What sort of salary can a qualified accountant with 4 years of experience in the UK expect in Zurich?
I have looked online but I am not sure how close to reality those average are.
Would 130,000 swiss francs be something I could reasonably expect?
This would be double of what I get in Edinburgh and I feel like with any less I may not be able to maintain the same lifestyle, any advice would be very appreciated.
Any company I worked for did not pay 130k for a Buchhalter with 4 years experience.
Do you have niche/specialist skills that would make you more likely to be hired over a Swiss/EU national? Since the UK is now non-EU any employer would have to go through the non-EU hiring criteria to be able to hire you.
https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home…zulassung.html
Do you speak a Swiss language? Qualifications? Depending on what work you’re looking for you may need to have your qualifications recognised by this organisation.
" Would you like to work in Switzerland as an accountant or an auditor?
An application for authorisation must be submitted to:
Federal Audit Oversight Authority (FAOA)
3001 Bern
T +41 31 560 22 22
www.rab-asr.ch"
It also depends what you count as maintaining a lifestyle. If you want all the plusses of living in Scotland with all the plusses of living in Switzerland, this may be unrealistic. I traded from a 5-bed house in London to a 2-bed flat here, but I have a view of a castle from my window and am 2 minutes walk from a beautiful lake.
Personally if it were me I’d also pay a premium to live somewhere where Nicola Sturgeon wasn’t.
When I see the prices in Switzerland I think for any less it would be difficult to have the same comfortable lifestyle as I do now, being able to travel and save etc.
Is it difficult to get a mortgage in Switzerland for an exact?
No, but you’d need to put down at least 20% yourself, either in cash or pension contributions.
It also depends on where you want to live/work. Big cities like Zurich and Geneva are going to be a lot more expensive than places like Fribourg or Neuchatel for example. Of course it depends on where you can find a job, but something to consider if you want your salary to go further.
As Xenophanes said, it depends on your lifestyle. If you want big city life then you’re probably going to have to pay big city bucks. If you’re prepared to live more quietly/commute then you can find cheaper places to rent/buy.
Is it difficult to find apartment to rent when you first come to Zurich and how much would a 2 bedroom apartment cost to rent?
Many thanks for all your replies!
As Medea said, what do you have that makes an employer want to go through the hurdles of hiring a non-EU person?
www.homegate.ch is the equivalent of Rightmove and is available in English.
When I moved here 12 years ago as an ACMA with 5 years of experience I got 110k and 15% bonus. In London I was earning similar to what you earn now if I understood your post correctly. I moved internally with a bank (so a generally well paying industry and I was a known quantity). From discussions I’ve had over the years with colleagues, it’s fair to say that I was pushing the upper limits and if anything salaries have decreased in the meantime. Swiss businesses also know that the currency is strong and their offers look enticing to foreigners. Imagine what those numbers look like to someone from Eastern Europe, who have the benefit of an EU passports. On that basis I think you would be incredibly fortunate to get what you are looking for.
Also worth noting the tax rates (on the German side of the country at least) are far lower than the U.K. On that kind of salary and living where I live you’d have a tax liability in single digit %s. Even living in Zurich on that salary and paying nearly CHF 3k a month in rent I had far more spare cash than living in London.
The salary averages online differ a lot for example according to salaryexplorer average salary for someone working in accounting and finance is 140,000 Swiss Francs which made me think 130,000 was achievable. I am just trying to gather a bit of information so I can make a good decision and I don't mean to offend anyone with my questions.
I am fortunate enough to have EU nationality so visa won't be a problem.
Can you speak German
Are you eligible for a permit or does the employer need to jump through hoops ?
What specialty can you offer
Do you understand Swiss accounting procedures
Do you understand Swiss tax codes (there are 26 individual codes, one for each canton)
etc etc
Maybe then you can find out what you are worth, which incidentally is what somebody is willing to pay you !
Easiest chance is if the company has a branch here and can transfer you.
And do not focus so much on 130-140k. I doubt that is the average amount paid when you have only 4 years experience.
I am also multilingual I speak 3 languages fluenly, I speak French at lower intermediate level but my German and is just at the elementary level at the moment. I know IFRS standards very well and UK GAAP, but I am not familiar with Swiss GAAP or any other Swiss standards. I am currently working for an international bank and I would be aiming for an English speaking job in the same industry.
Lower end salaries for this job title are around 85K CHF gross.
Based on my personal experience, the numbers reported by Glassdoor tend to be very accurate in Switzerland.
So it depends on the company. Here are couple of examples:
UBS accountants: 91K - 106K
Credit Suisse: 69K - 74K
KPMG: 91K - 99K
Accenture: 96 - 103K
SBB: 98K - 105K
Equatex: 108K - 117K
Keep in mind, these are real salaries people have reported to Glassdoor, out of which there is the average range calculated from.
Link with more details.
Now when we step forward and seek for Senior Accountant salaries and roles, the average is 121K in Zurich.
Though these roles are not as widely available and generally are probably achieved by working as a regular Accountant for a year or two before moving up.
Thank you, that's very helpful!
Federal Statistical Office (BFS)
https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home.../salarium.html
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO):