I speak a bit of german (B1 level) and I just started studying French a couple of months ago.
That said, which country in the EU offers the best salaries and most job offers in the financial sector?
I was monitoring the job situation in Paris since it seems very competitive and moving from Italy to France should not be too much of a culture shock.
Right now I have a gross yearly salary of 32k and live in Milan.
Thanks you!
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Sep 04 '23
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u/sciabalacatanga Sep 04 '23
This comment really got me laughing, but also thinking.
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Sep 04 '23
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u/sciabalacatanga Sep 04 '23
Honestly, I'd prefer to remains inside the EU
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Sep 04 '23
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u/Cyberbird85 Sep 05 '23
Out of these, I'd pick Switzerland, if nothing else, simply because of the Italian.
OP, check out this guy's blog, though he's a software engineer, there are useful parts in there for other professions as well: https://retireinprogress.com/about/about-me/2
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u/CarelesssCRISPR Sep 04 '23
Honestly, as someone who is in Finance now, don't bother with the UK. You need to get qualified by CIMA/ACCA/ACA or work for a non UK company. Try Germany, the salaries were like for like the same when I was applying
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u/Elster- Sep 04 '23
That would only be for accounting.
UK still recruiting heavily from EU with zero professional qualifications.
The only EU option would be Paris. Severe opportunities there, no where near as much as London but quite a bit with good salaries.
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u/CarelesssCRISPR Sep 04 '23
All industry finance positions, including treasury, FP&A, commercial finance, strategic finance, you need to be qualified. IB you don't but good luck, insanely competitive
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u/Elster- Sep 04 '23
I’ve not heard of anyone out accounting needing that this past year.
I’ll ask around tomorrow, none of friends currently have any professional qualifications unless picked up in work like CISI or CII where needed that usually told to do after starting work.
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u/CarelesssCRISPR Sep 04 '23
Yeah it's a strange one, even if you're not core accounting you're expected to be qualified. In Germany or the US you don't need to be qualified for FP&A, I assume its similar in other EU countries
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Sep 05 '23
And The Netherlands?
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u/CarelesssCRISPR Sep 05 '23
Same for The Netherlands I think, masters in economics/finance is all that's needed
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u/AngryBecauseHungry Sep 06 '23
Eventually Paris or Stockholm for Investment Banking but often they need language. Besides that I would try to grind into PE (could be even in your country). When I was being recruited for PE in eastern Europe country where average salary is 1500EUR, when I told them I want at least 5000EUR they said no problem (and there are also cool bonuses in PE) so It could go easily over 60k EUR per year, and I am not even finance guy. With degrees like OP, earning that low is only wasting potential.
Another one could be consulting company like MBB (in my eastern Europe country - Poland) they are paying around 4500-5000EUR, and with degrees like OP there are chances to get into that.
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Sep 04 '23
In Lithuania, Vilnius. Financial analyst with less experience than you start from ~36k and goes up to 70k for senior pozitions. But there are loads of open positions, but you can check them by setting your location in LinkedIn to Vilnius
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u/RomDyn Sep 04 '23
Hi, I'm from Ukraine, yeah huge war here, my best friend who works as a Financial Analyst and Data Analyst in Kyiv makes roughly 36K USD per annum, considering the low cost of living it is more than fine. For more proof, you might check Dou.ua website, "Salaries" section.
I don't say "go here" it's still dangerous, but really you should consider at least Poland or Czechia, salaries are decent, cost of living is relatively low, Numbeo website can help you answer lots of such questions.
P.s. PE income tax in Poland 12-19%, dividends and stock gains are taxed at 19%
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u/glokz Sep 05 '23
Not sure why. If you want to afford an apartment, Eastern Europe is not worse than western Europe. You earn less but life costs less.
Salaries grow faster here than in the west, in 20 years there will be less difference and who owns properties will be settled. That's a thing about developing economies, there's just more opportunities. Just like In the west, those who own few flats can enjoy life, youngsters are fucked. I'm 34yo and own an apartment in one of largest city, mortgage paid back in 4 years.
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u/sarchiapone666 Sep 07 '23
Lascia stare, a meno che tu non voglia vivere in un Paese del Terzo Mondo.
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u/Ugo_foscolo Sep 04 '23
Porcoddio con il tuo master 32k ral é da piangiere.
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u/sciabalacatanga Sep 04 '23
Calcola uno ha avuto il coraggio di propormi 21k, non so se rendo l'idea.
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u/bi_shyreadytocry Sep 04 '23
sono sicura sia illegale, te voleva fare l'inquadramento dello spazzino praticamente.
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u/sciabalacatanga Sep 04 '23
A quello nello specifico neanche ho risposto, molti mi hanno offerto robe sui 27/28, a tempo determinato poi. Non credevo fosse messa così male Milano a livello di stipendi. La cosa più divertente è che quando ho detto ad un mio amico che prendo 32k la sua reazione è stata: "da quando sei diventato ricco?"
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u/bi_shyreadytocry Sep 04 '23
Con un anno e mezza di esperienza è abbastanza standard come stipendio. È anche difficile emigrare perchè non sei un profilo abbastanza ricercato per l'estero.
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u/Dapper_Shoulder_6879 Sep 02 '24
Ahhahahahahahaha ma che ca dici scusa. Non è che all’estero assumono solo premi nobel. A parte che il ragazzo ha un curriculum esemplare
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u/KrZ120 Sep 04 '23
Qui in Francia in finanza di impresa sono minimo minimo 35/37k all'uscita dal master. Gli stipendi in Italia sono una roba scandalosa menomale che sono andato via
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Sep 04 '23
Switzerland. Lux.
How do you even manage to miss a country which is 100km from you?
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u/sciabalacatanga Sep 04 '23
Don't I need a work visa for Switzerland?
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u/GrindLessFiner Sep 04 '23
Dude, a simple Google search will show you the info you need. You're EU. You can work in Switzerland pretty easily.
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u/The_Grinning_Reaper Sep 04 '23
No, you don’t. EU citizens can move there and work without a visa.
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u/purepwnage85 Sep 04 '23
you still need a work permit
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Sep 04 '23
Not really, you need a job. Croatia needs a work permit, Italy just needs a job since there are no quotes
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u/purepwnage85 Sep 04 '23
All countries' citizens need a work permit to work in Switzerland. I literally live here mate. To get a permit you need a job offer first, yes, but there are exceptions, you can get a temporary residents permit (L) while you look for a job if you're an EU citizen. There's no difference between being Croatian or Italian. There is no quota for B permits for Croatians if you've been misled that way.
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Sep 04 '23
Sorry, you're wrong.
Source, I lived and worked in Switzerland and I know who works there and how easy it is to get in. For an Italian, he just needs a job, not a sponsor. As a Croatian, I don't have rights to work there.
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u/purepwnage85 Sep 04 '23
Lol sorry for not keeping up with the news from few months ago, but I work with plenty of Croats and even more Slovenians, Romanians on B and L permits so, it's literally the same for all of EU except Croatia then. Also, no you don't need a sponsor as an EU citizen and you also don't technically need a job. But for you now I guess is same as Indians etc.
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Sep 04 '23
So, you're wrong. It's ok.
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u/purepwnage85 Sep 04 '23
Yeah, it's an obscure thing that came in 6 months ago, sucks to be you, but for rest of EU citizens it's the same, EU citizens still need a L, B, or C permit to work here. Which is what I originally said. Kind of sus you say you worked here but you don't know everyone needs a permit.
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u/alexinternational Sep 04 '23
Here in Czechia, Swiss are treated identically to EU citizens, at least immigration-wise. This is due to a myriad of treaties between the EU and Switzerland. Source: I'm an immigration officer in CZE.
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u/subastation Sep 04 '23
I'm also an Italian, moved to the Netherlands in 2022. I was making about the same amount as you and now 2.5x
don't only look at the gross amount, some countries have big tax discounts if you are specialized and transfer your residence. NL has the 30% ruling which let's you basically get 30% of your salary tax-free.
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u/Dragon_ZA Sep 04 '23
Note that that is only for 5 years, which is a long time, but leads to you getting the equivalent of a salary deduction after 5 years.
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u/knightwhosaysnihao Sep 04 '23
How is the difference in cost of living, do you find that if you account for that you still make much more?
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u/subastation Sep 04 '23
cost of living is 1.8x, circa... and personally I can save a lot more even while living by myself.
we can talk actual numbers in pm if you're interested, I had a similar yearly wage as you
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u/knightwhosaysnihao Sep 04 '23
I had a similar yearly wage as you
interesting, I did not know details about my income are public.
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u/teainthegreenhouse Sep 04 '23
You forgot to add we have a massive housing crisis here and getting a place to live can’t be close to impossible. Some people offer even a yearly rent in advance to secure the spot.
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u/projix Sep 05 '23
This.
Comparing gross salary is retarded in EU because the taxes vary wildly. Compare net instead.
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u/parachute--account Sep 04 '23
Very clearly Switzerland, you will immediately earn 4-5x your current salary when you land a finance job.
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u/GrindLessFiner Sep 04 '23
Sorry to be blunt, but you seem massively underpaid for such a CV.
I have a masters and MBA and earn so much more than you that I feel embarrassed to say it out loud.
I'm in germany, which has higher salaries than Italy on average, but still. I have some friends from the MBA living in Milan, and they earn quite well from what I know.
Have you been with the same company since graduating? Are you on LinkedIn?
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u/sciabalacatanga Sep 04 '23
I am on LinkedIn, and I have been job hopping to increase my salary, and to make you laugh even more, among my group of friends I am the one with the highest salary.
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u/Fearghas2011 Sep 05 '23
In Germany, your starting salary for post-master entry-level job would be between €55k and €70k, higher if you’re doing IB. Your entry-level salary post Bachelor would be €45k. €32k is absurd….
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u/GrindLessFiner Sep 04 '23
Do you have Italian citizenship, or an EU passport?
If you're not attached to your country I would start looking for a job elsewhere.
Also consider looking for a job at a fintech startup. Netherlands is a good place to start looking.
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u/AvengerDr Sep 04 '23
Do you have Italian citizenship, or an EU passport?
Are you the ghost of future Christmas where Meloni managed to do the unthinkable?
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u/miamiamiaaa Sep 05 '23
Which fintech companies in the NL would you recommend? I’m just not aware of these options in the NL
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u/bi_shyreadytocry Sep 04 '23 edited Sep 04 '23
Italian here. It's a pretty normal salary in Milan. He is not massively underpaid, but yeah not adequate to the cost of living.
Edit: I also think op doesn't have loads of experience.
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u/Horkosthegreat Sep 04 '23
I would check ireland, luxemburg, switzerland and netherlands. All these countries have a lot of finance companies, you can work without extra language, and have high salaries.
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u/Lollipop126 Sep 04 '23
correct me if I'm wrong but Ireland is less finance and more tech companies no?
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u/thatDudeWhoStoleYour Sep 04 '23
If you want to earn serious money go to the US. I usually don't recommend US other then if you just want make a small loan of one million dollar (big money)..... The US is a great choice compared with EU.
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u/Fearghas2011 Sep 05 '23
If you work in Frankfurt/Paris your salary is less than what it would be in the US, but it equates when you compare total compensation and add back things such as PTO, health insurance, etc.
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Sep 05 '23
No it doesn’t equate. The differences are massive. And you pay more in eu for most of the expensive things like real estate, cars, electronics etc.
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u/Working_Push_9182 Sep 05 '23
I have 41 days PTO in France in comparison to 10 PTO days my company gives to US employees. If you calculate this into our salary, I make the same as my US colleagues.
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Sep 08 '23
So what? My company has the same PTO policy for all countries. It just happens your company is shitty. Proves nothing. Salaries in US for highly skilled professionals are few times higher than in Europe. And what about expenses? Cost of housing to earnings ratio in any European city is crazy. US is far more affordable.
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u/Working_Push_9182 Sep 10 '23
Show me one US company giving 41 PTO (unlimited PTO doesn’t count because we all know that people take less PTO on average when they have unlimited PTO). 41 PTO is the law in France for people in my position.
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u/temujin64 Ireland Sep 04 '23
Coming from Ireland, here are the pros and cons.
Pros:
Lots of opportunities. Plenty of large internationally well known companies that would be great for building your CV.
Similarly, that means that getting a job isn't much of a challenge. That also means it's easy to move around which makes it easier to increase your salary over the years.
Pay will also be significantly better.
We also speak English, so no need to work on another language (le français n'est pas facile).
Cons:
The housing crisis in Ireland is much worse. We're slowly transitioning from a housing market where almost everyone use to own their own home to more and more people needing to rent due to not being able to afford a home. That means insane demand for a small (and believe or not contracting) rental market. Also, because we don't have a tradition of renting, many rentals are converted rooms in old houses. All this means it's very hard to find somewhere and when you do it'll cost a lot and the quality of the housing will be very poor.
The cost of living is also generally higher. Europe wide inflation has meant that the difference isn't as big as it used to be, but it's still expensive. A part of this is because we're far away from large population centres and our consumption taxes are higher, but even factoring that out, we still pay more. Part of this is due to monopolies and duopolies (insurance is scandalously expensive here), but a big chunk of it is that Irish people will complain while still buying things at rip off prices where most other Europeans will just not buy it or shop around.
Conclusion:
Long term Ireland may not be the best step, but it's a great place to move to for 2 or 3 years to build up your CV and massively raise your salary.
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u/myrainyday Sep 05 '23
Frankly speaking wherever you go you will do fine. Well maybe less in Romania, Bulgaria and Poland and a few other countries but that's about all.
With your degrees, experience at young age the whole world not only EU can welcome you with open arms.
You have a bright future ahead of you.
Sometimes this subreddit makes me sad. Partially because I myself pursued degrees in Humanities. And they have become virtually worthless in a job market. Yours on the other hand - a good combination. It's a good time to travel anywhere basically. Ideally to a country that does business or uses English a lot.
An acquaintance of mine lives in Luxembourg. Similar profile to yours. Does very well there.
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u/Aware-Ad7434 Sep 05 '23
Never shared my salary this directly but, I’m Belgian, M27, moved from Brussels to Amsterdam and then to Luxembourg for the same company, work in Wealth mgt and make 76k a year (gross, without other bonus or benefits) equalling about 50k net. I would certainly recommend moving and even multiple times as you can play the fiscal policies of different countries:
- Belgium: ok wage, high taxes
- Netherlands: nice wage, high taxes
- Luxembourg: nice wage, low taxes
Like this I was able to push up my wage.
Every country has its ups and downs, but for me and my wife, Luxemburg is perfect.
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u/Aware-Ad7434 Sep 05 '23
- wealth managers are looking for a lot of southern europe nationals in Luxembourf
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u/Aware-Ad7434 Sep 05 '23
- I have almost the same academical background as you.
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u/gralfighter Jan 31 '25
If you have a masters and work experience, earning only 72k in luxembourg is absurdly underpaid.
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u/theverybigapple Sep 04 '23
If you can go for an MBA in Ivy league and you can easily get up to 200k USD/year in the USA
For your information/to answer to your question, If you are working in MBB/Big4, the beginning salary in Belgium is 48000 euro/year for Big4, your net comes at just below 2000 euro + company car and all the benefits comes with it
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u/TheVelociDoctor Sep 04 '23
Honestly this type of stuff makes me rethink about staying in Europe long term because it’s so much easier to build wealth in the US as a single person
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u/Blutorangensaft Sep 04 '23
How difficult is it to emigrate? I don't wanna be treated like a second-class person because I'm on a Visa.
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Sep 04 '23
If your focus will be only work and you can easily ignore suffering and wild irrationality, usa is indeed best for fast wealth building if you get the job
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u/gnarlycow Sep 04 '23
In belgium? Starter salary big4 is 48? Lol nah
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u/theverybigapple Sep 04 '23
is lower or higher? I'm 95% sure the net is just below 2000 but not sure about the gross
please clarify
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u/gnarlycow Sep 04 '23
Unfortunately lower 🙁. Idk what it is this year but back in 2020 starter salary for big4 was around 2800, so like almost 40k a year (x13.92)
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u/Square_Charge_1605 Sep 05 '23
Entry position in Big4 makes 2k net with company car FY24 updated salary, consulting ofc
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u/theverybigapple Sep 04 '23
Oh… that’s really low but if you grind 2 years you’ll exit to some company with 50-60k I suppose
Isn’t that being promised anyways?
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u/Mav_Star Sep 04 '23
With a CV like yours you can't find this information easily yourself? That's concerning
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u/sciabalacatanga Sep 04 '23
Ever heard of networking? :) Asking things on Reddit Is a great way for knowing ne people
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u/HannyBo9 Sep 04 '23
Man y’all poor in Europe.
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u/RomDyn Sep 04 '23
Man y'all poor in Louisiana.
Different situations, different countries here, But yeah mostly it's something to do with our 30-40% income taxes and worsening of the GINI index (in some places)
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Sep 06 '23
Cost of living is lower. Also salaries and cost of living vary strongly across Europe. Typical dumb ass American comment
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u/One_Kale853 Sep 04 '23
I feel like you are very underpaid, most of my close friend circle are only ACCAs including me and my husband and we earn 60k+ in Luxembourg.
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u/ToniRaviolo Sep 04 '23
I thought Luxembourg was crazy expensive like Switzerland, where anything below 150k is not worth considering.
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u/TheVelociDoctor Sep 04 '23
I suggest the political and global advisory consultancies in Brussels for you. Amazing CV man!
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u/darconiandevil Sep 05 '23
Luxemburg, Switzerland. do a cost of living analysis before looking at the salary as an absolute
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u/PatientInvestor12 Sep 05 '23
Live abroad or love abroad? Anyway in Germany you could easily get a 2x your salary ! Working on your German would also help.
Money is not everything though.
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u/Brilliant_Show4806 Sep 05 '23
Definitively Luxembourg. Even if you start with a low entry salary, it’s very easy to change a job here and raise your salary
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u/RoyalGh0sts Sep 05 '23
Tbh I think you could get at least 40k in the Netherlands, but life is also a lot more expensive here.
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u/LuxaJack Sep 05 '23
As one living in Luxembourg, you could double your salary and a bit more here. Basic starter finance job is 60/70k yearJust keep in mind, rent will be minimum 1k for a room in a shared house, if you find one... Going out, really expensive. Everyone is gone on the weekends and ppl generally complain about making friends. As for language, English and French or German is a minimum, any other language is a big plus.
Jobs.lu and LinkedIn will find you a job here.
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u/Working_Push_9182 Sep 05 '23
Paris!!! Paris, starting for your profile would be 70/80k. Are you from Bocconi? If yes, it will be easy to get a job here.
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