Re:Ask HN: Why is pay so much higher in the US? (or is it?)
by peapicker on Monday September 12, 2022 @03:19PM
(#32815401)
Seems US estimate may be low. I work in a large US tech company and I get 14 holidays (and we are typically dismissed 3 hrs early on afternoons before holidays, which adds up to another 5 days) and another 3-4 weeks of vacation I choose when to use during the year. I'm typically off about 35-40 business days a year when all taken together.
It's true you can't really compare directly like that, but just as an example let's normalize the data on the point of vacation/holidays. EU: 52 wk / yr * 5 day / wk = 260 days / yr 35 holiday / yr = 225 working / yr 260 / 225 * 65 = 75.1k per year normalized
vs USA: 10 holiday / yr = 250 days / yr 260 / 250 * 160 = 166.4k per year normalized
Here we can see how even when considering something like holiday: the difference is still not even remotely close.
You're absolutely right about the 'peace of mind' aspect. This is something that I really love and will definitely miss... But let's not fool ourselves. For example it's common knowledge in Germany that the state retirement will only cover about 50% the cost of living. Not sure about the situation in France, but this means I still need to do a huge amount of self-saving and investing just to live at the bare minimum.
In the end I completely hear your argument and can understand it.... It's just everything in life is pretty gray and situational.
Note: if anything I have said is wrong, definitely let me know! Nobody is perfect!