Stuck in Ohio- but Moving to So Cal in 6 months! ADVICE (San Diego: school, calculator)

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by blauskies

Miami is way worse, but San Diego salaries are in line with South Florida if not worse.

Since when are average salaries in SD worse than South Florida? Florida is at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to pay.

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Bureau of Labor Statistics
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA - May 2011 OES Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL - May 2011 OES Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

Glassdoor
Mechanical Engineer Salary in San Diego | Glassdoor

Mechanical Engineer Salary in Miami | Glassdoor

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by divagotstyle07

Then should I expect job offerings with salaries more around 100k? or are you saying that's for seasoned engineers?

That's the average in the Bay Area, does not mean you will get or expect it, as it depends on many factors and what field you are in.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

Since when are average salaries in SD worse than South Florida? Florida is at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to pay.

Census Factfinder
American FactFinder - Results *

Bureau of Labor Statistics
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA - May 2011 OES Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL - May 2011 OES Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

Glassdoor
Mechanical Engineer Salary in San Diego | Glassdoor

Mechanical Engineer Salary in Miami | Glassdoor

True Salaries do suck in South Florida, but there is a few exceptions to the norm, only thing is, Florida is a no income tax state and the nearly 10% you lose in San Diego is a gain in Miami, that is if you can even find one of those elusive above average paying jobs which is extremely difficult. I know north up into Broward and Palm Beach aerospace is big, and average salaries are in the $80 to 90K range.

San Diego has more opportunities than Miami but tends to not pay comparable to the Bay Area, again I have found a few exceptions but they have had positions listed for over 6+ months and obviously are not too interested in placing anyone.

[tonyinsd]

Originally Posted by Clevelandgal

tony was missing from your advice is you brought some experience to the table when you came out here. You working a transitional job after coming it is different than a new grad. Once you take a low wage job you can pigeon hole yourself. I find it impossible to belief that this young lady is better off being a model/waitress in San Diego and trying to meet guys on linkin for happy hour "networking" vs the real engineer she is capable of in St louis ( or fill in the blank of gross city) for a few years then making a move and having a real future. I am 100% sure that's a better 5 year plan to be a professional in San Diego. For gods sakes no one is saying you need to be 75 years old before you fulfill your whims, but let's be real in your 20s you can be happy most anywhere. If I followed every goofy whim I thought I need fulfilled when I was 25 I'd never be sitting at my beach house in San Diego typing this.

A lot of new grads take jobs that are way below what they are educated for while they are looking for work. When I got out of college back in the early 1990s, I took menial, dead end jobs until I found a professional one.

I don't see a problem with someone doing the same thing. Did I pigeon hole myself by being a lifeguard while I was looking for a professional job?

It would be no different for this woman.

It is far better to move when you have no baggage such as a job to leave, and you're used to living on Ramen noodles and mooching free internet at coffee shops to save money than to do it after you're used to a certain lifestyle.

[Radical347]

Originally Posted by blauskies

It depends on the person, no credit card or student loan debt, car loan or lease surely makes the above easy. Expenses add up very quickly though, utilities, car insurance, gas, food cost and Prop 30 will drive up sales tax rates making it even more expensive.

Start-ups are not the same, the work requirements are often very long hours and weekends.

Point I am trying to make is, the average salary for an Engineer in San Jose is around $100K/year, so $80K is well below the median.

I'll agree with you, then, totally on #3 and mostly on 1 & 2. The difference being that 1, prop 30 raises taxes 1/4 percent which isn't going to be significant for one person--even if you spend $10,000 on taxable goods that's a whopping $25 extra per year, and 2, while I agree startups involve long hours, it's not just them anymore. I know countless other people, not at startups or in engineering, that also work 50+ hours.

[Radical347]

Originally Posted by tonyinsd

A lot of new grads take jobs that are way below what they are educated for while they are looking for work. When I got out of college back in the early 1990s, I took menial, dead end jobs until I found a professional one.

I don't see a problem with someone doing the same thing. Did I pigeon hole myself by being a lifeguard while I was looking for a professional job?

It would be no different for this woman.

It is far better to move when you have no baggage such as a job to leave, and you're used to living on Ramen noodles and mooching free internet at coffee shops to save money than to do it after you're used to a certain lifestyle.

I agree. I don't see how taking a waitstaff or lifeguard job in CA is going to pigeonhole someone any more than taking a professional job in OH. In each case you have 1 out of 2 variables (career or location). For every employer at a CA engineering firm that will pass her over for being a waitress, there's at least one that will pass her over for not being in CA.

Also, it's not uncommon for waitstaff in CA, particularly at high-end restos, to make ~40k/yr. CA requires them to get at least minimum wage before tips. 40k isn't big money but it's liveable esp. for an interim position.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by Radical347

I'll agree with you, then, totally on #3 and mostly on 1 & 2. The difference being that 1, prop 30 raises taxes 1/4 percent which isn't going to be significant for one person--even if you spend $10,000 on taxable goods that's a whopping $25 extra per year, and 2, while I agree startups involve long hours, it's not just them anymore. I know countless other people, not at startups or in engineering, that also work 50+ hours.

I completely agree, but to the OP coming from a place where sales taxes are lower, CA might be more of a wallet shock. In some places the sales tax is nearing 9% in the Bay Area.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by tonyinsd

A lot of new grads take jobs that are way below what they are educated for while they are looking for work. When I got out of college back in the early 1990s, I took menial, dead end jobs until I found a professional one.

I don't see a problem with someone doing the same thing. Did I pigeon hole myself by being a lifeguard while I was looking for a professional job?

It would be no different for this woman.

It is far better to move when you have no baggage such as a job to leave, and you're used to living on Ramen noodles and mooching free internet at coffee shops to save money than to do it after you're used to a certain lifestyle.

It all depends now doesn't it? If you have an Engineering degree and are fresh out of school, taking a job waiting tables, which is something completely out of scope, can have a detrimental effect on your CV. Say you have a B.S in Mechanical Engineering and worked at In-N-Out Burger for 3 years, then apply for Engineering jobs you are pretty much not too marketable against other fresh grads who have internships within the industry on their CV.

I saw this all the time in Florida, a lot of educated people who moved, could not find work and just settled for a remedial unskilled job, no pun intended but why bother going to school and racking up student loan debt and the amount of work it takes to get a degree on top it to not have it pay you back?

[Ragnar]

OP, if you are interested in getting to alternate energy engineering stuff, you may wish to look for jobs at the various power-generating utilities in CA. Whether they are forced to by laws and regulations or not, many of them are implementing alternate energy projects. Also, the utility industry in general is looking to replace a number of folks who are retiring in the next few years. The benefits at utilities tend to be pretty decent too. There may be some good opportunities for you in the utility industry. Every city needs to keep the lights on.

[Cardiff Kook]

i plugged my info into those COL calculators and they told me I could take around an 11% pay cut and have a comparable salary to what I make in DC. That surprised me a little bit