> I’ve worked all over Europe in the games industry as did some of my long-term friends. Relocating for employment is a broader discussion but from a regulatory perspective, it just involves driving a car.
This simplifies the entire process. For fields like software, it is easier. For other fields - not so much.
> Yes, salaries vary but not much in companies hiring at the global level.
For Western Europe this might be true. But if you take into account Eastern Europe and Central (or Southern) Europe, this is entirely off the mark. Until very recently a Software Engineer in Lithuania could have expected to earn anywhere from 35 000 to 50 000 Eur while the same salaries in Western Europe would be double that. For other fields the difference is even more noticeable.
> but you can often be employed in one EU country and live in another
This isn't true. Most companies don't want to deal with cross-border taxes. If you live in Lithuania and work in Germany for more than half the calendar year, you (need to) start paying taxes in Germany. This either means you'll be employed in Germany (by a parent/child company that is listed there) or you won't work there.
> But yes, living in Lithuania you’d want to be employed in Germany probably in your situation.
This is no longer the case. Germany is not an attractive country anymore. It would only make sense to emigrate to the United States, if strictly speaking about salary. There are far less opportunities in Germany and not so many interesting projects to work on.
> I don’t think Germans buy German, Poles buy Polish, etc. Many Europeans drive German cars and many play Polish games like Cyberpunk 2077, French games like Dishonored and what Ubisoft makes. Many use Scandinavian banks and so on.
You are looking at consumer products (cars, games) but in industry they will buy local. It is very difficult to get into such markets, unlike the United States. There is a label of 'quality' attached to German engineering (even though most of their engineering is outsourced nowadays).
I don't want to get into a lengthy discussion on a case-by-case basis because experiences will differ based on the field you work in. The core issue is that it isn't as seamless an experience as in the United States and it is rarely done in practice. Unfortunately, I do not see any changes in this regard because of the difference in wealth across countries in the EU, a huge issue that wasn't dealt with.
Just to clarify — hiring on a global level means an employer is competing in the global market, offering a global rate for a role.
There is an ex-Uber engineer on YouTube who has a video breaking down SWE salaries by local, regional, global and probably more levels. If you can compete at a global level (companies around the world want to hire you), the employers have no chance to get an expert like you if they don’t pay the global rate, even in Poland (for games). If you only compete in the local market, then the local economy becomes relevant and you get salary differences between East/South and West EU.
By working in Germany I meant living in LT and being employed in DE. I only have an example of living in the UK and being employed in IT in my experience, but it wasn’t difficult. I just had to pay my primary taxes (against salary) there.
This simplifies the entire process. For fields like software, it is easier. For other fields - not so much.
> Yes, salaries vary but not much in companies hiring at the global level.
For Western Europe this might be true. But if you take into account Eastern Europe and Central (or Southern) Europe, this is entirely off the mark. Until very recently a Software Engineer in Lithuania could have expected to earn anywhere from 35 000 to 50 000 Eur while the same salaries in Western Europe would be double that. For other fields the difference is even more noticeable.
> but you can often be employed in one EU country and live in another
This isn't true. Most companies don't want to deal with cross-border taxes. If you live in Lithuania and work in Germany for more than half the calendar year, you (need to) start paying taxes in Germany. This either means you'll be employed in Germany (by a parent/child company that is listed there) or you won't work there.
> But yes, living in Lithuania you’d want to be employed in Germany probably in your situation.
This is no longer the case. Germany is not an attractive country anymore. It would only make sense to emigrate to the United States, if strictly speaking about salary. There are far less opportunities in Germany and not so many interesting projects to work on.
> I don’t think Germans buy German, Poles buy Polish, etc. Many Europeans drive German cars and many play Polish games like Cyberpunk 2077, French games like Dishonored and what Ubisoft makes. Many use Scandinavian banks and so on.
You are looking at consumer products (cars, games) but in industry they will buy local. It is very difficult to get into such markets, unlike the United States. There is a label of 'quality' attached to German engineering (even though most of their engineering is outsourced nowadays).
I don't want to get into a lengthy discussion on a case-by-case basis because experiences will differ based on the field you work in. The core issue is that it isn't as seamless an experience as in the United States and it is rarely done in practice. Unfortunately, I do not see any changes in this regard because of the difference in wealth across countries in the EU, a huge issue that wasn't dealt with.