OK, so what's the catch here? (esp. re. Squirrel Hill) (Pittsburgh: flat fee, headhunter)

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I think you would be wise to stick to Squirrel Hill from what you said you like. However, the one thing I would point out is Squirrel Hill is a large city neighborhood for Pittsburgh. Your price point is a little weird. Either you will have to pay more or less. You are sort of in the middle. The "nice" part of Squirrel Hill (North of Forbes) is the most walkable and the the most expensive. 400K doesn't get you much there. On the other hand the "not nice" part has smaller houses that are much cheaper. It is still nice just not as walkable due to topography and distance to the corner of Forbes and Murray.

As a South Sq Hill resident I somewhat take offence to your massive generalization of 'not nice'. Stroll around the area bordered by Murray, Forbes, Schlenley Park and Pocusset, and tell me its 'not nice'. It may not be the 'wall to wall' massive mansions you find north of Forbes, but its hardly 'not nice'. And there's lots of houses under $400K in that area. No shortage of choice/quality, and the whole area is highly walkable and bikeable. We live a 10 minute stroll from the corner of Forbes/Murray. A delightful stroll, past many large, higthly desirable houses on virtually any route we could take.

For example, I wander past this one on way to bus stop. probably not ideal for a familiy but its a lovely home on a very good quiet street.

1934 Murdoch, Squirrel Hill, PA 15217 (MLS# 999869) - Squirrel Hill PA Real Estate - PittsburghMoves.com

(And I chose that area just 'coz I know it - there are lots of other very pleasant streets in South Sq Hill - many of my work colleagues live on them!!)

Geez ....

[tabinekotaro]

Originally Posted by stpickrell

IT -- I am a Linux and Solaris administrator/engineer with certifications + 10 years experience.

In DC, there's a "favored quarter" -- most of the jobs are in DC, Silver Spring MD, Arlington/Alexandria VA, or along I-270 in Maryland or Route 267 in VA.

At least here in DC, IT jobs tend to be further out since data centers take up space and the computers don't need to be downtown. But in many cases the sysadmins work downtown and just make field trips to the actual server room which is further out (like in Urbana or Ashburn).

My partner is a systems engineer (Linux), and this is what they do in his company--the office is in PGH's East End, but they make trips to a data center when needed.

He took the job about a year ago, had several years of professional experience, no graduate degree. He works for a national company whose infrastructure team is located in PGH. I think they're looking for someone right now, actually, if you want to DM me. . . .

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by sealie

And there is this, with an actual salary range, and is downtown if I don't miss my guess.
Information Technology Jobs
Too wide of a range to be useful however.

I don't think he needs to worry about that. It's possible an employer might match his salary. He won't know until he starts getting offers.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Just a tip, if you are looking for a good salary by all means market yourself as an engineer and not as a sysadmin.

Engineer is Rick Ross status and sysadmin is Rodney Dangerfield status.

Good point. I just typed "Linux administrator" and "Linux engineer" into indeed. Totally different listings resulted.

[sealie]

Yeah, but interviewing when you don't even have a ballpark estimate (and they won't tell you, and you're not supposed to ask, because then you're greedy or something) is a drag, not to mention expensive. I try to know as much as possible about a gig prior to an interview so as not to waste anybody's time, especially mine.

[Bong477]

I grew up in DC suburbs, went to high school in Alexandria. Parents still live in DC. Too congested, too expensive for me. Pittsburgh isn't perfect, but I like it much better for most of the points you hit on. I live in SH. Here are some of my thoughts...

You need to have a job that transfers well to Pittsburgh. For my profession, pay is the same or higher than DC area. For some people it will be a little pay cut, for some a huge pay cut, for some people they will be nearly unemployable.

SH is cheap compared to DC standards, however its not cheap by Pittsburgh standards. You will easily pay 350-400k for a house that is nothing special. The grander homes are easily double that. Some are updated, many aren't. Not all of Squirrel Hill is particularly walkable. I live about 1/2 mile from shady/forbes... can't see myself every realistically doing grocery shopping for my family without using a car, but we'll walk to the library, ice cream, park, playground, etc.

Taxes are substantial, you'll pay approx 2-2.5% of home value in property taxes and 3% of your salary in city taxes (+3% state tax).

Colfax/Allderdice are good schools and I plan to send my kids there (oldest is preschool age currently), but they are still city schools, at least to some extent. Half of kids are on free/reduced lunches to give you an idea. While that's not necessarily a terrible thing, it is indicative of the demographics which the school draws from despite being geographically in an affluent area.

Although this weekend was beautiful, weather kinda sucks for about half the year. Its not like a night and day difference from DC, but the difference in degree of coldness, reduced sunlight (during the winter at least), and frequency of snow is enough you notice it.

The Pittsburgh promise gives you 10k/year x 4 years for college if you enrolled in kindergarten. It goes down a little after that but you still get 7.5k/year x 4 years if you don't start until 9th grade. There are some GPA and attendance requirements, but they aren't very much. You also need to attend a college in Pennsylvania.

Crime isn't a significant issue in SH.

In terms of stuff to do, you won't find as much as in DC, but its cheaper and far more accessible. I never feel wanting for anything to do. Also with very rare exceptions (even when I was making far less than I make now) I never feel like I'm priced out of doing something I want.

Traffic is a whole lot less on average than DC metro, but Pittsburgh isn't without its own issues here and there are some serious bottlenecks to contend with. Public transit isn't very good in comparison to DC if you care (I don't).

Moving anywhere in your late 30's when you lived somewhere all/most of your life will be somewhat problematic socially.

Anyway... I'd pick here over DC in a heartbeat in a vacuum, but its a bit of a hard sell picking up and moving at your age unless you have a reason to push you into doing it (like a great job offer).

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by sealie

Yeah, but interviewing when you don't even have a ballpark estimate (and they won't tell you, and you're not supposed to ask, because then you're greedy or something)

Haha I always despised this. It saves everyone's time if the salary is known up front and not after the phone interview, first interview, and second interview. I have actually had interviews where they told me the salary at the very end of the in person interview only to find that it was too low.

Does anyone know if this is a strictly American corporate culture practice or does this exist worldwide?

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by sealie

Yeah, but interviewing when you don't even have a ballpark estimate (and they won't tell you, and you're not supposed to ask, because then you're greedy or something) is a drag, not to mention expensive. I try to know as much as possible about a gig prior to an interview so as not to waste anybody's time, especially mine.

That's why he'd be wise to use an IT headhunter. My girlfriend's husband is one. I'd recommend him, but Pittsburgh isn't his territory even though he works here. Another girlfriend is one too, but I'm not sure where her territory is these days. She was doing a lot of work for Google last I heard. Headhunters are the best way to find IT jobs, especially when traveling from out of town. If the OP can't find any names, I could ask for recommendations.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

It is worth noting that headhunters and staffing agencies are very different. Both have their pro's and cons but headhunters are much more preferable in my opinion. Sure you'll have to pay them but if they provide results it's worth it.

On the other hand, many (not all) staffing agencies I have worked with have been liars and/or crooks. You have to remember that their goal is to make their company money by placing you, your happiness/salary/working conditions are not their priority. They will lie to you and place you in dead end jobs if that means that they make commission. While some might be able to help, they are not your friend and they never have your best interests in mind. Just a heads up.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Haha I always despised this. It saves everyone's time if the salary is known up front and not after the phone interview, first interview, and second interview. I have actually had interviews where they told me the salary at the very end of the in person interview only to find that it was too low.

Does anyone know if this is a strictly American corporate culture practice or does this exist worldwide?

I always address this upfront, in ball park terms, and when I've been hiring people I'm often asked if the job can meet the ball park requirements of the candidate. So it happens ...