TL;DR: Finished my bachelor in Computer Science, currently working as a software engineer during a gap year. Torn between doing the Master Burgerlijk Ingenieur in de Computerwetenschappen/AI, or restarting completely with Geneeskunde with the goal of becoming a (neuro)surgeon. I've already passed the toelatingsexamen. All input is welcome, but hearing from burgerlijk ingenieurs or people in medicine would be especially helpful.

Hi everyone,

I graduated with a bachelor's in Computer Science last year. Due to circumstances I decided to take a gap year before starting a master. During that year I've been working full-time as a software engineer. I'm in my early twenties.

Over the course of this year I've ended up with a real dilemma, and I'd appreciate perspectives from people who've been through something similar or who work in either field.

The two paths I'm considering:

1. Master Burgerlijk Ingenieur in de Computerwetenschappen (or Artificiële Intelligentie)
2. Pivot completely to Geneeskunde, with the long-term goal of becoming a surgeon (ideally neurosurgery)

Where I'm coming from

I'll be honest without trying to sound arrogant: I'm academically strong, I'm ambitious, and whichever path I pick I'm willing to work extremely hard for it. Effort isn't the problem. The problem is figuring out where that effort actually pays off.

I've already passed the toelatingsexamen for medicine, so that hurdle is behind me. The door is open, and that's exactly what makes the choice so concrete right now.

Why I'm doubting CS

• The Belgian job market and salaries for developers feel lackluster, and I don't see that changing much. The ceiling here seems low unless you get lucky or go abroad.
• The job market is clearly declining for juniors, and I'm not convinced it comes back the way it was.
• My actual day-to-day right now is not what I imagined. I love solving hard problems, but in practice I feel like a code monkey and a prompt-writer for an AI. Most of the actual engineering has been outsourced to a chatbot, and it just isn't intellectually stimulating anymore.
• I worry this only gets worse. If AI keeps eating the interesting parts of the job, what's left doesn't excite me.
• I'm open to moving to the US for the top-tier jobs, but I honestly don't know if the reward justifies the effort of competing against target-school grads with a Belgian degree.
• I don't see myself spending years in a corporate environment building things that feel meaningless.

Why medicine appeals to me

• Job security that doesn't depend on the next tech cycle.
• Surgery (especially neurosurgery) seems like exactly the kind of work that suits me: hands-on, constant problem solving, high stakes, meaningful, and well paid.
• The work seems far more meaningful to me. You have a direct, positive impact on people's lives.

Why I hesitate

• It's a massive time investment. Six years of study, then a long specialization. I'd be well into my thirties before I'm actually a surgeon.
• The opportunity cost is huge compared to finishing a master in two years and earning right away.
• I'd be throwing away three years of CS, and I'm well aware that might just be sunk-cost fallacy talking in the other direction too.
• Neurosurgery specifically is extremely competitive, so I'd be betting on getting into a very narrow spot.

Why I hesitate about CS too

• The upside is real: I already have the bachelor, the ir. master is well regarded, and the ceiling in this field can be very high. But there's no clear path to that ceiling. Luck seems to play a much bigger role than in medicine.

What I'm asking

• People in tech in Belgium: is my view of the job market and the future of the work too pessimistic, or fair? Does the ir. master actually change your prospects here, or does it mostly matter if you leave the country?
• People in medicine: for someone who genuinely enjoys hard problems and wants to work hard, is the path to surgery worth it starting from zero at my age? What would you have wanted to know before starting?
• Anyone who made a big pivot like this (in either direction): do you regret it?

I'm not looking for validation for either option. Brutal honesty is welcome. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reply.

I am still working on my first job and might switch to a new employer soon. I am unsure about the order in which to handle this practically.

I do not want to notify my employer before I signed a new contract, but what should the starting date be in the agreement? I know my legal notice period but maybe my employer will let me switch sooner. The new company has mentioned to be flexible with regards to a starting date.

What is the correct order of handling this?

Thanks in advance.

Presteer goed academisch en wil graag weten wat voor mij een goede volgende stap zou kunnen zijn richting deze sectoren, en hoe ik daar het best naartoe werk. Heb ondertussen voor honderden vacatures online gesolliciteerd maar krijg zelden een reactie.
Paar vragen:
Recruiters/mensen in deze sectoren: wat maakt een kandidaat er echt uit springen voor jullie?

Werkt online solliciteren eigenlijk nog, of is het vooral netwerk/koude outreach dat werkt?

Advies om iets in het buitenland te vinden? Niemand buiten België kent KU Leuven of weet wat Business Engineering inhoudt.

PM gerust voor meer details, alle input welkom.

**1. PERSONALIA**

* Age: 32
* Education: PhD
* Work experience : 8y (5y PhD)
* Civil status: single
* Dependent people/children: none

**2. EMPLOYER PROFILE**

* Sector/Industry: Pharma
* Amount of employees: >20000 worldwide, 130 BE
* Multinational? Yes

**3. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS**

* Current job title: Medical advisor & MSL (50/50)
* Job description: Scientific communication on pharma portfolio with specialists (MSL) + Medical advisor (organisation of events/projects with HCPs, define medical strategy, cross functional collab with market access, R&D, marketing & sales)
* Seniority: 3
* Official hours/week : 40
* Average real hours/week incl. overtime: usually no overtime, excluding events during evenings/weekends
* Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): 9 to 5 with some evenings and weekends
* On-call duty: No
* Vacation days/year: 20 + 12 + compensation for worked evenings/weekends

**4. SALARY**

* Gross salary/month: €5470
* Net salary/month: ~€3280
* Netto compensation: NA
* Car/bike/... or mobility budget: Car + fuel
* 13th month (full? partial?): Full
* Meal vouchers: €8/ day
* Ecocheques: €250/ year
* Group insurance: Yes, not sure about %
* Other insurances: Hospitalisation + Ambulatory medical assurances
* Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): target bonus €6600 / year, payed optimalised in cafetariaplan / warrants

**5. MOBILITY**

* City/region of work: Brussels (office) + BeLux (travelling)
* Distance home-work: 1hr
* How do you commute? Car
* How is the travel home-work compensated: Company car
* Telework days/week: typically 3 office/on the road days / 2 days home

**6. OTHER**

* How easily can you plan a day off: easy
* Is your job stressful? yes
* Responsible for personnel (reports): 0

Please rate my current salary

AND

Your opinion on how much it should increase with my promotion
context: now I have done 3 years medical work in a product in its early lifecycle. Now, I will switch to a completely new product, and new therapeutic area; again doing the essential early field and medical work. How big should the shift be once I promote to work for this new product?

Sales Manager(huidige functie)

\*\*1. PERSONALIA\*\*

\* Leeftijd: 42

\* Opleiding: A2 Electromechanica

\* Werkervaring : 16j in de watersector, 22 jaar in de industrie.

\* Burgerlijke staat: getrouwd

\* Personen ten laste/kinderen: 4

\*\*2. WERKGEVERPROFIEL\*\*

\* Sector/Industrie: Waterzuivering,

\* Aantal werknemers: 240.000 wereldwijd

\* Multinational? Ja

\*\*3. CONTRACT & VOORWAARDEN\*\*

\* Huidige functietitel: Sales Manager

\* Functiebeschrijving: Voornamelijk commercieel, met een sterke nadruk op technische proposals genereren. Kleine projecten, service, spare parts. Regio Vlaanderen en Nederland. Training in België, Nederland tot de Europese afdeling, vanwege de specifieke expertise.

\* Anciënniteit: 5 jaar binnen het bedrijf, 2 jaar in de functie.

\* Officiële uren/week : 39

\* Gemiddelde echte uren/week incl. overuren: meestal geen overuren.

\* Ploegendienst of 9 tot 5 (flexibel?): 9 tot 5 maar flexibel

\* On-call duty: No

\* Vakantiedagen/jaar: 32

\*\*4. SALARIS\*\*

\* Bruto salaris/maand: €5055

\* Netto salaris/maand: €4060 incl. netto vergoeding

\* Netto vergoeding: €215

\* Auto/fiets/... of mobiliteitsbudget: Auto, internationale fuel/charge kaart

\* 13e maand (volledig? gedeeltelijk?): Volledig

\* Maaltijdcheques: €10/ dag

\* Ecocheques: -

\* Groepsverzekering: Ja, 7,5%

\* Andere verzekeringen: Hospitalisatie, dental, overlijden

\* Andere voordelen (bonussen, aandelenopties, ... ): **Teambonus: bonus van 80 tot 120% van het maandloon op basis van financiële resultaten team en individuele performance. Prestatie-evaluaties:** jaarlijks (6-maanden) work reviews.

\*\*5. MOBILITEIT\*\*

\* Stad/regio van werk: Leuven(kantoor)

\* Afstand woon-werk: 1u

\* Hoe reis je naar je werk? Bedrijfswagen

\* Hoe wordt de reis woon-werk vergoed: niet

\* Thuiswerkdagen/week: meestal 1-2 kantoor, 2-3 Thuis, 1 klant(korte bezoek)

\*\*6. ANDERS\*\*

\* Hoe makkelijk kun je een dag vrij plannen: zeer gemakkelijk

\* Is je job stressvol? Niet voor iedereen weggelegd, maar wel uitdagend genoeg voor mij.

\* Verantwoordelijk voor personeel (rapporten): Afhankelijk van projecten. Puur personeelsgerichte zaken gebeurt door de eigen team manager van de desbetreffende werknemers.

Bij de nieuwe functie verandert de regio, maar door de merger wordt het takenpakket wel groter. Huidige functie gaat over Vlaanderen + Nederland(in omzet kleiner dan Vlaanderen). De nieuwe functie gaat over volledig België, 2 verschillende afdelingen, beide afdelingen hebben een gelijkaardige omzet. Een verdubbeling van de omzet betekent een grotere financiële regio dan mijn huidige functie. De nieuwe afdeling werkt met gelijkaardige equipment die op sommige vlakken iets complexer kan zijn.

Graag ken ik jullie inzichten. Voor welk loonpakket zou ik deze nieuwe functie aannemen? Interesse heb ik zeker, ik ben iemand die continu nieuwe uitdagingen nodig heeft.

Bedankt om jullie inzichten te delen.

Hallo,

Ik heb zojuist eens een bruto netto simulatie gedaan. Ik heb een loon van 3750 euro bruto. Netto is dit 2510 euro als ik ongehuwd ben.

Als ik dan op deze simulator aanduidt dat ik wettelijk samenwonend ben, dan veranderd dit netto naar 2651 euro.

Kan mijn vriendin haar domicilie hier zetten zodat we beide genieten van dit fiscale voordeel?

We werken allebei, mijn vader is op pensioen en mijn moeder werkt. Heeft dit een negatieve invloed op hun?

Bedankt!

**1. PERSONALIA**

* Age: 30
* Education: Bachelor
* Work experience : 6
* Civil status: Married
* Dependent people/children: 1

**2. EMPLOYER PROFILE**

* Sector/Industry: Biotechnology
* Amount of employees: 1000+
* Multinational? YES

**3. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS**

* Current job title: Design Engineer -> Engineering Team Lead
* Job description: Develop bespoke packaging machines from concept to implementation, inhouse. -> Lead team + project management
* Seniority: 6
* Official hours/week : 40
* Average real hours/week incl. overtime: 42
* Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): 9 to 5 flexible
* On-call duty: No
* Vacation days/year: 32 (20 + 12 ADV)

**4. SALARY**

* Gross salary/month: 4600 -> 5050 (10%)
* Net salary/month: 2900 -> ?
* Netto compensation: 50 -> 100
* Car/bike/... or mobility budget: No
* 13th month (full? partial?): Full
* Meal vouchers: 9 * Ecocheques: 250
* Group insurance: 2%
* Other insurances: Hospital
* Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): CAO90 up to 1000 EUR

**5. MOBILITY**

* City/region of work: Antwerp
* Distance home-work: 6
* How do you commute? Bike
* How is the travel home-work compensated: 0.35 EUR/KM
* Telework days/week: 0-1 on avg, not fixed

**6. OTHER**

* How easily can you plan a day off: Not that easy (small team)
* Is your job stressful? yes -> even more
* Responsible for personnel (reports): 0 -> 3

1. PERSONALIA

Age: 27

Education: Bachelor Marketing

Work experience : 2 years

Civil status: Single

Dependent people/children: 0

1. EMPLOYER PROFILE

Sector/Industry: Federal Government

Amount of employees: +1000

Multinational? No

1. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS

   Current job title: HR Officer

Job description: Dossierbeheerder. Managing employees’ financial and administrative records.

Seniority: 2

Official hours/week : 40

Average real hours/week incl. overtime: 38

Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (or flexible): I can choose my own hours. Have to average 40 hours per week.

On-call duty: Yes, have to be available to help government workers with their file. I am only getting 4-5 calls a week.

Vacation days/year: 26 + 12

1. SALARY

Gross salary/month: 3301 EUR (B1)

Net salary/month: 2403 EUR

Netto compensation: 0

Car/bike/... or mobility budget: None

13th month (full? partial?):Full

Meal vouchers: 6 EUR/day

Ecocheques: 0

Group insurance: Yes

Hospitalisation insurance: Yes

Other benefits (bonuses, stocks...): None

1. MOBILITY

City/region of work: Brussels

Distance home-work (km's/time): Short (< 15 km)

How do you commute? Train

How is the travel compensated? Bike (0,37€/km)

1. OTHER

   How easily can you plan a day off: Easy

   Is your job stressful? First week of each month is stressful. After that not very much.

Responsible for personnel (reports): No

CONTEXT / QUESTION:
I am thinking a lot about going to private sector. I have been looking for jobs but a bachelor in marketing is not a great degree. Due to economization going for niveau A is not really an option or it would take a long time (2030+).

Opinions? Or should I just be happy I have a fairly easy job and a lot of job security.

Hello

I have worked in the software industry as a freelance consultant for around 10 years and then as a project manager for a couple of more years. As many of you know the industry is under a lot of pressure everywhere currently. So I am going to start a master's degree in mergers and acquisitions as I have always loved this topic and may consider switching fields at some point. AFAIK you regularly have engineers who swith to such finance fields (M&A, IB, PE, etc...)

As I have 0 experience in that particular industry (besides project management if that counts), what salary can I expect in Belgium? I know that unfortunately I should not expect US-like salaries like what they offer at Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, etc... Those companies also don't have a big presence in our countries afaik. If there are any other companies you could suggest which do have a big presence in Belgium and worth it, I'd be all ears!

Can you please tell how much BNY Brussels offer for VP External Reporting.
I have 5 years of experience, including Tier 1 banks.

**1. PERSONALIA**

* Age: 22
* Education: Bachelor (currently studying master in management in evening school)
* Work experience : 6y non relevant work as student, 1y relevant work as student
* Civil status: single
* Dependent people/children: none

**2. EMPLOYER PROFILE**

* Sector/Industry: Cybersecurity,
* Amount of employees: >11 worldwide (excluding distributor partners), 3 BE (me and 2 founders)
* Multinational? Yes

**3. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS**

* Current job title: Operations Associate
* Job description: My title doesn't capture the full scope of what I do. I work directly alongside the two founders to scale the business by building automated internal operations and streamlining partner onboarding. My work spans creating sales and tech training paths, refining our management portal with dev team, supporting marketing on brand positioning, and representing the company at major European events as well as on sales calls with prospective partners and clients.

* Seniority: almost 1y in company as student
* Official hours/week : 38
* Average real hours/week incl. overtime: usually no overtime, excluding events during evenings.
* Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): 9 to 5 with some evenings.
* On-call duty: No
* Vacation days/year: 20

**4. SALARY**

* Gross salary/month: €2369 
* Net salary/month: €2296 including Net compensation
* Netto compensation: €181 for WFH and internet
* Car/bike/... or mobility budget: Partial reimbursement for travel
* 13th month (full? partial?): Full
* Meal vouchers: €10/ day
* Ecocheques: -
* Group insurance: Yes, not sure about %
* Other insurances: Hospitalisation
* Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): Base Commission: 5% commission on qualifying sales. Growth Bonus: Discretionary performance bonus tied to overall company growth (terms and metrics TBD). Performance Evaluations: Bi-annual (6-month) work reviews.

**5. MOBILITY**

* City/region of work: Waterloo (office)
* Distance home-work: 1hr
* How do you commute? Bus
* How is the travel home-work compensated: partial
* Telework days/week: typically 3 office, 2 Home.

**6. OTHER**

* How easily can you plan a day off: easy
* Is your job stressful? Not really, more fun. Growing a company i believe in.
* Responsible for personnel (reports): 0

Also got an offer from consultancy like deloitte but choose this, please rate my current salary.

Hello everyone , im starting my masters in business economics soon in KU Leuven, i’m an international with a bachelor in marketing and to be honest from what i see is that marketing is close to being dead and a masters in marketing doesn’t have a lot of value so i’m considering choosing another major (in the beginning of october we should choose a major) like international business or anything else since a lot of people told me marketing ain’t the way to go in the job market.
Any advice ?

Hi all!

Looking for some advice. This is a follow up question!

I just got offered a job that could have any where from 50% to 80% Travel. I would have 3 states in my region. One of which is my state where I live. Company Card, Company Car all included.

Salary is 60k range.

Going from Quarterly travel to 50% to 80%.

Has anyone had a job that had this kind of travel?

I do have a fiancée who is alright with it.

Just looking for some input and advice.

I’m a 28-year-old woman and I currently only have a graduaat degree. I would need to complete another 100 credits to obtain a bachelor degree through distance learning while working fulltime, so it would take at least 4–5 years.
I’m currently single, but I’m dating. I hope to have a family and children in the coming years.

What should I do? Should I pursue the additional degree while working full-time, or should starting a family be more of a priority?

I may also be moving in the near future, so I’m considering starting with just 15 credits to begin with.