Help understanding pay rates in various cities please - I.T work (employment, apply)

[AJRyan]

hi there,

I work in Australia (Melbourne) in a role that is most commonly referred to as 'Project Manager'. (Specifically, on Applications, Process Optimisation or Change Management). I also work as a Senior Business Analyst. Primarily for utilities - metering, smart grids, CIS, etc

My work is predominantly contract in nature - which is a reflection of the Australian employment market - it is fairly easy to land a contract at short notice, do the 3 - 12 months, then move on.

My guess is that I would need to be sponsored to work in the USA, however my question goes to;

'What is the expected salary / daily rate for I.T Project Management in your city in the USA'.

Given my own experience in Australia, I know these numbers can vary wildly....for instance some employers will think they can employ PM's at as little as $600 per day, whilst others (usually banks) can and will pay up to $1200 per day. The most common rate however is circa $900. On a salaried basis, it is usually $140-160K AUD.

I'm most keen to work in SF, but would consider other places such as NYC. I am hoping to get a feel for salaries and rates. I have checked 'dice.com' but of all of these roles, it seems salary is almost never published.

Thanks,

AJR

[sware2cod]

There are several web sites in the USA that post standard rates by city/state. I don't have any to give you. I google them as needed. I suggest you use google to find these. Some search terms 'project manager hourly rate average'.

You could find a couple IT recruiters that cover your target location and they should walk you through the rates that they see. The only issues with recruiters, some (not all) will try to get you to work for the lowest rate possible, even if the client is paying a high rate. This way they get more profit from you. So you really want to do your best to learn the going rates in an area.

Rates can vary by 35% at times from client to client. In these cases you determine what YOUR rate is for any given opportunity. Sometimes you are ok with a low rate if there are other reasons you want to take that gig (maybe it's a location or company you want, or maybe there is some new experience that you will get and it's worth the lower pay for that new experience.)

Good luck to you. glassdoor dot com is a good site. It has salaries listed but it's usually for non-contract positions.

[Hemlock140]

Those jobs generally are paying based on qualifications and experience, within a range. Where I work there are jobs in utilities similar to what you do paying about $80,000 US, and project managers making $90-110,000 US annually. That's in Seattle, slightly lower than SF normally
but also lower cost of living and no state income tax. Where I worked in the SF Bay Area as an analyst in Utilities the pay is now about $120,000.

[Nell Plotts]

San Francisco and the "Silicon Valley" housing is VERY expensive. A general rule of thumb in the US is that an apartment should not exceed 1/3-1/4 of your salary. PadMapper.com is a useful tool because it maps listing from Craigslist and other websites. Mt. View is where Google is located, Sunnyvale is close and less expensive. Read the San Jose forum on city-data.

Working there for a couple years would enrich your resume but you may not be able to afford to raise a family there. Also, the hours worked can be very long.

[berkeleylake]

Originally Posted by AJRyan

I'm most keen to work in SF, but would consider other places such as NYC. I am hoping to get a feel for salaries and rates. I have checked 'dice.com' but of all of these roles, it seems salary is almost never published.

Thanks,

AJR

You want to work in the most expensive cities in the US. If I were you, I would apply to jobs that pay well over 100K in either S.F. or NYC. You need to get as high salary as you can because the cost of living in both these cities is almost twice the national average. You might consider some tech cities that do not cost as much if you find the salaries for the big 2 cities are not enough. Consider some place cheaper examples: Austin, TX or Raleigh (Research Triangle), NC. Washington, DC has a strong tech sector, but it has a higher cost of living (COL).

For example, I live in Atlanta. If I were you, I would not take a job that pays less than 50K for the type of work you do in an average COL city, and I believe that is probably about what your equivalent job would pay where I live. Atlanta costs roughly 100% of the national average for COL. Where as NYC is nearly 200%. That is why I mention you should try to make well over 100K in NYC in order to live a decent lifestyle.

This COL (cost of living) calculator in CNN may help you also calculate salaries and places to live. I hope you can get a good-paying job in the US, best of luck.