Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2002 11:34:12 -0500
Reply-To: Ed Heaton <EdHeaton@WESTAT.COM>
Sender: "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From: Ed Heaton <EdHeaton@WESTAT.COM>
Subject: Re: SAS job in Richmond
Content-Type: text/plain
Back when I was a peon, I was told that peon jobs used a local payscale, but
employers for professional jobs competed nationally and therefore the
expected compensation was not tied to local costs of living. Any thoughts
on this?
Ed
Edward Heaton, Senior Systems Analyst,
Westat (An Employee-Owned Research Corporation),
1550 Research Boulevard, Room 2018, Rockville, MD 20850-3195
Voice: (301) 610-4818 Fax: (301) 294-3992
mailto:EdHeaton@westat.com http://www.westat.com
-----Original Message-----
From: William Turner [mailto:william@INGENIUMIS.COM]
Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2002 9:45 AM
To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: SAS job in Richmond
I would guess that the Virginia observations in the SCONSIG data are
weighted more heavily towards the Washington Metropolitan Area than to
Richmond. Real estate sites often calculate the relative cost of living
between areas, which may be helpful (check out
http://www.homestore.com/move/default.asp?lnksrc=RDC-NAV-0014&gate=realt
or).
Comparing the cost of living between Richmond and Springfield, which is
an average, middle-class town outside of Washington, the calculator
suggests that a salary of $51,000 in Richmond would be equivalent to a
salary of $61,255 in Springfield (a little closer to the SCONSIG
average). Of course, the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the cost-of-living
calculator is dependent upon many factors, so don't give it too much
weight in your consideration. As a former resident of the Washington
Area, it's my opinion that supporting a family of four on a salary of
$61,255 would be very challenging, but not impossible.
Best of luck with your decision/search, Igota.
Regards,
William Turner
Ingenium Information Systems, Inc.
Bala Cynwyd, PA
-----Original Message-----
From: SAS(r) Discussion [mailto:SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
Charles Patridge
Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2002 8:59 AM
To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: SAS job in Richmond
Dear Igota SASjob,
Here is what I got from the SAS Salary/Rate Survey (on SCONSIG.com) for
the
State of VA -
state count minimum q25 average q50 q75 maximum
VA 23 $43,620 $50,000 $65,879 $65,000 $78,000 $90,000
If you provide me with the zipcode of Richmond, VA I can subset my
database
to selectively get those zipcodes close to Richmond to focus on.
In any case, it would appear that $51K is on the low side but given you
do
not have any pharmaceutical experience, you are not in a position to
bargain very much. In addition, I am assuming you are being offered a
fulltime position with company/employee benefits which does account for
some further compensation that contracting does not always offer.
I also assume you are moving into the USA from a foreign domicile and
eager
to work and live in the USA. And as such, you might be hard pressed to
find another offer that affords you the opportunity to come to the USA.
Hence, after working several years in the USA and gaining pharmaceutical
experience, you should be in a better position to find other employment
for
more money after that. I would recommend not buying a house but renting
until you have more definite plans and ideas of what the future holds
for
you in the immediate horizon.
In addition, it would seem the USA economy is not at its best when I
look
at the number of SAS positions I have posted since 1997. The year 2002
has
been significantly lower in demand for SAS professionals than in prior
years (see Statistics on SCONSIG SAS Job Postings), as well as the
number
of companies seeking SAS professionals.
The ultimate decision of taking the job falls upon you and your family,
and
only you can decide what is best for yourselves. A suggestion is to
convert the $51K USD into the currency you are most familiar with:
ie
51,000.00 USD
United States Dollars = 32,501.84 GBP United Kingdom Pounds
which can be found at http://www.delawareintercorp.com/currency.htm
and then decide if that meets your idea of being able to "live"
versus "surviving".
By using homefair.com for "cost of living adjustment" -
http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html
If you live in Farmington, CT (close to where I do) and earn $51,000
then
you would need to make $39,624 living in Richmond, VA which turns out to
be
a factor of 77.7%.
So, it appears that living in Richmond, VA would cost me less than where
I
currently live (Burlington, CT - borders Farmington, CT), and hence, I
would expect to earn about 77.7% of what I currently make to make a
lateral
move.
As I have said to many others in the past, you need to do your homework,
evaluate your situation, your goals, your ambitions, and what you
need/want
for yourself and your family.
"Want what you need but do not Need what you want"
In closing, I wish you and your family the best no matter what your
decision is. If you desire, I can post your resume on the SCONSIG.com
web
site for free so that you can see what kind of demand there would be for
someone with your skills and experience. Typically, the beginning of
each
new year has more prospects due to new budgets opening up so things
could
start to look better in a month or so.
But "A Bird in Hand is worth more than Two in the Bush".
Hope this Helps,
Kindest Regards,
Charles Patridge
Email: Charles_S_Patridge@prodigy.net
Web: http://www.sconsig.com
