You wouldn't expect to buy a house on a single engineer's salary in Europe either. I still think it's far higher when adjusted for cost of living. I know personally a few people who stayed in the US and I think it's for that reason: moving back home you take a huge pay cut.
Btw, here in Germany the industry salary for a senior engineer is 70k max, usually around 50k to 60k. The maximum academic salary is around 50k to 60k. That said, I know people call Germans "poor people in a rich country". Still, we are happy on this amount.
Btw, here in Germany the industry salary for a senior engineer is 70k max, usually around 50k to 60k. The maximum academic salary is around 50k to 60k. That said, I know people call Germans "poor people in a rich country". Still, we are happy on this amount.