Wages in Texas - input/advice

[Style]

I have a friend who is considering a job offer in Texas. The offer is in a creative field that my friend would enjoy. He is being offered $40,000 per year. He has a family (wife and three school-aged kids). He knows nothing about costs of living and wages in the US, and neither do I. I am charming and sexy but really rather dim. I seek your knowledge.

Is that a decent wage in Texas? What sort of standard of living might it provide, depending on the precise location (which, dim as I am, I cannot recall)? My friend talks about healthcare and relocation and schooling and things, so I assume he is on the ball where that is concerned.

My friend has a secure job in the UK, earning the equivalent of $56,000 per year. However, costs of living where he lives in the UK are high, and he says that you cannot just compare wages on a one-for-one basis. I think he should ask for more. This other job, while exciting and compelling, is not as secure. He says he is bearing this in mind.

So. Thoughts? I will check back later after watching some Gok Wan dvds.

 

[Mark CMG]

Where in Texas? It's a big place with quite a range of economic conditions. It might also help to be more specific about the job.

 

[Style]

I am thinking that it is somewhere around Fort Worth. It is a senior writing position for a computer games company.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm in that region, and I have buddies who work in computers in various fields, so I sent them your question.

Even within the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, there are all kinds of variables in costs of living. Grand Prarie is growing, but still fairly cheap, while Southlake is $$$$$.

As I recall, $40K is about what a rookie Dallas police officer makes, and is what I was offered for an entry level job in a startup lawfirm (in 1998).

 

[Janx]

In 1997 I moved here fresh from college for $43k to a large computer manufacturer located in northwest Houston

I paid about $650/month for a good 1,000 sq. foot apartment. Prices have gone up since then.

$40k ain't senior in the software industry. If they call that senior, they're hiring "experienced" guys who aren't that experienced, or are getting off on the glory of working for a game company.

Danny's going to know more about the DFW area. I imagine it has comparable areas to Houston (some cheap, some not).

As a new arrival, I assume he's going to get an appartment. Also, the big city is going to cost more for car insurance. I'm not even in city limits, and I still take that hit.

$40k will go farther in Texas than anywhere else. And DFW, Austin and Houston are good places to be for tech jobs. Meaning, there are other places to go should the current job fail you.

There's no income tax, so overall you have more money.

Having a wife and 3 kids will eat his check on insurance, especially depending on the benefits package. Some companies don't cover dependents as well as the primary.

video game companies do pay less than "regular" companies, so there's that factor. This may be the best he can do. You didn't actually say he was a programmer, so bear in mind my expectations are for what a technical person would be getting paid.

Some more info might help:
does his wife work? what field?
are his kids out of daycare
what exactly is his field?

cops and teachers survive by living cheap or having a working spouse.

A single person can do fine on 50k (like my friend who's a teacher). But adding kids and a spouse to the mix, I don't know how people do it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

My buds think $40k for a family of 5 is a little tight, but want more info. Are we talking fiction writing/storyboarding or programming? What field does the wife work in, if any?

It's true we don't have income taxes here.

It is also true that the Metroplex's natural resource is shopping: sales are ubiquitous and pretty good, so if you're willing to clip coupons & keep your eyes open for sales, you can really stretch a buck. Sales taxes around here run between 7-9%.

 

[Style]

Thanks everyone for your help so far. I am passing this on to my friend and he is saying that it is very helpful and just the kind of information he is looking for.

He would be doing fiction writing, storyboarding, creating in-game lore and that kind of thing. Not the crunchy-wunchy programmy stuff. That's his field, making things up. He used to be a journalist, so he has lots of practice with that, ha ha ha, oh dear me, my little joke. His wife develops and writes covert law enforcement doctrine (I don't really know what that means) and his kids are all in school full-time (aged between five and fourteen).

The stuff you guys are all saying matches what my friend is hearing from some people his wife knows over there, namely that the wage is rather borderline for his family and not all that "senior". Great stuff. Thank you again.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Was that $40K a solid final offer, or just the opening salvo? He might want to bargain.

We do have a lot of tech companies here, especially in suburbs like Plano, Irving and Richardson, and I read somewhere this area has more fiber-optic cable laid than some areas of Silicon Valley.

And as for the universities, UT Arlington has a pretty stout robotics program, and more relevantly, SMU has their Guild Hall program, which is all about computer gaming. Depending on your friend's creds, he might be able to pick up some extra $$$ from them.

Another consideration: schools in Texas aren't exactly the best as compared to the rest of the nation...but around here, we actually have some of the best in the state. And some of our private schools are ridiculously good.

 

[Janx]

Many writers are lucky to get $30k. Unless you hit it big, it's not a huge money maker.

Video game industry pays less overall, even for programmers.

having 2 incomes, assuming they both make $40k is more doable.

One of my guys made about that much and had 3 kids. Insurance was higher, with our company coverage, but they did OK.

So, I might advise that $40k MIGHT be reasonable for a writer. But he'll want his wife working if he's going to survive with a family of 3.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I asked my Mom about salaries in my parents' business: all but a couple of employees are under $35K before taxes, nearly all have more than one kid...and none are solo breadwinners.