As a junior developer, choosing where to start your career is just as important as which job you take. The city you pick defines your salary, your cost of living, and your future career path.
You’re likely looking for a city with a low barrier to entry, a large job market, and where “English is fine.” This almost always leads to three hubs: Berlin, Prague, and Dublin.
As a recruitment agency get-talent.eu in Europe that places talent in all three, here’s our honest comparison.
🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany: The Startup King
The Vibe: Creative, chaotic, international, and unapologetically “startup.” Berlin is less “German” and more “global.” It’s the #1 hub for venture capital and new, exciting (and sometimes unstable) companies.
The Job Market: Massive. Dominated by thousands of startups and scale-ups (N26, HelloFresh, Zalando). Every tech stack is in demand, from jobs in Germany’s enterprise sector to the startup world’s React/Node.
The Money:
Salaries: Good, but not the highest in Europe.
Cost of Living: Used to be famously cheap. It is not cheap anymore. The housing crisis is severe, and rent is high. But it’s still significantly cheaper than Dublin.
Best For: Aspiring entrepreneurs, creatives, and anyone who wants to be in the center of the “newest thing.” English is spoken everywhere.
🇨🇿 Prague, Czechia: The Quality of Life Gem
The Vibe: The “hidden gem.” It’s a gorgeous, historic city with an incredibly high quality of life. The tech scene is robust and mature, with many large companies (Avast, Oracle, Microsoft) having huge offices here.
The Job Market: Smaller than Berlin or Dublin, but stable. It’s less about “10-person startups” and more about established R&D centers for global tech firms.
The Money:
Salaries: The lowest of the three.
Cost of living: The lowest of the three, by far. Your lower salary will likely give you a better standard of living and more disposable income than you’d have in Dublin.
Best For: Someone who wants a high quality of life, a stable job at a big company, and a more relaxed pace.
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland: The Big Tech EU-HQ
The Vibe: The “Silicon Valley of Europe.” This is where every US “Big Tech” firm has its massive EU headquarters (Google, Meta, Apple, LinkedIn, Stripe). It’s an English-speaking, fast-paced, and professional environment.
The Job Market: Completely dominated by Big Tech. This is the place to get a prestigious, high-paying job at a FAANG (or equivalent) company.
The Money:
Salaries: The highest of the three, by a lot. The salaries are a massive draw.
Cost of Living: Astronomical. The housing crisis here is perhaps the worst in Europe. A huge portion of your giant salary will be eaten by rent, which is often 2-3x that of Berlin or Prague.
Best For: Developers who want to work for “Big Tech,” earn a high salary, and don’t mind a high-cost, high-competition environment.
At-a-Glance Comparison
Feature
Berlin, Germany
Prague, Czechia
Dublin, Ireland
Main Vibe
“Startup & Creative”
“Quality of Life”
“Big Tech & Corporate”
English Spoken?
Yes (in tech)
Yes (in tech)
Yes (native)
Job Market
High (Startups)
Medium (Stable)
High (Big Tech)
Average Salary
High
Medium
Very High
Cost of Living
High (Rising fast)
Low
Very High
The “Catch”
Bureaucracy, Housing
Lower Salaries
Housing Crisis, Cost
A staffing agency in the EU can get you a job in any of these, but only you can decide which lifestyle fits. Do you want the Berlin “hustle,” the Prague “life,” or the Dublin “salary”?
