I think one issue is that the definition of Europe varies wildly when taking colloquially, that 40k figure can be valid in parts of Southern Europe. Although the market has shifted massively in the past few years so you can shift that figure to 60 or 80k even in the south for senior roles.
Even at the upper averages though these numbers still aren't really all that competitive. As a single data point, I'm earning 2-3x the local market rate in Europe (170k) by working for a US startup remotely.
> Even at the upper averages though these numbers still aren't really all that competitive. As a single data point, I'm earning 2-3x the local market rate in Europe (170k) by working for a US startup remotely.
That seems like a fairly popular option nowadays which is not surprising given the fairly unattractive local market. But I'm interested, how does it work after taxes and social security contributions? I've been looking into that here in Germany, but the headache that comes with working for a remote only company does not seem worth the higher salary (at least not for entry level positions).
My setup is through a local company who manages taxes, employment rights etc. for me (a professional employer organization) so there's no practical difference compared to being employed locally. Everything is above board and I don't have to file any extra tax returns myself.
From what I understand the premium for the actual company I work for though is around 10% of my salary.
Even at the upper averages though these numbers still aren't really all that competitive. As a single data point, I'm earning 2-3x the local market rate in Europe (170k) by working for a US startup remotely.