A Princeton nuclear physicist. A mechanical engineer who helped NASA explore manufacturing in space. A US National Institutes of Health neurobiologist. Celebrated mathematicians. And over half a dozen AI experts. The list of research talent leaving the US to work in China is glittering – and growing.
There was literally a thread somewhere on the fediverse where someone said their friend (scientist) got invited to China for a 7 figure salary job. That’s not a thing in most countries.
I know what the 996 culture is. These are also mostly people working in the private sector. This article is more about government-paid people.
So what country you want to be in depends on whether you’re a researcher (China good, US becoming increasingly shit), software engineer (China bad, US good), etc. But it still holds true that the US and China have the highest salary ceilings if you’re strategic about it. If you’re a scientist here in Estonia, you need to take foreign assignments to make any real money. Otherwise you don’t earn shit, especially before you finish your PhD.