Are you getting a transfer?
Before discussing any possible financial advantage, it's important to distinguish whether you're moving abroad under a contract with your current employer or you've landed a new job. In the case of a transfer, the size of the business, the position you are going to occupy and your missions, the type and length of the contract, your destination country, etc., will be crucial factors. But these are just some of the things that you need to consider.
There are three main types of contracts: the seconded employee contract, the expat contract and the local contract.
The seconded employee is transferred overseas by his current company for a short assignment and remains under the authority of the company. So the contract with the company remains unchanged, and so are social security matters. Any benefits (salary bonus, company car, accommodation abroad, etc.) are the company's responsibility. The expat employee works abroad for at least three months.
In the case of an intracompany transfer, the employee can sign an expatriation clause guaranteeing that they can get back to their previous position upon their return. Other clauses, such as a risk premium, financial benefits and material benefits, etc., may be provided. However, foreign workers have to abide by the law of their host country, and they benefit from the social security system.
If the employee is hired by a local company but to work abroad, the initial contract is suspended. The employee will then depend on the foreign company by signing a “local contract”. Local contracts may provide benefits for the expatriate employee, depending on the foreign employer. Expat employees benefit from the social security system of the host country and have to abide by local laws.
The fourth type of contract is seen mainly in international companies -- “international transfer”. Large groups with subsidiaries abroad can send an employee on a more or less long assignment with the status of seconded or expat employee. The employee stays bound by the contract signed with the initial company or not and may be entitled to a lot of benefits depending on their situation. However, the employee is repatriated upon completion of the assignment.
While moving abroad under a work contract is very often associated with benefits, having the support of a company is a plus. For expats who are directly employed by a foreign company, they are entitled to a local job contract with a range of benefits and the guarantee of having a job. However, having no job guarantees means that they will have to start anew. There is no guarantee of having a better lifestyle abroad unless they manage to find a job in their host country, especially if that job is in one of the most promising fields in 2021.
Promising sectors and wage differentials
The pandemic that has raged since 2020 has had a significant impact on the global labour market. While many sectors have been weakened by the crisis, others are booming. In many countries, healthcare systems have been shaken up. New technologies, especially biomedicine, robotics and IT, are currently booming. On the creative side, video games and animation have not suffered from the crisis. Many companies are hiring, with sometimes significant wage differences, depending on the country.
IT engineers and web developers are in great demand as they are considered an asset in the modern world. The United States (average of $ 110,638 annually), Switzerland (average of $ 95,394), Israel ($ 76,791), Norway ($ 64,202) and Denmark ($ 72,151), are the countries offering the highest wages in these fields, according to the latest Daxx figures. Considering high wages as the main criterion for relocating overseas, the United States offers developers and IT engineers a wide range of opportunities (Silicon Valley, large companies, massive government investments in R&D, social progress, etc.).
Biomedicine is another promising sector. The United States remains the top payer with an average annual salary of $ 99,407 for biomedical engineers. Switzerland is close behind, with an average salary of $ 93,575, followed by Japan with $ 92,956. Australia and Germany offer $ 87,650 and $ 78,085 annually, respectively, according to Intersting Engineering figures. Choosing the country that's offering the highest wages with all the career opportunities one can hope for can actually be more profitable. Some people optimise their choices by establishing a real evolutionary strategy. So their relocation abroad depends on the financial benefits they can get from a particular country. Companies in these innovative sectors are, in fact, ready to multiply the bonuses to hire the best profiles.
Healthcare is perhaps one of the most affected sectors by the pandemic. Already strained before the crisis, the health sector remains particularly exposed. Until now, it is difficult to compare wages between countries, as there are specialities, flexible hours, overtime not taken into account, etc. The Medic Footprints, however, is an organisation that attempted to list the countries offering the highest wages for doctors (general practitioners and specialists), by combining data from the OECD, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and the Doximity report on remuneration. Luxembourg comes in first with an annual average wage of $ 278,900 for general practitioners and $ 352,300 for specialists. The United States are next with an average annual wage of $ 242,400 for generalists and $ 350,300 for specialists, followed by Belgium with $ 138,700 for generalists and $ 331,200 for specialists. Germany comes in fourth with an average of $ 214,700 to general practitioners and $ 222,700 to specialists. Canada, meanwhile, offers an annual average of $ 158,200 for generalists and $ 249,000 for specialists.
Video games and animation are other booming sectors. They have emerged as the winners from the crisis and are constantly innovating as new major players emerge. For example, following its massive success in animation, Netflix announced last July that it would indulge in video games. In September 2020, Amazon Prime launched Luna, a video game streaming platform. Illustrators, character designers, 3D animators, concept artists, and other developers are in high demand, and their salaries vary widely from country to country.
Australia offers high wages to illustrators as well (an average of $ 79,699 in 2021). Luxembourg ranks second ($ 74,023), followed by Switzerland ($ 73,283), Canada ($ 68,885) and Denmark ($ 67,236). These countries are direct competitors regarding the remuneration of character designers and 3D animators, following the same trend, according to figures from Salary Expert.
What about finance? Shaken by the COVID-19 crisis, the finance industry quickly recovered and is even making record profits. Financial analysts and chief financial officers are some of the jobs with the highest wages. The positions of traffic manager, data analyst or community manager are also particularly popular. E-commerce has also emerged as a winner from the health crisis and is rethinking the world without borders. Out of constraint, remote working has become a norm, if not an asset. Talent is sought after all over the world, with, again, significant wage differences.
Australia stands out once again, with an average salary of $ 125,821 for financial analysts. Luxembourg offers $ 116,949, Switzerland $ 115,764, New Zealand $ 115,279 and Canada $ 108,749 on average. CFOs earn a better living with an average of $ 187,546 in Switzerland, $ 162,358 in Australia, $ 151,070 in Canada, $ 136,826 in New Zealand, and $ 127,562 in Denmark. There is a similar trend in e-commerce: traffic managers, network architects, data analysts, web developers, community managers and other SEO managers can expect high wages depending on the country where they have chosen to relocate. These digital professions having the advantage of being nomadic, so expats can consider 100% remote working in the country of their choice.
Earning more v/s quality of life
Considering the above-mentioned figures, determining your expat country by comparing salaries does make sense. These wages, however high, do not reflect other factors that are equally essential. Working hours, the business culture, management, the importance of taking initiatives and consultation, career and evolution prospects, overtime hours - if any - are other aspects that need to be addressed? Besides, does the company help expat workers get settled? Does it provide corporate culture training? Does it promote team spirit? Is it sensitive to reducing pay gaps and inequality, gender parity, respect for the environment? Does it address the risk of burnout? Does it offer bonuses or rewards for hard work?
All these questions often go unnoticed as wages take over the list of priorities. But moving abroad for work also means that you have to change your country and your surroundings. While fulfilling a dream, you might find things getting harder over time. So you should be able to get the most of your new living environment without sticking to your professional circle only. This will be an even more crucial issue if you are moving with your partner or family. Your spouse and/or children are not directly affected by your expat plan, yet they are deeply involved in it. Very often, trailing spouses have
to give up their job without the guarantee of finding one in the host country. The children say goodbye to their friends and classmates to join a new school. The whole family life gets affected by the project of a single person. The benefits he may receive from his work seem to be far more compensatory than actually beneficial. It is mainly a question of making up for the loss of the spouse's salary, finding functional accommodation in an appropriate neighbourhood, ideally close to a school, to get the expat life going. In fact, the dream of most expats is to earn high wages in a country with a low cost of living if the financial condition is the only guarantee for a good living environment.
Still, wages alone - even if they provide a solid financial guarantee - are not enough to ensure a good living environment. Other factors, such as the climate of the host country, its culture, environmental issues, personal and/or family projects (realising of a dream, children's future, etc.), passion for one's profession, values, are other key factors to consider. Some will appreciate the safety and security in Japan and South Korea, for example. These are countries where great importance is given to public respect and the notion of service from an early age. Others will prefer the charm of countries and islands like Malta, Mauritius, or Indonesia. Yet, for others, experience and reputation matter. Although offering lower wages compared to Australia or Luxembourg, Japan is known worldwide as the birthplace of video games and animation. For many creative artists, working in these industries in Japan is a dream come true, and the satisfaction of having their work appreciated by their peers.
The environmental issue is also important. Is air travel okay or should you prefer greener means of transport? Should you give up the idea of owning a car? Would you rather relocate to a country that puts ecology at the heart of its concerns? The Nordic countries are often cited as an example. The Green Future Index ranks Iceland, Denmark and Norway as the world's three greenest countries in the world. With these analyses, there's room for reflection around the definition of "earning more". Just as you could find your way in another country, you could also improve your living environment, not necessarily on the other side of the world, but perhaps very close to home.
