What you need to know when thinking of working in Europe
Have you ever thought that it is time to undertake new challenges? Do you need new goals and objectives to encourage your professional growth? Perhaps getting some professional and personal experiences abroad is the next step that you are looking for in your career. In that case, this article is perfect for you to solve your doubts, get prepared, and land safe and well-informed at your next stop. Let’s say… Europe.
If you work within the software industry, you might already know that some places are struggling with a shortage of qualified professionals to meet the high demand of digitalisation. Europe is an example of that. Across their countries, programmers, developers, graphic designers, and marketers find a wide offer of vacancies constantly emerging within both private and public sector. Talents and professionals with this background can count on a large list of attractive opportunities waiting for them on the other side of the ocean.
How can that be?
Well, the rapid development of a strong digital economy that has changed completely the European lifestyle together with the digitalisation of 80% of companies enhanced the need for an international, educated, and skilled workforce able to move to the old continent. An experience that may change both personal life and career.
The world-renowned consultancy, McKinsey, named Europe as a “giant global software competitor” still in the sleeping stage. The European Commission, together with national governments and private companies, is pushing the industry by injecting enormous amounts of money in developing the sector, as well as in the digitalisation of all EU-members, where R&D gains great attention. McKinsey assures that even with the number of specialists coming from all over the world to Europe, the countries still haven’t developed enough talented workforce to fill the many open positions. In the meanwhile, the demand for IT professionals continues increasing.
Are you the next talent to shine abroad?
The European Union includes nineteen countries that are very different between each other, especially in terms of cost of living, salaries, or working conditions. Even culture and lifestyles vary profoundly from country to country. Therefore, it is a great idea to have an overview of what we can expect before taking the big step of signing a contract.
Accordingly, if you are planning to cross the pond but you still do not know which country would be better according to your profile, keep reading and let us show you which one might convince you to pack your bags. In this post, we are going to provide you with a glimpse of the strongest digital economies in Europe, the biggest European startup hubs and a comparison of salaries in the various European countries.
Gather up all your courage and let’s get started.
1. THE STRONGEST DIGITAL ECONOMIES
There where digitalisation has come further is much easier to find open vacancies within software companies that respond to your expectancies. The Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden), together with the UK and Holland, are at the top of the list.
Amongst them, Denmark, whose capital city Copenhagen has become one of the potential tech hub for 2018, is facing an important engineer shortage that will become problematic in a near future. The Copenhagen Post published recently that the national industry is scrambling to cover 4,000 open vacancies in the IT sector. The number will increase to more than 10,000 international engineers and IT experts that will be needed by 2025.
The Netherlands is in a similar situation, as the Dutch News claimed. The IT sector, among others, is crying out for skilled staff to cover the demand. The solution is to seek professionals abroad.
Moreover, the Scandinavian countries, together with the Netherlands, are host of software giants like Skype, Momondo, SoundCloud, Spotify, Zendesk, or Booking besides a great number of tech startups that are flourishing constantly. That presents you with a palette of job offers, whose demand is still far to be met. Try to search for smaller startups, where the competition is smaller and the possibilities of getting hired are higher. You will find opportunities on Internet platforms that help you find startups and other SMEs based in those countries.
Apply for startup jobs in Denmark > https://thehub.dk/
Have an overview to open vacancies in Holland > https://dutchstartupjobs.com/
Find your dream job in Finance, Marketing or IT in the German capital > http://berlinstartupjobs.com/
Not sure where to start looking for. Then have direct access to vacancies open all over Europe > https://startupsucht.com/
2. THE TECH STARTUP HUBS
Europe is gaining importance and reputation in the IT world because of the tech startups hubs that are emerging. We have listed here some countries to keep an eye on in 2018. They have become home for some of the most important tech events in Europe, which attract not only professionals and talents, but also global companies that end up opening data centres, campus, and headquarters there. Those are right now in the eye of the storm.
COPENHAGEN
The capital city of the cold Denmark has become an important tech hub in the last years. The tech community is booming. The country is ranked as the most innovative and digital nation in Europe, with the third most innovative powerhouse. Hosting the biggest startup village in Scandinavia, that promises to gain as much importance as Silicon Valley, has been attracting venture capitalists and investors, as well as international skilled force. But it is not enough. One of the most important events in Digital Media celebrated in Europe takes place in Copenhagen.
PROS: High demand for talent and government support as well as facilities to start a new life in the country.
CONS: Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities in Europe. Salaries are in accordance with it, however the first few months there might require a high personal investment. The cultural shock might be higher for people coming from Latin American countries.
WARSAW
The country has caught all the attention as the host of one of the European Google Campus in its capital, Warsaw. The reason might be the well-developed startup infrastructure, the well-prepared workforce and the great investment in innovation and technology done recently thanks to a stable economy. Polish software companies export 54% of their products to the USA and the UK, an engine that helps the industry keep growing. Moreover, the Wolves Summit, the 4Developers Festival, or Code Europe, are some of the events that serve as an example of the importance that Poland is gaining within the IT sector.
PROS: High demand of talent and low competence.
CONS: Cost of living is quite cheap, but so are the salaries. In comparison to the neighbour Germany, incomes in Poland are significantly low. This might be an inconvenience, especially when travelling or visiting other countries in Europe.
DUBLIN
Its strategic geographical location, the fact of being the only English speaking country in the Eurozone, and a host for more than 900 software companies, have allowed the capital of Ireland to become a powerful tech city. Salaries are really competitive, while taxes remain lower than in other European countries. Furthermore, the Irish government invests €700 million annually in R&D, which helps the industry to improve and increase its value. Software giants have chosen the island as a place to establish their European headquarters. Perhaps because the Irish weather serves as the perfect cooler for the servers, saving energy and expenses.
Those reasons become the most effective talent attraction.
PROS: Since many software companies are operating there, events, courses and training opportunities are common and easy to find.
CONS: The competition is high among international professionals, besides that finding an apartment to rent might make it all quite exhausting. Cost of living can be high as well. Almost the double than in Poland, for instance.
BARCELONA
Host of one of the biggest data centres in Europe and the largest Mobile Congress in the world, Barcelona is, besides being a cosmopolitan city, an important startup hub. The city has become the fourth European startup city investing more than €612 million in 2017 in the industry. Moreover, the city aspires to become the European Open Lab of 5GB, an initiative that will drive the European digital innovation hubs to Spain. Finally, talents are easily attracted by the quality of life that the country offers with mild temperatures and sun all the year long.
PROS: Spain offers a really good work-life balance, being awarded as the 1oth country in the world with better quality of life. People are warm, open and friendly. The Spanish culture is very similar to the Latin American culture. It is hence very difficult to suffer from a cultural shock here.
CONS: Salaries in Spain are low as compared to other European capitals. Companies are still shifting from the traditional hierarchical model, but the figure of the boss is still predominant. Sometimes, developers complain about a lack of flexibility and investment in their professional development, which usually forces them to become freelancers.
3. SALARIES
As seen previously, salaries, incentives and working conditions are surprisingly different across countries, despite sharing the same currency. Digital professions are currently one of the best paid, specially developers and programmers. However, what a developer in Poland or Spain can earn is significantly different than the income of a developer in Denmark or The Netherlands, for instance. If the amount of money earned is a priority when looking for a job, then one of the cities that are listed in the following graph might be a good choice.
Summing up, despite relevant aspects like salary or living costs, the most important matter is to find the job that perfectly matches with your profile and expectancies. Moving between countries is, after all, quite common in Europe and a reality for many European young professionals, that have become digital nomads in the search of the perfect job, but in a fair balance with a good quality of life. In the end, all European capitals shine because of singular reasons that make them all unique in their particular beauty and attractiveness. And above all, all of them are claiming for brave and talented professionals able to cross the oceans in order to grow in their professional and personal lives.
