How to Be 'Street Smart' About Your Tech Career in Europe

Career success is a tricky topic.

If you just follow the blueprints that are given to you by the "authorities" around you—schools, employers, managers, etc—you'll definitely achieve something, but probably there are better ways.

In today's article, we'll explore a little bit what these "default blueprints" are, what can be done about it, and how to find a great balance regarding achieving something in a sustainable and smart way.

Find strategic career opportunities →

European Engineering Students Play Career in Hard Mode

European engineering students often optimize for grades instead of internships—which is like playing career in hard mode.

I'm not saying studying is stupid.

I'm just saying: Getting good grades ≠ getting relevant skills.

European universities—in some countries more than others—are inefficient, and you spend a lot of time on things of dubious relevance.

If you also aim for high grades, you'll likely end up with no time for internships.

The Better Strategy

Instead of cutting down on things that are important in life like dating, going out, exercising, etc... I recommend you cut down on grades 😅

Here's what you can do instead:

Learn the most useful and interesting parts of your degree.

Focus on what actually matters for your career—programming, system design, algorithms, modern tech stacks—not memorizing formulas you'll never use.

Ignore grades (just make sure to pass).

The difference between a 3.0 and a 3.8 GPA means almost nothing for your career in Europe. Nobody asks about grades after your first job.

Invest in life experiences.

Build social skills, explore interests, maintain your health. These compound over decades.

Do internships—they'll have a huge impact 🙏 🚀 📈

A single internship at a top tech company can jumpstart your entire career and open doors that grades never will.

The Impact Comparison

Approach	Time Investment	Career Impact	Long-term Value
High Grades Focus	60-70 hours/week studying	Low (forgotten after first job)	Minimal
Internship Focus	40 hours/week + internships	Very High (network + skills)	Compounds over career
Balanced Approach	30-35 hours studying + internships	Optimal	Best ROI

The data is clear: Students who do 2-3 internships with passing grades out-earn straight-A students with no internships by €20k-€40k in their first 5 years.

After School? Watch Out for the "Promotion Game"

Chances are, you've been "lied" to about promotions.

Many people focus on:

• Pleasing their boss
• Working hard
• Getting promoted

Others do it differently. They:

• Take ownership of their career
• Learn valuable skills
• Constantly assess opportunities in the market

Where Career Satisfaction Actually Comes From

If you think about it, career satisfaction comes from:

• Personal growth
• Impact and recognition
• Ownership and freedom

Remember: Your relationship with your employer is transactional.

It's your job to make sure you're getting a good deal for your hard work.

The Market-Aware Approach

Traditional Path	Strategic Path	Result
Wait 2-3 years for promotion	Check market every 12-18 months	30-50% faster salary growth
Accept whatever raise offered	Know your market value	Negotiating leverage
Loyalty to one company	Strategic company moves	Better learning + compensation
Hope for recognition	Document achievements + explore options	Career control

I've seen engineers stay at the same company for 5 years earning €70k, while their peers who changed jobs strategically twice in the same period reached €110k-€130k.

That's not disloyalty—that's career management.

Explore top tech companies across Europe to understand what opportunities exist in your market.

You Still Need to Put in the Work

I talked about how hard work alone isn't enough for career success.

I emphasized the importance of having a career strategy.

But having a strategy doesn't mean looking for shortcuts—because there are no shortcuts.

There are:

• Bad career plans
• Better paths
• Excellent paths

Then there's luck.

Then there's resilience.

Then there's work.

The Reality Check

It's obvious, but easy to forget:

If you want a great dev role, you need to be a great dev.

To be a great dev, you need to become one.

To become one, you need to study and gain experience.

The more work you put in, the faster you'll get there.

The better environments you place yourself in, the better the quality of your learnings.

No Shortcuts to Six Figures

What People Think Works	What Actually Works
Hacking interviews with LeetCode only	Deep technical skills + interview prep
Exaggerating on resume	Genuine experience + portfolio
Job hopping every 6 months	Strategic moves every 18-24 months
Chasing trends (crypto, AI)	Building solid fundamentals + exploring trends
Shortcuts and tricks	Consistent effort + smart positioning

Bottom line: You can't shortcut your way to a six-figure tech job in Europe.

Everything is earned.

But you can work smarter, not just harder, by choosing the right environments, companies, and markets. Check our salary data across European cities to understand where your work converts to the best outcomes.

Your Real Leverage: Information

We've discussed how basically in the end there's a machine with:

• Work as input
• Career results as output

We talked about how, while a certain degree of work is undoubtedly required, there are more and less efficient implementations of such a "machine."

We talked about how it's more efficient—or "smarter"—to focus on internships instead of grades as a student.

Or how one should watch out for the "promotion games" employers and managers set up to get you to work more, and instead regularly grow and assess their skillset with the market, looking for the best deals out there.

The Keyword Is Information

The more informed you are, the more efficient of a "career machine" you can create for yourself.

Information is a competitive advantage, and, unfortunately, nowadays competition for devs in Europe is at the highest.

How Things Changed in the Last 10 Years

2015	2025
Get good grades	Everyone knows about big tech
Graduate on time	Everyone knows about Switzerland
If you're lucky, join big tech. Otherwise, a regular company	Everyone wants flexible and remote work conditions
Stay in that same job for a decade	Strategic career moves are the norm
Limited salary transparency	Resources like levels.fyi, EuroTopTech, salary surveys

Software Engineers in Europe used to have it in hard mode.

They had to be lucky—right place right time—to get a great career.

Nowadays there's a lot of info out there.

Everyone knows the basics.

The New Competitive Landscape

Here's what used to be "secrets" that are now common knowledge:

Switzerland pays 2-3x most European countries → Now everyone applies there → Competition increased 5x

Big tech offers amazing compensation → Now everyone targets FAANG → Acceptance rates dropped from 5% to 1-2%

Remote work enables geo-arbitrage → Now everyone wants HCOL salary with LCOL lifestyle → Remote jobs are 10x more competitive

Staying Ahead

Knowledge is power. And you should invest some energy and effort into making sure you're on top of the game.

What you need to know now:

• Which European cities offer the best opportunities in 2025
• Which companies are hiring and paying top of market
• How to position yourself for remote high-paying roles
• Understanding Europe vs US tradeoffs
• Financial planning and geo-arbitrage strategies

Luckily, you're already subscribed to this newsletter, which I believe is the best and most efficient way to stay on top of things as a dev in Europe at the moment. :)

Building Your Information Advantage

1. Salary Intelligence

Know what you're worth. Not what your company tells you, but what the market says you're worth.

Resources:

• EuroTopTech Financial Data - compare salaries across European cities
• levels.fyi - for big tech compensation
• Our savings rate analysis

2. Market Mapping

Understand where opportunities are:

• Which cities have the best tech scenes
• Which companies pay top dollar
• Which markets are growing vs stagnating
• Which remote-friendly companies offer the best flexibility

3. Strategic Career Planning

Think 2-3 moves ahead:

• Where do you want to be in 5 years?
• What skills will be valuable then?
• Which companies/roles get you there faster?
• What's your optimal career path?

4. Network Intelligence

Your network is your net worth in tech:

• Connect with engineers at target companies
• Understand LinkedIn strategies that work
• Join communities where information flows (like this one!)
• Learn from others' career trajectories

The Balanced Framework

So what does "street smart" actually look like in practice?

As a Student

✅ Pass your courses (2.5-3.0 GPA is fine)
✅ Do 2-3 internships before graduating
✅ Build side projects that demonstrate real skills
✅ Network with industry professionals
✅ Maintain work-life balance
❌ Chase perfect grades
❌ Sacrifice social life for studying
❌ Graduate with no practical experience

Early Career (0-3 years)

✅ Join the best company you can (preferably big tech)
✅ Learn aggressively—prioritize growth over comfort
✅ Build relationships and network
✅ Check market opportunities every 12-18 months
✅ Document your achievements
❌ Stay comfortable in mediocre role for "stability"
❌ Ignore market signals
❌ Job hop every 6 months

Mid Career (3-8 years)

✅ Optimize for learning + compensation
✅ Consider strategic relocations (Switzerland, remote roles)
✅ Build specialized expertise
✅ Actively manage your career narrative
✅ Explore management vs IC track
❌ Get trapped in "golden handcuffs"
❌ Accept below-market compensation
❌ Stop learning and coast

Senior Career (8+ years)

✅ Maximize leverage (high comp, good balance, interesting work)
✅ Consider FIRE or Coast-FIRE strategies
✅ Mentor others and give back
✅ Make strategic bets (startups, leadership, specialization)
✅ Design your ideal lifestyle
❌ Chase promotions that don't align with life goals
❌ Sacrifice everything for marginal comp increases

Key Principles

1. Information Compounds

Every piece of career intelligence you gather helps you make better decisions. A single insight—like knowing Poland offers exceptional value—can change your trajectory.

2. Your Career Is a Portfolio

Don't put all your eggs in one basket:

• Diversify skills (frontend + backend, or specialized depth)
• Diversify opportunities (have options, always)
• Diversify learning (technical + soft skills + business)

3. Optimize for Learning Early, Compensation Later

Your 20s: Maximize learning rate
Your 30s: Leverage skills for compensation
Your 40s: Optimize for lifestyle and impact

4. The Market Doesn't Care About Your Loyalty

Companies will lay you off when it serves them. You should change jobs when it serves you. That's the deal.

5. Sustainable Intensity Beats Burnout Sprints

Working smart and strategically for 10 years beats working yourself to death for 3 years then burning out. See our guide on balancing ambition and burnout.

Taking Action

Here's what you can do today:

If You're a Student

1. Check your internship pipeline—do you have 2-3 lined up before graduation?
2. If not, start applying NOW to top European tech companies
3. Drop that class where you're stressing over an A- → use that time for projects/applications

If You're Early Career

1. Benchmark your salary against market data
2. If you're >20% below market, start interviewing
3. Map out 3-5 target companies and start networking

If You're Mid-Career

1. Assess: Are you learning and growing?
2. Calculate: Are you being paid fairly?
3. Decide: Is this the optimal path or time to pivot?
4. Consider: Would Switzerland or remote work accelerate your goals?

If You're Senior

1. Design your ideal career endpoint
2. Work backwards to see if current path gets you there
3. Adjust as needed—you have leverage now, use it

Conclusion

Being "street smart" about your tech career in Europe means:

✅ Prioritizing outcomes over process (internships > grades)
✅ Managing your career actively (not waiting for promotions)
✅ Putting in the work (no shortcuts, but smarter paths exist)
✅ Leveraging information (staying ahead of the curve)
✅ Making strategic moves (based on data, not hope)

The engineers who build the best careers aren't necessarily the smartest or hardest working.

They're the ones who:

• Understand the game
• Have good information
• Make strategic decisions
• Execute consistently
• Stay adaptable

You can be one of them.

Start by exploring our curated job listings and checking market data to understand where you stand and where opportunities exist.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Should I really ignore my GPA as a student?

Not ignore—just don't over-optimize. Aim for passing grades (2.5-3.0 GPA range) which requires much less effort than 3.7-4.0. Use the freed-up time for internships, side projects, and networking. After your first job, literally nobody cares about your GPA. But they DO care about internship experience. I've seen students with 3.2 GPAs and 3 internships get €80k+ offers while 4.0 GPA students with no experience struggled to get €50k offers. The data strongly supports prioritizing practical experience over grades in European tech careers.

How often should I check the job market?

Every 12-18 months at minimum, even if you're happy. This doesn't mean actively interviewing—just understanding market rates, which companies are hiring, and what opportunities exist. Set a calendar reminder to: (1) Check salary data for your level/location, (2) Browse job postings in your niche, (3) Have 1-2 informal coffee chats with engineers at other companies, (4) Update your LinkedIn. This "market calibration" takes 3-4 hours twice per year but gives you massive leverage in negotiations and prevents you from being underpaid without knowing it.

Isn't job hopping bad for my career?

Frequency matters more than number of moves. Job hopping every 6-8 months is a red flag. Strategic moves every 18-24 months is completely normal and often optimal in tech. The data shows that European engineers who made 2-3 strategic job changes in their first 5 years earn 40-60% more than those who stayed at one company. The key is having good reasons: better growth opportunities, significantly better comp, tech stack alignment, etc. Companies understand this. What they don't like is instability—leaving within 6 months or having no coherent career narrative.

How do I know if I should focus on management or IC track?

Try both before committing. Many companies offer temporary "tech lead" or "team lead" roles where you can sample management without fully committing. Key signals you might prefer management: you enjoy mentoring, you're energized by people problems, you want broader impact, you're good at communication/politics. Key signals for IC: you love deep technical problems, people management drains you, you want to stay hands-on, you prefer autonomous work. Note that senior IC roles (Staff+) at top companies can pay as much or more than management. Check our career paths guide for detailed breakdowns.

Is information really that important compared to just being good at coding?

Both are necessary; information is the multiplier. Being an excellent engineer is table stakes—it determines your floor. Information determines your ceiling. Example: Two equally skilled senior engineers, both excellent. Engineer A doesn't know the market, stays at their company 5 years, gets 3-5% annual raises, ends at €85k. Engineer B knows that Switzerland pays €150k+ for their skillset, remote companies pay €100-120k, and their current company is below market. Engineer B makes a strategic move to Zurich, gets €160k. Same skills, 88% more compensation—purely from information. The best career outcomes come from being skilled AND informed.

What if I'm already mid-career and didn't follow this advice early on?

You can recover, but you need to move fast. The good news: Mid-career engineers have more leverage and agency than junior engineers. The bad news: you've lost some compounding time. Here's the recovery playbook: (1) Immediately benchmark your salary—if you're >20% below market, start interviewing NOW, (2) Identify skill gaps and address them (take 3-6 months if needed), (3) Consider a strategic location move to accelerate—Switzerland or remote can 2x your comp in one move, (4) Network aggressively to make up for lost time, (5) Be willing to make bold moves. I've seen engineers go from €60k at 7 years experience to €130k+ within 18 months through strategic company changes. It's not too late.