What is considered "good' money for NWA (sale, apartment)

[Eckman57]

Hello,

I know this is a very subjective topic as many things in ones background and experience would ultimately dictate what they could earn. That being said, what would an hourly wage be that most would consider normal? If someone said they made $13.00 an hour, would that be looked at as good or not so good.

Thank you.

[gunslinger256]

You'll need to provide more parameters. what type of job. how much education etc.

have you tried glassdoor.com?

[nmnita]

OP, I noticed you were planning on moving here a few months ago, did you ever get to NWA or are you still in the planning stage?
As for your question now, it depends a lot of where you are living, your education and advancement potential where you work. $13 an hour isn't bad, for starters, depending on your background and education, plus previous work experience.

[USERXXXX]

Originally Posted by Eckman57

Hello,

I know this is a very subjective topic as many things in ones background and experience would ultimately dictate what they could earn. That being said, what would an hourly wage be that most would consider normal? If someone said they made $13.00 an hour, would that be looked at as good or not so good.

Thank you.

It depends. $13 for hourly is very good for a people working 3 years in hourly field.
For salaried, I believe 50K should be the minimum.

[Eckman57]

Thank you for the replies. Yes, we moved here in June. Since our move, this has been the longest I have ever been without a job. I have been a mid to senior level manager for the past 15 years. We moved knowing that I would not get close to making the same money as I was prior to moving. I did think I would be able to land at least 40K fairly easy. I was making 80K before, so I don't think I am being unreasonable. The issue I seem to be having is getting a call back from jobs I submitted to. I have had two interviews since being here that have resulted in being offered a position but the compensation has been in the 13 dollar range. The same jobs would pay about 18 in the city where we moved from so I am just trying to get a read on the overall hourly market. I have never worked an hourly job before, always been an exempt salary employee. The other issue I am running into is that I chose to serve in the Navy rather than go to college. This has never negatively affected me before or at least I never felt that it did. I reached out to a few headhunting firms and was told that they couldn't help me because of my education background. So, my original question was me trying to see if 13 bucks an hour is pretty much what its going to be here. Thanks again for the replies.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Eckman57

Thank you for the replies. Yes, we moved here in June. Since our move, this has been the longest I have ever been without a job. I have been a mid to senior level manager for the past 15 years. We moved knowing that I would not get close to making the same money as I was prior to moving. I did think I would be able to land at least 40K fairly easy. I was making 80K before, so I don't think I am being unreasonable. The issue I seem to be having is getting a call back from jobs I submitted to. I have had two interviews since being here that have resulted in being offered a position but the compensation has been in the 13 dollar range. The same jobs would pay about 18 in the city where we moved from so I am just trying to get a read on the overall hourly market. I have never worked an hourly job before, always been an exempt salary employee. The other issue I am running into is that I chose to serve in the Navy rather than go to college. This has never negatively affected me before or at least I never felt that it did. I reached out to a few headhunting firms and was told that they couldn't help me because of my education background. So, my original question was me trying to see if 13 bucks an hour is pretty much what its going to be here. Thanks again for the replies.

wow, that sucks and Thanks for serving in the military. Now, I can't begin to give you honest advise, but I do know most people have not had so much trouble finding decent employment here. I can't imagine why you are having a problem, but my opinion really doesn't mean much. You may have to settle for the $13 an hour for now and either move up with the company or keep your eyes open for something else. I guess your experience might be a lesson for younger people: get at least a assoiates degree.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by Eckman57

Thank you for the replies. Yes, we moved here in June. Since our move, this has been the longest I have ever been without a job. I have been a mid to senior level manager for the past 15 years. We moved knowing that I would not get close to making the same money as I was prior to moving. I did think I would be able to land at least 40K fairly easy. I was making 80K before, so I don't think I am being unreasonable. The issue I seem to be having is getting a call back from jobs I submitted to. I have had two interviews since being here that have resulted in being offered a position but the compensation has been in the 13 dollar range. The same jobs would pay about 18 in the city where we moved from so I am just trying to get a read on the overall hourly market. I have never worked an hourly job before, always been an exempt salary employee. The other issue I am running into is that I chose to serve in the Navy rather than go to college. This has never negatively affected me before or at least I never felt that it did. I reached out to a few headhunting firms and was told that they couldn't help me because of my education background. So, my original question was me trying to see if 13 bucks an hour is pretty much what its going to be here. Thanks again for the replies.

Military service is very respected around here, so I wonder if these headhunting firms are just filling a very narrow range of jobs. While your educational background may not meet the minimum standards of some technical fields, your experience should offset that in the managerial positions you are seeking. That said, $13/hour is at least income, and you can continue to seek a better position. Often, employers prefer an applicant that is working over an unemployed applicant, for a variety of reasons. And newcomers to Northwest Arkansas who come here without a job waiting sometimes have to take their time orienting themselves to the job market. The other thing is networking. Workforce and submitting your resume in cold calls often results in steering applicants to the hourly, entry-level jobs. Sometimes even taking temp positions can be better, because of the networking opportunities.

I don't think $13/hr is what it's going to be here for you, I'm sure there are opportunities for much better for you. It can take a while to find those opportunities, though. They don't just jump out at you.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge

Military service is very respected around here, so I wonder if these headhunting firms are just filling a very narrow range of jobs. While your educational background may not meet the minimum standards of some technical fields, your experience should offset that in the managerial positions you are seeking. That said, $13/hour is at least income, and you can continue to seek a better position. Often, employers prefer an applicant that is working over an unemployed applicant, for a variety of reasons. And newcomers to Northwest Arkansas who come here without a job waiting sometimes have to take their time orienting themselves to the job market. The other thing is networking. Workforce and submitting your resume in cold calls often results in steering applicants to the hourly, entry-level jobs. Sometimes even taking temp positions can be better, because of the networking opportunities.

I don't think $13/hr is what it's going to be here for you, I'm sure there are opportunities for much better for you. It can take a while to find those opportunities, though. They don't just jump out at you.

I agree about the military years> I wonder how many years he servedd? I know many companies, like Tysons and WalMart give preference to people who have served our company.

[Eckman57]

nmnita - I did 4 years during desert storm/desert shield on a crash, fire and rescue team onboard an Aircraft Carrier.

DC - You are on to something regarding the narrow range of jobs that headhunters are trying to fill, mostly Walmart CPG stuff. I am more of a leader of people, manager of processes in the area of continuous improvement, six sigma stuff. It was a very hard decision to leave my last company, I thought I would be there until retirement. We visited NWA a few times over the past couple of years and fell in love with the area.

As far as accepting the offer on the table and then continuing my search for something more lucrative, I feel accepting an offer is a commitment and wouldn't feel right if I couldn't give it a full go. Fortunately, I am not in a place where I have to start working immediately thanks to the proceeds from our house sale but it would be nice to start working soon and place that money in savings. And the apartment we chose to live in required the full year amount of rent due to no employment so rent isn't due until June 2016. lol.

Thanks again to both of you.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by Eckman57

nmnita - I did 4 years during desert storm/desert shield on a crash, fire and rescue team onboard an Aircraft Carrier.

DC - You are on to something regarding the narrow range of jobs that headhunters are trying to fill, mostly Walmart CPG stuff. I am more of a leader of people, manager of processes in the area of continuous improvement, six sigma stuff. It was a very hard decision to leave my last company, I thought I would be there until retirement. We visited NWA a few times over the past couple of years and fell in love with the area.

As far as accepting the offer on the table and then continuing my search for something more lucrative, I feel accepting an offer is a commitment and wouldn't feel right if I couldn't give it a full go. Fortunately, I am not in a place where I have to start working immediately thanks to the proceeds from our house sale but it would be nice to start working soon and place that money in savings. And the apartment we chose to live in required the full year amount of rent due to no employment so rent isn't due until June 2016. lol.

Thanks again to both of you.

You haven't said anything about the degree to which you are involved in social activities in the area, but networking would be key to finding the right job for you. I wouldn't say that the Northwest Arkansas job market is an old boys' club (though some would), but a lot of jobs are filled before the opening is ever made public. John Smith lets HR know he's moving to another job, and Don Smith in Operations knows someone who'd be perfect for the job, he tells HR, gets his friend's resume to the right people, and the company is spared the fees from advertising the job as well as assuring a smooth transition.