Hey french here. You are speaking of raw income, right?
I don't think we are content with lower wages. It's just that you cannot really compare EU-US just like that.
You need to compare cost of living, entirely. Paid leave. Public holiday. College fees. Working time.
But also what I call 'peace of mind'. In Europe, you have retirement from the state. You will never have crazy, 6 figures hospital bills. My employer fires me ? I don't care, I will stay get paid through unemployment insurance. Getting sick ? Still paid.
However, even if you can't compare US-EU numbers, in Europe engineers are underpaid, and it's good that you try to raise your voice through your colleagues.
I think we are also a bit shy about sharing numbers in the office, which only benefits to the employer
I don't think we are content with lower wages. It's just that you cannot really compare EU-US just like that. You need to compare cost of living, entirely. Paid leave. Public holiday. College fees. Working time.
But also what I call 'peace of mind'. In Europe, you have retirement from the state. You will never have crazy, 6 figures hospital bills. My employer fires me ? I don't care, I will stay get paid through unemployment insurance. Getting sick ? Still paid.
However, even if you can't compare US-EU numbers, in Europe engineers are underpaid, and it's good that you try to raise your voice through your colleagues. I think we are also a bit shy about sharing numbers in the office, which only benefits to the employer