astalavista

Hi,

I am 24 year old male from India and recently I have been offered a Lead Software Engineer offer from a London based company. Company is sponsering my Visa/Work permit, Flight ticket from India to London & initial relocation assistance.

Now, they have asked me to quote desired salary range before we can finalize on terms. Can anybody please help me what salary I can demand/ask for. Considering I have decent salary in India of INR 1,200,000 per year + living expenses (partly).

It will be great if someone can guide me with details about cost of living and other expenses in London. Office is in neat Oxford Circus and I am planning to rent a house with all basic amenities.

PS: I am vegetarian and do drink occasionally.

antichef

Welcome to FT. ^

That is going to take some specialised knowledge, on a number of fronts!

With your background I assume asking if you have Googled a few queries is a bit superfluous - but an awful lot will depend on your personal circumstances. How close to work do you want to be; are you willing to commute; how long for each way? Do you want to walk to work etc?

Are they giving assistance with a relocation company, these tend to arrange suitable accommodation etc but the services come at a price. It may be worth bargaining for. I assume you are single and no dependants.

Renting a flat or serviced apartment might suit. You might want to consider the costs of this before you look at the salary you might ask for!! Googling rental properties in London might give you an idea why

If you decide to commute from further afield could cost you thousands of pounds on train fares.

astalavista

Hi,

Thanks for the prompt response. I want to be close enough to work and don't want to spend much on commute either. Compnay is providing relocation assistance.

I did some research on cost of living etc but want more insights on salary that what to look for from them.

dobba

Have a look at some job boards e.g. jobserve.co.uk and look at jobs which you consider similar and based in central london. This should give an indication of salary.

stut

Definitely agree with searching on Jobserve - do make sure that you search for jobs in the same sector and location, though, as salaries vary hugely according to those factors.

In terms of expenses, your biggest will be accommodation. You won't be staying near Oxford Circus, but it's quite a transport hub, so you've got plenty options within easy reach. It's not uncommon for 20-somethings in London to share accommodation with strangers, if you'd consider that. Sites like rightmove.com should give you an idea of rental costs in different areas, and gumtree.com is a good resource to find "flatshares".

Transport can be another significant cost - it depends on where you end up living, and whether you will be using public transport, or possibly even cycling (my preferred mode of transport in the city!) If you're working near Oxford Circus, you won't be driving. And you're unlikely to be living within a couple of miles' radius - this is a very commercial area.

As for food, well, again, that's up to you. If you like cooking, there's bargains to be had at markets, but then plenty people just live off ready meals bought at convenience stores on the way home. Supermarkets have quite a stranglehold these days, and their fresh produce is often pretty bland and expensive. To get an idea, try tesco.com or sainsburys.co.uk and look at the grocery prices.

As for how much is enough, well... That's down to you and your expectations. From what you've described, you should be comfortable on any decent IT salary.

astalavista

Hi Guys,

Thank you all for help. After some research I think 65000-80000£ us decent range, what's your say.

stut

If you're going to be working in the financial services sector, I would say yes. Otherwise, I would lower that range by as much as £10-15k.

Jagboi

Just as a basis for comparison ( although not in related fields) I see Chartered Engineers with 15 years experience getting £50-55K in London, less outside of London, so I think your chances of getting 65 to 80K are probably not great.

bevoinva

Just out of curiosity, I did a currency conversion for INR 1,200,000 and see that it equals about £14,000. From £14,000 to 65000-80000£ is quite the salary jump for a 24 year old Software Engineer. Something seems a little off here.

antichef

One is in India, the other is in Central London.

The India rate is barely over the National Minimum Wage Rate for the UK, and is only just over half the UK national average salary.

The job is in the centre of the most expensive part of the UK to live and work.

This really is comparing apples and pears!

Do you have any equivalent from Kansas to NY? Etc
Or small provincial lawyer from Springfield moving to big city accomodation at 1600 Pennsylvania Drive DC

Swiss Tony

This is my gut feel as well. I don't know the IT space that well, but have some friends in there working very close to Oxford Circus who i'm confident aren't on that kind of money.

Not sure if this site is any help (this is the java page but you can presumably find the right piece)? http://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/london/java.do

I'm assuming the employer will also still have to pay NICs of around 13% ontop of this, so an £85k salary means the employee actually costs them around £100k.

stut

Bear in mind, however, that a lead developer role is more senior, and involves a decent amount of additional leadership and accountability.

FWIW, I know lead developers based around Canary Wharf whose salaries are well into six figures (or who command day rates of well over £1000). Their working hours are ridiculous, however.

Swiss Tony

But the OP is only 24, so will have 3 years coding experience and maybe 1 year of management?

Perhaps another assessment is to look at where the existing salary sits on Indian (urban) pay distributions vs the UK?

After tax, a single person earning £50k in the UK is in the top 3% in terms of disposable income. That's probably about £85k before tax.

stut

Sure, I wouldn't expect your average 24-year-old developer to be getting to top rates unless they have an especially good reputation (more for contract work, admittedly). However, London IT salaries are high, and software development is, IME, pretty meritocratic. Although job adverts often ask for years of experience (on more than one occasion, I've seen adverts asking for 5 years' experience in a technology that's been around for less than 3), I know I've never been properly qualified for any job I've got.

Just a quick search on Jobserve brings lead developer roles in London varying from £40k to £110k on the front page. The latter is asking for 5 years' banking development experience.

To be honest, though, you can live very well in London at the lower end of the salary range. Frankly, most people do well off less. But IT is a pretty well paid industry in this city!

Reason077

£65-£80K is certainly not unreasonable for a Senior/Lead Software Engineer with a few years of (UK) experience under their belt. However as a 24-year-old "fresh off the boat" with a sponsored work visa, you may need to lower your expectations somewhat. Somewhere around £35-£50K is probably more realistic.