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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Kazyan on October 08, 2015, 04:29:09 AM

Title: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: Kazyan on October 08, 2015, 04:29:09 AM
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Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: LifestyleDeflation on October 08, 2015, 03:29:30 PM
What's the job? I wouldn't move to the bay for 54k unless it was a pretty epic job and/or had a solid track towards a significantly higher salary.
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: ysette9 on October 08, 2015, 03:54:11 PM
I second the need for more information. What kind of job is this, how far along are you in your career, and what kind of advancement opportunities are in front of you? $54K is not a lot in this area but it is perfectly fine for starting out. My initial job out of college was $58K and has risen quite nicely since then. Overall I think I am definitely better off for staying in the Bay Area career-wise, not even counting the benefits that come from living in such a great area.

As far as COL goes, Fremont is one of the more affordable areas so it could work out. Fremont is also one large suburb with no downtown to speak of, so it is one of the more boring places to be. If you can swing a small apartment near the BART line (train) then you can be easily within reach of many great areas. Give us some more details and we can help out more.
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: ShoulderThingThatGoesUp on October 08, 2015, 05:51:46 PM
What's your field? $54k is possible for some new grads in much lower cost areas. My first job was $50k in Houston.
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: oneday on October 09, 2015, 02:10:10 PM
Fremont is pretty big, but easy to get around without a car. So there's that.
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: tonysemail on October 09, 2015, 05:34:20 PM
if you can live without a car, that's probably the best advice there is.
the commute traffic is horrible, especially highway 880 which is one of the primary highways near fremont.
I would try to optimize my house hunt around biking to work.
the downside is that it's a competitive job market and who knows if you will be staying in that company long term!

cheap housing is pretty hard to get, so try to get a room mate.
If you're looking to stay permanently, it may be worthwhile to look into low income housing.
some cities hold lotteries to purchase low income housing which is steeply discounted.
there are also some programs to keep teachers living in the school district they teach in.
I guess your salary is too high for a teacher, but just throwing it out there.

finally, i have great fondness for the thrift store in fremont.
great selection, very well organized, high volume, e-mail coupons and monthly sales, etc.
It beats the pants off of goodwill and many other thrift stores that I've shopped.
unfortunately, it's too far for me to make a trip just for shopping.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/thrift-town-fremont
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: Cathy on October 09, 2015, 05:48:47 PM
The San Francisco Bay Area has a wide range of housing prices. The most expensive areas are certain cities in the peninsula (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Peninsula) and some parts of the City of San Francisco. Fremont is relatively inexpensive and has many 1 bedroom apartments in the $1500-2000 range. You could even pay a lot less than than if you want to live with roommates.

Whether the salary is fair depends on the nature of the job and your qualifications therefor. You should research what you are worth on the free market in Fremont (or other possible job locations) and then use that information to determine whether you are being offered a fair salary. Generally speaking, the figure you mention sounds pretty low for any kind of professional job.
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: photocist on October 10, 2015, 04:14:43 PM
I grew up in Oakland and currently live here. I supported myself with a job at a restaurant making about 2-3k a month. I live with roommates, but at this age I think it is almost necessary. You get access to friend and cheap rent, though it is important to find people who have similar living styles as you. They dont have to be a best friend, just someone you can tolerate living with.

Fremont is bay area, but in terms of renting prices, its probably half of oakland, berkeley, or sf.

If you think 54k a year is unpleasant... Id recommend reviewing your spending habits. For a kid out of college, you should be able to save 30% of your income.

I recently got a job for 50k a year and I will probably be able to max out my 401k and still put money in my roth ira.
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: PaulMaxime on October 11, 2015, 12:14:41 PM
Working at Tesla even as a contractor is going to look extremely good in the future. You should be able to survive pretty well in Fremont or nearby and build your resume.
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: rmendpara on October 11, 2015, 07:41:01 PM
You'll have to judge future prospects, as the info provided is far too limited to really judge.

A 1 yr contract sounds very fair. If you hate the Bay, then you can leave after the contract is up. If you enjoy it, and find the work to be good and see good potential to advance your career, then stay and grow.

It will be difficult, as even if you contribute $0 to retirement, that leaves you with ~$3.2k after taxes (54k salary, 1 federal and 1 state allowance, http://www.paycheckcity.com/cokronos/netpayCalcResult.asp).

Not a big deal early in the career, as it's more about developing good habits and planning for the future. Also, if you advance in skills, it's likely your salary will go up considerably in the next 5 yrs.

Congrats on the job offer
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: mandy_2002 on October 11, 2015, 07:51:53 PM
Starting ChE jobs at my company in the east bay area were about  $76k (this is with a 10% adder from the National pay scale). When I graduated 10 years ago with a BSChE, the lowest offer I received was higher than this offer. I think that you should continue looking, but keep it in mind, and maybe try to negotiate if you think they like you.
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: ShoulderThingThatGoesUp on October 11, 2015, 08:03:26 PM
I agree, if you have decent grades you can do better with a ChemE degree.
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: ShoulderThingThatGoesUp on October 12, 2015, 05:44:19 AM
Have you gone through every big engineering consultants' website and submitted the information for new graduates? How about refiners and manufacturers like Valero and Dow? You probably have, I just want to make sure you're not leaving something on the table.
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: mandy_2002 on October 12, 2015, 10:58:23 AM
We are currently in the midst of the big recruiting fairs for engineers.  The AIChE national conference is in November in Salt Lake City, SWE is in a week and a half in Nashville ($50 fee for attending only the career fair), and other minority group conferences are similarly scheduled.  You obviously qualify for AIChE, and even if you're a male, you can attend the SWE conventions.  These career fairs are some of the largest and most responsive conferences I've ever been to.  Most allow you to interview on the spot within a few hours if you're a good candidate. 

Have a concise and accurate resume and an idea of what you want with questions to ask them (many recruiters judge based on your inquiries).  If you can attend any of these, it can be a huge shot in the arm to your job search.  When I went as a recruiter, I was sought after as an experienced hire at many of the companies (while wearing my company's logo).  It may be that many companies are holding back internet job postings for people they meet at these conferences.  If I were searching for a job, I would do everything in my power to attend one of these. 
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: ysette9 on October 12, 2015, 01:52:04 PM
I have no idea where you went to school but it does sound like you have reason to be irritated. I would be as well in your shoes. Similar to what another poster already said, I graduated with a BS in ChemE about 11 years ago and my initial job offer was $58K.

That said, your situation is what it is. It may be worth it to come to the bay area, take this job, get Tesla on your resume, and then start searching again in a year once you have some full-time experience under your belt. This job offer is not your career, it is just the first step. One of the beautiful things about the Bay Area is that there are tons of job opportunities here. Do some networking, get a mentor or two, and see what opportunities unfold.

You are on LinkedIn, right?
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: wberkgal on October 21, 2015, 04:01:25 PM
The Bay Area is blessed with many, many wasteful fools and you can benefit from their discards of perfectly good things. I don't remember the last time my husband or I bought a jacket or sweater, etc. We've picked up much of our furniture and household goods on the street.

For food, you might not be able to have a nice garden like some of us; however, there are many ethnic-type groceries that have very good prices. For example, 99 Ranch has a store in Fremont and there are also some small Hispanic grocery chains. Learn to cook a bit if you don't already. There are lots of farmer's markets as well; however, some are not as inexpensive as the groceries (because going to the farmer's market in some towns is sort of fashionable.) Fremont is a hub for some immigrant communities and there are likely some nice groceries there.

For housing, look at bulletin boards (virtual as well as physical) aiming at specific interests. For example, this morning at the ecology center in Berkeley I saw a notice for a roommate/housemate. I've also seen notices in some publications for ethnic groups and on store/restaurant bulletin boards. If you're religious at all, join a church. You probably want to be in a place with housemates anyway--you'll learn more about the area this way. With the number of people looking for housing and the difficulty in getting rid of a bad roommate, many people look first to fill a vacancy with a targeted posting rather than on Craig's list.

Regarding the job, that's not my area any more (retired!) but LinkedIn is very popular here, and some of my colleagues when I was working got job offers just by posting their resumes, even though my company wasn't very tech-y. If you enjoy writing, mention that somewhere in the resume, because many techs can't write. There are lots of tech networking groups here as well. Also, if you don't like the first company, move on quickly--job hopping doesn't seem to be an issue here, and you don't want to get stuck in a niche.

Also, goes without saying--get a bike.
Title: Re: Mustachianism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Post by: Dicey on October 22, 2015, 12:32:00 PM
What wberkgal said. Except if you get a bike, be sure to get a really, really good lock. You can be mustachian anywhere, and it never snows in Fremont. It also has BART, which makes it easy to get out and explore the Bay Area on your days off.

Absolutely live with roommates. CL is a great place to start. When speaking with possible roommates, as much as they're interviewing you, you must also interview them. Pay attention to everything before you move in to make sure your lifestyles are compatible. Then make sure you're a good, considerate tenant and your likelihood of successful shared living will go way up.

To wberkgal's list of mustachian places to grocery shop, there's also a nice 99 Cent Only Store (not the same as 99 Ranch, which is also a great resource) on Fremont Blvd. If you haven't guessed, my vote is hell, yes!