Romanians are the most exposed to the risk of poverty and social exclusion in the European Union, according to the data published by Eurostat, and it is no coincidence that millions of Romanians went abroad in the hope of a better life. However, some of them would be tempted to return to the country attracted by rumors of recent prosperity or driven by personal problems.
There are Romanians willing to return from abroad, especially IT professionals. PHOTO: Pixabay
A Romanian working in Denmark would like to return to the country, it is true because of some family problems. An IT professional, he tried to find out, using social networks, what salary and working conditions he could find in the country. And he also explained, in a post on Reddit, what his fears are, also fueled by rumors and exaggerations about the situation in the country.
“I work on the front end in Denmark, at a Fintech company. I have 10 years of experience, mostly Typescript, Angular, Java, some React. Here I am paid net 4,300 euros per month. I'm tempted to return to the country, so I'm curious what salary I could access net, in euros? I'm a little hesitant to move, the work-life balance here is really ok. You come to the office at 9.00, you leave at 4.30, you are home at 5.30. Great colleagues who help you when you need it. The family situation is what makes me think about this step”, he wrote.
“Horror Stories”
He then added the “horror stories” he heard about the situation in Romania, where the faces, management under any criticism and colleagues devoid of any trace of humanity, and the situation would be a nightmare.
“I should point out that I have heard many horror stories from several people and here I am to ask some things directly. I don't want to sound ignorant or delusional. I left the country when I was 18. I literally do not know anything specific about the country and I am looking for helpful information from you“, he added, then continued:
“From the words of the Romanians who left Romania: disorganized and dictatorial management, work-life balance not very good being caught in heavy traffic from 7:00-9:00 a.m., overtime requested by the boss, leaving at 6:00-7:00 p.m.: 00 and you barely have time for yourself arriving home around 20:00-21:00. Colleagues with the toxic attitude “don't you understand this code? Can't help you bro, deal with it!” Few vacation days (here we get 25 days annually), salary that is not worth the stress encountered. Are all these things common? Are their words true? From what I hear from here and there, if you receive 1,700 euros net monthly it's good, is that so? About how much of this amount does he contribute to the private pension?”he also wrote.
People complain a lot, but it's not that different
His post, honest and obviously of a man at a crossroads, got some to come up with ideas, others to encourage him, but there were also enough to tell him that he didn't deserve to go home.
“Hello, I returned to the country after the pandemic, I had lived in Spain for three years. I had the same preconceptions when I returned to the country, but the vast majority of them disappeared as soon as I returned. As a salary level, you can go relatively easily towards 4,000 euros considering your experience. You will mostly work with teams from outside, in Romania there is quite a lot of outsourcing. Or you can go freelance, you get better than normal salary and very low fees. Considering the above, you will rarely have management from Romania (at least if you are outsourcing)”was the first part of the answer.
“The Romanian colleagues I interacted with are ok, but nowhere is the forest only green. Work life balance, I say it's ok, it also depends on which company you work for, you don't really have it with bank clients, otherwise I didn't have any problems, you finish your tasks, you're free. There are companies that give 25 here as well (not many, not all), but sick days and other types of days off in addition to 22-25 have started to appear. Traffic can be an impediment in big cities, but you can take an alternative means of transport. Honestly, what I miss from Spain are the people I knew, otherwise I can't say that I miss anything. If you still have questions, go ahead“, he also said.
“Hello, I also returned to the country after about seven or eight years and I am super satisfied. You can write to me if you want, it depends on what you want to leave, what you are looking for, etc. I moved to Romania a year ago and honestly I already managed to do a lot of things. I'm still adapting to some cultural differences, and I'm still learning Romanian (not only Romanian is spoken in my family), but otherwise, in Romania there is a lot of freedom from my point of view. Of course, there are bad things, as everywhere, it depends on which side of the glass you look at. Good luck!“, answered an IT-ist.
And she also added, after being congratulated by another netizen for her honesty and the way she answered. “From what I've noticed, people complain a lot, but it's not that different, honestly, than it is outside. I forgot to mention, regarding vacation days, I have 25 + 1, plus public holidays, which are many in Romania”she added.
Between yes and no
“At us plus there is a day that he gives us differently every year, for example when there is a public holiday on Tuesday, he also gives us Monday off to have a long weekend, at the beginning of every year, he looks at how it is most convenient , and I think that's cute. Exactly, honestly, I'm not afraid at night on the street, I had no problems with someone following me, when in another European country, it happened to me many times, they followed me from the highway. And I had to take her to the streets and try to get lost etc. Safety, plus freedom for many things, quite a lot of free parking, and where we pay the tax, it's minimal”wrote another.
However, there were also some who told him that in Romania nothing is going as it should and that he does not belong here. “It's not about how safe it is (and it's not as safe as you think), it's about the fact that if you have a problem… sitting on it doesn't help you at all, it only makes you more trouble if you're correct and you don't have any file. I understand you're trying to shoot your ass off, but be realistic”, was just one of the responses of those disturbed by the fact that someone else considers Romania a safe country.
“Try a big company. For example, at Adobe you can go over 4,000 euros, including stocks. (RSU, ESPP). In my case, work life balance is quite good. We have daily at 12:00 and you can start working when you want before 12:00. I have some days when I start right at 12:00. After 18:00 no one expects you to be online. Theoretically you can work every day 12:00 – 18:00 if you finish your work. We have 25 days/year leave + 6 more days “global wellbeing days”. Basically, it's a Friday/Monday once every two months when the whole company is free. Weekend bank holidays are also recovered (either Friday or Monday). If you want a recommendation, let me know”, someone else suggested.
