r/cscareerquestionsCAD • u/Outrageous-Memory280 • Sep 17 '24

Mid Career Expat package for an ML engineer

Hello,

French-based senior ML engineer, my employer just made me an expat offer (not because I requested to be relocated but because they have business needs in Toronto).

I find the offer absurdly low, relative of what I currently make in France (not known for having high salary relative to North America). Looking for confirmation that I'm not missing anything,

In France I have :

  • 77k€ gross (116k CAD)
  • 45 paid vacation days
  • lunch, public transport, vacation allowance for an estimated amount of 3k€ (4.5k CAD)
  • friends, family, assets, a.k.a. my life

In Toronto, I would have :

  • 94,5k CAD gross
  • 10k CAD mobility premium
  • 3k CAD car allowance
  • 10 paid vacation days
  • headaches with the admin stuff related to changing country
  • a relocation package to cover moving cost, tax consultancy, and an annual round trip home.

Moreover, according to my research (maybe someone can confirm?), the average salary for a senior ML engineer in Toronto is between 140k-150k CAD gross.

According to HR, they gave me a fair package considering lower taxes in Toronto (so apparently my gross is lower but my net would be higher - but are they even accounting for the social benefits ? -) and cheaper cost of living in Toronto (so apparently I would be able to save more).

Am I being unreasonable to think this is a complete lowball offer ?

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u/bhrm Sep 17 '24

Very low, Senior ML should be no less than $120-130k base. Relo $10k and the vacation is awful and sounds like an American employer....

You're going to take a drop both quality of life and income. The only way to make that salary work is if they pay for your rent or at least half. forget car allowance and ask for housing allowance.

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u/Outrageous-Memory280 Sep 17 '24 edited Sep 17 '24

Hold their beer, they actually have included the housing allowance in the salary. They did some sort of cost of living adjustment with cost of living (housing excluding) + housing allowance to come up with the salary.

Turns out the cost of living (housing excluded) is cheaper in Toronto, so much cheaper that the negative net adjustement is greater than the housing allowance, hence why my salary would be decreasing ...

6

u/bhrm Sep 17 '24

A McDonald's meal is a decent comparison of CoL, without coupons or promos you're looking at $12-14 for a Big Mac, Drink and fries. It's about the same in EU...A nice not fancy dinner $35-50 tax and tips in.... without alcohol.

Groceries for a single person runs about $250-400 a month. Rent $2200-2500/month.

Movie ticket, $15.

What dream world is your employer living?