What is a DECENT salary in America?

[rade2rising 205]

get a job at mickey D's

free lunches included

[Ippsy Pippsy 31]

The reason location is so important to consider is because "cost of living" (google search that) varies wildly from place to place. For example, look at housing. $300k will get you a very large house if you are in the middle of nowhere. If you are in a big city, it will get you (if you are lucky) a condo that is studio-sized. If you are in San Francisco, house prices realistically start at $500k, but more likely $800k and quickly go to the millions. Buying a house in such an area will be hard or impossible, even if you have a good-paying job. You will need prior savings for a down payment, and then you will need to be able to afford the monthly payment and your various property taxes.

Renting? You can look at listings on craigslist.com. It's still expensive. You can easily figure you'll spend $12k/year on rent in a big city. A decent part of your income will go to taxes (25-30% at tech salary rates).

If you have tech skills, get a resume and get networking and you should be able to get hired. You still have to do the background research so you know what a plausible salary is for YOUR skillset in the area you live. We can guess all we want, but we have no idea what skills/experience you actually HAVE.

If I remember correctly, median income in the San Francisco Bay Area is $50k/year. For everyone, not just tech employees. But remember, you lose a chunk to taxes, and are looking at much higher housing expenses than elsewhere.

I'm not sure if that was median individual or median household, so I looked it up and found this:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06075.html

Median household income 2006-2010 SF: $71,304 CA: $60,883

Persons below poverty level, percent, 2006-2010 SF:11.9% CA: 13.7%

If you're in tech, you also need to know what are standard benefits for typical jobs. Job websites will help you there.

get a job at mickey D's free lunches included

Many tech companies have free lunch/snacks provided. They want you to stay there and work loooong hours. Edited November 20, 2012 by Ippsy Pippsy

[Justud 42]

I manage a helpdesk center and starting pay is 17-18 an hour. In Atlanta Ga.

Edited November 28, 2012 by Justud