jonm

I'm going to be moving back to the US in the next few months, although I actually haven't been there since I was 11 so my memories are fairly sketchy. I work in hitech, but have nothing more than a general idea where I'd want to live. I'm a 28 single who is right now pulling in $25k and putting down $12k rent+utilities+groceries every year (no car - my company drives me to work).

If I wanted to be in a position where I still saved 55% of my earnings every year, roughly how much would I have to earn in the US and what sort of area would I have to try to live in? Yes, I realize this is an impossibly vague question but please try to help me out based on your experience.

Another question I have regards credit. I understand that I'm going to have zero credit history in the US. How long will it take me to get a decent credit score assuming no unpaid debt?

penguinsix

More info: IT as in manage a computer system for a small office, or IT as in a software programmer, or as in hardware engineer?

Bob

Take it you're a US citizen then?

With that out the way, your best bet is moving to where ever you can get a job, it's pretty tough these days...and to save 55% of your salary, you'll need a place that'll pay top salary, pay all your medical insurance and costs and transport stipend and have you living in the donkey sticks...I just don't see that as likely, perhaps as a house hold family income.

NC Penguin

Read the Wiki here on BE about credit in the US.

Do you have friends or family in the US that get the ball rolling in getting you in touch with people who may be in your line of work?

jonm

IT as in computer operator/application support for large corporations. Right now I work in a major telecom company.

Yes, I have relatives in the US. One of them works in silicon valley and might be able to get me some hitech contacts, while the other is in vegas in a completely unrelated field.

penguinsix

Hi

Silicon Valley is one of the hottest tech areas in the US, and also one of the most expensive housing areas in the country. It's a bit of a toss up at times.

If you are interested in telcom however, you may want to consider the Washington, DC / Northern Virginia area, as it is really a telcom hotbed area (many large telcos and telco equipment companies are based along the 'Dulles Toll Road'). Again, it's also a very expensive place to live.

$25k isn't much in DC or Silicon Valley. By the way, do you have a university degree in computers or engineering? Will make a difference with some.

Other tech areas include Boston/Cambridge, the North Carolina 'Triangle' area, Austin, Seattle. Specific areas are known for one thing more than another (i.e. if you want to do Web2.0, you go to Silicon Valley, if you want biomedical research, you go to the 270 corridor in the DC suburbs, PC hardware-Texas, etc).

You might want to take a look at http://www.dice.com/ for tech specific jobs. http://www.crunchboard.com has startup jobs, but they are much more high stress, less guaranteed salary (but higher rewards if all comes together). The Washington Post website also has quite a few job listings for tech jobs (worth looking at, but note many tech jobs require 'clearance', i.e. security background checks for classified or sensitive government contracting work).

JAJ

You still haven't told us whether or not you're a U.S. citizen ...

jonm

Many many thanks for your help.

Yes, I'm a US citizen and I have a BA (although it has nothing to do with IT). I'm afraid that any jobs that require security clearance are impossible for me to apply for, since I've done foreign military service.

discoviking

Do you mean security clearance as for a military contractor type job, or the background check done in for example the financial industry? Don't know about the former, but my year in the Norwegian Army after college and before I moved to the US has never been an issue during the many background checks done on over the years on me while working in IT in the financial industry. Didn't prevent me from eventually becoming a USC, either. As long as the foreign military service was not the Taliban or some similar organization, I don't think you will have an issue.

dbj1000

Foreign military service bars you from government Security Clearance.

"Background checks" having nothing to do with Security Clearance.

jonm

Yes, I should be fine as far as background checks go. I just need to avoid moving to an area where most of the IT jobs are defence-related in order to have a good chance.. I have some extensive experience supporting billing systems using SQL so the finance sector is always an option.

notacrime

Northern California might be a good bet. Plenty IT ops jobs in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose etc. You could also look a little further afield, in Sacramento and Santa Rosa, rents are a lot cheaper in those parts.

As someone with a few years experience in a tech operations role you should expect about $40 - $50k starting salary, perhaps higher if you are in a higher cost area (like San Francisco.)

You can definitely find a one bedroom flat to rent within easy commute of SF (40 mins each way) for $750 a month, (Oakland and surrounds are your best bet, there are a lot of great neighborhoods.) Check out craigslist.org for endless listings of rentals.

If you were to opt for Sacramento or Santa Rosa then you could save on rent, and get a bigger place, but you will probably need a car.

As for credit history - you are right about having to start from scratch. Your first credit card might have to be secured by a deposit (you give the bank $1000 and they give you a credit card with a $1000 limit - lame but it works, and they'll give you the $1000 back after about a year.) But after a year or two you should be building some decent credit. There's a good article on the Wiki about this, though you will have a social security number from when you were born, which should count for something!

Based on your current salary I think you'll definitely be better off anywhere in the US, assuming you can find a job. craigslist.org is a great place to start that search too!

Bob

waltham and burlington mass would be good areas to look into then, as that's what sophos, adobe and autodesk primarily do out here, and there's loads of tech/IT jobs going, coders have it made especially.