# Salary and other



## mac_mac74

Two questions:

1. I am in negotiation stage with a company on salary and wanted to get a feel for what a decent living salary is for a husband with a wife at home and 1 kid in Germany (Baden-Wurttemberg). I dont want to mention the salary as I saw another post where a massive backlash took place as it appeared as if someone was boasting about the salary. 
Im kinda looking for benchmark for myself, I have around 16yrs work experience with a masters degree and work in the IT industry.

2. Do senior management from large organisations take public transport to work, or are they frowned upon - please do not see this as a joke, as in South Africa it is frowned upon, however in London not so.


----------



## twostep

mac_mac74 said:


> Two questions:
> 
> 1. I am in negotiation stage with a company on salary and wanted to get a feel for what a decent living salary is for a husband with a wife at home and 1 kid in Germany (Baden-Wurttemberg). I dont want to mention the salary as I saw another post where a massive backlash took place as it appeared as if someone was boasting about the salary.
> Im kinda looking for benchmark for myself, I have around 16yrs work experience with a masters degree and work in the IT industry.
> 
> 2. Do senior management from large organisations take public transport to work, or are they frowned upon - please do not see this as a joke, as in South Africa it is frowned upon, however in London not so.


With the information provided there is no way to even guess at a compensation range.

How you get to and from work is of no concern to your employer as long as you are on time and there will be no issues when you are on call. Public transportation does not run 24/7.


----------



## James3214

You can compare your salary with others in your job and area using this:
Einkommen Gehaltsrechner fr Brutto & Netto Lohn berechnen sie ihr Gehalt + Berufe

A lot of senior management have company cars but I know a lot of senior and other management who come by public transport or sometimes by bike.


----------



## mac_mac74

Thanks, well I'm battling to find info on cost of living in Germany, I have seen other posts but mostly outdated, so to put it into perspective, I'm looking at Euro 120k as a base salary (excluding performance bonus). My question is still whether this is decent salary for a family of 3 to live off.


----------



## James3214

Blimey! 120k is an exceptionally good salary and you and your family can live like royalty.
You will get taxed at the highest rate but you will still end up with around 6k a month which is way, way above the average monthly income of around 2.7k.


----------



## mac_mac74

James to be honest, im still battling with the costs, so I myself cannot fathom at what level this salary is. I noticed on another posting someone mentioned 400 euro a month for food for a family of 3, this equates roughly the same as what I spend now on food, therefore if I apply the same ratio to the balance of my expenses, it then appears that 120k is not such a lot, to be honest, slightly more than what I'm earning now, and I live in conditions which are far from royalty. Added to this, I've noticed rental is far more expensive in Germany.


----------



## Bevdeforges

The problem with evaluating salaries between countries is that you spend your money on different things in different places.

I know that when I went to Germany, I found that I had lots more "net" left each month because I didn't have to cover things like car costs (had a job where the car was part of the deal) and medical costs (big difference in how the health insurance works at least in comparison to my home country!). You really have to do an analysis based on how you spend your money now and what elements of the system are different.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## mac_mac74

Thanks for that, big up to you moderators, haven't experienced a forum with interaction on this level yet, specifically how quick you guys are to respond, keeps a forum fresh.


----------



## Bevdeforges

abajon said:


> Can't say anything about salary ...it depends on region to region and company to company. your work and experience also count.
> 
> Regarding transport to work: It again depends on the work culture and local trends, you can ask any local person or a colleague at work.


The transport to work issue will also depend on the public transport options where you are located and your exact position within the company. I worked in two different companies and locations in Germany. In the first, there was no public transit option for getting to work, and my boss felt strongly that the managers with company cars should drive "appropriate" vehicles to reflect their status within the company. I did take my bike to work now and then - but usually only when working weekends or during the plant holiday, since there was also the issue of appropriate dress for a manager.

In my other job, there was a public transit option, but it wasn't terribly convenient. No company car - but there was still a certain expectation that I'd drive a car "appropriate" to my position. Some bosses like to check the parking lot to figure out who has arrived and who hasn't.
Cheers,
Bev


----------

