deonar

I'm thinking about moving to the US (my wife's a US citizen, so the visa seems relatively easy to get)

If we do move, it must be an improvement over what we have at present, which ultimately means more disposable income. Simple pound to dollar conversions are meaningless, especially the way the exchange rate has swung about over the last year or so, so an idea of what salary I would need to have a standard of living at least as good as here in the UK would be very helpful.

I realise that location will have a big impact on that.

Also, any comments on whether the salary I would need is actually achievable would also be helpful.

I am currently a principal design engineer with 15 years experience working in electronics and optics earning 55k. I work for an industrial instrumentation manufacturer developing the next generation of products.

Thanks

Steerpike

The 'standard' of living is a very hard thing to define. If you like city life, you may be drawn to Manhattan, where you will live in a shoebox at a very high rent, but have access to theater/public transit/etc. Conversely, you may be drawn to rural areas where you can relatively easily afford a massive spread for a small amount. If you happen to like the latter, and can find an employer in such an area, your standard of living should be 'better'.

Do you have kids, and do you want them to have a diverse/balanced education?

Do you live in a 'cheap' or 'expensive' part of the UK today?

What is your tolerance to weather extremes? In my opinion only Northern California offers the kind of climate that I would say is a significant 'improvement' on the UK, year-round; and Northern California is one of the most expensive area of the country. But if you like hot and humid, you can live cheaply in much of 'the South', and if you like bitterly cold winters, you can live cheaply in much of the 'north/mid-west'.

Conventional wisdom seems to be that you can get more property for your money in the US, and will pay a little less income tax. The big wild-cards here are benefits, including medical. You will likely only get 2-3 weeks 'PTO' per year, and have to contribute to your medical insurance, AND possibly deal with more out-of-pocket medical costs should you have a need to use them.

More conventional wisdom - the US is financially good if you are healthy and hard working, and have a job. It's a shitty place to get sick, and not a good place to be unemployed. The reason this is important is, you need to consider building a rainy-day fund. This will offset the apparent higher-earnings you would hope to make.

Salary.com is a good site to get an idea of salary ranges for different geographic regions.

emailrob

At a very general level, the US technical salaries are typically higher than their UK equivalents. Of course, you've got taxes, healthcare costs etc etc to consider.

hobbes79

Property prices vary wildly across the US.

It also depends on whether you're coming with enough $$$ to buy a house outright.

Further South, that's a very real possibility for many selling up in the UK. And if moving from London, quite possible further North and in desirable locations like Cali, also.

Dan725

Can't possibly even begin to answer this question without more info, particularly location. As has been said, Salary.com a good place to start looking - their cost of living comparison is here http://swz.salary.com/costoflivingwi...coll_start.asp. You might also try Sperlings Best places - they also have a cost of living comparison tool (but just US only):

http://www.bestplaces.net/col/ which might also help you out some, at least comparing different cities in the US.

Steerpike

Don't be too influenced by 'state taxes' either; some people will tell you that to maximize your income, pick a state with no income tax (Texas, Nevada, etc). However, you can earn more in states with state income tax, so you really should take the the whole "income vs. cost of living" picture into account. (Just saw the post above with the link to the cost of living calculator; it takes into account salary differentials too - good site).

Eg, looking at salary.com, in San Jose, CA a Software Engineering Manager has a 10th/25th/75th/90th percentile range of $103/122/164/184k; in Austin, Tx, the same job has a range of $84/100/134/150k - a $20-30k difference. CA state tax is only going to 'cost' you about 5% max, blended rate.

States without income tax become attractive when you are on a fixed income, as in, retirement, etc.

Generally, the higher salaries in places like CA are still not high enough to offset the higher cost of living; you will almost always be financially better off to live in a low cost of living place and earn less, but - places have lower cost of living for a reason - quality of life may be an issue ...

To make this a meaningful discussion, I think you need to pick a few target locations. 'cost' of living means nothing if you value 'quality' of life.

Sally Redux

The USA is a big place. More or less the whole of this US forum is a discussion of what people perceive as quality of life. Very good and sensible answers above as a starting-point.

Bob

Aye, where in the UK are you?

What do you define a good quality of life? Going out eating every night, having a night life, cinema, theatre, gigs, sports, mountains, water sports, preferring the sun or seasons.

All determines what might be something your looking for.

As for where though, probably determined by where you can find a job first...probably looking at MA, CA, Austin TX, WA and OR as decent electrical/optics hubs and possibly parts of FL?

krizzy

I find MA very expensive...we would of asked for more money had we known how much Utilities were..

pejpm1

one thing to remember is that even if you do specify a specific area, its all opinion based and on this forum everyone is an 'expert'. I remember when I moved to NYC I asked a similar question, and with hindsight I can see that some people had a decent idea and some people were talking utter bollocks. One guy told me that to be living in Manhattan and have a decent social life, you need to be earning at least $250k....while others told me that you could live in Manhattan on a salary of $50k. Take all advice with a pinch of salt.

deonar

Just to add a little more information.

Location-wise, my first choice would be somewhere around Atlanta, since that's where my wife is from. After that, the rest of the southern states, TX, CO or the west coast seem like possibilities. CA I would probably rule out just because of the cost of living/housing (even after the reported slaughter in values over the past 18 months).

I ruled out a 'simple' pound to dollar conversion because it would have meant anything from $75k to $120k over the past 18 months. I did try looking at salary.com and other similar sites, but the seem to stop at 8 years experience (perhaps they go further if you pay for the report, I don't know). I also tried comparing industry surveys (EE Times, EDN and Electronics weekly) to try to get a comparison between US and UK averages, but that put me at around $135k - $165k. Instinctively that seems rather high.

Dan725

Having thought a bit more about this....I'd say you should probably just have to take whatever you can get right now. Should you find yourself in the prime position with multiple offers, you'll be able to play them one off the other. However just coming across for the first time, and given the ruthlessness of the US job market in general, nevermind in the middle of a recession, it often takes while to even get a response to one of hundreds of job applications.

Trouble is, you don't have a great deal of leverage when unemployed. Best to concentrate on your tactics in interviews - try and get them to give you a salary range before you even mention it. I hate the game employers play nowadays with not revealing salary - its their job, they know how much they are willing to pay, so they bloody well should state it. All this trying to get the candidate to state their "requirement" - its all about undercutting you - it's not as though you are the one writing your own check.

Bluegrass Lass

As a specialized engineer, you may struggle to find a position in the locality you want. I'm an engineer myself, and am only now, after working away from my hometown for 6+ years, applying for a few openings there that I now qualify for. I've always had to go where the job is, not pick a place to live and find a job there. You may have to go with a position outside your target market, with the end goal of getting to Atlanta..assuming Atlanta has a demand for optics/electrical engineers (yet another thing for you to research).

anotherlimey

Seems good to me. Whether you get that or not of course is a different ball game!

In all seriousness, in my experience judging the people I've met, for high technical positions in computing, electronics, engineering etc.. you can just triple the amount you were getting in pounds.

Steerpike

As someone who has hired recently, it's not always easy to give a range - or not advisable. I was in a position where I had 'budget' to hire a senior guy, but was willing to consider a more junior guy 'with the right attitude'. My range was $50k to $100k. I wasn't trying to save money, just get the 'right person for the job' (I can hire two juniors at $50k or one senior at $100k - my call). Telling applicants that the range is 50-100k is not a great idea; the junior guy is going to get the idea that he may be able to get $100k; the senior guy may be put off by the thought of only making $50k.

In the end, I found a great junior guy. I asked him for his requirements; he gave a range along the lines of $45-$50k; I offered him $57k because I figured he was under-selling himself in desperation for the job, and I didn't want him coming on board and then continuing to look. So he was very happy, and I got a great guy.

Hiring is a game with players on both sides. When the market is booming, as it was in late 90s, as an employer you got into bidding wars for talent, and employees would drop you after 1 month for another job across the road. Currently, the shoe is on the other foot due to the condition of the economy, but it's not just a one-sided game overall.