Job offer and moving to mountain view (Fremont: rent, how much)

[kyle242]

Do you have any student loans? Any credit card balance to pay off? Car payment? Have you found apartment you think of booking? How much per month? This would make it easier to determine if you can afford to move here. But even if you are without any debt, it will be hard for you to live on that salary, especially without roommates, even at any frugal studio at average price in Silicon Valley.

After rent, utility bills, internet, cell phone bill, food, gas, car insurance, you need to account for unexpected: medical bills (min preventative even if you're healthy, health insurance premium), eating out (on weekends, you don't wanna sit at home all day, you wanna go to somewhere like beach and then you need to buy a burger unless you like to starve), enterntainment (i.e. hanging out with friends at bar, dining out, movie theather, hiking, Sharks game,etc).

If you have friends, family across states or in another country then travel expenses.

Also be prepared for unplanned (illegal parking ticket, traffic citation), court expenses (which can happen to good people also, ex. suing your former landlord for owed security deposit, etc). Also always pay yourself first before you pay for anything else. You want some financial security. Ideally you also wanna make enough, so that you can put some money away for emergency savings such as unemployment (6 months min budget recommended), 401k or IRA (as SS will pay next to nothing when you get old). If I were you I'd think carefully. If you really wanna come here because you have been to Bay Area before and you love it, you might wanna just vacation for a week or 2 once a year than live here and still come way ahead with savings. Its better to live in middle of nowhere with financial security and have occasional budget for places you want to go to and enjoy than live in one of the best areas of the country but be miserable whole year.

[zitsky]

It's not just the salary. It's only a one year contract, no guarantee of renewal. He'd be spending most of his time looking for a better paying job. I say don't do it.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by duffdog

YES, assistant managers at McDonald's make 65k per year in the bay area.

I do not believe this for one second.

[Umpa lumpa]

thank you for all the responses. I just recently talked to them and they will be paying me 60k plus benefits for medical that will come out to be $2250.24 for the year. i saw that after taxes i will be making roughly $38269.92 (used an online calculator). This is the best job offer i have gotten. I live currently in New Jersey. This position is not what i'm looking to do in my career field, but i love the idea of moving out west by the big tech firms my dream job would be at Google working in finance there. I have student loans to pay off and after doing some rough calculation i would be barely making a savings, i'm thinking about waiting it out for a better job here in the NJ/NYC area or moving to CA for this job. Thank you all for your help and i look forward to hearing more opinions about the move and the career. Any and all input is helpful.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by duffdog

That is probably the worst advise ever given to anyone, ever. YES, assistant managers at McDonald's make 65k per year in the bay area. "money will be tight" is by far the best case scenario for someone making 50k per year. At that salary, you can't afford food after paying rent. Forget about fixing your car or buying a new TV or even having your own internet connection... you will factually be a poor person in the bay area.

Perhaps you will get lucky and a 250k/yr job will fall into your lap and you won't have to do anything for it also. (more terrible advise)

Advising somebody to make a financial sacrifice in order to further their career is somehow "the worst advice ever"? Seriously?

The fact is, somebody making $50k/year CAN survive living in a roommate situation even living in a decent neighborhood in the Bay Area. If it's beneficial to their overall career desires, then why not? The Bay Area is a great place to live and does offer a lot of career opportunities in certain fields.

I'm curious how much you make a year...especially since you seem to be very "in the know" about what fast food managers make around here.

People on this board love to s**t all over other peoples' parades. Good luck with your decision, OP.

[dburbs1975]

OP,
I think 60K for a new grad is great. It sounds like this is a contract position from what you post. you can set up an S corp with an accountant, you will be the president, and have your contract income flow through the corporation. This way, you can take part of the income as a distribution which is at a much lower tax rate. The problem that you may not be aware of when accepting a contract position as opposed to a direct hire position is that you will be responsible for both the employer and employee sided of medicare/SS tax.

It would be wise to take the offer to an accountant and have a conversation about what you would take home instead of plugging it in to an online calculator. There may be things you can do up front to reduce your tax liability and take more $$ home.

Once you have the corporation set up, you will be in a great position to find other contracts and accept work on the side. Lots of companies love the idea of someone who is flexible and can accept small projects here and there. You can market yourself when you get to CA. I think there is great potential for an entrepreneur.

[SiliconWriter]

Originally Posted by dburbs1975

OP,
The problem that you may not be aware of when accepting a contract position as opposed to a direct hire position is that you will be responsible for both the employer and employee sided of medicare/SS tax.

Contractors can work as
- w-2 based employee, where you are paid like a staff employee (including Medicare/SS tax and sometimes benefits).

- 1099 based employee, where you are simply paid your hourly wage and nothing is taken out, you are responsible for all taxes. Typically, this is how independent consultants are paid.

[dburbs1975]

SiliconWriter,
In this case, he is clearly a contractor on 1099 because there were initially no benefits associated with the position then the employer conceded to a token amount towards medical insurance. W2 would make him eligible for benefits.

Either way, an accountant should always be consulted, a few dollars up front for professional advice can be very important.

[teoreticar]

I think he is severely underpaid. The good thing is that he will have room for growth.
So @Umpa Lumpa Start with that and just be patient and you will come out on real salary in just few years.
60k is manageable but its not easy.

[Nell Plotts]

Absolutely find a room mate situation.