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Here's my situation, I'm a native West Texan who just finished a master's degree in accounting in May. Now I'm from San Angelo, and I'm not adverse to moving to Midland/Odessa, but I really would appreciate if someone who's BTDT (been there done that) could chime in here.
I've got to have a serious discussion with myself and some other people whether I can afford to do something I'm contemplating doing. I ask this because know an accounting supervisor in Odessa who has told me that when they hired someone, they give them a 4 month lead and the phone number to an apartment locator and real estate agent whom they are told to call immediately because it usually takes 3 months to find any kind of housing at all. And he hires people at amazing salaries, starting at the $40,000 a year mark which is way more than I have ever made!
The truth is I've been having a heck of a time finding post graduation work. I have a decent lead on a job as an auditor, but it's a $10+ an hour job, closer to the ten than to the plus. Now truthfully I'm used to earning this much. But I'm really at odds with myself over this one, it's not that money is everything in this world, or that all jobs don't represent opportunities (some more than others), and I'm not entitled to anything in life, but I'd just hoped for more. But it's a new world and people just don't get as much out of life as they used to.
What I am trying to figure out is can I make this work because it requires a move to Odessa/Midland. I'm inquiring as to benefits which may make this job better than it sounds initially, one thing right off the bat is you get a company car so there's one major expense drastically reduced right there, and there may be a company cell phone too. If there's a 401k with any kind of matching, disability/life/medical, etc. it might be okay.
I'm working this from the other angle too that being physically located in the Midland/Odessa area is definitely better for future prospects, networking, and that sort of thing, opportunities in Angelo itself aren't completely absent but they are lacking. I will be honest with you all, this job is crap, but being based in Angelo is hurting my job hunt, I'd be better off based in the Midland/Odessa market. It's pretty lousy on my part to aspire to use one job to look for another job but I make no excuses.
Now all that aside, $10 an hour, 40 hours a week, 4 weeks a month, is $1600 a month ignoring taxes. I have a rule that I save 15% of everything I make for retirement, and I save another 15% on top of that for major purchases like replacing a car or rainy days when I don't have a job, like right now. So after I pay myself, I have $1120 in this scenario and that's making a lot of assumptions. That puts this on shaky ground already.
It gets worse, I have $618 a month in personal necessary expenses before I pay for anywhere to live. This is the sum of things like my car insurance, food, life insurance premiums, taxes, vehicle registration, vehicle maintenance, getting an eye exam and glasses once a year, getting a hair cut every 8 weeks, buying my mother a Christmas present, gasoline, etc. Some of this I can cut out if absolutely necessary, probably about $100 worth, but it hurts a lot to give up your life insurance, etc. and I just don't want to do it. The point is before I live anywhere it costs me over 7 grand a year to merely exist.
So that leaves $502 a month to cover rent and utilities. Yikes. Now in Angelo, I can make that work as long as I leech Wifi or it's included in the rent. A 500 it's a challenge but doable, and at 600 it's easy. It's not much to look at but it works. However, I have to ask people who are living it right now, can you realistically live anywhere in Midland/Odessa or somewhere surrounding it for $400 a month, give or take $25? It's really hard to do that where I am and I live in a buyer/renter's market. On Rent.com, the cheapest things I can find start at $525.
I suspect this is the bottom of the market in Odessa or Midland, but I know in Angelo, being native, I can find the cheap places that an out of towner wouldn't find on the internet.
I seriously think I need to find about another $150 at minimum a month to make this work and even then it will be tight. Say $150 for the utilities + $618 for all other personal expenses + $550 for rent is $1318. The problem is that since I save 30% of whatever I get paid, that means I'd actually need ~$1900 a month. Assuming I work 160 hours a month, I need approximately $11.90 an hour net of taxes to make this work at all. That's probably on the very high end of what they're willing to pay me.
Wow, I just really depressed myself. To think a job requiring a master's degree won't pay for this modest lifestyle seriously bums me out.
Any thoughts? It sounds like I'm really going to have to talk these people up, or there's going to have to be some serious perks to reduce my expenses. Some Midland/Odessa imports or natives might be able to tell me something I don't know, how hard and how expensive is it to live there?
Last edited by LalsConstant; 05-26-2011 at 01:18 PM..
Reason: fix spacing
Here's my situation, I'm a native West Texan who just finished a master's degree in accounting in May. Now I'm from San Angelo, and I'm not adverse to moving to Midland/Odessa, but I really would appreciate if someone who's BTDT (been there done that) could chime in here. I've got to have a serious discussion with myself and some other people whether I can afford to do something I'm contemplating doing. I ask this because know an accounting supervisor in Odessa who has told me that when they hired someone, they give them a 4 month lead and the phone number to an apartment locator and real estate agent whom they are told to call immediately because it usually takes 3 months to find any kind of housing at all. And he hires people at amazing salaries, starting at the $40,000 a year mark which is way more than I have ever made! The truth is I've been having a heck of a time finding post graduation work. I have a decent lead on a job as an auditor, but it's a $10+ an hour job, closer to the ten than to the plus. Now truthfully I'm used to earning this much. But I'm really at odds with myself over this one, it's not that money is everything in this world, or that all jobs don't represent opportunities (some more than others), and I'm not entitled to anything in life, but I'd just hoped for more. But it's a new world and people just don't get as much out of life as they used to. What I am trying to figure out is can I make this work because it requires a move to Odessa/Midland. I'm inquiring as to benefits which may make this job better than it sounds initially, one thing right off the bat is you get a company car so there's one major expense drastically reduced right there, and there may be a company cell phone too. If there's a 401k with any kind of matching, disability/life/medical, etc. it might be okay. I'm working this from the other angle too that being physically located in the Midland/Odessa area is definitely better for future prospects, networking, and that sort of thing, opportunities in Angelo itself aren't completely absent but they are lacking. I will be honest with you all, this job is crap, but being based in Angelo is hurting my job hunt, I'd be better off based in the Midland/Odessa market. It's pretty lousy on my part to aspire to use one job to look for another job but I make no excuses. Now all that aside, $10 an hour, 40 hours a week, 4 weeks a month, is $1600 a month ignoring taxes. I have a rule that I save 15% of everything I make for retirement, and I save another 15% on top of that for major purchases like replacing a car or rainy days when I don't have a job, like right now. So after I pay myself, I have $1120 in this scenario and that's making a lot of assumptions. That puts this on shaky ground already. It gets worse, I have $618 a month in personal necessary expenses before I pay for anywhere to live. This is the sum of things like my car insurance, food, life insurance premiums, taxes, vehicle registration, vehicle maintenance, getting an eye exam and glasses once a year, getting a hair cut every 8 weeks, buying my mother a Christmas present, gasoline, etc. Some of this I can cut out if absolutely necessary, probably about $100 worth, but it hurts a lot to give up your life insurance, etc. and I just don't want to do it. The point is before I live anywhere it costs me over 7 grand a year to merely exist. So that leaves $502 a month to cover rent and utilities. Yikes. Now in Angelo, I can make that work as long as I leech Wifi or it's included in the rent. A 500 it's a challenge but doable, and at 600 it's easy. It's not much to look at but it works. However, I have to ask people who are living it right now, can you realistically live anywhere in Midland/Odessa or somewhere surrounding it for $400 a month, give or take $25? It's really hard to do that where I am and I live in a buyer/renter's market. On Rent.com, the cheapest things I can find start at $525. I suspect this is the bottom of the market in Odessa or Midland, but I know in Angelo, being native, I can find the cheap places that an out of towner wouldn't find on the internet. I seriously think I need to find about another $150 at minimum a month to make this work and even then it will be tight. Say $150 for the utilities + $618 for all other personal expenses + $550 for rent is $1318. The problem is that since I save 30% of whatever I get paid, that means I'd actually need ~$1900 a month. Assuming I work 160 hours a month, I need approximately $11.90 an hour net of taxes to make this work at all. That's probably on the very high end of what they're willing to pay me. Wow, I just really depressed myself. To think a job requiring a master's degree won't pay for this modest lifestyle seriously bums me out. Any thoughts? It sounds like I'm really going to have to talk these people up, or there's going to have to be some serious perks to reduce my expenses. Some Midland/Odessa imports or natives might be able to tell me something I don't know, how hard and how expensive is it to live there?
I didn't read none of that, but yes you can afford to live there.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LalsConstant
Here's my situation, I'm a native West Texan who just finished a master's degree in accounting in May. Now I'm from San Angelo, and I'm not adverse to moving to Midland/Odessa, but I really would appreciate if someone who's BTDT (been there done that) could chime in here.
I've got to have a serious discussion with myself and some other people whether I can afford to do something I'm contemplating doing. I ask this because know an accounting supervisor in Odessa who has told me that when they hired someone, they give them a 4 month lead and the phone number to an apartment locator and real estate agent whom they are told to call immediately because it usually takes 3 months to find any kind of housing at all. And he hires people at amazing salaries, starting at the $40,000 a year mark which is way more than I have ever made!
The truth is I've been having a heck of a time finding post graduation work. I have a decent lead on a job as an auditor, but it's a $10+ an hour job, closer to the ten than to the plus. Now truthfully I'm used to earning this much. But I'm really at odds with myself over this one, it's not that money is everything in this world, or that all jobs don't represent opportunities (some more than others), and I'm not entitled to anything in life, but I'd just hoped for more. But it's a new world and people just don't get as much out of life as they used to.
What I am trying to figure out is can I make this work because it requires a move to Odessa/Midland. I'm inquiring as to benefits which may make this job better than it sounds initially, one thing right off the bat is you get a company car so there's one major expense drastically reduced right there, and there may be a company cell phone too. If there's a 401k with any kind of matching, disability/life/medical, etc. it might be okay.
I'm working this from the other angle too that being physically located in the Midland/Odessa area is definitely better for future prospects, networking, and that sort of thing, opportunities in Angelo itself aren't completely absent but they are lacking. I will be honest with you all, this job is crap, but being based in Angelo is hurting my job hunt, I'd be better off based in the Midland/Odessa market. It's pretty lousy on my part to aspire to use one job to look for another job but I make no excuses.
Now all that aside, $10 an hour, 40 hours a week, 4 weeks a month, is $1600 a month ignoring taxes. I have a rule that I save 15% of everything I make for retirement, and I save another 15% on top of that for major purchases like replacing a car or rainy days when I don't have a job, like right now. So after I pay myself, I have $1120 in this scenario and that's making a lot of assumptions. That puts this on shaky ground already.
It gets worse, I have $618 a month in personal necessary expenses before I pay for anywhere to live. This is the sum of things like my car insurance, food, life insurance premiums, taxes, vehicle registration, vehicle maintenance, getting an eye exam and glasses once a year, getting a hair cut every 8 weeks, buying my mother a Christmas present, gasoline, etc. Some of this I can cut out if absolutely necessary, probably about $100 worth, but it hurts a lot to give up your life insurance, etc. and I just don't want to do it. The point is before I live anywhere it costs me over 7 grand a year to merely exist.
So that leaves $502 a month to cover rent and utilities. Yikes. Now in Angelo, I can make that work as long as I leech Wifi or it's included in the rent. A 500 it's a challenge but doable, and at 600 it's easy. It's not much to look at but it works. However, I have to ask people who are living it right now, can you realistically live anywhere in Midland/Odessa or somewhere surrounding it for $400 a month, give or take $25? It's really hard to do that where I am and I live in a buyer/renter's market. On Rent.com, the cheapest things I can find start at $525.
I suspect this is the bottom of the market in Odessa or Midland, but I know in Angelo, being native, I can find the cheap places that an out of towner wouldn't find on the internet.
I seriously think I need to find about another $150 at minimum a month to make this work and even then it will be tight. Say $150 for the utilities + $618 for all other personal expenses + $550 for rent is $1318. The problem is that since I save 30% of whatever I get paid, that means I'd actually need ~$1900 a month. Assuming I work 160 hours a month, I need approximately $11.90 an hour net of taxes to make this work at all. That's probably on the very high end of what they're willing to pay me.
Wow, I just really depressed myself. To think a job requiring a master's degree won't pay for this modest lifestyle seriously bums me out.
Any thoughts? It sounds like I'm really going to have to talk these people up, or there's going to have to be some serious perks to reduce my expenses. Some Midland/Odessa imports or natives might be able to tell me something I don't know, how hard and how expensive is it to live there?
You could always just go get a job on one of those drilling rigs and double your salary... At least double.
Looks like chances are pretty good. Again, it would be best to find a room mate. I agree that you will have more future oppourtunities in the Midland/Oddessa area.
MIDLAND Rent paid by renters in 2009 in Midland:
I'm living out here and made the transition from DFW last summer. We snuck into housing by having our parents who are natives purchase a second home and rent it out to us but that took 7 mos. Anyway, that's unlikely for most people. I have helped a few people get settled out here. Most people I know are in two bedrooms and are paying between 1000 and 1400 per month. However, if you are single the idea about looking for roomates is a good one. With time its possible to find things but to reserve them and qualify you have to have a job and income so its a catch 22 sometimes. And the rent is substantially higher. Aside from getting roomates I have other friends who live in surrounding areas and drive in. Big Spring has much more affordable housing and the commute is not bad. I know of people who are renting homes in colorado city and stanton too. I realize the commute of 45-60 minutes may sound horrible but a lot of employers will work with you on adjusting your schedule so you come in four days aweek etc. We commuted 60-90 minutes in DFW due to traffic so the uninterupted drive to Big Spring seems doable to us and we were considering it before we found a house out here. Craigs list is a great resource for rooms. In terms of salary, all I can say is my guess is you are grossly underestimating what you could get with an MA in accounting. Some of the fast food restaraunts out here are offering between 9 and $13 an hour. Some of the upscale restauraunts are hiring at $15 or so. Administrative Assistants are commonly getting $17-$20, bookeepers $15-$20. Check out Concho, Pioneer, Baker Hughes, and your friends company. Also the school districts have hundreds of openings and many of htem are in administrative work. If you are willing to think outside the box I think you could make it work. That said, I just visited San Angelo and I am jealous of where YOU live. How beatuiful it seemd after months out here Midland is a great town and these oil companies can't fill all the jobs they have these seasons don't last forever so if you are willing to drive a few miles in while you are looking for something more permanent I think you could substantially increase your income.
With all due respect, the figures quoted above are from 2009 which in most economies that are more stagnant that would be a good litness test. Midland's economy...especially in housing has gone crazy in 2010-2012...rents have drastically gone up. I have friends who are facing rent increases of $500 dollars on leases that are between $900-$1100. So you really can't go on data that is three years old you are going to need to talk to a good apartment locator. It is doable though and check out surrounding areas like Andrews and Big Spring, even Odessa has things as do private landlords. It is possible you just may have to drive in at first and there are some companies that will subsidize transportation.
With a MSA I think you can probably find a better paying job in Midland/Odessa. My daughter just graduated from Tech with a double major in accounting and International Business and took an accounting position with one of the energy companies at $56,000. They're also moving her to Midland, and all the other perks and benefits. They're not paying her car though. Point being, there are better paying jobs in M/O that what you've found. Especially with your education.
You're goin to need 1,000-1,300 for rent an utilities but as others has mentioned, you're probably going to start out higher than expecting. Now with that said, don't be surprised when you run across CDL drivers making more.
Why not think about starting your own business and working for yourself. $40K is a low amount for someone with a Master's degree. In Cali, you'd be making over $100k and probably in a management position.
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Midland is a great town and these oil companies can't fill all the jobs they have these seasons don't last forever so if you are willing to drive a few miles in while you are looking for something more permanent I think you could substantially increase your income.
