Thats another thing - I don't plan on staying in Rochester for very long. And neither job is really something I would want to do, as neither pertain to anything in the automotive sector. Ideally, I want to get out of this state within the next three years, but that might change. So I want to find a job that pays well while I am here, in case plans fall through and I end up staying. But finding that dream job has been put on hold while I build up my savings that will allow me to eventually move.
sunzt
Diamond Member
- Nov 27, 2003
- 3,076
- 3
- 81
If neither job fit the industry then think of which job will most develop the valued skillsets for that industry/position you want to be in.
sunzt
Diamond Member
- Nov 27, 2003
- 3,076
- 3
- 81
zinfamous
No Lifer
- Jul 12, 2006
- 111,891
- 31,410
- 146
all good, this comment.
OP--you have no experience. you deserve nothing until your real value can be measured.
If ME is as varied as EE than changing what you do within ME will be a very difficult proposition.
My advice would be to look in the field you want to get in to from the start and not worry as much about location. There are two important things for that first job 1. How much you get paid (though this can be overcome without much difficulty) and 2. What kind of experience you are getting since this will make the job more enjoyable and make getting future work easier. Sounds like the job is a little weak in both areas but with the hard constraint of location it might be the best bet.
waggy
No Lifer
- Dec 14, 2000
- 68,143
- 10
- 81
And yet you get one offer and its low. You might want to think on WHY that is.
expand your search (rochester is nice but err move (went to RIT in the 90's!)) and you will have better luck (maybe).
but to pass up ANY job in today's market is stupid. Also as others said lose the sense of entitlement. you do not DESERVE average pay
sdifox
No Lifer
- Sep 30, 2005
- 100,692
- 18,029
- 126
I am graduating this month with my BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology. I have around $42,000 ($22,000 federal, $20,000 private) in student loans that I need to start paying off in August because I went down to part-time for the spring quarter due to running out of classes to take. I have been searching for jobs in the Rochester, NY area because I want to stay in the area until I can save up a little money to move someplace better. I have applied to a ton online, but haven't really had any luck. I have 2 6-month co-ops under my belt, plus work part-time at a company converting their 2D drawings into 3D parts and assemblies. I make $20/hr there. My girlfriend's uncle got me an interview at the place where he works, went in on a Friday and they called me the Tuesday following to offer me a job. I asked to start at $50k, which is average for the area ($55k is average for the US). They came back with an offer of $42k, with a "re-evaluation" after 6 months.
Now of course, my family is telling me to take it since it is an offer and I might not get another for a while. I am thinking this is waaay too low, even with a re-evaluation. I am waiting for an offer from the place I work for now, but that company only has 4 employees and I don't see much room to move up. The other company has around 30 employees, and was just bought out by another company in a different country. They say they are expected to grow larger than the parent company, which has 500 employees. So I guess it would be a good time to get in there, but I don't know if I can settle for that little pay. Do I counter-offer, and if so, how much? The career services lady at my college said she would hate to see me take anything less than $48k, and I didn't study for 5 years to get a starting salary equal to what some liberal arts degree could have got me. Any advice?
Them be big red lights going off in my head. First thing they do post acquisition is to fire people. You are first out the door since you are the newest.
sourceninja
Diamond Member
- Mar 8, 2005
- 8,805
- 65
- 91
Yes, I would take any job that was out there right now and at the same time keep looking. We recently hired a new entry level programmer. We had guys with master degrees and 20 years experience fighting over a 35k a year job because it was the only programming job in the area.
We were looking for someone with 2-5 years experience, what we got was applicants that used to run IT departments looking for any relevant work.
Say you stay in Rochester for 3 years starting now. That's 36 months.
With the current offer you make at least $126,000 (you'll get more with raises).
What's plan b? How long will it take you to find that higher paying gig? 6 months? Now you've got to get an offer of $50.5k just to break even with the first offer.
42k for an engineer?
that's not only bs, that's plain insulting.
i wouldn't settle for anything less than 50k, and even that's low.
that's not only bs, that's plain insulting.
i wouldn't settle for anything less than 50k, and even that's low.
I sent a counter-offer this morning for $48k, and said if he wanted any references or past work I could give that. Haven't heard anything yet. The other company that I am working part-time for now said they don't have the cash flow right now to take someone full-time, so in the mean time I just keep on applying...
zinfamous
No Lifer
- Jul 12, 2006
- 111,891
- 31,410
- 146
lol. you're actually taking the advice of people that are purposefully giving you bad advice?
you have no fucking experience. What business do you have making ridiculous counter-offers?
The way I see it is... What do I have to lose? They either accept (win for me), decline and give me another lower, yet higher than $42k offer (less of a win), decline and keep $42k (where we started), or decline and take the offer off the table (I wouldn't want to work for a company like that anyways). I go on with life, working part-time while finding another full-time...
Mr. Lennon
Diamond Member
- Jul 2, 2004
- 3,492
- 1
- 81
lol. you're actually taking the advice of people that are purposefully giving you bad advice?
you have no fucking experience. What business do you have making ridiculous counter-offers?
My generation is full of shit. If I was offered 42k after college I would take it in a fucking heartbeat.
take the job, treat it like another 6 month co-op (experience with some pay) and keep looking and sending out resume in the meantime. Always better to be in the market than out of the market.
EMPshockwave82
Diamond Member
- Jul 7, 2003
- 3,012
- 2
- 0
If you want a job then take it. 8.9 % unemployment tells me that there are around 3 million people in this country looking for a job. The average Dual Income Family makes around 42-45k / year. I bed some of those 3 million out of work would love to be making the average dual income family wage for themselves.
With your student loans this may seem like a low wage but now that you have graduated you will have to start paying those things back. As it's been said before 42k > 0.
My first job out of college paid 35k with a median income for the position and location around 42. With little experience and no actual jobs in engineering in your work history (co-ops and internships help but they are not the same) the best you are probably going to get right now in the current economy is between 40 and 45. Looks like you're there.
With your student loans this may seem like a low wage but now that you have graduated you will have to start paying those things back. As it's been said before 42k > 0.
My first job out of college paid 35k with a median income for the position and location around 42. With little experience and no actual jobs in engineering in your work history (co-ops and internships help but they are not the same) the best you are probably going to get right now in the current economy is between 40 and 45. Looks like you're there.
The counter-offer won't hurt. It's highly unlikely they'd pull the original offer, and you'll probably end up with a few $K more. They had to expect a counter-offer with as low as the original offer was.
Agreed. Assuming the OP made the counter offer in a tactful way I doubt it will hurt him.
Agreed. OP, good call to make the counter-offer. It won't be insultingly high that they revoke the original offer. At best, you'll get a few more k, at worst, they will stand their ground and not budge.
To be honest, based on speaking with a few peers who have graduated in this recession, the 40s range is typical for quite a few white collar jobs in reasonably inexpensive areas. These jobs may have yielded offers of high 50s or 60k before the recession, but that's not the case now.
Whatever they come back with, I suggest just taking it and being appreciative. Balance your work effort with what you understand of the firm's culture (you can read about it on glassdoor, and you can get logins at bugmenot). It is generally not the case that overexerting yourself will lead to larger compensation increases, unless you have a large carrot of a raise documented on paper. Don't read too much into the 6 month review - this could be a pretty empty promise because some firms are stingy. They could throw you a meager 1k at that time even if you've worked really hard. If you want a big raise at that time, get it documented on paper: "for performance x, receive additional compensation y". A lot of young grads work too hard then get exploited by being given a tiny raise, perhaps $500 more than the 2.5% raises that their peers get. Additionally, by getting too good too quickly, they could raise the bar on the level of work they expect from you, and this could cause undue stress. So be sure to observe the company culture and compensation/promotion policy before blindly brute forcing through all your work.
Supposedly, the ideal experience range to go find another position is after 2 to 5 years, but this of course depends on the market, on what requirements different openings have listed, etc. So just hang tight for a while at this first job. The experience that you get, even if you do "pretty good" to "good" work instead of "super-excellent" work, will still be very valuable when finding a 2nd job.
To be honest, based on speaking with a few peers who have graduated in this recession, the 40s range is typical for quite a few white collar jobs in reasonably inexpensive areas. These jobs may have yielded offers of high 50s or 60k before the recession, but that's not the case now.
Whatever they come back with, I suggest just taking it and being appreciative. Balance your work effort with what you understand of the firm's culture (you can read about it on glassdoor, and you can get logins at bugmenot). It is generally not the case that overexerting yourself will lead to larger compensation increases, unless you have a large carrot of a raise documented on paper. Don't read too much into the 6 month review - this could be a pretty empty promise because some firms are stingy. They could throw you a meager 1k at that time even if you've worked really hard. If you want a big raise at that time, get it documented on paper: "for performance x, receive additional compensation y". A lot of young grads work too hard then get exploited by being given a tiny raise, perhaps $500 more than the 2.5% raises that their peers get. Additionally, by getting too good too quickly, they could raise the bar on the level of work they expect from you, and this could cause undue stress. So be sure to observe the company culture and compensation/promotion policy before blindly brute forcing through all your work.
Supposedly, the ideal experience range to go find another position is after 2 to 5 years, but this of course depends on the market, on what requirements different openings have listed, etc. So just hang tight for a while at this first job. The experience that you get, even if you do "pretty good" to "good" work instead of "super-excellent" work, will still be very valuable when finding a 2nd job.
I tried to make it as professional as I could, using some help from Google's top websites on the issue...
Krynj
Platinum Member
- Jun 21, 2006
- 2,816
- 8
- 81
It's too bad you didn't get any perspective with your degree.
"Hey dudes, I work part time at $20 an hour. You hiring?"
"Yeah, sure. We see that you want $50,000 a year, but, how about we give you $42,000 a year to start. Which is probably double what you're making right now at your current part time job. After six months, we'll take a look at how things are going and discuss your pay."
"Jeeez, I dunno. I have too much pride and self-entitlement to take anything less than $48,000 a year. But if you can't do that, I'll gladly continue working for vastly less money and zero real world, resume building experience. A guy like me comes along once in a lifetime. You better hire me while you still can. Lord knows I'm the only one in the world looking for a job right now."
"Ok, see ya later."
Capt Caveman
Lifer
- Jan 30, 2005
- 34,543
- 651
- 126
You did it via email and not over the phone? And you wanted to be professional?
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