I Took 4 Job Interviews for a PHP Full-Stack Developer Position in Thessaloniki, Greece in 2025 – Here’s What Changed Since Last Year

Last year (find the post here), I shared my experience interviewing for PHP full-stack developer roles in Thessaloniki, Greece, and the salary offers I received in 2024. This year, I decided to check the market again both to benchmark my value and to see whether things have improved for developers in the area.

Over the course of 2025, I completed 4 interviews for local and remote positions and received 3 formal offers, plus one cold offer that came directly by a friend.

Why I Re-Explored the Market

I’ve been working as a full-stack developer with the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack for several years now. While I’m happy with my current job, I think it’s healthy to stay informed about the job market especially in a city like Thessaloniki, which continues to grow as a regional tech hub.

Salaries, benefits, and expectations change over time, and knowing your market value helps you make informed decisions about your career.

The Interview Process in 2025

This year’s interviews felt more straightforward compared to 2024.

• Technical Assignments: In 2024, all of the companies I interviewed with required unpaid technical assignments. In contrast, in 2025, only one company (remote position) asked for an assignment and it was paid (~€170 / $200). That was a refreshing change and showed more respect for developers’ time.
• Remote Interview: The remote position was the only one with a more complex process it involved a paid task and two interview rounds. The role was advertised as ~€77,000/year, which would have been a major step up from local salaries. The review of my work was positive, but I didn’t get the offer in the end.
• Local Interviews: The other three interviews were more conversational, focusing on experience, projects, and teamwork rather than coding challenges.

The Offers I Received (All Net, After Taxes)

Here’s what I was offered this year:

• Highest Offer: €1,750/month
• Second Offer: €1,300/month + Private Insurance
• Third Offer: €1,500/month
• Cold Offer (no interview): €1,400/month

Average Offer: ~€1,488 net/month

All amounts are after taxes and represent starting salaries.

Comparing 2025 vs. 2024

In 2024, my average offer was €1,350/month. This year’s average is around €1,488, which represents an increase of about 10%. It’s also worth noting that these numbers represent initial offers many companies tend to review and adjust salaries after the first few months or upon hitting certain milestones.

Additional Observations

• Paid Assignments Are a Positive Trend: Getting paid for a technical task, even a small amount, sets a fair precedent and shows maturity in the hiring process.
• Fewer Unnecessary Tests: Unlike last year, most companies didn’t require take-home coding exercises. Discussions focused more on experience and technical understanding.
• Remote Roles Offer Higher Pay, but Competition Is Intense: Even with strong feedback, landing a €77k/year remote position remains tough. Global competition is a big factor.
• Local Salaries Remain Consistent: Offers for experienced PHP full-stack developers in Thessaloniki mostly range between €1,300 and €1,700 net/month.

The tech scene continues to evolve slowly but steadily. Salaries are inching upward, hiring practices are becoming fairer, and companies seem more aware of developer expectations.

For me, this year’s experience reaffirmed that checking the job market periodically is always worth it not necessarily to change jobs, but to understand how the industry around you is growing.