Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Closed Thread Start New Thread
 
Old 04-19-2013, 02:14 PM
 
9 posts, read 81,447 times
Reputation: 23

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnSoCal View Post
Are you an experienced Software Engineer? The salary they offered of $90k is pretty low for a Software Engineer in the SF Bay area, especially if you have experience. The median salary for experienced Software Engineers is $138k in the area. I made $150K as a Software Engineer in Livermore 12 years ago.
I have 7 year experience. As per my salary search, average salary for Sr. Software Engineer in Livermore is $120K. I know I am getting less than the average ( while I think that I am above average software engineer ) but it is an opportunity for me to move to USA and I hope that I will get good salary raises after showing the performance on job .

 
Old 04-19-2013, 04:41 PM
 
Location: Oakland, CA
28,225 posts, read 36,691,595 times
Reputation: 28550
OP, you will take home about $5000 a month. Do the math from that number. $1700 is about the going rate these days for a 2 bedroom in a nicer suburb. You'll definitely need to budget carefully.


I am on my phone, please forgive the typos.
 
Old 04-19-2013, 10:17 PM
 
Location: Murrieta California
3,038 posts, read 4,750,036 times
Reputation: 2314
Quote:
Originally Posted by jade408 View Post
OP, you will take home about $5000 a month. Do the math from that number. $1700 is about the going rate these days for a 2 bedroom in a nicer suburb. You'll definitely need to budget carefully.


I am on my phone, please forgive the typos.
He will take home more than 5,000 /mo

Federal Income tax = $7,425
State Income tax = $3,679
FICA = $6,750
SDI = $900

Total Taxes = $18,754

Most high tech companies still pay for Health insurance or at least a major part for the employee and family. A good estimate is probably $200 /mo. for benefits.

Take home pay should be approximately $90,000 - 18754 - 2400 = $67,946 or $5,660

This should be fine for Livermore.
 
Old 04-19-2013, 10:20 PM
 
Location: Murrieta California
3,038 posts, read 4,750,036 times
Reputation: 2314
Quote:
Originally Posted by MASINUS View Post
I have 7 year experience. As per my salary search, average salary for Sr. Software Engineer in Livermore is $120K. I know I am getting less than the average ( while I think that I am above average software engineer ) but it is an opportunity for me to move to USA and I hope that I will get good salary raises after showing the performance on job .
Your salary is a way below the market rate. You should be able to negotiate something better than $90K. In fact the employer is breaking the law at that salary if you are coming on a H1B visa.
 
Old 04-19-2013, 10:30 PM
 
Location: Oakland, CA
28,225 posts, read 36,691,595 times
Reputation: 28550
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnSoCal View Post
He will take home more than 5,000 /mo

Federal Income tax = $7,425
State Income tax = $3,679
FICA = $6,750
SDI = $900

Total Taxes = $18,754

Most high tech companies still pay for Health insurance or at least a major part for the employee and family. A good estimate is probably $200 /mo. for benefits.

Take home pay should be approximately $90,000 - 18754 - 2400 = $67,946 or $5,660

This should be fine for Livermore.
And what about costs for health insurance? Retirement? .........
 
Old 04-19-2013, 10:39 PM
 
Location: State of Transition
102,057 posts, read 106,854,652 times
Reputation: 115800
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnSoCal View Post
Your salary is a way below the market rate. You should be able to negotiate something better than $90K. In fact the employer is breaking the law at that salary if you are coming on a H1B visa.
!!!
Could you explain more about this? OP said it was an L1B visa.
 
Old 04-19-2013, 10:41 PM
 
Location: State of Transition
102,057 posts, read 106,854,652 times
Reputation: 115800
Quote:
Originally Posted by jade408 View Post
And what about costs for health insurance? Retirement? .........
He included the health insurance in the calculation. Estimated $200/mo. = $2400/yr. OP will have to wait to begin saving for retirement until he gets a raise or two. Or lands a better job after he's been in the US a year.
 
Old 04-19-2013, 10:50 PM
 
Location: Murrieta California
3,038 posts, read 4,750,036 times
Reputation: 2314
Quote:
Originally Posted by jade408 View Post
And what about costs for health insurance? Retirement? .........
As I said, most high tech companies even today still pay for health insurance. I allowed $200 /mo. in case they only pay part of it.

Retirement is a VOLUNTARY contribution. If you contribute to a 401K then your tax will be reduced but the key point is that it is not a mandantory deduction.
 
Old 04-19-2013, 11:00 PM
 
Location: Murrieta California
3,038 posts, read 4,750,036 times
Reputation: 2314
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth View Post
!!!
Could you explain more about this? OP said it was an L1B visa.
My mistake. I just assumed it was a H1B as that is the usual visa for software engineers. The law requires that the employer must pay the market salary. Here is an excerpt from the law:

H-1B Professional Employment Visa. Persons with at least a bachelor's degree may be eligible if their U.S. employer is willing to file the H-1B petition. This is by far the most common nonimmigrant employment-based visa category.

"Employers affirm in the labor condition application that the wage offered to the applicant is at least as high as that paid by the employer to current employees for the same type of job, and the number equals or exceeds the prevailing wage for the job in the same geographical area; that working conditions will not adversely affect those workers similarly employed; that there is no strike or lockout at the employer's premises; and that the notice of the LCA has been given to current employees."

L1B visas are for intracompany transfers which doesn't sound like what the OP is doing. Here is the link to the official L1B visa info.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/usc...00b92ca60aRCRD



 
Old 04-19-2013, 11:06 PM
 
Location: State of Transition
102,057 posts, read 106,854,652 times
Reputation: 115800
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnSoCal View Post
My mistake. I just assumed it was a H1B as that is the usual visa for software engineers. The law requires that the employer must pay the market salary. Here is an excerpt from the law:

H-1B Professional Employment Visa. Persons with at least a bachelor's degree may be eligible if their U.S. employer is willing to file the H-1B petition. This is by far the most common nonimmigrant employment-based visa category.

"Employers affirm in the labor condition application that the wage offered to the applicant is at least as high as that paid by the employer to current employees for the same type of job, and the number equals or exceeds the prevailing wage for the job in the same geographical area; that working conditions will not adversely affect those workers similarly employed; that there is no strike or lockout at the employer's premises; and that the notice of the LCA has been given to current employees."


That's a really good law. I was suspecting that the employer was advertising in south Asia because he didn't want to pay the going rate. But this law prevents it. But maybe the L1B is a way to circumvent it...? Kinda looks that way.

Great posts, btw. According to the L1B info, the stateside employer and foreign employer only need be "affiliated" with each other. One doesn't have to be a branch of the other.

Also, it looks like the L1B is how the employer ties the foreign employee to him, and prevents him from flying the coop and applying to a better-paying job. The terms of the L1B are very restrictive. To get a better-paying job, our hero would have to talk any future prospective employer into filing the H1B paperwork, then he'd have to hire an immigration lawyer to apply for a change of visa status for him.

Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 04-19-2013 at 11:24 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Closed Thread


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top