opinions on salary/job prospects on the east coast

Hello all, I am facing a bit of a dilemma here and wonder what you guys think. This isn't exactly a technical question.

I'm pretty smart and have some experience but am just finishing a BSEE at a fairly well known college. I'm in my mid thirties (the military got in the way of school a couple times.)

Through college my girlfriend and I have been planning on moving to the Florida coast. I'm confident that I can find some sort of work and was planning on asking for about $48k. We have some "maybes" from some people who "might find some work" for me. I figure I have about a 75% chance of that turning into a job offer.

Out of the blue, I just got an offer for an engineering position in upstate NY for 62k. It's with an old and successful company that is in no danger of going bankrupt. I am trying to decide whether I should take the offer (not to mention it sounds like an amazing job) and become a geographical bachelor, or stick with the original plan, which I'm still pretty sure will work.

My biggest concern is that I am faced with the decision to trade what I already have in my hand for what I might get a shot at. The economy still sucks right now.

Obviously there are much more complicated issues here than just salary and job prospects but I am trying to be objective and practical here.

48k would be enough. However, if there are really no jobs in the south, or if 48 is unrealistic for a new grad, or if 62 is outrageously good, that makes a big difference. After all, an extra 14 thou a year will buy a plane ticket every couple weeks if nothing else.

I'm dazzled by the money, yes, but I also have about thirty grand in student loans to think about.

Maybe one of you had this choice to make a few years back and made the right/wrong decision and want to share your thoughts. Should I go for it? Cheers!

Reply to
stickyfox
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That's a personal issue, but about now I'd take the job. Your estimate of your chances in FL may be a bit high. $62K is pretty good, even in NY, for starters.

Right. Your career really needs the job in your chosen area. Putting that on hold may mean forever. Experience is everything.

Remember NY taxes! As I see it, your biggest issues are experience vs. your main squeeze. Tough choice that only you can make. I made a similar decision (moved from the Midwest to "up state" NY) in similarly tough times. She moved with me, though she did have a say. We did move South though, 32 years later. ;-)

If you don't have another job in hand...

I made the right decision, for sure, but it wasn't only mine to make. I've moved a couple of times now for a job. Engineers have to do that.

Reply to
krw

Hi, Sticky,

You're still young enough to think about a career path. If the NY job is "amazing" and it pays better (frankly, 48K is pitiful for an EE,

62K is mediocre) then it sounds like the better deal.

Have you interviewed/toured both? A lot can depend on the personality/culture fit, too.

Which Florida coast? United Technologies (P&W, Hamilton Sundstrand, Sikorsky helicopter) are in SE Florida and seem pretty busy. But don't mention $48K.

GF doesn't like cold weather?

John

Reply to
John Larkin

What happened to your GI bill?

Thanks, Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise

FWIW, there have been a LOT of layoffs here (in South Florida), with many companies closing up shop completely. Freescale closed up shop. Same for IBM. Pratt/Whittney also slowing down. There have been MAJOR workforce reductions at Samsung, AT&T, and Sensormatic. I do hear General Dynamics is hiring, but obviously, there's a glut of applicants.

I'm not in the workforce, so my comments here are not to try to dissuade you from coming South. Hell, if you're not Latin, we could sure use your help re-populating the white folks around here! :) (Not that I have anything against legal immigration, but it would be nice if people could at least speak ENGLISH once in a while...)

Anyway, I have a couple EE friends who have been out of work for months, and are actively looking. How hard are they looking?, I can't say.

But if it's any indication of overall job availability, I'd take the NY job. At least for now. My $0.02.

However, as correctly pointed out, Florida does not have a State income tax, and it costs much less to run a heater in winter. (Though that is more than made up for running the a/c in the summertime.)

Best of luck.

48k seems a bit low (entry level), FL too. Unless it's a government/ municipal type job.

-mpm

Reply to
mpm

What if he worked in NY, and lived in, say, CT or NJ?

Thanks, Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise

Sheeeeesh! When I was 35 I was making $190K (in today's dollar equivalence ;-) ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

Also, mpm:

Also, Rich:

Okay, maybe I am selling myself short. But I figured since I'm older, and competing against young kids who have advanced degrees out of the way, that I needed to push the economy angle. Plus I'm making plans based on what I'm reasonably confident I can pull off.

The GI Bill was fantastic and another reason I'm glad I enlisted but it's all used up now. I have a post-9/11 benefit I can draw on later if I go for a master's.

I appreciate the advice. It sounds like most of you agree with what I have been thinking all along, but I needed to hear it from a non- interested party or two.

Reply to
stickyfox

Yeah, but stacking those pyramid blocks was really hard work! ;-)

-mpm

Reply to
mpm

CT and NJ are a long commute form upstate NY. ;-) CT and NJ are both worse than NY, particularly upstate.

Reply to
krw

BTW, what is your specialty. I know of one position that should be (*better* be) opening up, but it's not quite Florida. ;-)

Reply to
krw

Won't work well for "upstate" NY, for most values of "upstate": commute is too far. :-(

Ed

Reply to
ehsjr

Nah, Jim was the pyramid designer. The layout guy did the heavy lifting. ;-)

Reply to
krw

OK, I spoke out of school - my idea was based on stuff I've seen on TeeVee - Dave Letterman talks about living in CT, and some sitcom has some guy in NYC dating some gal from NJ.

In either case, I'd go for the money, and figure it out when I got there. :-)

Thanks for the correction! Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise

Your first job will type cast you just like an actor gets type cast. It is more important for that first job to be doing what you want to do for the rest of your career.

The redneck factor is pretty high in Florida, but NY gets snow. Florida is basically Arizona with bugs.

Reply to
miso

You would probably find better schools in NY than in Florida if you are serious about your masters.

Reply to
miso

NYC is not "upstate". Rather the opposite. NJ and CT are both close to NYC, but depending on where, "upstate" may be 400mi from all.

As I read it, the real issue is that his squeeze wants to move to Florida.

Reply to
krw

Better parties and football in Florida, though.

Reply to
krw

I was trying to get that across earlier. You did a much better job describing the issue.

Nah, Florida is Lower New York. There are more New Yawkas in FL than anywhere else. ...and you forgot the humidity.

Reply to
krw

It's a lot easier to move to an 80(+)K job in Florida from a 62K job in NY, if you give the 62K job time to settle in and pay off some of those loans. If she's dead set on going to FL now, that's rather inconvenient, and those plane tickets are going to cut into student loan payoffs (not payments - getting shed of those things as fast as you can is the best thing you can do with your money in terms of interest cost avoided, IMHO.) Go to NY as a couple for 2-5 years and then move from a position of employed, experienced, and fiscally set (assuming you play your money correctly). The economy might improve which would help - if the economy doesn't improve, staying employed in NY might beat not being employed in FL.

If the job actually is "amazing" (as opposed to just sounding like it) that alone is a good reason to go - those don't come along too often.

Depending on value of upstate, and what your Florida seeking behind is looking for, Vermont works as a commute destination. Of course that also means filing two state tax returns. And commuting a perhaps needless distance in all weather for the privilege of saying you don't live in NY. The taxes are not really that bad, especially upstate (NOT paying city tax on top of state tax, for one). The tax forms are needlessly complex, but nothing any engineer can't follow easily enough.

If you really have a commitment to Florida and you are looking at something like GE in the Albany area, you can live in Florida, Mass. and drive down one mountain and over another every day, but it's really a needless commute to complicate your life.

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Reply to
Ecnerwal

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