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I'm trying to make sense of everything. I looked into payscale.com and salary.com, but they aren't seeming to help much.
I have offers from $55,000-$60,000 in the Los Angeles Area.
I have offers from $48,000-$53,000 in the Hartford, Connecticut area.
And I have an offer for $55,000 in the Boston area.
My question is are these ranges enough to survive in the areas I've mentioned? I mean, considering car payments, rent for a good one bedroom or studio, etc..
I have $100,000 in student loan debt that I'll need to repay, so that should give some more perspective on my situation. I'm tempted to just take the offer for $60,000 starting, but I realize that cost of living can make a lesser salary more "lucrative" for me.
Also, I'm a Computer Engineering major, and will be doing anything from web development to actual software engineering. I'll have a bachelors degree from a fairly good school (not ivy). Are these offer ranges reasonable, or am I being stiffed?
That's a fairly decent salary, well it really depends on what you do for a living and if you're single, married, kids. etc....... but its stil lfarily decent.
hartford is like any other city, it has it's bad parts.. but there are PLNETY of nice suburbs within 30 minutes of hartford that are affordable and safe places to live.... along with plenty to do for nightlife, stuff on the weekends, etc
Boston tends to be expensive, even in the suburbs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by greatfire
Alright,
I'm trying to make sense of everything. I looked into payscale.com and salary.com, but they aren't seeming to help much.
I have offers from $55,000-$60,000 in the Los Angeles Area.
I have offers from $48,000-$53,000 in the Hartford, Connecticut area.
And I have an offer for $55,000 in the Boston area.
My question is are these ranges enough to survive in the areas I've mentioned? I mean, considering car payments, rent for a good one bedroom or studio, etc..
I have $100,000 in student loan debt that I'll need to repay, so that should give some more perspective on my situation. I'm tempted to just take the offer for $60,000 starting, but I realize that cost of living can make a lesser salary more "lucrative" for me.
Also, I'm a Computer Engineering major, and will be doing anything from web development to actual software engineering. I'll have a bachelors degree from a fairly good school (not ivy). Are these offer ranges reasonable, or am I being stiffed?
Which job would have the most potential for the future? Can you see enough diversity in any of them that would give you a better chance for a better job in the future?
And most of all, suppose you had to spend the rest of your life there, which area would suit you better?
There's more at stake than just the amount in your paycheck.
Assume that you will NOT spend the rest of your life there .. because most statistics show that you'll change jobs many times throughout your life. I would say with cost of living, you'd do best in Hartford. CT is in general expensive, but Hartford has the most reasonable cost of living (it also is the biggest city and has a lot of poorer areas). Also, CT is TINY!! So if you want to go to Boston, NY for night life or a weekend, you're there in a couple of hours!!
LA is expensive, and I don't think $60K would go far there. Similar with Boston, which is very expensive up to an hour + commute out of the city.
Look at this as your first job, your goal is to get in the door, build your resume, build your professional experience -- if you can progress within the company - awesome, if you can't - evaluate your situation in 2-3 years (do you see your career growing) and if you don't see a future -- take your skills and resume experience and move on to the next company!
Which job would have the most potential for the future? Can you see enough diversity in any of them that would give you a better chance for a better job in the future?
And most of all, suppose you had to spend the rest of your life there, which area would suit you better?
There's more at stake than just the amount in your paycheck.
I agree with this post. Also which company do you see as the strongest for the future?
firt of all--there are first-year teachers in districts in my area that are starting out at 45K a year so I think your offers based on your field are not that great but teachers don't have the upside to their job prospects like you should (nor do most of them have the debt)--so I don't know if they are good/bad or average--what about your classmates--everyone knows about other jobs that people get--how did they do?
I would think your first concern would be to pay down that debt--it is HUGH to me and would color most other decisions I would make in near/far future including buying a home, getting married, having kids...so I would try to decide on choices based on which company has better deal--not just salary--to offer
SO---
which company is willing to pay your relocation fees cause yu will have some even if you are just moving from a dorm--who is paying for trip there to check out the living situation? Who is paying moving fees (although you can deduct from taxes what you pay it is still cash out of pocket outlay and who knows if you will get anything back)
which company has the best record for how it treats employees and retirees --you can find out something about it with Googling probably --what type of office structures does each company have--some are rigid hierachies, some are more team-oriented.
Which company has more female employees to males--if you are working hard you may not have time to search out someone to date....
which company is the best choice for help funding/continuing your education?
which company has a foreign/international exposure?
which company has the best health plan for single and married employees?
which company pays/matches the most for employee 401K plan
what are the choices you can make of funds in the 401k/retirement plans--do they have low-cost index sector funds with Fidelity or Vanguard or T. Rowe Price or do you have high costs/fees in more mundane funds?
If you don't know anyone in any of the 3 areas or have any contacts within the companies--your choice primarily should be based on which company is the BEST VALUE for you-- and to me that is not so much the area of the county and maybe even the salary which for a single guy will have a high tax profile...
as a single guy you can live pretty much anywhere-- for sure you want to pay down your loan as fast as possible--that is ALOT of debt to start out with--
to do that you want your company to have the best way to maximize your future--that means tops in matching your retirment contribution/most likely to survive and prosper in coming years without laying off people
I agree with those that said Hartford and I'd be happy I was offered that much fresh out of college if I were you, presuming you have no work experience. I think your money will go farther there and if you want to be prudent and get a place with a room-mate and not go wild living the high life, you can pay off your student loan a lot faster than you would living in the other much more expensive areas. Also Hartford is relatively close to both Boston and NYC as well as Providence and the Massachusetts Berkshire Mountains for skiing.
I have a question. How much would I have to make (before and after taxes) to live comfortably in LA, while paying off my student loans? I'm just curious?
What about Boston?
What about Hartford?
In addition to these offers, maybe I can give myself a target to reach for? The general message I'm getting is that these salaries are too low. Where should I be in the future to be alright?
I have had two internships during my college years, and I've also done contract jobs while in school (2 total).
All the companies have those benefits you've mentioned loves2read, but of course some are offering more than others in each category.
What I'm going to be facing for the rest of my life, and what I've had to deal with up to this point (you'll need an open mind here) is being a black male in a white world. Now, I know, I know, racism is gone right? Well, kinda.. it has GONE underground. That is, it exists now in most jobs I've had as a silent subtle undertone. I was going to factor that reality into my situation, but I've realized that it exists pretty much everywhere I go-- even where I grew up. While I was a child in school I didn't really experience it (mostly because I hung around other people like myself), but as I've grown up I've left a room many times where the only thing I could think was "WTF?!!?!?" My first experience of racially-induced bad treatment was with a police officer! And it was odd, because much like a stereotype programmer, I look scrawny, awkward, and harmless. SO anyway, for what that's worth, I thought I'd mention it.
Also, I'm not working my ass off in school, putting myself in so much debt to live in a ghetto for the rest of my life. I'm ready to move on up! But I suppose the debt is going to leave me not getting the last laugh.
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