Hi,

I am from India , recently I have got an offer from a swiss firm for the position of Senior Embedded Engineer .

I have 4+ years of embedded experience with a bachelor degree in electronics engineering. I am going to be working on embedded open source based products. The company is specialized in security products for embedded platforms.

The salary is 85 K + insurance + initial relocation assistance.

The location is basel. I am single and i have a basic lifestyle nothing too flashy.

I want to know if this salary is fine for starters. I know mine is a specialized skill set and maybe I can demand 15k more . But I want a few opinions and see if this the standard for embedded guys or not. Also I found basel is not that costly compared to zurich,geneva, lausanne . I might be misinformed here . Your gyan might be helpful.

B/w they are sponsoring my long term B permit and the employment is open ended and the contract also states that performance based bonus is there. They have also told me orally (though not written) that after six months probationary period completion there will be a review .

Welcome to the forum.

85K is way too low - even for Basel. Hold out for at least 150K and use of the office secretary on alternate Wednesdays.

Not really. Thats still too low. He should ask for at least 200k and the secretary every Friday UNLESS they can provide him with brown sugar. Then alternate Wednesdays sound about right.

they seem to be giving you entrance level. but then again companies have different bands depending on where they are.

I have no idea as to whether that salary is the norm for your set of skills and experience. However, it is certainly enough to live comfortably in Basel. Expect that you can live in a modern ( or well renovated) 1or2 bedroomed unfurnished apartment, with good transport links and within walking distance of the centre of the city ( or in a nice outer area, if you like the semirural idea) :-)

Accept it... see for yourself for six months... then roll the dice and see what happens...

What kind of insurance..?

1. Accident..?
2. Health..?
3. Auto..?
4. Personal liability..?
5. All of the above..?

(pssssst.. push for number 5)

accident + pension insurance(they have mentioned some 3 pillar insurance i am not sure what it is), I'll check with them on the other things , health insurance 50-50 between employer and employee

personal liability is not covered

Liability is the cheapest maybe 125 chf a year, not an issue, I would however try for 8k x 13 minium,

@ouchboy i saw your profile as electronics engineer, it would be helpful if you can let me know the fair package

Thank you for your info

I happened to work in engineering recruiting branch so can help you out a little I usually see people with your experience getting between 90 and 110k, but i don't know about Basel specifics. 85k is not bad anyway especially since you get insurance and relocation, and housing in Basel is not as expensive as in Zürich for example.

Thanks Annlyse

If the relocation inludes a month in a hotel or serviced apartment while you find somewhere, that'll be equivalent to another 2500 on your salary. Add in the insurance benefits and you're closer to 90K in total.

If it were me (bear in mind I've no idea what an embedded engineer is) and bearing in mind that you only have 4 years experience, I'd push for more money but accept it if they refused to offer any more.

You'll be able to live on that salary fine.

Yes I am not going to be too pushy with the salary the overall package looks good and I am more keen on coming there . The relocation assistance is there in the contract , i would rather wait till i get my work permit before asking about the specifics.

Thanks for the info

I believe member st2lemans from Tessin ( TI ) works and / or owns a company involved in embedded systems and can provide some valuable input.

Thanks will contact him

He had a job on offer here:

http://www.englishforum.ch/jobs-offe...e-guy-gal.html

I had more or less the same feeling back then when I started. I got around the same for 2 years non related experience. As i said, this depends on the company and their levels and what not. It looks good now but stick on it for a couple of years and some people can't help but feel somewhat cheated (at least that is the impression that I get from friends)

Double check the expiry date on the relocation as it's good "free" money. i Say "free" as some companies put a MUST Work X years or return the proportional of the money...etc.


if s2lemans os closer to the field I guess it would be better to ask him. I'm a crossbreed between IT and electronics/computer engineering in my current position.

hope that helps


(man i do useful posts and no one thanks them... better stick to them LOLcats)

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