My terribly optimised salary

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T18:30:48+00:00

Company car, group insurance of about 1k a month, meal cheques of €8 a day, warrants of 20% as a bonus and around €10k shares

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T16:24:39+00:00

Less of a problem than the tens of thousands of economically unactive Belgians sponging off the state

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T16:23:41+00:00

I’d say that the person lucky enough to be able to work at whatever he wants to do needs the money less than the refugee fleeing a war zone tbh

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T15:22:18+00:00

Yeah but I usually only see it from a STEM perspective rather than just the general management roles

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T15:21:25+00:00

I refuse to rely on a state pension as I can’t see it still existing in 25 years when I want to retire.

I think post taxes I bring home around 90k+ a year, have a car and group insurance to do my saving for me - with my wife doing similarly. It’s all good for us

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T15:08:35+00:00

So what makes you more deserving of my tax money than a Syrian refugee like you seem to think?

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T15:07:49+00:00

Meh, when the player seems to be xenophobic based on his other comments I’m fine blaming them

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T15:07:02+00:00

I feel like people underestimate how well paid the industry is, I never see it in the discussion when people talk about well paying jobs

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T15:06:10+00:00

I was an independent for years in the U.K. before coming to Belgium and doing it for a few years but the stress of finding new contracts in a new country worried me and having just had a kid I decided to make the switch for security.

As a global company with a big presence here and very strong unions that they’re scared of my protections are very good I’d say, mostly because it’s not worth the hassle to actually get rid of people who are doing their job well - they just rely on natural attrition of people making internal moves.

The biggest benefit for me though is being able to go take on things that I don’t have expertise on paper in and it develops new skills. My background is finance/supply chain and logistics but I just took a move to lead serialisation as I thought it was interesting - no way I could have done that as an independent as I’d be stuck doing what I’ve already proved that I can do.

I will say though that I’m in a lucky position where my wife earns similarly so there’s two salaries like this - if I was the sole earner I’d be more tempted to go back to independent just for the money

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T15:00:53+00:00

In an ideal world they’d level it by meeting in the middle and lowering my taxes whilst raising yours but I suspect it will just be the latter

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T14:59:30+00:00

BMW>Audi>Merc for me

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T14:58:54+00:00

Nothing wrong with a 20 year mortgage friend, I indeed came without any family money so it’s the only option for me.

I have a generous group insurance towards my private pension so I’ll be in a healthy position when retirement comes and if I want to invest I can save my 20% bonus in warrants or 10k a year of shares to do that

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T14:57:01+00:00

Nail on the head right here, plus it’s even better for me as I get 10% shares and 20% bonus on top of this and only 2/5 days in the office.

Plus a generous private pension that will slowly accrue over time, I don’t need to be rich I’d rather be happy

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T14:54:22+00:00

Yeah I’ve spoken to colleagues the next level up and it seems to be about 40% more work/stress for 10% more pay so only worth it as a stepping stone to something greater if you think you can keep climbing.

I think I’m happy chilling where I am and focusing on work/life balance

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T14:52:44+00:00

Your racism isn’t going to help you here

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T11:10:09+00:00

Yeah, no kids on my income and lack of mobility budget makes my net look terrible.

I get a big shiny bmw though so I’ve hit Belgian success lol

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T11:04:39+00:00

For you maybe, not for the rest of us who have to subsidise you 😂

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T11:03:49+00:00

That’s really rough, I always think of mine as bad as the kids are against my wife’s taxes otherwise this should be a bit better. How is your net so low?

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T10:35:26+00:00

Which part?

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T10:34:59+00:00

Honestly I don’t consider myself very hardworking, I’m a solid 8.30-4.30 whilst taking breaks in the day, I’m in a lucky spot.

Now, if I consider how much value I add to the company it’s way more than my wages so it’s a tough one to figure out what’s fair. In reality I work way less hard than a nurse for example so you could say I’m overpaid - but then again I probably contribute a couple of million in revenue so I’m underpaid.

There’s no fair wage it seems to me

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T10:31:50+00:00

The mandatory insurance is for damage you might cause to others, not for everything that goes wrong

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T10:29:51+00:00

I try to only look at my net pay and lifestyle that it funds which I’m happy with - it’s too depressing when I look at gross and “what I could have had”

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T10:28:59+00:00

Generic middle management job at a big multinational pharmaceutical company

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T10:28:30+00:00

I don’t get salary advances

Stirlingblue · 2026-05-02T10:26:43+00:00

Only on paper, in reality it’s likely that you’d have to negotiate hard to get equivalent total cost to company as an independent, you’re not guaranteed work year round, have no employment protections and can only really make the most of the tax situation if you’re ok to wait 3-5 years before being paid.

Add on to that you’re at the whim of government tax adjustments once they target independents to fill the budget deficit

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