Why do most Long Island jobs pay like crap? (lawyers, home)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Maybe but in my field (law), there is more competition amongst lawyers for entry level jobs than there are jobs available. I resigned from that firm a year later and I was then put in charge of hiring and training my replacement. I couldn't believe how many resumes flooded our mailbox from recent law grads w/ great resumes and schools (Boston U, Fordham, Cornell Law and Emory just to name a few). These people knew about the benefits and it didn't stop them, just like it didn't stop me. Some job applicants simply do not care. Small law firms don't traditionally hire the same way as larger firms that recruit at law schools, hence why competition is fierce for those jobs for recent law grads who fall outside the top 10-20% of their graduating class ...so benefits dont really factor that high on their priority list.
I'm surprised that so many law firms wouldn't offer health insurance. Law is a higher paying field than my field (civil engineering). Civil engineering firms openly admit that they offer poor benefits, but I don't think that there are any civil engineering firms that don't offer health insurance. Maybe for whatever reason, lawyers place less importance on health insurance than do engineers? If so, I wonder why that is?
Quote:
This is a nice idea but in a capitalistic country as ours, employers will always default to their bottom line - which is how much profit they can make without sacrificing quality of output, labor costs and supplies/resources. The fact is there are many jobs in NYC that pay very well, and you don't see the majority of those folks living in Manhattan either. Just looking at the bios of the folks who perished in the recent Metro North crash in Valhalla this week tells you that, they move to the suburbs not because of costs but because they cant afford NYC private school costs for their kids and/or they want a bigger house and yard.
I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but I just have a problem with the expectation that one person in the family (usually the father) makes all of the sacrifices (a life of nothing but commuting, working, and sleeping) while the rest of the family lives the high life. And besides, children need time with their fathers. What is wrong with telling kids "I know your bedroom is smaller than you're used to, and I know that you have to go to the park rather than us having our own backyard, but your father is home for dinner now, and your father gets to join us for our family vacations"?
In any case, I was referring to ways that employers could be more flexible that wouldn't cost them any more money. For example, if I had absolutely no choice but to commute to the city, my quality of life would be at least somewhat better if I had the option of working 4 10 hour days rather than 5 8 hour days, since it would reduce the amount of time I'd waste commuting, and it would give an extra day to sleep in and/or take care of chores around the house and/or do something fun. That would cost an employer nothing, and in fact, could even save an employer some money, since I would be willing to accept a lower salary (even though I'd be working the same number of hours and getting the same work done), I'd be willing to take fewer vacation days (since every weekend would be a 3 day weekend, so I wouldn't need to use vacation time to create long weekends), and I'd be willing to go without paid holidays (since the week of a Monday holiday I could work Tues-Fri rather than Mon-Thurs). I still would not have the quality of life that I currently have with my job on LI, but it would at least be a better quality of life than commuting to the city 5 days a week, and I'd be willing to take a reduction in pay to get that if I lost my current job.
Similarly, if somebody takes a lower paying job on LI, why not give them the option of trading back some of their vacation time for extra pay?
I realize that my health insurance idea wouldn't work, since then all of the well employees would opt for the cheap plan and all of the sick employees would opt for the expensive plan, so it wouldn't work.
Since we agree that even people who work the high paying jobs in NYC can't afford to live in Manhattan, do you agree with what I am saying that in real dollars (adjusted for local cost of living), NYC jobs pay less than LI jobs?
Finally, all the people who live in the wealthy parts of Manhattan, where do they work?
There are plenty of middle class professionals who live in Manhattan or another borough with kids. Many people have kids who share a room, even if they have one boy and one girl. You don't need to live in a house in the suburbs just because you have a family. Many people negotiate the NYC public school system and get their kids into fine programs.
There are employers who offer flex time or a compressed work week. The current issue of Working Women magazine has an article about more fathers using the family friendly benefits and also a list of the 100 best companies for working parents. You can get it at the library.
If the jobs you want are in the city, move to the city. You can visit your parents on weekends.
There are plenty of middle class professionals who live in Manhattan or another borough with kids. Many people have kids who share a room, even if they have one boy and one girl. You don't need to live in a house in the suburbs just because you have a family. Many people negotiate the NYC public school system and get their kids into fine programs.
There are employers who offer flex time or a compressed work week. The current issue of Working Women magazine has an article about more fathers using the family friendly benefits and also a list of the 100 best companies for working parents. You can get it at the library.
If the jobs you want are in the city, move to the city. You can visit your parents on weekends.
I'd rather have my current job than a job in the city. I'm just talking about a contingency plan if I am laid off.
I would not want children sharing a room. What parts of the city do you think I'd be able to afford on an approximately $90,000 per year salary? Are you suggesting buying or renting? I would really not want to rent, since it is throwing money in the garbage, but I seriously doubt I could afford to buy anywhere in Manhattan.
I assume you are thinking of me being able to somehow afford 2 bedrooms? That could work if we have only 1 kid. My wife wants to have 2 or 3 kids (I really do not want 3 kids), but she accepts the reality that we might only have 1 kid. Since she doesn't want to relocate, nor does she want to be a de facto single mother (which she would be if I was commuting to the city), she will likely want to have only 1 kid if we are living in the city. But I'm still not sure where we'd be able to afford to live, nor do either of us want to rent.
Just looking at the bios of the folks who perished in the recent Metro North crash in Valhalla this week tells you that, they move to the suburbs not because of costs but because they cant afford NYC private school costs for their kids and/or they want a bigger house and yard.
Haha! I looked at their bios also! Including the SUV driver and her husband (successful entrepreneur living in Edgemont). LOL! Amazing how these folks would put up with such a long commute. One of them was an MIT grad living in Danbury.
Haha! I looked at their bios also! Including the SUV driver and her husband (successful entrepreneur living in Edgemont). LOL! Amazing how these folks would put up with such a long commute. One of them was an MIT grad living in Danbury.
These people are dead, and you think that is funny????
And what does being an MIT grad have to do with anything? I'm an MIT grad.
Well first of all most jobs being created these days - nationwide, not just Long Island - are low income service/support jobs. This isent an LI problem, it's a national problem. This minimum wage garbage has chased industry off of US soil. Then of course we have the outsourcing of just about everything else.
How do we fix Long Island? Simple, Long Island needs to become a separate state. New York is too focused on New York City to the detriment of the rest of the state. As a state Long Island would have 2 senators and 5 congressmen who can advocate for us in Congress. As a state we can tailor our laws to meet OUR realities. Long Island is used as the cash cow to fund NYC ... who then takes our jobs, our wealth, etc. It's an almost colonial situation. It's time for a State of Long Island. Since we would no longer have to fund the NYC welfare bums in the projects we could then massively cut taxes and attract businesses from NYC to Long Island.
I'd rather have my current job than a job in the city. I'm just talking about a contingency plan if I am laid off.
I would not want children sharing a room. What parts of the city do you think I'd be able to afford on an approximately $90,000 per year salary? Are you suggesting buying or renting? I would really not want to rent, since it is throwing money in the garbage, but I seriously doubt I could afford to buy anywhere in Manhattan.
I assume you are thinking of me being able to somehow afford 2 bedrooms? That could work if we have only 1 kid. My wife wants to have 2 or 3 kids (I really do not want 3 kids), but she accepts the reality that we might only have 1 kid. Since she doesn't want to relocate, nor does she want to be a de facto single mother (which she would be if I was commuting to the city), she will likely want to have only 1 kid if we are living in the city. But I'm still not sure where we'd be able to afford to live, nor do either of us want to rent.
at your low income your kids should share a room. you should also work in the city as that is where the higher incomes are.
I'm surprised that so many law firms wouldn't offer health insurance. Law is a higher paying field than my field (civil engineering). Civil engineering firms openly admit that they offer poor benefits, but I don't think that there are any civil engineering firms that don't offer health insurance. Maybe for whatever reason, lawyers place less importance on health insurance than do engineers? If so, I wonder why that is?
I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but I just have a problem with the expectation that one person in the family (usually the father) makes all of the sacrifices (a life of nothing but commuting, working, and sleeping) while the rest of the family lives the high life. And besides, children need time with their fathers. What is wrong with telling kids "I know your bedroom is smaller than you're used to, and I know that you have to go to the park rather than us having our own backyard, but your father is home for dinner now, and your father gets to join us for our family vacations"?
In any case, I was referring to ways that employers could be more flexible that wouldn't cost them any more money. For example, if I had absolutely no choice but to commute to the city, my quality of life would be at least somewhat better if I had the option of working 4 10 hour days rather than 5 8 hour days, since it would reduce the amount of time I'd waste commuting, and it would give an extra day to sleep in and/or take care of chores around the house and/or do something fun. That would cost an employer nothing, and in fact, could even save an employer some money, since I would be willing to accept a lower salary (even though I'd be working the same number of hours and getting the same work done), I'd be willing to take fewer vacation days (since every weekend would be a 3 day weekend, so I wouldn't need to use vacation time to create long weekends), and I'd be willing to go without paid holidays (since the week of a Monday holiday I could work Tues-Fri rather than Mon-Thurs). I still would not have the quality of life that I currently have with my job on LI, but it would at least be a better quality of life than commuting to the city 5 days a week, and I'd be willing to take a reduction in pay to get that if I lost my current job.
Similarly, if somebody takes a lower paying job on LI, why not give them the option of trading back some of their vacation time for extra pay?
I realize that my health insurance idea wouldn't work, since then all of the well employees would opt for the cheap plan and all of the sick employees would opt for the expensive plan, so it wouldn't work.
Since we agree that even people who work the high paying jobs in NYC can't afford to live in Manhattan, do you agree with what I am saying that in real dollars (adjusted for local cost of living), NYC jobs pay less than LI jobs?
Finally, all the people who live in the wealthy parts of Manhattan, where do they work?
OK lets pretend I am the boss why would I go for this? What is in it for me?
At my old company we tired your scenario and with flex time to boot is was a nightmare. I had a staff of around 20 at a company doing something called 9/80s meaning you work 80 hours over nine days and every tenth day is a day off. Then they added in you could start anytime between 730am and 9:30 am and ocassionally tellecommute.
It was a nightmare tracking the people. Bosses had to be in office and were not part of this. So now I was working 10 to 11 hours a day five days a week tracking these folks. Luckily we had the big recession and we laid off a ton of folks and called the remaining folks back to a regular work schedule.
I really just want folks to show up to work on time do their job and go home on time. Also can you imagine the boss telling his wife kids I cant go to any of your events and have to work late cause my staff likes to sleep in and only come to work four days a week.
And what gives you the right to decide what I should do with my life?
When you have kids you will understand. It is no longer about you and about what is best for them. You need a job to properly support your wife and kids and make sure they can attend the right colleges etc.
I cant imagine taking a cushy job so I could sleep in late and have three day weekends and then just tell kids just go to Community College and have crooked teeth.
You have your entire single life, married life before kids and life after last one goes off to college to be selfish.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
