Salary Expectation for HCL Senior JAVA Developer with 4 years experience in Poland

Hi All,

I am an Indian national considering a position at HCL Senior JAVA Developer with 4 years experience in Krakow .
Did go through few threads @ this forum but was not clear about what should I be expecting for salary.
Also wanted to know
1) How does it cost for a descent life style covering veg/non-veg food cooked@ home , rented one bedroom place, no drinks n others
2) how is Krakow city for Indian people,( can anyone Indian here advice?)

Thanks ,
Suyash

This one? linkedin.com/jobs2/view/12484114
When searching for work in bigger companies it's good to see what Glassdoor says. But I think, that for Kraków department there is too little data:

glassdoor.com/Salary/HCL-Technologies-Krak%C3%B3w-Salaries-EI_IE553909.0,16_IL.17,23_IC3017091.htm

If you haven't seen these salary reports:
tiny.cc/hays-pdf (add 10%, because it's few years old)
hays.pl/en/media-centre/HAYS_712672
gazetapraca.pl/gazetapraca/0,74897.html (search Java)
placeprogramistow.apphb.com

Basically median is 6000PLN gross. If you are a perfect candidate for the position, then you could ask for 10000 gross, but perhaps it's over the budget since they search for employees from India. Here you can see many job offers for Java programmers in Kraków. Some of them have information about salaries:

4programmers.net/Praca/Szukaj?q=Java+Krak%C3%B3w

@1: Apartment with fees 2000 zł in the center, 1600 zł away from the center. Food cooked at home 400 - 1000 zł. Transportation 150 zł. Internet + telephone 70 - 150 zł.
numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=India&country2=Poland&city1=Mumbai&city2=Krakow+%28Cracow%29

@2: I guess that Kraków had bad climate for Indians (used to warmth) during autumn and winter. If you choose good neighborhood (away from blocks) then it shouldn't be bad place to live for you.

Merged: Is Gross salary of 12000 PLN (before taxes) per month fair for 8+ years IT experience?

Hi All,

I am an IT professional. There is a company from Krakow, Poland offering to relocate. at a salary of 12000 PLN gross (before taxes)/month. Wanted to know how is the salary? I am post graduate in (IT) with 8+ years of experience.

What are the approximate expenses for the following :-
1) 1 or 2 bedroom rented apartment.
2) Utility expenses on Electricity, Water etc
3) Postpaid and internet expenses
4) Monthly expenses of grocery for 2 people.

Appreciate a quick response.

That's about $320 gross. Seriously? I would say it's a waste of time. If you can find something better dump this offer. It's slavery!

The dollar must have made an enormous jump over night :) :) ........ forgot to add one zero?

hahah my bad. $3200 is good mate. go for it. I earn $300 less (net).

Thanks bond :) can you also detail out the details which i asked?

What are the approximate expenses for the following :-
1) 1 or 2 bedroom rented apartment.
2) Utility expenses on Electricity, Water etc
3) Postpaid and internet expenses
4) Monthly expenses of grocery for 2 people.

1,2 and 3 together will set you back anywhere from 2000 to 3500 PLN, or even more, depending on the city, the neighborhood and the size and condition of the apartment.

4 together with sundry household supplies will set you back anywhere from 1000 PLN to 2000 PLN, or more, depending on how much you cook at home versus eat out, and how much you take advantage of cheaper foods that the locals eat (pork, chicken and very mild fish like pollock and Vietnamese "catfish"). Beef, lamb, seafood and higher quality fish like salmon and halibut are significantly more expensive, and less widely available. Potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots and apples are generally cheap. Tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant and southern fruits are more expensive, sometime very much so when not in season.

In most of the larger cities, there are stores that sell at least some Indian and oriental spices and products, and halal meat is available in the largest cities. Of course, the selection of all these items is limited and prices can be high.

Salary is very good as for Kraków.


Anywhere between 1200 - 3000zł / month with electricity, heating, water included. Much depends weather you want newly renovated flat like that:



or not renovated since 30 years, just painted from time to time like this one:
i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzUwWDEwMDA=/z/kvYAAOSwnDxUqu-t/$_20.jpg


According to: numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Poland&city=Krakow+%28Cracow%29



According to: numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Poland&city=Krakow+%28Cracow%29



When cooking Polish food at home anywhere between 800 - 1600zł

Thanks Dominic and Monitor!!!

Merged: URGENT -12k gross per month in Krakow - deal?

Hi , Have an offer from a software company by name of EPAM. I Hhave been offered 12 k gross salary. Need to revert back urgently. Appreciate if someone can help with below queries:

1. we are a family of 3. me, wife and 6 months old kid. What is the bare minimum expense in Krakow. i.e. 1BHK at a decent place, cooking at home(Indian food-vegetarian), internet, phone, transportation. Reason I ask is I want to check how much can I save potentially?

2. for gross 12K salary, I found net salary would be 9157 - is it correct . Is there any other deduction(have heard of something by name of Zus)

3. My company provides health insurance - not sure if it would cover all my health related needs?
4. How is the job scenario, job security? my client would be an Investment bank.
5. Once I am in Poland(currently I am in India) , is there a possibility of getting job in UK, Swiz or Germany. Is there a real chance of getting job there - there is none I know till the time I am in India?

6. Is getting EU Blue card easy- what are the criteria?

Too many questions I know, but appreciate if someone could respond as its urgent. Many thanks in advance!

There are so many Indians asking the same question, that the answer should be pinned to the top of forum.

1. min. IMHO is 3000zł net, but somebody recently calculated 6000zł net for Wrocław (including private school in English) and I think he was also right.

2: net will be 8427.87zł. No other taxes deducted from your salary.
3: You will be paying for national insurance (it's one of taxes). The company will pay for your private insurance for minor sicknesses. It's good to have.

4: job scenario? job security? If you do your job good then they will probably keep you. There is too little good IT people. If you loose your job, then you have to leave country or find new in 1 month.

5: Nothing will change for your prospect of getting job in Western Europe, except of shorter distance for an interview. You will still need work permit. Except if you work in Poland for 5 years, then you get permanent permit to stay and right to work in EU.

6: read here: forummigracyjne.org/common/files_download.php?fid=223

With some discipline, you could theoretically do it on 4000 PLN net, but you're probably going to be spending more like 5000 to 6000.


More like 8000 PLN net.

That means you will be able to save 2000 to 3000 PLN a month, or $700 to $1000 USD. If it's substantial savings you are after, Poland is not the place for you. The cost of living is high relative to wages for foreigners. It may be worth considering leaving the wife and kid at home, and coming alone. That would almost double your ability to save. Or taking a job in a richer country where the savings potential is higher.

If you come to Poland planning to spend the "bare minimum", you wife will soon grow to hate you. Remember, she is going to be stranded in a country where she does not know the language or culture, and where there is no significant Indian population beyond your colleagues and their wives. With a six-month old child, she would be a prime candidate for cabin fever, and you are going to have to spend money on keeping her diverted, entertained and mentally active, otherwise she's going to lose it. That can be quite costly if it involves flights back to India.

mohitei35 : Can you please share your email? As i am also offered a similar offer and wanted to check if you have accepted this offer?

Merged: Advice on job offer on Krakow

Hello everyone, I have recently been offered a job in Poland as a Senior Software Engineer at a major company there (It is known that their salaries are not very high). I'd like to know if 11000pln gross is a good salary (around 8414pln after tax w/ preferential tax deduction, see this article lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=4051ce45-19fe-4aea-886b-82f83440a191).

My question is if this is a good salary, and if 8414pln is enough to make a living (rent an apartment, eat, transport, entertainment, etc) and enough to save some money, maybe travel around poland and its nearby countries once a time.

of course it is a good salary in Poland where 70% of the population make less than 2,700 (and only 10% make 6,000 and over). Sure too in the West, you would make 2 or 3 times more ....

10% make over 6 thousand a month, that could be any figure like 7 or 70 thousand. Any break downs on each salary level and approx % on each approx salary band?

@Dave4: They are gross salaries. If you really want to know, only 8% if the Polish taxpayers are in the highest income bracket. Either most people are dirt poor or a lot of people cheat ;). Anyway, most Poles make peanuts and that's the reason why they go abroad to work

That 8% must all live round here because new Porsche dealership opened across the road. Lots of cash about or tick.

@Dave: Poland is one of the most unequal country in Europe and the rich can be filthy rich but be aware some get money from abroad and some others have dirty money.... New money is not aways very "clean" and it's the case in all those post-communist societies

That's $36,000 US a year. As Gosc said, in the richer countries of West and in the English speaking countries, you would make two or three times that, or more. The number that counts is not your salary, but your absolute savings potential, which will be much lower in Poland than in richer countries. You might live comfortably enough, but at the end of the month, there will be a lot less left over to put in your savings account than if you worked in a richer country. In a richer country, it is quite possible that you will be able to SAVE more than you EARN in Poland.

Ignore anyone who says this is good money for Poland. While true, that doesn't apply to you because you are not going to spend the rest of your life there, so you are not part of the economy where that has any relevance.

Explore opportunities in richer countries, and, until then, do everything you can too beef up your qualifications and experience so that you can land a better job. That is going to be hard to do in Poland.

Ignore at his peril more like. It's not bad at all for Krakow, and very good on Indian terms. Krakow, by the way, is a lovely place to live.

Dominic, you seem hell-bent on deterring people from coming to Poland.

OP is not from India, but from Spain.

Yep, it's going to be very hard with those conditions, LukeAinitze please reconsider your decision before you regret it.

How do you know that the OP is not going to spend the rest of his life here? Did he mentioned this anywhere in his post or is this yet another one of your assumptions on which you base your ridiculous attempts to stop people from going to Poland?


I have read through post 15 four times now and I can not see the OP mentioning where he is from. Am i missing something or do you just assume that he is from Spain?

Either way, if it is HCL, you may want to reconsider jon's hint regarding the Indian terms.

It's a pretty darn safe assumption. Poland is not an immigration magnet, for good reason.


Yes, you missed something. It's staring you right in the eye.

Indeed. People sometimes come here, meet their life partner and settle down. Happens a lot in Krakow. Poland is a good place to live and getting better all the time. And that salary for Poland is decent.

And people sometimes win the lottery. By far most don't though.

Advising people to make their plans on the basis of "sometimes" is absurd, and even cruel.

And thought the money may be great for a Pole who plans to stay the rest of their life in Poland, it $ucks even by local standards. As long as there are countries nearby, even with walking distance, that pay two, three, four or even five times as much, very, very few people who come to work in Poland will stay long. The temptation is far too great, especially once it sets in that you have to work four, five or more years to save up what you can save up in one in the West. And the opportunities in the West are too numerous.

I doubt that people coming from such places as India (for instance) mean to stay very long in Poland. I believe money is not the no.1 issue to consider but the ability to live in a country and a society completely different, with a different climate, a different culture, in a country not open to people who are "'different", where locals are sad and hard to get to know, to live thousands of miles away from home, that's what should be the no.1 consideration. As far as Indians are concerned, best to go to places where many Indians are (UK...) in order to feel more comfortable.

Money is not everything is one feels out of place, isolated and lonely... In my neighborhood (Ochota) there must be some kind of dorms for Indians since I often see Young Indians walking around or waiting at tram stops. They are always in pairs, looking sad, and never with Poles. Social isolation should be a main concern. I sometimes feel sorry for them as they don't look thrilled to be in Poland. Of course they can go home but it is not so easy to just pack and go...

That doesn't make sense.



This however makes a lot of sense. Not everyone follows the same career paths as corporate America - there is so much more to life.