Hi all,


First post to this forum.


I need some guidance, and have done some research, I am an IT solution Architect who has over 15 years expeience and can easily adapt to new role.

What I was wondering is how high is it reasonable to go in Zurich.


I have been there a number of times and it is very expensive compared to uk, especially housing.


I am looking at an offer in the order of 140000CHF perannum, but am concerned I am going too low.

If there are any IT specialists out there who know the ropes would be grateful for some guidance.


TTFN!

Yes you deserve 130k to 180k depending on your niche skillset..

Salary is ok but not special for a Solution architect.

However there are many other questions? It is only salary?

For example, does the company offer any other perks?

Important: Health insurance and 2nd pillar contributions.

Thanks for the response guys, the company seemed keen to progress based upon salary.


I will get other benefits such as healthcare (family), bonus, relocation allowance.


What are 2nd pillar contributions?

Pension, nothing special.

Check the health benefits. They may be offering access to their health plan at Your cost, or offering to cover the costs of said plan. And the level of franchise (the amount YOU have to pay before the insurance kicks in) you have will be important. If you have a f2000 franchise this is almost useless to a healthy young person.

The Swiss Pension has three Pillars. The first government, second Company, third your own (tax friendly) investments. The second is obligatory for companies above a certain size. Have a look at other threads in this forums to give you a clue the questions you might want to ask about theirs.

I worked in a different industry and initially changed jobs fairly frequently and I always asked for 10-20% more than what was being offered. Once they demurred, but every other case they upped their offer. It certainly can’t help to ask.

It's on the low end.
If you have a kid and a spouse, and they are paying for the health insurance and the deductible, that's worth an extra 12K. If not, you are down 12

You need to confirm with them that you'll get a months bonus if you get the top rating or the 2nd from the top, out of four possible ratings.

In terms of money on the table.
A consultant solutions architect from a body shop like Assenture, Tata, Bognizant will be billed to the client for +2k daily. You'll get about half that.

If permie, you being hired directly represents a significant saving to the company. You need your slice.

Ask about a company car. Ask about annual vacation increasing with each years service.

Have not heard of many companies offering health insurance, unless you are talking about a reduction in health insurance costs through some companies they have partnered with but thats typically not that much less than just obtaining it yourself. That said I would look at just how much an apartment will cost, a typical meal out, train ticket, groceries etc to get a feel for things. For example my wife and I spend about 1200 a month on groceries, which last I checked is pretty average.