To Move or Not To Move Thats myI' m a recent graduate and a recently laid-off electrical engineer. Last year I graduated from college (in May) with my BSEE and after my internship ended (in August) I took a job at a consulting engineering firm to start my career. Because I wasn' t full-time during my internship, I couldn' t collect unemployment while I was looking for a new job, so I took the first offer I got. It wasn' t exactly in my field (power engineering vs. communication electronics), but I knew enough to do the job and do it well. They only paid me $35k per year, but I sacrificed beacuse the job was only a mile from my house and I could leave early to get to my grad class a half-hour away. I was very much in the hole because I was paying back my large student loans (anyone who graduates with an engineering degree has huge student loans!). Unfortunately after 5 months, they laid me off (this past February) because they didn' t get a few contracts they were hoping to get and they had to downsize (they only had about 30 people to begin with). Now here I am, unemployed for a month, and I' m interviewing for jobs in my area and not getting anywhere. I get a call from a company out of state and schedule an interview. It was a sales engineering job -- I' d be the technical go-to guy for the sales people and customer support. When I first walked in the door, I can hear the place just screaming my name! The interview went exteremely well (almost 3 hours long!) and I left with the feeling that I found my dream job. During the interview, the vice president asked me how much it would take for me to move out of state to work there. I said $50k or greater and his response was that it was reasonable. When I got home, I wrote the "thank you" e-mail and they replied saying they were going to make me an offer. I finally got the offer today, and I was surprised that they only offered me $45k to start. Unfortunately, that' s not enough to cover my monthly expenses if I was to move for this job. After paying the monthly rent (over $1000/mo for a studio or 1 bdrm -- this area isn' t cheap!), paying my student loans, car bill, car insuance, credit card, cell phone, electricity bill and whatever other bills (can' t forget about groceries either!) I will again be in the red. That leaves me with nothing in the case of emergencies should my car break down, my computer crash or some other catastrophe. I called my future boss and told him that they would have to do better than $45k to start, and I told him my issues with the salary. I know I have nothing really to "negotiate" for, but if they really want me to work there (as much as I want the job), they are going to have to provide a salary so that I can afford to live there. They responded a few hours later increasing the offer to $47.5k and asked if I could start eariler than I previously said I could. It' s better, but it still doesn' t cover my costs. The kicker is that they don' t offer tuition reimbursement, so I would have to pay for my master' s classes out-of-pocket. I don' t want to sacrifice my continued education because it' s just as big of an asset as experience. Should I continue to "negotiate" for a better salary? Are they testing me to see how committed I am to this job? Are they trying to get me cheap? Any advice would greatly be appreciated! I don' t think I have anything to lose if I ask for more money -- I' m not being greedy, I' m being reasonable in regard to my expenses. I figure even if I turn down the job, I can stay on unemployment for a few more months (with my student loans deferred, and summer vacation from grad school) and search for a "dream job" in my state or out of state with relocation assistance (which they don' t offer, either) and tuition reimbursement. I know my limited experience factors into the equation (but I do have 7 years of part-time experience dealing with internal customers, a major asset to this position) as well as the size of the company (less than 100), but the experience I would gain won' t mean anything if I can' t afford to live in the area. I know other beginning engineers (or anybody right out of college) has experienced this catch-22 (you need experience to get a job an a job to get experience), so I' m sure you could empathize and offer some insight into what my next move should be. If you can't live on $47.5K, you can't live on $47.5K. You just call them and explain that it doesn't make financial sense to relocate for that salary. If they give you the $50K, fine. Otherwise you walk away. Having said that, how are you living on $0 now? And what are the prospects of getting a job where you live now that will pay you an acceptable salary? I think that if you were laid off last month, it may be too soon to make the desperate choice of relocating for a salary at less than you need. If you can live on $0 for a while, continue to look in your area unless you can get up to the $50K you need.. Well, based on what you wrote, one thing seems pretty clear: You can' t stay afloat financially on $47.5K. Therefore, I think you have to speak with whoever you' ve been talking to most and say something about how much you think you can contribute to their organization - or something like that - and politely ask if their most recent offer is still negotiable. If it' s not, I think you have to pass. If it is, I think you have to be prepared to state with some specificity how your training, experience, skills, education, and past job performance line up with the requirements of the job - how, in other words, what you bring to the table will make the job worth more to the employer - and then say that you simply can' t accept an offer for less than $50K per year - they already know your situation so you don' t have to cover that ground again, but I think you could make the point that you' re not trying to negotiate a higher salary out of greed, but based on a careful analysis of your own financial situation, (which really isn' t their problem), but more so on the basis of what a great match you and the job really are. If they want to hire you and much as you believe, I can' t imagine that $2,500 bucks will be a deal breaker for them, but if it is, I think you' ll have to continue your job search until you find a position that meets your needs - and the employer' s. I agree with Chet & Paul--you simply cannot take a job that will not allow you to pay the bills. And, when you go back to them, I again agree that you must make it clear you are not asking for more based on greed or an attitude of entitlement, just that you have very carefully examined the numbers, and even on an austerity budget you cannot live in that area on $47.k per year. End of story. Then, go on to re-state, as Paul says, why you are such a great match for that job, and how much you are sure you can contribute to them, etc. You should not have to live at the Y in order to take this job! They didn' t budge -- not even for $2500. I turned down the offer. There' s bigger fish out there -- ones that offer tuition reimbursement, too. Although I agree that this job probably wasn' t a great fit, don' t get hung up on this tuition reimbursement thing. It isn' t your employers responsibility to fund your education. That' s yours. It is nice when someone else does fund it, but don' t count on it. Fewer and fewer employers are offering this because they' re tired of paying thousands of dollars towards a Masters only to have you leave a few months later. | |
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