HACKER Q&A
📣 amrrs

How do you make $100K+/year outside of the US?


Most US companies when they go to developing nations aren't ready to pay a decent amount. Are you someone who makes more than $100K per year, Please share your strategy. Would be very helpful!


  👤 muffa Accepted Answer ✓
In Sweden it's pretty easy as an developer:

1. Start a business

2. Start contracting anything north of 80$ will give you a really solid income

3. Through your business give yourself a ~45k SEK a month salary

4. Pay yourself dividends from the business profit. You pay very low taxes on dividends

This is a model many many SW engineers in Sweden follow, also running your own business it super simple and for finding clients you can use bigger contracting firms(AFRY) which will take a % of your hourly salary.


👤 rozenmd
So that's 8333/mo.

If you can convince around 170 businesses, or business-minded folks to pay $49 each month for a service you provide, or info-product (but then you need to keep finding new customers), you're there.

Easier said than done, and requires building a reputation and all that, but that's what I'm working on, anyway.


👤 m348e912
One way: Land a 100k remote job while living the US. Then convince them to allow you to move overseas while keeping your salary and dealing with the tax and legal hassles of employing a foreign worker.

Another way: Work in a country that routinely pays over 100k. Switzerland, Dubai, Hong Kong, Australia etc.

I suspect you live or would like to live in a country with a lower cost of living while making a higher salary. If you don't have US residency, what you're trying to do might be a challenge because you have the tremendous amount of competition of a global foreign work force.


👤 fbrncci
I'm in Asia, as a independent contractor and I work with and consult businesses in Europe. Currently that is pushing me towards €110k for the past 12 months. It's helping that I don't compete as outsourced "foreign talent", but rather am competing as a national living in a foreign country, while charging 30-50% less than other contractors & consultants back home.

👤 giantg2
I haven't even figured out how to make $100k+ in the US.

👤 simonblack
The same way you make $100K+ in the US.

The US is actually a low-wage country in comparison to several other countries. Every time I go there I see that working conditions for US wage-earners are not particularly great. It's just a matter of what's the 'norm for you/me', I guess. (Most people will get used to anything. The 'period of adjustment' is pretty constant at about 3 months.)

If you can't find a high-wage job, there is the usual range of ways. Real estate, landlording, professions. Speaking of professions, many US professional qualifications will not necessarily be recognised outside the US, just as many foreign professional qualifications are not necessarily recognised within the US.


👤 bhu1st
I am from South Asia and I am web developer. Making even $50K/year would be a dream come true.

👤 admissionsguy
Via Toptal, easily, as a full stack web developer or react native developer.

👤 quickthrower2
In Australia ... so maybe not so interesting but US$100k/year is certainly doable. But US$150k/year seems a challenge outside of CTO / VPEng / HFT{C++,Multithreading} or some contract roles.

👤 kshv_hft_abans
Working as a HFT developer making good money in Mumbai, India :)

👤 iExploder
in europe:

switzerland - 100K+ possible as full time employee, germany - possible as a contractor

if you are US citizen, whats stopping you from creating llc in the US and look for remote contracts.


👤 aprdm
In Canada is pretty easy for tech workers..

👤 ano88888
start a busisness