I'm an EM based out of Bangalore in India. I've been working in BLR all my life. I currently work at a high growth US based startup. While I'm overall, not unhappy with my job, the WLB aspects of working for my current company is personally draining and I want to fix it. More about me - 31 yr old, 9 YoE, Married with no kids. Wife runs a small business from home. Spouse isn't too sure about working abroad or her employability since she's been out of the job market for a long time running her own business. In India, she's fine continuing to run her business. It's tempting to move abroad for WLB and QoL reasons. I used to think about moving to US but somehow it has lost its charm on me. I still consider it an option though. My options are: - Stay with current company and move to HQ in US (SF). The WLB is expected to be better there and having been in the company for long enough as a manager I may be able to get L1A. - Move to Europe. This is really tempting from a WLB perspective but the comp is not great. Given the fact that my wife may not work, I'm not sure if I can live comfortably and save something. I have an offer from Klarna in Stockholm. They are offering 64k sek per month with very little equity. Most offers I see are around 80k eur, if I still want to keep WLB. The comp and the weather in Sweden are aspects I'm not too sure about but I've heard it's manageable and great country to start a family. - Stay in India and move to a large MNC that pays well and can have a decent WLB.I don't know much the latter is possible but that is a priority. There are indian startups too that pay as much as I get these days, but they mostly have screwed up WLB. With MNC (Google, Microsoft, etc.) there's opportunity to move abroad in the future too. Current: 9 YOE, TC 95 LPA (Cash + ESOP) One of the biggest reasons I'm confused is cos I know I get and can get paid well in India. Now there are controllable aspects in QoL that I can improve when I earn so much, but the non controllable factors like public infra, pollution, hygiene etc are much better in US/Europe. Also, I've lived all my life here, so definitely keen to experience another country for sometime at least. Any help/pov appreciated. Have any of you been in this boat before or currently are in this situation? How do you think about it?
Not sure what the order of your priorities are. Better WLB? For your YOE, you should be able to easily demand that. Don’t be afraid to be voice your demands (reasonably). Want better QoL? Agree with you, pollution, corruption, traffic in India is horrid. Move to abroad to dodge these issues, but be mindful of the impacts. Your wife has to start business from scratch, you both will be far away from family, friends, etc. Me personally, not attached to family so much, and QoL is way to big a deal for me, especially after experiencing Western lifestyle, I can’t go back to India. To sum up, like most things, “it depends” on your priorities.
Mind sharing the company details and the split?
Can't share the company name - we're not so big and can be found out easily. Breakup 70 cash and 25 ESOPs.
OP, not sure if you use the same account. If yes, can I DM you?
Grass is not always greener, I am moving back to India after being in the US for 7 years. Just find another job with better wlb in India.
Stay home brother. A miserable wife is not a good thing to compensate for WLB.
Stay in india. Your wife's business is also important
Oh that's the reason we've been here all along. She is also really keen to move which is why we are even considering this. But she realistically thinks she can't work for a company now and may just remotely manage her business or try to expand in the country we move to.
If you can get eb1 GC sponsorship - go for it. Even otherwise, you can come here with an open mindset to explore US, life here and work culture but knowing that GC would be nearly impossible. Europe is awesome for short visits or vacations but there is no place like US for immigrants in high tech jobs.
OP, there are multiple openings in Microsoft IDC for EMs or even senior folks. If you are interested, feel free to DM me. You could become an EM here, work for a couple of years and then move to Redmond on L1A although not sure how difficult that is to get. WLB would be better at MS, its a company known for that but I can’t guarantee it. Its heavily team dependent.
Thanks for the heads up. Started my career there. Still have multiple friends there and am considering it.
Europe has very good wlb. At ur yoe, salary should be 130k euros. I have few friends working in Europe has 100k euros for 3.5 yoe. PS - After having discussion with Europe/UK friend, updated 160k to 130k. It is possible to get it but it is top 1% salary.
Can you share who pays that?
London - FAANG, Spotify, snap, yelp, bloomberg, Fintech Amsterdam - Agoda, Uber, Booking, Databricks, Fintech Zurich - Google
I see "WLB" like 20 times in your post and reasoning. I don't think WLB is very dependent on location. It's more dependent on company and team than location. In fact, US and Europe are high cost centers and being on visa, many people tend to be on the safer side and work more.
Haha.. sorry about that. It's probably cos I'm currently burnt-out, and that's one of the top things on my mind. What you say is also something I've thought about. Being on L1 in a fast growing startup - what my life in the US may look like with job security fears. Even if I got L1A, GC is probably 2 years away.