K#6. Come work in Europe! You won't regret it
Why I LOVE working in Europe and don't regret leaving the US.
Welcome back to K’s DataLadder ✨! Each week I share a story from my life as a Tech Data Scientist to help you level up your career.
We’ve grown to an amazing 864-strong community of curious and driven data lovers. Thank you for being part of this journey ❤️
This week’s edition is pretty special. The big majority of you guys are based outside of Europe, so I thought it would be cool to share one of the biggest perks of being a data scientist in Europe. I’ll also give you an update of what I’ve been up to!
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Agenda
This week’s story
3 reasons why you should care
But first, if you haven’t done that already, you can:
Subscribe to my YouTube channel. New video coming up very soon!
This Week’s Story
Living and working in Europe comes with SO many advantages, and one of the most incredible is the generous holiday time.
I just spent a week road-tripping through medieval Tuscan villages in Italy, which felt more like three weeks time-traveling to the past. The power of disconnection is truly incredible and people often underestimate it!
The best part? I still have so many more weeks left!
They give you days off like croissants here 🥐
In France, we get ~35 days off annually, plus Spotify allows us to use national holidays flexibly, which increases our time off even more. This is huge! Especially compared to America where so many companies only give 2/3 weeks a year. Pretty sad.
Most of Europe has a mandatory holiday system that grants you a minimum amount of paid vacation time.
This holiday leave allows you to truly disconnect and recharge, which is essential for maintaining productivity and creativity in the long run, and avoiding burnout.
And the ability to disconnect and recharge multiple times a year is life-changing.
This perk:
Boosts your professional growth
Improves your personal life
Keeps you motivated
Why You Should Care
If you’re considering moving to Europe for a data science job, let me tell you why it’s an excellent decision. I’m currently preparing a whole video where I explain those perks to you (coming out very soon on my YouTube channel), but here’s a preview!
#1. Higher demand for data jobs than the US
The tech industry in Europe is BOOMING, with a high demand for skilled data scientists, even higher than in the US!
So many tech companies are doing fascinating tech/AI work here; HuggingFace, Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, AWS, Palantir, Mistral, Dataiku, Owkin, Klarna, ContentSquare, DeepL, just to name a few.
Having the opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects in a supportive and balanced environment makes Europe an amazing destination for tech professionals.
#2. You get to be in the center of the world
Living in Europe means you're at the center of the world. You’re between America and Asia, and on top of Africa, which makes travel incredibly convenient.
Plus, being a European resident (I’m a resident not a citizen, I’m from Morocco) means you can freely travel to any EU country visa-free!! You can hop on a train and, in an hour, be in a completely different country with its own unique cultures and languages.
My flight to Florence took only 1 hour and 20 minutes, shorter than the time it took me to get from Paris Airport to my apartment lol!
This proximity can improve your personal experiences and broaden your cultural perspectives like nothing else! I can’t emphasise enough the mental boost it gives.
#3. Unparalleled quality of life
Yes the salary bands might be lower in Europe, but the overall quality of life is much better with benefits like free healthcare, education, and social services.
If you work in tech, life here is pretty great because you get good salaries that might give you even higher purchasing power than cities like NYC.
Take this for example: all the Spotify data scientists I know in NYC make more than twice what they would in France. But despite those high salaries, they can barely save up enough to buy a place, because of the extremely high living costs of New York.
Meanwhile, every data scientist I know in France has already managed to save enough to purchase a flat in Paris, me included!
Not to forget the richness of the culture & history
I hope this helps you understand why working in Europe can be such a rewarding experience. If you’re considering a move, I highly encourage you to take the leap.
The professional and personal benefits are incredible.
Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions on the topic!
See you next week for more data stories 🫶
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Great Blog, Loved it...specially the way you Presented the things!!
Holy shit I got Assassin's Creed vibes all the way. Keep the good stuff coming Lil K 🔥