FYI - I found this helpful for COL approximations … http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/
For example, we live near Denver. DS was considering job options in Boston and SF. Using Denver as baseline (1.0), Boston =1.3 and SF=1.5 (with housing 2.4xDenver!) .
I think $15/hour is low for a full-time position. Does it include benefits? On the otherhand, my D (May grad) is scraping by with 2 part-time jobs at $12.50/hour and no benefits. Both jobs are in her field (history) and look great on her CV. So, the experience is worth mom and dad subsidizing for a little while.
In my extended family, we will have 2 new graduates (niece and nephew) Jun 2015. One is an anthropology major and another at a hotel school. The anthropology major from her instate public will be making $75K base plus bonus (big 4 consulting) and the the hotel school school graduate from a private will be making $70K base. CS and engineering graduates are getting over 100K. Both of them got their jobs through their school’s career center. I wouldn’t be looking for jobs on craiglist.
The job market is much better this year. Some people may disagree with me, but I would have my kid continue to look for the right job which pays the market rate instead. I know quite a few 2014 graduates who didn’t get a job until recently at some very good firms. Yes, I would be offended with $15/hr.
It is still months before graduation, no need to lock in a job this soon.
Students graduating in only 4 months should start seeking post-graduation employment now if they haven’t already started effort especially if going into a lower demand type field.
We have 6 fairly new grads, and only one makes more than $40K at their first job. Two (arts) are waitstaff/retail (yes, they work two jobs in a major metro area; share an apartment with 2 others). Two (humanities) work in their fields for $35K and 29K and get benefits but that puts the latter on the national poverty line. One (science) works in their field for six figures, and one (grad degree from prestigious program) couldnt find a job at all and is volunteering in their field for now. I have worked by choice for years as staff in a school and make $12/hour, full time, and that is about to go down (new contract designed to “steward the public’s taxes better”)
A $15/hr job is far better than no job, but I agree that a craigslist job might have hidden complications. And in the Bay area, that’s unacceptably low, yes. My point is only that comparison may not have a lot of value.
my recent grad–social science major from highly touted private, sent out exactly one resume and took a job at 36000, with very good benefits. Looking at oldfort’s family’s results, I wonder if he could have made more if he’d looked longer. OTOH, he really likes what he’s doing, and was interested in non-profit sphere only, so I think that’s a reasonable result given his parameters.
I believe Oldfort’s family is the outlier.
$15/hour is a low wage, and the Bay Area is expensive. But the question is, what employers are going to want to hire this student for a better job? Business Economics, unless from a top school, is considered by many employers to be a junk major.
“I believe Oldfort’s family is the outlier”
I don’t know about that. I think so much depends upon the field. My son’s first job (tech) started at six figures, and I believe most of his friend’s jobs were also. He accepted the job almost a year before it started, and ended up regretting it. He thought he should have negotiated more, or looked harder for other jobs, as the salary could have been higher.
As a mom, I like the decent paycheck…but I’d trade it for a gf.
Our S graduated in 2010 with BEE. He got a job with the federal government that started at around $66k with schedule raises and promotions and great benefits. Many others he knew didn’t get any job offers, even tho they graduated from his I with same or similar degrees and even some who had masters degrees! he had hoped to work for a private firm but was grateful to have 3 fed jobs to choose among. Our D who got her degree in 2013 is still looking for her first fulltime job with her cinema degree.
I’m amazed by some of the high starting salaries mentioned. The new grads I know of who starting at medium to large banks in the south are making in the $30K - $40K range. Several people we know who work for the firms listed in #16, started about $50-55K five to seven years ago and are now earning in the low to mid $70s (+ bonus.) They’re just happy to have jobs, since there have been numerous RIFs including one taking effect this month. Not all Big 4 consulting jobs pay as well as Oldfort’s relative’s new job. The ones I know of earn/earned about the same as the engineers I mentioned, and one left recently for an increase to $90K after five years.
Not all Big 4 consulting jobs pay that much, it depends on which department and work function, no different if one were to work at a bank. It also depends on the location, salaries tend to be higher at high cost areas. My niece will be working in Atlanta. OP’s son will be living in San Fran, which is one of the highest cost areas, and that’s why I don’t think he should take a job that pays $15/hr. There are so many high tech companies and insurance companies around the area, as a business major he should be able to find a job that pays better.
Graduate of public university with Econ major/Math minor and 1 Actuarial exam, multinational insurance companies, entry-level positions in suburban NJ, actual offers Fall 2014 to start Jan. 2015, full-time with great benefits:
Pensions consultant - 50K/y
Catastrophe exposure analyst - 55K/y + actuarial training program
Pensions actuarial consultant - 60K/y + actuarial training program
One thing to look at is the $15/hr vs. a 70k salary and how it really works out. If you are working 60 hours/week (maybe more) for that 70k, vs. 60 hrs. at 15/hr, but are getting time and a half for hours over 40 then it is closer than it looks. DS found that out this summer. Even though he was getting 1k/week, he worked so many hours, it came out closer to minimum wage.
The kids I know going into finance are getting between 70k and 85k plus bonuses and benefits. That is in the NY market, where COL is also very high.