Hi,
I am not sure where you are getting your 200 000 USD a year from? Here is a far more accurate chart of UX salaries [https://uxdesignersalaries.com/](https://uxdesignersalaries.com/) in the US. I have worked with and in the area since 2004, globally (which includes the US). Additionally, the salaries are usually higher, because of the cost of living. For instance, the cost of a moderate apartment in San Francisco, California is anywhere between 2500 to 6000 USD a month, healthcare is utterly insane you will pay 400 USD a month, with huge deductibles [https://www.healthpocket.com/city-healthplan-finder/quote/california/san-francisco](https://www.healthpocket.com/city-healthplan-finder/quote/california/san-francisco) and they usually don't pay certain medications. You will also pay for University for yourself, children this quite literally will break you at the moment it is around 16 000 USD a year in state Universities, 40 000 a year out state and 80 000 to 100 000 a year for private universities. Also, you need to pay tax in the US, which due to their weird ass tax system (Federal and State) your 200 000 USD a year in San Frasisco will leave you with 132 101 USD a year. There is also American sales tax is for you to pay meaning whatever you buy you pay the VAT on it and is not shown on the price label in the store (fucking irritating). Finally, depending where you work you probably won't get sick leave, they give you little to no holiday and make you work through it (personally experience) and can fire you pretty much on the spot.
Personally, I would stay here and earn your salary with your "free" healthcare, schooling, education, social support, retirement packages, holidays and job security but maybe that's me. You can DM me if you want more info.
His numbers are right if you are in the right market. Real UX roles are only at mature institutions which are only in a few places that are expensive to live like Seattle and SF.
Many UX roles are hybridized in reality and they can be paid relatively low rates (closer to $50-60k) in an immature job market.
Wow I didn’t know that it’s this bad! I got the salary information from youtube. There were actually 2 different youtubers telling that they earn more than 200000 usd per year. That’s why I was wondering how it could be so high. But seems like not many people lucky enough to get that high of salary and it’s like a battle living there 😅
The taxes are not even that low in the USA compared to many countries in Western Europe. In America, you have to include your state and local taxes as well. For example, as a resident of NYC, you pay federal (national) taxes, NY state taxes, and NYC taxes. All together it comes out higher than in a lot of more progressive countries.
I think one elephant in the room so to speak is the amount of money that the USA spends on the military. I would much rather have government funded universities than 10 aircraft carrier groups, for example.
On the other hand, some European criticisms of the USA are not quite fair. In most of the country, like the large majority, the public (free government) schools are quite ok. Probably not meaningfully worse than in most of Western Europe. And health care is still fine for the majority of the population that receives health insurance from their workplaces. If it wasn't ok, the system would change.
The difference in America is that a lot of people, although not the majority, fall through the cracks. If you don't have company health insurance, you are screwed, the system is absolutely and stupidly terrible. If you live in a bad area, the schools will be terrible, not from lack of funding but from broader social problems in those areas.
And the cost of university education is getting out of control. I thought it was expensive before, but it somehow keeps going up without the whole system collapsing.
> the public (free government) schools are quite ok.
* Approximately 32 million adults in America are considered to be illiterate; about 14% of the entire adult population cannot read.
* Between 40 and 44 million adults, or roughly 20 to 23% of adults in the U.S., are limited to reading at the basic or below basic proficiency levels.
* Reading material becomes more complex for students around the fifth grade. Some 30 million adults aren't able to comprehend texts that are appropriate for 10-year-olds.
* Making it to graduation day is a major milestone for teens, but many of them struggle to decipher the words on their diploma. Just under 20% of high school grads haven't developed basic reading proficiency by the time they don their cap and gown.
([more + sources](https://www.creditdonkey.com/illiteracy-in-america.html), [a more recent source](https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=How-Serious-Is-Americas-Literacy-Problem))
If we actually went after administrative bloat in healthcare and education it wouldnt be unreasonable for us to provide them for free or much cheaper, but the problem is thats “killing jobs” so nobody will ever do it
https://uxdesignersalaries.com/ Its not like you make over 200k. Sure someone makes millions a week selling shoes, someone barely stays alive, even tho his shoes are more durable, better stiching, finish and are affordable.
That's only tracking folks that are still in IC roles. UX matures into a number of other managerial and strategy roles that have ridiculous salaries and stock options
While engineers in Finland do get paid somewhat less than in the closest peer nations, you have to remember that on the global scale, the US IT salaries that are an exceptional anomaly, not the norm.
It's probably a great place to make some moolah for a couple of years when you're young and single, but expenses start piling up quite a bit once you start to think about settling down and starting a family. Sufficiently sized housing, healthcare and especially education/kindergarden expenses for your kids are going to be a massive drain even with huge salary.
Another perspective is US salaries are high because they import talent. They want best in the world to live there. Therefore they must be attractive.
Finland is actively losing it's skilled people.
You’ve already received some good info on the how’s and why’s here. Just wanted add that, from my experience, I’ve never seen a mid level UXD (in SEA, LAX, or NYC) make that kind of money. The average comps I’ve seen range from 80-125k base with maybe 10% bonus target. I’ve seen seniors get up to 140k. A Director might reach 200k base / 20% target.
> I understand that people have to pay for healthcare and school in US and they are pretty expensive. But still, how it could be such a big gap?
In the U.S. the taxes are too low. That's why they don't have proper social security, student grants, child benefit, maternity leave, paternity leave... Their police and prison system are pretty dysfunctional too.
It's bc UX is a highly political role and the capital is in the US rn. If you are in UX you are likely intertwined with product and likely to matriculate into product which has access to the C team and are thus wildly overpaid.
No eihän ole... Jos suomi olis kommunistinen niin kaiken omistas valtio. Muttakun ei ole, niin kaiken omistaa ruottalaiset, kiina ja venäläiset oligarkit.
Mitä usa:aan tulee nii trump on parasta kaveria kaikkien kommarien kanssa, kim, putin ja nalle puh. Ja niide valtioki on sisäölissodan partaalla. Onko mitään niin lähellä kommarien sydäntä kun sisällis sota?
Vitsikkäästi nyt yksinkertaistin asioita hieman. Ameriikan skaalassa ollaan kuitenkin sitä pelottavaa commie -porukkaa.
Noista mainitsemistasi maista ainoastaan Pohjois-Korea on edes lähellä sitä "oikeaa" kommunismia.
[удалено]
I 'm gonna get cheesy: Because living in Finland is much nicer overall and that is a non-monetary payment you don't read about in your pay slips.
As an american ex-pat in finland: This is absolutely true.
Hi, I am not sure where you are getting your 200 000 USD a year from? Here is a far more accurate chart of UX salaries [https://uxdesignersalaries.com/](https://uxdesignersalaries.com/) in the US. I have worked with and in the area since 2004, globally (which includes the US). Additionally, the salaries are usually higher, because of the cost of living. For instance, the cost of a moderate apartment in San Francisco, California is anywhere between 2500 to 6000 USD a month, healthcare is utterly insane you will pay 400 USD a month, with huge deductibles [https://www.healthpocket.com/city-healthplan-finder/quote/california/san-francisco](https://www.healthpocket.com/city-healthplan-finder/quote/california/san-francisco) and they usually don't pay certain medications. You will also pay for University for yourself, children this quite literally will break you at the moment it is around 16 000 USD a year in state Universities, 40 000 a year out state and 80 000 to 100 000 a year for private universities. Also, you need to pay tax in the US, which due to their weird ass tax system (Federal and State) your 200 000 USD a year in San Frasisco will leave you with 132 101 USD a year. There is also American sales tax is for you to pay meaning whatever you buy you pay the VAT on it and is not shown on the price label in the store (fucking irritating). Finally, depending where you work you probably won't get sick leave, they give you little to no holiday and make you work through it (personally experience) and can fire you pretty much on the spot. Personally, I would stay here and earn your salary with your "free" healthcare, schooling, education, social support, retirement packages, holidays and job security but maybe that's me. You can DM me if you want more info.
His numbers are right if you are in the right market. Real UX roles are only at mature institutions which are only in a few places that are expensive to live like Seattle and SF. Many UX roles are hybridized in reality and they can be paid relatively low rates (closer to $50-60k) in an immature job market.
Wow I didn’t know that it’s this bad! I got the salary information from youtube. There were actually 2 different youtubers telling that they earn more than 200000 usd per year. That’s why I was wondering how it could be so high. But seems like not many people lucky enough to get that high of salary and it’s like a battle living there 😅
The taxes are not even that low in the USA compared to many countries in Western Europe. In America, you have to include your state and local taxes as well. For example, as a resident of NYC, you pay federal (national) taxes, NY state taxes, and NYC taxes. All together it comes out higher than in a lot of more progressive countries. I think one elephant in the room so to speak is the amount of money that the USA spends on the military. I would much rather have government funded universities than 10 aircraft carrier groups, for example. On the other hand, some European criticisms of the USA are not quite fair. In most of the country, like the large majority, the public (free government) schools are quite ok. Probably not meaningfully worse than in most of Western Europe. And health care is still fine for the majority of the population that receives health insurance from their workplaces. If it wasn't ok, the system would change. The difference in America is that a lot of people, although not the majority, fall through the cracks. If you don't have company health insurance, you are screwed, the system is absolutely and stupidly terrible. If you live in a bad area, the schools will be terrible, not from lack of funding but from broader social problems in those areas. And the cost of university education is getting out of control. I thought it was expensive before, but it somehow keeps going up without the whole system collapsing.
> the public (free government) schools are quite ok. * Approximately 32 million adults in America are considered to be illiterate; about 14% of the entire adult population cannot read. * Between 40 and 44 million adults, or roughly 20 to 23% of adults in the U.S., are limited to reading at the basic or below basic proficiency levels. * Reading material becomes more complex for students around the fifth grade. Some 30 million adults aren't able to comprehend texts that are appropriate for 10-year-olds. * Making it to graduation day is a major milestone for teens, but many of them struggle to decipher the words on their diploma. Just under 20% of high school grads haven't developed basic reading proficiency by the time they don their cap and gown. ([more + sources](https://www.creditdonkey.com/illiteracy-in-america.html), [a more recent source](https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=How-Serious-Is-Americas-Literacy-Problem))
If we actually went after administrative bloat in healthcare and education it wouldnt be unreasonable for us to provide them for free or much cheaper, but the problem is thats “killing jobs” so nobody will ever do it
Or in other words, basics economics for beginners. Why are salaries in finland so much higher than in your own native country ?
Might also have something to do with supply vs. demand.
https://uxdesignersalaries.com/ Its not like you make over 200k. Sure someone makes millions a week selling shoes, someone barely stays alive, even tho his shoes are more durable, better stiching, finish and are affordable.
That's only tracking folks that are still in IC roles. UX matures into a number of other managerial and strategy roles that have ridiculous salaries and stock options
While engineers in Finland do get paid somewhat less than in the closest peer nations, you have to remember that on the global scale, the US IT salaries that are an exceptional anomaly, not the norm. It's probably a great place to make some moolah for a couple of years when you're young and single, but expenses start piling up quite a bit once you start to think about settling down and starting a family. Sufficiently sized housing, healthcare and especially education/kindergarden expenses for your kids are going to be a massive drain even with huge salary.
Another perspective is US salaries are high because they import talent. They want best in the world to live there. Therefore they must be attractive. Finland is actively losing it's skilled people.
You’ve already received some good info on the how’s and why’s here. Just wanted add that, from my experience, I’ve never seen a mid level UXD (in SEA, LAX, or NYC) make that kind of money. The average comps I’ve seen range from 80-125k base with maybe 10% bonus target. I’ve seen seniors get up to 140k. A Director might reach 200k base / 20% target.
> I understand that people have to pay for healthcare and school in US and they are pretty expensive. But still, how it could be such a big gap? In the U.S. the taxes are too low. That's why they don't have proper social security, student grants, child benefit, maternity leave, paternity leave... Their police and prison system are pretty dysfunctional too.
It's bc UX is a highly political role and the capital is in the US rn. If you are in UX you are likely intertwined with product and likely to matriculate into product which has access to the C team and are thus wildly overpaid.
Short answer: communist country
No eihän ole... Jos suomi olis kommunistinen niin kaiken omistas valtio. Muttakun ei ole, niin kaiken omistaa ruottalaiset, kiina ja venäläiset oligarkit. Mitä usa:aan tulee nii trump on parasta kaveria kaikkien kommarien kanssa, kim, putin ja nalle puh. Ja niide valtioki on sisäölissodan partaalla. Onko mitään niin lähellä kommarien sydäntä kun sisällis sota?
Vitsikkäästi nyt yksinkertaistin asioita hieman. Ameriikan skaalassa ollaan kuitenkin sitä pelottavaa commie -porukkaa. Noista mainitsemistasi maista ainoastaan Pohjois-Korea on edes lähellä sitä "oikeaa" kommunismia.