About to graduate, do you think these offers are reasonable? (Los Angeles: rent, car registration)

[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?

[UB50]

Well, one advantage to being in LA is that you'll have the chance to network and possibly find a better position. There is a lot of computer design work in LA and in other areas of California.

$60K is not a huge salary for LA. If you get a roommate, you'll be able to stretch your dollars farther. (I don't believe Hartford or Boston are low rent areas either -- so I don't know what the advantages would be to pick those areas to work in.)

[NDA]

It's not enough to live in a decent neighborhood and do the things you might want to do/enjoy L.A. If you feel financially strapped without knowledge that your salary will rise you might get bitter about L.A. This is a tough place to be and not be financially comfortable because while there is much to do, if you can't afford to do it, its torture.

A roomate would help alot.

You'd be in the 25% tax bracket and on 60k you would pay $11,424 Federal. Tax Brackets (Federal Income Tax Rates) 2000 through 2007 State tax would be about $3400. Of course contributions to retirement plans and such would reduce that. That brings you to about $45k to actually live on.

Check the car insurance rates. Car registration is high compared to other states. Food is probably cheaper than other states. Utilities aren't bad because we rarely need air conditioners or heat. Rent for a decent place would be @$1500. Again a roomate would improve things. I'd find out about parking at work, make sure its free, and calculate the cost if it isn't. How about negotiating a higher salary? Those are probably just the low starting numbers.

[Rats]

all those salaries are very reasonable for someone who just graduated. I think the avg. salary for a computer engineering major is around $54k or $4500/month.

[Mel2882]

I think $60K is plenty. It won't make you rich, but it's rather good for a starting salary. I started at $41K (as a teacher). I only paid $900 a month in rent, but I also had a $400 car payment plus insurance, and all other living necessities. I think you'll be fine as long as you are good with your budget.

[Starwind0079]

60K sounds decent, though I would think hard about what the cost of living will do to your salary, besides taxes.

I'm living in Palms and I have an MS in computer science; I'm making... well, let's say between 75 and 100K, but I'm seeing that it's very easy to pay a ton on rent and run up huge tabs on entertainment. I'm paying $1150/mth. in Palms for a 1 bedroom (which I think is pretty decent, since most other places around here are at least $1300). I don't have a car payment, and since my car's worth roughly a month's salary I only have liability coverage. No student loans or car payments. I'm pretty conservative when I spend on groceries, and don't go out much (no movies, concerts, eating out, etc.; my idea of entertainment is to hit the gym, play soccer, or stay in and watch TV... call me boring, I guess ).

Given all this, I manage to put away about $1500 a month in savings, which doesn't seem good to me considering my salary. It seems rent, gas, and taxes are the biggest drains on my paycheck.

That, and the occasional date. Girls out here are shallow as all hell. Then again, this is LA...

[Sorcerer68]

60k for a single guy is a nice living.