Belgian engineer in the Bay Area 1

[Pipeline1972]

thread731-143459

Hello all,

it's been a while since my post thread731-143459, where I explained I was about to move to the US. Well I did that, I married my American girlfriend, and am now waiting for my Employment Authorization Document. Which should arrive any day now. I hope!

Anyway, I have a question, very simple, one you all are familiar with: salary? ;-)

I know one of the questions at a interview concerns the salary. If this question is asked to me, how can I figure out how much "worth" I am?

To give you an idea: I have a Master in Industrial Engineering, have 8 years of work experience, mostly CAD related. I'm thinking of looking for a CAD job, to get started, all the while preparing for the FE test. My last salary was about $3600 a month.
I know salaries are higher here, but heck, life here is much more expensive too!

Oh, I live in SF, Cal.

Maybe someone can point me the direction to some articles/websites regarding this?

Thanks!

Draftsman - Designer Industrial Piping

 

[Ashereng]

Congratulations!

SF! That is expensive.

I personally have found the local head hunters to be a good source of median rates for whatever position. For some of the speicialised positions, they are not so good.

Maybe also take a look at the local papers, societies, and such. Some will post the rate/salary.

Another way is to start talking to people - no, not interviews - talk to people. If you go to the local ASME meeting, you will meet lots of people in the business, and they may also give you a feel for the local going rate.

Once again, congrats! SF is a great town. Expensive. But nice!

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[IRstuff]

You betcha...

There's a bunch of townhomes(?) where two houses occupy what would have normally been a single, 25-ft wide house on 19th Ave, where the Shriner's hospital used to be. They went for about $800K about 4 yrs ago.

Have you looked at salary.com:

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/...isjswupdateoptin=&isnewsoptin=&choosesignup=0

The category of "CAR Drafter" has a median salary of $46K.

Good luck!!

TTFN

 

[casseopeia]

Pipeline1972,

I would suggest you start with Craigslist. Here's a link for the Architect and Engineer category in the City. You will have to wade through the 'Computer Architect' stuff to find suitable positions.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/egr/

Some will post salaries, but most do not. $46,000/year sounds too low. I'd be expecting more in the range of 50,000, but I don't really know what young industrial engineers are getting. As it is, it will be difficult to sustain yourself with the cost of living here.

I'm sure you have direct experience with the difficulty of owning a car in San Francisco so I won't belabor that one. It's just best to own as few as possible if you live in the City.

Where are you looking to get a job? The bulk of the Engineering jobs are concentrated in the San Jose corridor.

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[IRstuff]

The car thing depends on what part of the City you live in. In the avenues, a car is still not mandatory, but beats the crap out of taking the taking 4 buses to get to the Blockbuster on Sloat and back.

Another place to look is Monster.com:

http://jobsearch.monster.com/jobsearch.asp?fn=4&lid=355&cy=us&q=cad&re=112&refine=1&JSNONREG=1

TTFN

 

[KENAT]

Not directly related to the question but some advice from someone in a similar situation a couple of years ago.

Ride Immigrations ass on the EAD. It took about a year for me to get mine for no good reason, and that was only after writing letters of complaint and visiting the immigration office.

If you haven't already applied for adjustment of status do so ASAP.

As regards jobs I got my first engineering one through a job shop, aerotech.

 

[Pipeline1972]

Well, I've been living here (Panhandle) for 4 months now, and we're doing fine without a car so far. But it would be convenient of course. Especially if I have to go out of town for my job. But first I need a driving license, but the DMV, in all its wisdom, won't give me one until I have my EAD or Green Card.

Kenat, yes I applied for AOS. I have my Green Card interview on September 6th. I'm expecting my EAD anyday now. Well, according to the Immigration timelines, that is...

Draftsman - Designer Industrial Piping