My main client has its main office in Belgium and I'm charging roughly 200k/y (while living in a cheaper European country).
I used to think I was pushing the limit when I was working in the UK as an individual contributor and started working with US companies (which I don't recommend, terrible SJW culture and insane workload).
Eventually I found European companies are happy to pay as well, you just need to find the right circle and sell your skills well.
I agree it's not as easy as the states and there are a bunch of "bean-counting" roles in Europe. At the same time, you're not living in the states which is a big pro, if you ask me.
If you're looking for something better with a similar climate, quality of life but way more money maybe you should try the north side of Switzerland.
Also, you could have probably done better with job hopping every 2 years, that seems to be the norm to maximise salary raises. When you job hob you try to aim for a 20% raise which probably beats getting 5k every year at your current job.
I used to think I was pushing the limit when I was working in the UK as an individual contributor and started working with US companies (which I don't recommend, terrible SJW culture and insane workload). Eventually I found European companies are happy to pay as well, you just need to find the right circle and sell your skills well.
I agree it's not as easy as the states and there are a bunch of "bean-counting" roles in Europe. At the same time, you're not living in the states which is a big pro, if you ask me.
If you're looking for something better with a similar climate, quality of life but way more money maybe you should try the north side of Switzerland.
Also, you could have probably done better with job hopping every 2 years, that seems to be the norm to maximise salary raises. When you job hob you try to aim for a 20% raise which probably beats getting 5k every year at your current job.