Salary Differences in Los Angeles as Compared to Other States in the Country (school districts, college)

[JackSparrow]

Originally Posted by HotFudge

Are salaries in Los Angeles higher than in the rest of the country to meet the cost of living?

Absolutely so! (in my field and many others)

Originally Posted by HotFudge

I'm currently a teacher in Texas, and my yearly base salary is $41,000 with five years experience. Does a teacher with that number of years experience make much more, due to the cost of living?

One of my ex-GF's was making $53,000/yr with only two years experience. Don't know how that helps you. 20%-ish increase is pretty substantial!

Originally Posted by HotFudge

If any of you have relocated to Los Angeles, have you seen an increase in the average salary for your job? (Specific jobs and salary amounts would be greatly appreciated so I can see the "big picture")

I moved to Los Angeles twice.

The first time I moved, my salary went from $64k/yr to $98k/yr doing the same job in both places. (Computer animation)

The second time I moved, my salary went from $70k/yr to $80k/yr doing the same job in both places. (Computer animation)

Also, now that I am established, I make more than $100k/yr


But I think DawnW's post should sum it all up for you (Don't listen to the haters)

[Sorcerer68]

Originally Posted by DawnW

I am coming the other way (taught in LA for 16 years) and have moved to NC. My salary was literally cut in HALF when I moved here.

BTW: I worked in LAUSD for ALL of those years and really want to return to LA and work again in LAUSD. I just need to convince DH to move. His job is better in LA too (more opportunities for advancement) but he likes the smaller city.

Anyway, take a look at the LAUSD website and you can see a salary scale. All health insurance is paid for so you don't need to worry about that.

PM me if you have any questions.

Dawn

I had to work on my husband for almost 3 years before he finally caved in and we returned. BTW he immediately got a 150k a year job working 20 hours a week. He forgot how much he loved it here .

[HotFudge]

Thanks, Charles, for your response.

Thanks for the link, Squeezebox, I see the difference on that now :-)

Hi KerrTown, I live in a small city, about 150,000 population and the cost of living is very comfortable, but the salaries are not as good either, so I guess they go hand in hand.

Hi Jesse! Wow, your mom has built an awesome career; that's awesome! Thanks a lot for the offer, wow! Well, I think I'm a good writer, but when it comes to publications, I prefer photography and page layout design. However, my passion in journalism is television (not talent but behind the scenes work). I really appreciate your offer; you're very nice.

Hi Sorcerer! I really don't want to teach once I move to L.A. The whole reason why I'm moving to L.A. is to pursue my "dream" career in communications and television, but my last resort will be teaching even if it's just to get myself relocated first and then I'll look for other options once I'm there. Thanks loads for the advise!

Hi Maaci! Thanks for telling me about your job. Quick question: you're interviewing for a job in California... are you already living there or are you doing the process long distance? If you're doing it long distance, how were you able to land an interview and all that without living in California?

Hi Mel, Thanks a lot for the info. That's a good increase in salary for the same number of years experience... so that gives me hope :-)

Hi Dawn, wow, your salary cut in half! I hope the cost of living was also cut in half! That must be hard. Well, I really hope you and your hubby can find your way back to L.A. Smaller cities must feel nice when you come from a big city like L.A., but small cities can also get boring very quickly. I wish you the best and hope you move back soon :-)

Hi Jack... thanks for your comment. It also gives me hope. The scary part about my move is actually finding a job, since I have absolutely no experience in the communications field, even though that's my college degree. I'm turning 30 in two days, and I thought... either move NOW (summer 2008) or you're stuck here. I'm really looking forward the move, even though change is very scary, but sometimes we gotta think about ourselves and do whatever is best.

THANKS EVERYBODY!

[HotFudge]

Originally Posted by Sorcerer68

I had to work on my husband for almost 3 years before he finally caved in and we returned. BTW he immediately got a 150k a year job working 20 hours a week. He forgot how much he loved it here .

150K? wow!!! :-) How much school does he have, what is his profession, and are there any vacancies right now? LOL

[Sorcerer68]

Originally Posted by HotFudge

150K? wow!!! :-) How much school does he have, what is his profession, and are there any vacancies right now? LOL

It's sort of something you're either born to do or you're not. He works in a certain aspect of T.V. production. He tried to go to school for it and ended up teaching a few classes before he realised college wouldn't teach him anything in his field. I might add this job allows him to work freelance jobs to bring in some extra money . L.A. is full of opportunities and you won't see them in the "statistics" because they don't exist in other cities. I wrote a gargantuan post on this a couple weeks ago.

[sheri257]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is probably going to be your best source of information. They even have wage data broken down by city for different professions.

[HotFudge]

Hi Sorcerer! Thanks a lot for commenting back :-) I'm glad you guys are doing so well in L.A. :-)

Hi Sheri... I hadn't thought about the Bureau of Labor Statistics... (HELLO!) lol I'll check that out too.

[ibarrio]

I was making a base of $72,000 teaching special ed for the Antelope Valley Union High school District (10 years experience). With extra duty (1 hour of Senior Credit Retrieval per day) I was making around $84,000.

I loved my job but area around Palmdale/Lancaster has become horrible. So we packed up and moved.

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

In my field, the salary tends to match the size of the metropolitan area (except Texas, strangely enough).

[zenjenn]

It really depends on your industry, and what city you're comparing it to. For some industries, Los Angeles based employers need to pay higher wages in order to offset the cost of living in order to get employees. Similarly in that same industry, employers might need to pay big city salaries in order to persuade people to come live and work in a less glamorous city.

We're moving to Alabama, where there is a high need for engineers, low cost of living. The city isn't on people's radars as a happenin' place to live, but they need to recruit more engineers to live and work there. How do they do it? By offering salaries competitive with big cities. The companies still win, because it's cheaper for them to set up shop there in terms of overhead.

We're still in final negotiations with a couple of job offers - looking at a minimal pay cut, (if any, by the time negotiations are done) for a 60% lower cost of living.

However, people with certain skills, like say, very skilled carpenters and good house painters, can make a shockingly high amount of money in Los Angeles, even with low education. There are lots of people with high-end houses and such, yet a low supply of that kind of labor at any quality level. I am perpetually amazed at what people around here with no more than a high school diploma can make, if they aquire these in-demand skills. I know of people with college degrees who have hung up their cap and gown and picked up a wrench and make a very fine living doing so.

Teaching is sort of a unique case because teacher salaries are guided by state policy more than the more fluid dynamics of capitalism.