DEV Community: SwissGreg

Greatest possibilities thrive near the Alps — 2023 IT Job Market Report

SwissGreg — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:09:56 +0000

The 2023 IT Job Market Report is a helpful source for people interested in the IT field. It gives information about things like salaries, working from home, artificial intelligence, how companies hire, and what's coming up in the Swiss tech world.

1. Salary stats in 2023

Switzerland is a fantastic place for tech experts. Software Developers there usually make about 106,000 CHF per year, with the most common salary being 105,000 CHF.

The cities where Software Developers earn the most are Bern, Zug, Zurich, and Geneva, with salaries ranging from 104,900 CHF to 140,000 CHF. On the other hand, cities like Lugano, Schaffhausen, and Chur have lower average salaries, ranging from 86,800 CHF to 120,000 CHF. These are just average numbers, and your actual pay can vary based on different factors. Switzerland’s tech job market is known for being innovative, having talented professionals, and offering great pay, which makes it a sought-after destination for IT experts worldwide.

2. AI powered revolution

AI tools are becoming more popular in workplaces. About 13% of the people surveyed use them a very often, and almost half use them to some extent. However, a big group of people hasn’t started using AI tools yet, and 6% aren’t sure if they should. Many of the people who use these AI tools find them helpful, and a lot of them think they are somewhat useful. Only a small group of people don’t use these tools at all, and very few people had a bad experience with them. Overall, most people feel positive about AI tools at work.

The data also shows us how much people trust code made by AI. A significant 61% said they always double-check code made by AI, which means they are careful. On the other hand, 25% said they trust AI code but still check it carefully, showing they are getting more confident in what AI can do. Interestingly, a small group (4%) said they completely trust AI-generated code, which means they have a lot of confidence in these tools. Some people believe AI can create code without needing much checking. What’s even better is that most employees (85%) believe their jobs won’t be taken over by AI soon. So, it looks like we won’t be replaced by robots after all!

3. State of Remote Work

The survey found that a lot of people like having choices in their work, such as the option to go to the office. Not everyone has a quiet place to work at home, so 30% of them either want to be able to work from anywhere in their country or are fine with working from home. In today’s world, many think that the way we work, with a mix of office and remote work, is going to be the norm, and going back to how things were a few years ago is becoming less likely.

What’s interesting is that a big 93% of the people in the survey can work from home at least one day a week, and almost half of all respondents (49%) can work entirely from home without going to the office. This data shows that remote work options are becoming more important, giving professionals the flexibility they want in the changing world of work. Who knows, maybe in 10 years, the traditional office might be something we only see in museums.

4. Changes in the recruitment process

Nowadays, candidates often have common complaints. The main issues are: not getting feedback (33% of candidates), having too many interview rounds (39%), and not knowing the salary (26%). These issues can be frustrating and make the job search a bad experience. Companies that care for their future employees should work on these problems to make the job search better and attractive process. These things are more important than benefits like free snacks or ping-pong tables at the office.

Now, switching topics, the data also shows interesting things about developers. Surprisingly, 20% of them start learning to code before they’re 14 years old, which means there are young coding talents in Switzerland. But it’s also good to know that you can learn coding during university or even later in life. It’s never too late to pick up new skills. More than 20% of respondents started programming after the age of 25.

Lastly, when it comes to retiring from work, most people want to retire before they’re 65. Only 20% want to keep working longer. The ideal age to retire seems to be between 45 and 65, with a big 30% hoping to retire even earlier. That’s not surprising, is it?

5. Conclusions

In a nutshell, the IT job market, here in Switzerland, is an exciting place filled with opportunities and innovation. This region is a leader in technology in Europe when it comes to things like salaries, remote work, and how companies hire. Whether you’re a tech enthusiast, a professional, or just curious about the tech world, these insights show that the best opportunities are right here in the Swiss Alps.

If you want more detailed information and a thorough analysis, you can check out our 2023 IT Job Market Report. It’s like a treasure chest full of data and insights about the Swiss tech scene, helping you keep up with the latest trends. As this industry shapes the future of work, we’re excited to see how tech experts from all over the world will thrive in this dynamic environment.

If you enjoyed the article — thank you!
Originally published at swissdevjobs.ch

Autobahn to career - 2023 DACH IT Job Market Report

SwissGreg — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 20:39:20 +0000

The 2023 DACH IT Job Market Report is a comprehensive and insightful resource for anyone interested in the German and Swiss Tech Industry. This article offers insights on salaries, remote work, AI, recruitment changes and the future of the DACH tech landscape.

1. Salary stats in 2023

German IT job market salaries

In Germany, Software Developers typically earn around 62,100 EUR a year, with a median salary of 60,000 EUR.

Let's talk about the top and bottom-paying tech fields. Security, Data, Python, Golang, and DevOps are the high earners, with average salaries ranging from 63,800 EUR to 79,500 EUR. On the flip side, fields like Mobile, JavaScript, System, .NET, PHP, UX/UI tend to pay less, with average salaries between 54,000 EUR to 60,500 EUR. Keep in mind, that these are average figures, and what you actually earn can vary depending on factors like where you work, your experience, and the size of the company. Turns out the security is doing really well, even compared to popular programming languages.

Swiss IT job market salaries

Switzerland is a dream destination for tech experts. Software Developers there typically earn around 106,000 CHF a year, with a median typical salary of 105,000 CHF.

Additionally, the cities with the highest average salaries for Software Developers in Switzerland are Bern, Zug, Zurich, and Geneva, offering salaries from 104,900 CHF to 140,000 CHF. On the other hand, cities like Lugano, Schaffhausen, and Chur have the lowest average salaries, within the scope of 86,800 CHF to 120,000 CHF. These figures represent averages, and your actual pay can also vary depending on various factors. In Switzerland's tech job market, innovation, talent, and great pay come together, making it a promised land for IT pros all around the globe.

2. AI powered revolution

The workplace is seeing an increased adoption of AI tools, with 12% of respondents reporting extensive use and almost half using them to some extent. However, a significant portion is yet to embrace AI tools, and 6% are uncertain about their usage. These AI-based tools are viewed as valuable by many respondents, with a substantial number finding them somewhat useful. Only a small percentage of those surveyed don't use any of these tools, and very few report a negative impact, indicating overall positive sentiments.

The data also sheds light on the level of trust in code generated by AI tools. A significant 62% of respondents reported that they always verify AI-generated code, showcasing a cautious approach to AI tools. In contrast, 24% indicated they generally trust AI-generated code but do so cautiously, indicating a growing confidence in AI's capabilities. Interestingly, a small minority (4%) expressed complete trust in AI-generated code, revealing a high level of confidence in these tools' capabilities. This demonstrates that a portion of users has full faith in AI tools for generating code without extensive verification. What's even more reassuring is that the majority of employees (83%) are confident that their jobs won't be replaced by AI in the near future, maybe we won't be replaced by robots after all?

3. The state of Remote Work

According to the survey, many people appreciate having choices, including the option to go to the office. Not everyone has a quiet place to work at home, so 30% of them want to be fully location independent within their country or are happy with working from home. In today's world, many believe the hybrid work model is here to stay, and going back to the way things were a few years ago is becoming less likely.

What's more, a significant 93% of survey participants can work remotely for at least one day a week, with nearly half of them being able to work entirely from home without going to the office. This data shows the growing importance of remote work options, offering professionals the flexibility they desire in today's changing work environment. Who knows, maybe in 10 years, office, as we know it, will be just another museum.

4. Changes in the recruitment process

In the job market, candidates often have common complaints. The top issues being: a lack of feedback (33% of candidates), too many interview stages (38%), and no salary information (27%). These concerns can be discouraging and lead to a negative candidate experience. The report stresses that companies should address these issues to enhance the candidate experience and attract high-quality employees. They can do this by providing timely feedback, being transparent about the number of interview stages, and sharing salary information. It's much more valuable than Sweet Mondays and the ping-pong table.

Shifting gears, the data also reveals interesting facts about developers. Surprisingly, many start their coding journey before age 14, showing there are young prodigies in Switzerland. However, it's reassuring to know that mastering coding can occur during university studies or even later in life. Learning new skills is never too late, as some developers found their passion for coding after turning 35.

Lastly, when it comes to retirement, most people prefer to retire before age 65. Only 20% want to work longer. The ideal retirement age seems to be between 45 and 65, with a significant 30% aiming to retire even earlier. Actually, it is hardly surprising, is it?

5. Conclusions

In summary, the DACH IT job market is a dynamic hub for tech professionals, full of opportunities and innovation. From earnings to remote work and hiring practices, it's clear that this region is a tech leader of Europe. Whether you're an enthusiast, an IT pro, or just tech-curious, these insights will prove that the greatest possibilities thrive near the Alps.

For in-depth statistics-packed and a comprehensive analysis, dive into our 2023 DACH IT Job Market Report. It's your key to understanding the DACH tech scene and staying updated on the latest trends. As this industry shapes the future of work, we eagerly anticipate the contributions and successes of tech experts from around the globe in this dynamic environment.

If you enjoyed the article - thank you!
Originally published at germantechjobs.de

Complete Guide - How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany? 🇩🇪

SwissGreg — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 20:30:56 +0000

This article was originally posted on GermanTechJobs.de - How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany?
If you happen to have a different view on some of the points, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Content of the guide:

How difficult is it to find a job as a Software Developer in Germany?
1. Work experience and technologies
2. For German / EU citizens
3. For people from other countries
4. Language skills
Step-by-step process to finding a job as an EU citizen
1. Apply to companies while still living in your country
2. Job interviews
3. Moving to Germany
Checklist of things to do after moving to Germany
1. Important formalities after arriving
2. Cost of living and taxes in Germany

1. How difficult is it to find a job as a Software Developer in Germany?

This is a very common question!

Germany is one of the best countries in Europe to work in as a Software Engineer.

The salaries might not be as high as in the neighboring Switzerland, but still higher than in most other EU countries, and you get a high standard of living with quality public services: education, healthcare and transportation.

The country has a vibrant tech job market with over 30.000 tech job openings and startup hubs like: Berlin, Hamburg or Munich.

At the same time, there are over 800.000 Software Engineers in Germany, so the competition is stiff. The following factors might work in your favor or against you:

1. Work experience and technologies - while getting a job in Germany is not easy, it is even harder as a Junior Software Engineer, especially if you are a foreigner. Most of the companies are looking for Developers with 2+ years of experience.
Having said that, it is possible to find a job even as a Junior, but you should be rather looking at internship or trainee offers (Praktikum in German).

Do you need a degree?

I wouldn't say you need it, but yes - without any work experience it will be your main bargaining chip. If you are experienced though (2+ years), then most companies will turn a blind eye to the lack of a degree.

The 2nd part is the technology that you specialize in. If you search through openings on GermanTechJobs you can see that there are many offers for Java, JavaScript, and Mobile Developers but not as many for Ruby, C# .NET or C++.

2. Being German or EU / EEA citizen - if you are a citizen of one of the EU / EEA (European Economic Area) countries it will be pretty easy for you to migrate to Germany - it is a matter of filling the papers after you get the job.
When you find the job and move to Germany, after arrival you just have to visit the Residence Registration Office (Einwohnermeldeamt) or Immigration Office (Ausländerbehörde) and get registered.

That's why most of the time German companies prefer EU / EEA citizens when searching for new employees.

3. For people from other countries - there are 2 administrative categories:
a) If you are a citizen of the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea or Israel, you can move to Germany to find a job, and after that apply for a residence permit from the Ausländerbehörde.

b) If you come from any other country, for example: India, Brazil, Ukraine, etc. - then you have to either get a Job-Seeker Visa or find an employee that helps you with a work visa. For more details please refer to the official government website.

4. Language skills - the only official language in Germany is, well… German 🙂
Speaking German fluently is definitely an advantage and many companies simply require it. However, you can still pretty easily find a job with English only, especially in startups or in big corporations.

Nevertheless, if you have the time and possibility - start learning German. Even if you speak it on a basic level (A2 / B1), it will vastly increase your chances on the job market.

2. Step-by-step process for finding a job as an EU citizen:

Step 1. Apply to companies while staying in your country:

It has 2 big advantages: first, you don’t have to bear the high costs of living in Germany and second, you can focus on the important things - interviews.

In this step, you need to find the job offers. For that, you can use GermanTechJobs.de or any other job board. Alternatively, you might want to get in touch with a headhunter to help you.

We recommend that you apply to as many job openings as possible (even 100+), because it is not easy to actually get an interview, especially with less than 5 years of experience.

If you want to get informed about new job postings in real time and apply as one of the first candidates, check our Job Alert.

It is good to mention in your CV and motivation letter that you are committed to moving to Germany (if you have a family there, bring it up too!). This makes the companies see you as a safe bet and not someone that might run away after a few months.

From our experiences, it is really worth to work with headhunters if you are on Junior level (0-2 years of experience) because German companies tend to be quite reluctant to hire graduate developers from abroad.

A headhunter might easily help you to get some interviews. You have to be cautious though - headhunters often work only with specific companies, and sometimes will not present you the whole picture (you will not have access to the entire job market). If you are working with a proven professional, you should be fine.

Step 2. Job interviews:

Normally the job interview process consists of 2 - 4 steps.

It starts with an introduction call or/and a coding task where you will be asked some basic technical questions.

As the 2nd step, if you are not located in Germany, there might be a video call with live coding.

The last round will be an onsite interview where you visit the company's office in Germany.

The practice of reimbursing travel and accommodation costs is not widely spread, though some companies may offer it, especially the big ones. Therefore, it’s best to try to schedule a couple of onsite interviews on subsequent days, so you won't have to fly back and forth.

After the last interview, you should get a "yes" or "no" answer in the following days, max. 2 weeks.

If you have multiple offers, you might want to negotiate with the companies. Be careful though! Do not give the impression that you only care about the money, because it's still a taboo topic in Germany.

Step 3. Moving to Germany:

Congratulations - you have found your dream job in Germany! After the hard part, there are only formalities left. :)

After signing the contract, you need to prepare to move. If the company doesn’t offer any relocation package / assistance, you have to save about 2.000-4.000 EUR for this purpose.

When you arrive to Germany and want to find a place to live, there are 2 options:

1) Rent a flat or house - this is probably your choice if you are relocating together with your family.

2) Rent only a single room - it might be a good option if you plan to arrive alone (in Germany it’s called a Wohngemeinschaft - living together with other random people or friends).

Finding an apartment in some parts of Germany (especially in Berlin) is quite challenging! You will often end up competing with 20-30 other people that also hunt for the same flat!

The landlords are quite picky, and you will need to make a good impression, show them your job contract and documents proving that you don’t have unpaid debts (from an organisation called SCHUFA).

A good option might be to find a short term rental (for example with Airbnb or Couchsurfing) and patiently search for a long term place when you are already there.

Be aware that, more often than not, you will have to deposit the amount that equals to about 3 monthly rents.
At 1.500 EUR / month it means a single payment of 4.500 EUR! Therefore, if you are on a tight budget it might be a bit tough till you receive your first salary. You will get the deposit back when you're done renting an apartment.

3. Checklist of things to do after moving to Germany

Important formalities after arriving:

Register your stay - If you are a citizen of the EU (or Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland), you don’t need any work permit. You will only need to register your stay at a local Residence Registration Office (Einwohnermeldeamt) or Immigration Office (Ausländerbehörde).
Open a bank account - There are a few types of banks in Germany:
- Branch Banks (Filialbanks) are traditional banks with a country-wide network, but often higher fees, examples: Postbank, Commerzbank
- Local banks in specific regions, called Sparkasse, Volksbank or Landesbank
- Pure online / mobile / FinTech banks with almost free accounts, like: Fidor, N26 or Kontist.
Choose health insurance (Krankenkasse) - In Germany you can choose between public and private health insurance, but only if you earn more than 64,350 EUR per year (as of 2021). If you earn less you are forced to use the public one, but you can still pick a provider. Health insurance in Germany amounts to around 14,6% of your salary and is deducted automatically (Source).
Other important things - if you plan to use the public transport then it might make sense to buy a long term ticket. Otherwise, bikes or electric scooters are also good choices.
Integrate and have fun - find local groups related to your hobbies and interests. In bigger cities, you may be able to connect with your own ethnic group, as there are some big diasporas living in Germany, like: Turkish, Romanian, Polish or Italian.

How much does life in Germany cost and how high are the taxes?

Germany is quite expensive compared to other EU countries, but not CRAZY expensive like Switzerland. It is worth to mention that there are big differences in rent prices between the various cities, for example: Munich is quite costly, whereas in Berlin you should be able to find a place with lower rents.

Your first month or two might be a bit tough, but after receiving the salary you will quickly realize that the things are actually quite affordable.

Below you can find a breakdown of income and costs for someone earning 60.000 EUR and living in Berlin:

60.000 EUR annually (according to this calculator) gets you 3.049,25 EUR net per month. This is assuming that you are single and not a church member, because there is an extra tax (around 9% of your income tax) if you belong to one. It assumes that you are single and don't have children (Germany offers a generous tax reduction if you have kids).

Income tax in Germany is a complex topic. The taxation is progressive, which means you pay a bigger percentage the more you earn. There are also six tax classes in Germany - the rates are based on your civil status (being single or married, having children, etc.). We recommend checking the gov resources for more information.

To simplify, let’s assume 3.000 EUR to spend per month.

Now let’s move to the costs:

Apartment: 800-1.500 EUR (with 1.5k you can get a pretty, but not the biggest flat in the center) or a single room in a flat: 500-900 EUR
Food: 150-700 EUR (150 if you always cook for yourself, 700 if you are a foodie and eat out every 2nd day)
Entertainment: 200–500 EUR (a beer in a pub costs ~5 EUR, monthly gym subscription 40 EUR. Again, all depends on you, but you can have a lot of fun without spending much)
Other: 150-300 EUR (phone, clothes, public transport, a car, etc.)

To sum up: if you are single and opt for "live cool and don't care about expenses" style, then an average developer salary will be enough (it might be harder if you have a family to feed).

On the other hand, if you choose to go the student-like route (living in Wohngemeinschaft and not eating out too much), you can easily manage with just 1.200-1.500 EUR per month, and save the majority of your salary.

As you can see, both options are doable!

Wrap up 🎉🎉🎉

If this article got you interested in finding a job in Germany, you've come to the right place! GermanTechJobs is a job board dedicated for Software Developers - you can check out the job offers here.

Complete Guide - How to find a job as a Software Engineer in Switzerland🇨🇭

SwissGreg — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 09:25:43 +0000

This guide is based on my personal experience of working as a Software Developer in Switzerland since 2017.
It was first published on swissdevjobs.ch, a dedicated IT job board that I am building as an indie project.

Content of the guide:

How difficult is to find a job as a Software Developer in Switzerland?
1. Work experience and technologies
2. Being from Switzerland or EU
3. Language skills
Step by step process for finding a job as an EU citizen
1. Apply to companies while staying in your country
2. Job interviews
3. Moving to Switzerland
Things to do after moving to Switzerland
1. Formalities after arriving
2. How much does living in Swizerland cost

1. How difficult is to find a job as a Software Developer in Switzerland?

This is a commonly asked question.

Switzerland is one of the best countries to work in as a Software Engineer.

In terms of salary, you can easily earn above 100,000 CHF (note: 1 CHF is around 1 USD), add to that the European work-life balance and beautiful nature - lakes and mountains.

Because of that, and the fact that Switzerland is a rather small country with a population of just below 8.5 million, finding a job here isn’t particularly easy. The IT market in Switzerland is much smaller compared to Germany or France.

There are a few factors that you need to consider and might work either in your favor or against you:

1. Work experience and technologies - while finding a job in Switzerland is not easy, good luck finding a job as a Junior Software Engineer, especially when you are a foreigner. Most of the companies are looking for Developers with 2+ years of experience (since they are going to pay them 100,000 per year, anyway).

Having said that, it is possible to find a job even as a Junior but you would be rather looking at internship/trainee offers.

The 2nd part is the technology that you specialize in. In the job data on
SwissDev Jobs you can see that there are many offers with Java, JavaScript, or Python jobs but not as much for Mobile, Ruby or C++.

2. Being from Switzerland or EU - if you are a citizen of one of the EU countries it will be pretty easy for you to obtain a work permit in Switzerland - it is a matter of filling the papers after you get the job.

However, if you are from a different region, say the United States or India, the process becomes more difficult. In such a case, the employer needs to offer you a visa sponsorship and prove to the government that it was not possible to find a qualified person in Switzerland for that position.

Again, if you are a great developer, you might get this chance, but in most of the cases, companies will restrict their potential candidates to just the EU + Switzerland region.

3. Language skills - Switzerland has 4 official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh.

Speaking the main language of the part you would be in is definitely an advantage and many companies require it. However, you can still pretty easily find a job with English only.

2. Step by step process for finding a job as an EU citizen:

Step 1. Apply to companies while staying in your country:
It has 2 big advantages: first, you don’t have to bear the high costs of living in Switzerland and second, you can focus on the important things - interviews.

In this step, you need to find the job offers. For that, you can use SwissDev Jobs or any other job board. Alternatively, you might want to get in touch with a headhunter to help you.

From our experiences, it’s worth to work with headhunters if you are on Junior level (0-2 years of experience) because Swiss companies tend to be quite reluctant to hire graduate developers from abroad.

A headhunter might get you a couple of interviews which is really nice. You have to be cautious though - headhunters often work with a subset of firms and sometimes will not present you the big picture (or clearly show the downsides of the company). If you are working with a proven one you will be fine.

Step 2. Job interviews:
Normally the interview process has 2 or 3 steps.

It starts with an introduction call or/and a coding task - pretty standard.

Then, if you are not located in Switzerland, there might be a video call with live coding.

The last round will be an onsite interview where you come to Switzerland and visit the company office.

The practice of reimbursing travel and accommodation costs is not widely spread, though some companies may offer it. Therefore, it’s best to try to schedule a couple of onsite interviews on subsequent days to not have to fly back and forth

After the last interview, you should get a yes or no answer in the following days, max. 2 weeks.

If you have multiple offers, you might want to negotiate your package, though be careful to not give the impression that money is your main motivation - in Switzerland it’s rather a taboo topic.

Step 3. Moving to Switzerland:
Congratulations - you have found a job in Switzerland. That was the hard part, now the formalities.

After signing the contract you need to prepare to move. If the company doesn’t offer any relocation package or help you need to have between 2 and 4k CHF for the relocation.

What we recommend is to find a hostel or Airbnb room (Couchsurfing might also be a good option). For this, you will need around 1.5k CHF for the first month.

When you arrive you might start looking for long term accommodation.

There are 2 options:

Rent a flat - this is your choice if you bring your family
Rent only a room - it might be a good option if you come without family (in Switzerland it’s called living in a Wohngemeinschaft).

Please be aware that the deposit you need to make when renting a flat is 3x the monthly rent which means 3x 2,000 CHF or even more. Therefore if you are tight on budget you might want to wait for your first salary.

3. Things to do after moving to Switzerland:

With regards to the formalities, you need to take care of the following:

Get work permit - most important. For that, you need to go with your work contract to the local public office (Gemeinde). Check the details on the official government website.
Open a bank account - you will finally have an account in one of those famous Swiss Banks™. They charge for pretty much everything, therefore make sure to compare the offers and pick the best for you. Revolut seems to be the best multi-currency card out there.
Choose health insurance (Krankenkasse) - in Switzerland you have to pay your health insurance separately (it’s not deducted from your salary). You can use the Comparis website to compare the options. You have 3 months to choose both the company and your franchise. Franchise is the amount of money you maximally pay per year for medical services. After reaching this limit the insurance company comes in and takes 90% of your costs. The higher the franchise, the lower your monthly premium.
Other important things - if you plan to use public transport, we recommend you to buy the Half Fare card. It gives you a 50% discount on most public transport in Switzerland (it costs 185 CHF per year). For the phone, you can either use a prepaid option or a subscription.
Integrate and have fun - find local groups related to your hobbies and interests. There are also some general expat groups like Zurich Together

Bonus question:

How much does living in Swizerland cost? 💰

Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in the world, the top most expensive cities in the world are all in Switzerland, therefore prepare for a price shock.

Although the first month or two might be tough, after getting your 1st and 2nd salary you will quickly realize that the things are not that expensive when living here.

To be more detailed below is a breakdown income and costs for someone earning 120k CHF and living in Zurich:

120,000 CHF annually according to this calculator gets you 7,746.20 CHF net per month. It assumes that you are single and have no children. (Switzerland offers some generous tax reduction when having children)

To simplify, let’s assume 7,700 CHF monthly to spend.

Now let’s move to the costs:

Apartment: 2,000–3,000 CHF (with 3k you can get a pretty but not the biggest one in the center) or if you share a flat in a Wohngemeinschaft: 700-1,200 CHF
Insurance: 280–500 CHF (280 for the 2500 CHF franchise)
Food: 150 - 1,000 CHF (150 if you are always cooking for yourself, 1,000 if you are a foodie and eat out every 2nd day)
Entertainment: 200–1,500 CHF (a drink in a club costs ~20 CHF, monthly gym subscription 100 CHF, again, all depends on you, traveling to other countries is pretty cheap)
Other: 200–1,000 CHF (phone, clothes, public transport or a car, etc) To sum up, if you go the “live cool and don’t care about expenses” option you will spend monthly around 7,000 CHF and still save some money.

If you, on the other hand, want to go the student-like route (living in Wohngemeinschaft, not eating out too much) and try to save, you can easily live on 1,500-2,000 CHF per month and save the majority of your salary.

Wrap up 🎉🎉🎉

I hope you liked the guide and that it answered your potential questions about finding a job in Switzerland as a Software Developer.
I can personally recommend living here :)

If you still have questions or would like to check the jobs from Swiss companies, feel free to visit: swissdevjobs.ch

Nevertheless, Greg Coded, too!

SwissGreg — Sun, 08 Mar 2020 21:14:45 +0000

Equality in tech looks like…

it get's better but there is still a long way to go!📈

I’m an expert at…

trying to make the hiring market in tech more transparent and inclusive.🔎

My advice for allies to support self-identifying women and non-binary folks who code is...

to focus on encouraging your friends to make the step into tech. Diversity programs won't help if there are not enough females that actually want to work in tech! Keep going! 👩‍💻 👩‍💻 👩‍💻

🚀SwissDevJobs.ch - a transparent job board for Software Developers

SwissGreg — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 15:23:46 +0000

Dear DEV's,

After over a year of development, testing in production😉 and adding over 290 transparent tech jobs, we are happy to officially announce SwissDev Jobs.

If you now roll your eyes, thinking 'great, yet another job board' - please hold on for a second and let us tell you the story behind it:

SwissDev Jobs started in 2018 in Switzerland ⛷️🏔️ as a side-project, because we have been frustrated with the existing job boards.

We built a job board that we would use ourselves as Software Developers.

The result?

Detailed view:

What makes it unique?

Transparency🔎 - each job posting must have salary brackets and even more important, the methodology info (do they have integration tests, are there QA people)
Usability❤️ - you should be able to filter your target jobs with just 2 clicks and can check their location on the map
Information💻 - every posting is standardized and includes the really important information about the company and the role itself.

Of course, it is your opinion that counts - head up to SwissDevJobs.ch, click around and tell us what you think!

We are very grateful for your feature requests and bug reports 😉

Help us build a more transparent IT-job market!

✅ I worked as a Software Developer in the beautiful Switzerland 🏔️, AMA!

SwissGreg — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 08:31:25 +0000

Dear DEV community,

I am a Software Developer from Europe that migrated and worked in Switzerland 🏔️.

My roles have been mostly focused on Full Stack web development (JavaScript, Java) and I was living and working in Zurich.

Since there are some developers that would like to move to Switzerland 🇨🇭 or have questions about it, I am here to answer them for you!

The Hacktoberfest swag just came in today's mail!

SwissGreg — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 22:10:25 +0000

Just a random brag that the Hacktoberfest package just arrived! 🎉🎉🎉

Sneak peek from the un-boxing 📦

1. T-Shirt:

2. Cup coaster:

3. And a lot of Cool Stickers:

Thank you again for the nice event!

Special thanks to Dev.to and Digital Ocean!

How to add internationalization 📙 to your React App ⚛️ in a SUPER-simple way

SwissGreg — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 09:22:01 +0000

If you want to translate your Single Page Application to other languages without much hassle - this short guide might be for you.

Internationalization (i18n for short) is not a trivial topic and it is perfectly fine to avoid it unless you need it 😎

At SwissDev Jobs we came to the point where we would like to not only have an English version of our website but also German, French and perhaps Italian (Switzerland has 4 languages to support).

I18n is a new topic for us, so we started researching how to do it in a React application with 2 criteria in mind:

Easy learning curve - we do NOT want to spend next 4 weeks learning a new framework or library but want a solution that works NOW
Minimal impact on performance - adding i18n should not blow our bundle size or make the app slower

During the research, we quickly noticed that the existing popular frameworks do not met those requirements.

For example:
react-intl (probably the most popular i18n library for React with over 11k stars on Github) has a minified bundle size of 46.6 kB and a lot of features that we don't need.

As we continued our research, we asked ourselves - what is really needed for supporting multiple languages and then it struck us:

We only need a 2 level dictionary.

How do you implement a 2 level dictionary?

How do you use it?

Of course, you can put the actual translations in separate files but you get the idea.

This way you have created your own, super-simple i18n service 🌍

Recruiters, please stop spamming on Linkedin 🚫 - try to listen instead.👂

SwissGreg — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 09:23:15 +0000

If you are a tech recruiter, this is the key take-away for you:

We, developers, hate the generic emails / LinkedIn messages that you send.

It doesn't matter that "it is a great career opportunity at an international company" or that "the project is a new product written in the state of the art technologies"

We are skeptical to those messages because they show that you just do a spray and pray approach🙏 and don't really care about the recipient.

I mean, why do you think I would change the job just 4 months after joining the current company?

This spammy approach probably works on a bigger scale if you send hundreds of such messages but you can do better.

How?

Simply ask the developer:

How are you doing at your current role? 👨‍💻
What are your career goals? 🎯
Which project might interest you? 😍

Take it from there with those who reply and try to give them valuable career advice instead of pushing yet another job offer.

It might be hard to switch to this mindset:

You need some technical knowledge and being up to date with the perspective technologies
It might be that your current project does not fit well to the developer you are talking to
Still, not many developers will reply anyway (that's how it is)

But, if you build just a couple of those genuine relationships, you will not have a hard time finding the people in the future (especially from recommendations) 🏆

Please share your thoughts - especially if you are a recruiter!

I am fed up with answering the same questions in interviews! - Are you too?

SwissGreg — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 09:22:29 +0000

DevRecruitmentThoughts

One of the frustrating things with the current state if tech recruitment is the repetition in interviews with different companies.

In the couple of interviews that I went through I ended up explaining the garbage collector in Java in at least 4 companies and had to answer: what are generics in Java? at least 3 times.

This problem is not easy solvable because each company needs to check if the candidate is competent.

One solution might be having some sort of knowledge / skill proof that you do once and just show it to the company, so that the interviewers can focus on the more specific question.

One caveat: I don't mean here a certification or a state exam but more like a real skills vetting process. (perhaps a coding session)

Now, there are a few problems with such an approach:

who should organize it and how the companies could trust this organization
should one be allowed to repeat the test more times?
how do you make sure that it verifies the skills that are important?

They are not easy to solve but if they would be, the industry would benefit from it immensely.

What is your opinion?

How to improve the hiring process in tech industry?

SwissGreg — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 09:21:53 +0000

Dear developers👩‍💻, recruiters🕵 and companies🏢,

I am a software developer.

In the last few months I have been in the process of looking for a new challenge.

I was able to find a great team and interesting project😍 but this post isn't about it.

It is about the job search process itself.

What I have to admit, is that the recruitment process was quite demanding and time-consuming.

It required the coordination of several phone calls, phone interviews, and onsite meetings.

I often found myself repeating answers for the same questions:

What is my motivation?
What technologies do I know?
Why I am applying to this company?

Looking from the other side, I was probably just one of many candidates in the big sea.

Could it be done better? I bet it could!

It seems that the job search process is (not only in the IT industry) in some parts broken or bad designed.

I am happy to share my insights about the recruitment process from a Software Developer perspective and tell what made me pick one company and say “Thank you”👎 to the others.

Let's start with the issues I found quite annoying:

The first annoyance is hearing the same questions across interviews at a company. (e.g. "What is your motivation for applying?").

Now, I understand that some information can get lost in the across multiple interviews but, dear companies and recruiters, please try to make it a consistent narrative and make sure that you are up to date with the notes from the previous meeting or call with the candidate.

It is beneficial for both you and the candidates to get to know each other better during the interviews.

If you require the candidate to have an interest in what you are doing, then you should also make sure to get a better understanding of the candidate's background.

DEV Community: SwissGreg

Greatest possibilities thrive near the Alps — 2023 IT Job Market Report

1. Salary stats in 2023

2. AI powered revolution

3. State of Remote Work

4. Changes in the recruitment process

5. Conclusions

Autobahn to career - 2023 DACH IT Job Market Report

1. Salary stats in 2023

German IT job market salaries

Swiss IT job market salaries

2. AI powered revolution

3. The state of Remote Work

4. Changes in the recruitment process

5. Conclusions

Complete Guide - How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany? 🇩🇪

Content of the guide:

1. How difficult is it to find a job as a Software Developer in Germany?

2. Step-by-step process for finding a job as an EU citizen:

3. Checklist of things to do after moving to Germany

Wrap up 🎉🎉🎉

Complete Guide - How to find a job as a Software Engineer in Switzerland🇨🇭

Content of the guide:

1. How difficult is to find a job as a Software Developer in Switzerland?

2. Step by step process for finding a job as an EU citizen:

3. Things to do after moving to Switzerland:

How much does living in Swizerland cost? 💰

Wrap up 🎉🎉🎉

Nevertheless, Greg Coded, too!

Equality in tech looks like…

I’m an expert at…

My advice for allies to support self-identifying women and non-binary folks who code is...

🚀SwissDevJobs.ch - a transparent job board for Software Developers

Dear DEV's,

The result?

Detailed view:

What makes it unique?

Help us build a more transparent IT-job market!

✅ I worked as a Software Developer in the beautiful Switzerland 🏔️, AMA!

Dear DEV community,

I am a Software Developer from Europe that migrated and worked in Switzerland 🏔️.

The Hacktoberfest swag just came in today's mail!

Just a random brag that the Hacktoberfest package just arrived! 🎉🎉🎉

Sneak peek from the un-boxing 📦

1. T-Shirt:

2. Cup coaster:

3. And a lot of Cool Stickers:

Thank you again for the nice event!

Special thanks to Dev.to and Digital Ocean!

How to add internationalization 📙 to your React App ⚛️ in a SUPER-simple way

If you want to translate your Single Page Application to other languages without much hassle - this short guide might be for you.

We only need a 2 level dictionary.

Recruiters, please stop spamming on Linkedin 🚫 - try to listen instead.👂

If you are a tech recruiter, this is the key take-away for you:

We, developers, hate the generic emails / LinkedIn messages that you send.

How?

Please share your thoughts - especially if you are a recruiter!

I am fed up with answering the same questions in interviews! - Are you too?

DevRecruitmentThoughts

How to improve the hiring process in tech industry?

Let's start with the issues I found quite annoying:

What is your take on that?

Did you experience something similar?