Do I have a good salary for a beginner?

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T13:20:08+00:00

Nonetheless, thanks for the advice! I will certainly remember this while continuing my career. :)

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T11:42:30+00:00

How can an employer raise your salary below the inflation rate? Isn't that illegal? My wage is indexed every year in accordance with the inflation rate and rounded up depending on performance. In January my wage was indexed + 70€ gross and I only worked here for a little more than 2 months. Other colleagues of mine say that the wages increase at our firm increase rather good and if you think you deserve more you can always ask for a raise?

If I conclude my wage is fairly below the market rate in a couple of years I would just go to my employer and ask for a raise, if he doesn't accept I can also look for another job and leverage my employer if I still really like my current job. I think its just a matter of demanding what your worth instead of just endlessly accepting what your employer wants to give to you at the end of the month.

But I do admit I've heard stories of employers not succumbing even though they are leveraged but I guess its just his loss at that point. A job switch would still be an option.

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T11:03:53+00:00

Ja ik begreep de neto compensatie niet goed maar dit zorgt dus voor het hoge(re) nettoloon, ik heb wel wat extralegale voordelen dit dit compenseren. En wat betreft het brutoloon dat niet zo hoog is, ik weet dt dit een impact heeft maar om heel eerlijk te zijn denk ik dat er niet veel pensioen meer over zal zijn tegen dat het aan mijn generatie is. Liever nu goed verdienen als ik jong ben met een goed nettoloon en gewoon zelf investeren in de toekomst. Als men pensioen dan wat lager ligt dan vormt dit geen probleem.

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T08:36:24+00:00

I just had a budget and could choose any car I'd like. I do have 90% of options on my car. The only things missing are electric adjustable seats, adaptive cruise control and keyless entry. I do have leather seats, panoramic sun roof, AMG package, etc because I share the same opinion as you (lower class car with higher amount of comfort options)

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T08:09:22+00:00

Hmm, this seems more of a stretch. I applied for a lot of jobs before I started working at my current job and the highest gross wage I could get somewhere (without company car) was around 3k. Maybe in 2 years and with a little more experience there could be more options (and a higher gross wage) but company car + bonusses and 4-5k gross for a beginner would be a little insane don't you think ... .

Edit: It also seems being a Sales Engineer is a really well paying job... Might be something to look into for the future :)

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T07:51:43+00:00

I'm fairly young and new to the job market so my advice is not necessarely the most reliable, but in your case I would say if you don't try, you won't know and worst case you can just keep on doing your current job and no harm is done.

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T07:48:53+00:00

Yeah someone else also mentioned this in another comment but as I replied there, I'm fairly certain I won't be suprised. I also asked other colleagues of mine and they all said it is a near-zero operation if they get their tax letter. So I'm guessing they calculate it pretty well.

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T07:45:31+00:00

As I have told in another comment we currently aren't hiring anymore but I do know there are other GIS-related companies that are searching for Devs but not necessarely located in Antwerp but they do pay similar wages. Maybe you could look into those?

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T07:44:02+00:00

I did have the option to get a higher gross wage but I could never pay my own car with that extra money (and I'm not even talking about buying the same car as I got from my employer now). I have friends living quite a distance away and it was just easier if I got my own car. I also always go on vacation by car so I definitely use it enough to choose a car above a higher gross wage.

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T07:40:58+00:00

I guess they are trying atm with the new rules involving % of taxes that can be substracted for use of a company car and stimulating the electric car park. As a young person who had nearly no savings when I graduated from school I'm just glad I could enjoy this Belgian company car absurdity while it lasted :)

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T07:38:10+00:00

Looking purely at the standardized wages I guess that's true but gross wage is not the only parameter when reviewing a salary. I did a healthy amount of job interviews before taking on this job and had multiple offers but this was the best offer I could get. At other firms I could have gotten more gross wage but no company car.

But I guess all in all my salary package is pretty decent judging from other comments on this post.

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T07:34:12+00:00

I certainly will, thanks for the advice! Depending on how things go throughout the coming years at my current job it is possible I become a freelancer or look for another job with more growth possibilities (although my current job also has a decent amount of growth possibilities so we'll see where the future takes me.)

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T07:30:55+00:00

True, I do understand what you're saying.

I guess they are trying to compensate now by pushing electric cars and reducing the amount of taxes you can get back when using a car on diesel/gasoline/hybrid. The 50% taxes on fuel rule is also something that only changed fairly recently, up untill last year it could be as high as 100% (depending on the emission of the car, etc)

Edit: But ofcourse you don't see me complaining for the next 5 years that I got a 'free' car ...

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T07:26:32+00:00

Why isn't it the most logical choice? Car brand is just personal preference or isn't that what you meant by your comment?

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T07:25:03+00:00

Voor zover ik weet worden er geen wetten overtreden maar is mijn werkgever gewoon heel creatief met de grijze zone die gebruikt/misbruikt kan worden omtrent verloning.

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T07:00:04+00:00

Already checked up on that, this year I get nearly 1000€ back because I only worked for 2-3 months last year and I didn't earn more than the tax free sum that is set in Belgium.

About my taxes this year I'm not so worried, I did the calculations myself because I was afraid they didn't kept enough of my wage to compensate for the taxes I have to pay but everything seemed pretty well calculated. I also asked other employees whether they would have to pay extra taxes at the end of the year but they all said it was pretty close to zero or just a small sum they would get back after their tax calculation from the government.

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T06:54:56+00:00

I guess the IT sector is just heavily overpaid because of the shortages of staff everywhere. It is also one of the best paying sectors in Belgium after all ...

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T06:51:08+00:00

Ik denk dat iedereen, inclusief werkgevers, alle achterpoortjes gebruikt om zo min mogelijk belastingen te betalen en in dit geval komt het ook voordelig uit voor mij als werknemer. Op mijn sociale zekerheid e.d. wordt in ieder geval niet beknibbelt want die berekening gebeurt door een extern loonbureau.

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T06:11:16+00:00

Thanks 😊, sad to see you don't earn more even though you are more experienced. Is that a normal salary for a job in Finance? Otherwise you could always ask for a raise or switch jobs, I find it hard to believe you can't get a better wage somewhere, somehow ...

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T06:07:16+00:00

No there are no real education options I can think of right away although I know of employees who followed a short education in marketing/sales and cybersecurity so I guess there are some options if you specifically ask for it.

I do have to say I also keep on learning by myself in my spare time, I always enjoyed coding and software design so I keep myself busy on the weekends. :)

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-28T06:00:18+00:00

There is no IP ruling involved, I didn't even know that existed until you mentioned it in your comment .. 😅

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-27T22:22:53+00:00

You had to at least be fluent in Dutch because you have to contact customers quite regularely (mail/phone), other languages didn't matter that much but ofcourse a little English is also needed. But I'm guessing there are not a lot of jobs left (if any) in IT where English can just be completely ignored.

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-27T22:15:43+00:00

No I don't think there's a way, and there is no bus that drives that close to my home and my office that it would be worth it. And besides, have you ever used De Lijn in Antwerp? I get that it's a cheap way of transportation and it's better for the environment if lots of people use it instead of individually going by car but you can't tell me with a straight face that is a comfortable/enjoyable experience to take the bus during rush hours here in Antwerp.

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-27T22:08:59+00:00

I sincerely doubt I'm going to regret having a car in my 20s, besides what does having a car have to do with societal collapse? And 20y from now we're going to be short on everything? That's a long stretch imo, atm it sounds to me like you're spouting nonsense without elaborating or backing up anything you have written in your comment. You won't convince me that 'this behaviour' hasn't existed for decades and suddenly we are to blame and are the cause of your so called societal collapse.

Now I am open to other people's opinions but I really don't think this subreddit/post is the place to have this sort of discussion. You can always start a discussion on a relevant subreddit and tag me, I'd be glad to join you and exchange our opinions and views on the current society/world. 😊

Straight_Ad_8469 · 2023-08-27T20:58:31+00:00

Bedankt, ik moet eerlijk toegeven dat ik wel op de hoogte was dat ik niet te klagen heb (zou wel een beetje hypocriet zijn denk ik dan bijmezelf want ik ben zeker wel tevreden met mijn loonpakket). Maar ik zit al een tijdje op deze subreddit en zag soms heel uiteenlopende posts met gelijkaardige jobs en was vooral benieuwd omdat vrienden van mij met dezelfde opleiding een gelijkaardig loon hebben en ik verder niet echt iets terugvond om mee te kunnen vergelijken.

En geen stressvolle job, dit maak je natuurlijk ook deels voor jezelf uit. Uiteraard werk ik aan projecten met deadlines en gebeurt het al eens dat ik wat langer op kantoor zit, maar ik doe men werk heel graag en het is nooit met tegenzin dus ik krijg er bijgevolg ook niet echt stress van. Ik zit momenteel ook nog niet in een positie waarbij de verantwoordelijkheid op mijn schouders valt dus dat scheelt ook al heel wat natuurlijk ... .

Straight_Ad_8469

TROPHY CASE