Is 93k ok for an engineer?

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1
Hi, can anyone tell me if 93000CHF per year is a fair salary for a design engineer with no management responsibility and with 6 years of experience in Zurich?

2
I don't know about "design", but 93k is IMHO in the expected range for a generic "engineer" with a few years of experience and no management responsibilities. Probably in the lower half of the range, but not crazy low.

It could easily be +- 5k or even more depending on the type of company.

Would 93k meet your living expectations? How do you judge the company, a startup trying to squeeze employees for a couple of years or a bigger company with non-monetary benefits (canteen, flexible hours, career path...)?

With 93k in Zurich you could be tight or make decent savings, depending on your lifestyle.

3
First, are you talking about a 100% job or 42.5 hours a week job contract? If so, around 90-100K a year for "engineer" with less than 10 years XP is fine or more than fine.

However, there are other differences which may be more important than then 10K difference between min and max. In these post-Covid times, it's cheaper to work from home. Not having to go to the office pays. If you're brave(*) enough and work is flexible, you may even live in a boring commuter town where rent can be 1000 francs less per month than close to the office in ZH.

I work as engineering consultant and there are sales bonuses about a month or two of salary that are very welcome. There's other stuff like food at work, REKA checks, company phone even transport subsidy (I just remembered I need to ask this money). So, what are the extra perks?

(*) brave = boredom resistant

4
I work for a consulting company and that was my initial salary 11 years ago. At the time I was with my girlfriend, wasn't married and didn't have children. I could rent a nice flat in Erlenbach on the Gold Coast, go in vacation, buy stuff... nice life. You can also save some cash actually.

If you have a family however it's a low income, especially if you're the only one working. I now earn much, much more (same company but went through promotions, salary increases etc) but with 2 kids my costs started to skyrocket. Just imagine 1 month to send them to Hort once a week but eat at school costs me about 900.- CHF. Then there's the car, insurances, 3rd pillar...

Long story short: by yourself or with your partner, it's not bad, in fact, it's good. With family, car and other fixed expenses, starts to become really low and you should consider carefully.

5
I get what you are saying but there is a difference between whether the salary is too low for that level of experience (seems like opinion is that it's ok) and whether a certain amount of money will cover your personal expenses - a company ain't going to change their offer for the latter reason.

6
And the point is? I can easily get into a lifestyle of 500K a year but what matters is what I can sell/earn. Girlfriend, wife, kids and childcare are irrelevant. What matters is what OP can offer and 93K is around the average as venetian mentioned.

7
You have a point

So all in all my suggestion is, consider what I said and what you are looking for, then take a decision...

8
Thanks for all your answers. It's a 100% in a global company, and I have some other benefits like parking and free coffee, but not very much.

9
Sounds ok, I've known engineers (Mechanical) starting on 78-100 depending on experience and role.

10
I have no idea but this is probably the best time you'll get to negotiate the salary.

Many employers are getting foreign employees 'cheap' because of the exchange rate. My partner got numerically double her euro salary which is now actually more than double in euros.

11
Way too low!

12
Where is the famous poverty comment?

93 for MSc with 5 years is ok, even though I'd expect it to be already closer to six digits. But it depends on the field. If it is some generic non-pharma related job (i.e. chemical/electrical/mechanical engineer), seems about right.