salary frustration-advice? (appointed, home, to buy) - General U.S. - City-Data Forum

angelaMS · 09-13-2007, 01:42 AM

Last year I moved from a small town in eastern PA to the Phoenix Metro area. With all the talk of Phoenix's booming economy, I am frustrated and disappointed -14 months later- to be making $7k less/year than in PA! I realize that settling into a new area requires sacrifices. However, the competition for positions here in Phoenix is tough and I've been unable to improve my situation (ie: no luck with the job hunting!) Cost of living here is not outrageous, but with a master's degree and 5 years of experience (including management experience), I'm struggling to be happy with my $32k/year. I'm looking primarily in higher education/adult education, training and curriculum development, and non-profits...or some combination

Like many people, I'm seeking a nice balance of cost of living and salary. I'm 29 and would love to buy a home in the next few years.

So, I guess I'm looking for input- Should I continue to focus on job hunting here? Should I broaden my scope? If so, where should I look?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Vagus · 09-13-2007, 08:32 AM

What kind of work were you doing in PA? The words "education" and "non-profit" don't exactly conjur up images of high salaries, except at the very top levels. Moreso in a politically conservative locale.

why did you move to begin with? If you really want to stay around Phoenix, you may need to broaden your search to other fields. Otherwise it may be time to think about moving elsewhere, but not before you do some serious career planning and salary-searching first to decide where your skill and salary expectations can be realistically met.

angelaMS · 09-13-2007, 09:33 AM

Thanks for your reply!

I realize that my chosen field is not exactly a money maker!

In PA, I was doing consultanting for a non-profit. Here, I do training fand community education or a non-profit. I'm not looking for a six figure salary, but I do think that my skills should be transerring into a higher salary. Am I wrong? I have attempted to move away from the non-profit sector...and I will continue to do that.