Brazilian Professionals Triple Salaries Working for Foreign Companies, Study Finds

A recent study by TechFX, titled “Brazilian Global Salary 2025,” reveals that Brazilian professionals working for foreign companies can earn up to three times more than their peers employed domestically.

The research, based on data from the “2024 Brazilian Programmer Salary Survey” by Código Fonte, highlights the significant impact of English proficiency and global demand for skilled labor on salary disparities.

The study surveyed 1,433 Brazilians employed by international companies and found that English proficiency plays a key role in earnings. Professionals with intermediate English earn an average of $2,901 monthly, while those with advanced skills make $4,845—a 67% increase.

Fluent speakers see their salaries rise to $7,536, marking a 55% jump from advanced levels and a staggering 160% increase compared to intermediate speakers. Notably, 84% of Brazilians working abroad are fluent or advanced in English.

Salary growth also follows a distinct pattern: earnings increase by roughly 54% during the first decade of employment but slow thereafter. Additionally, currency fluctuations benefit these workers.

“Those paid in foreign currencies like the dollar saw their salaries rise by about 24% last year without asking for a raise,” noted Eduardo Garay, TechFX’s CEO. For foreign companies, hiring Brazilians becomes increasingly cost-effective as the Brazilian real weakens.

U.S.-based Firms Lead Global Hiring Trends

U.S.-based firms dominate hiring, accounting for 85.55% of placements, followed by Australia at just 1.85%. Time zone compatibility explains much of this preference.

Smaller companies (1–50 employees) surprisingly offer higher average salaries ($6,730.75) than mid-sized firms ($5,806.40), though larger corporations (5,001–10,000 employees) pay the most at $7,791.20.

The tech sector remains the top employer for Brazilians abroad (87.61%) and offers lucrative opportunities. Junior tech professionals earn R$13,000 monthly abroad versus R$4,000 in Brazil.

Senior roles command R$35,000 internationally compared to R$15,000 locally. Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) lead with an average salary of $9,943 per month.

LinkedIn emerged as the primary job acquisition tool (53.65%), followed by referrals (22.92%). Other sectors like product management and marketing are also growing in international hiring.