Possible job offer in LA. Need help with salary requirements.
polycounter lvl 11
This would be my first in-house job so I would expect an entry level salary, but I know nothing about California. I ran a cost of living calculator at 40k comparing where I live now (South Carolina) and LA, which gave me $59,315. That seems like too much to me though. What would I need to live modestly in Los Angeles?
Replies
Also, its about how much you think you're worth as well. Don't sell yourself short.
(just a guesstimate based on my experience and what others have told me.)
As far as what you need to live in LA, I can definitely help there. Firstly, it depends whether you're living alone or not. I live in a 3 bedroom, less than a mile from the beach in a great neighborhood and only pay 665 a month for my 1/3. If I wanted a 1 bedroom in the same neighborhood I'd need 1100-1500 a month. I lived in a shitty place in korea town for 750 a month (a single). If you're living alone and want a decent place, expect at least a grand a month. A grand won't get you anything too great though.
With that info, a $40k salary just about covers it. Doesn't leave much left over after bills etc. But you can live. And again, if you get room-mates it becomes much more affordable.
Edit:
Aesir just basically said the same thing
is a first in house job considered as first job even with like 10 years of freelance?
You could be a crazy wild man who kills and eats anything that moves and has trouble adapting to the complex "high society" norms of nerf gun wars and nerd hazing.
Or you could be incredibly personable and fit just fine. All that needs to be worked regardless but they might spend a bit more time ferreting those things out of you than they would if you where coming from another studio.
So under hobbies you should probably leave off things like:
"Killing and eating wild game... with your bare hands"
"Teaching lessons to noisy disrespectful hikers by setting traps"
"Wrestling your wild bear for fun"
"Organizing and cleaning your arsenal"
Long post short:
Probably not lead or Sr material right out of the gate... but having 10yrs freelance, you should have some awesome organizational and artistic skills that would make a good autonomous trencher, who could probably grow into something later, great potential there.
Also, most respectable companies have a base number for positions, so even if you say 15k, they will give u 50 or 60 or what ever is reasonable for that position in that city.
@lonewolf. Freelance makes you badass at pumping out art and handing it off. It rarely gives you the insite to the whole pipeline and all the extra responsibilities that come with being in house. I rarely get to do "just art". I think freelance does account for something though, so ask for more moneys!
Based on your experience, and the quality of your work I would say no, you wouldn't likely be looking at an entry level position. Unless of course it was for like, environment or character modeling or something else that you don't have any experience with....
From personal experience, if you ask for that much for an entry-level job, you'll simply not get the job. Sucks, but that's how it is.
Studios here pay about 40k for entry-level. Never heard of anyone making anything close to 60k for their first job. Seems like that's just the way it is.
This really also depends on what sort of expenses you have. Family? Student loans? Car payments? Etc etc, generally if you explain your situation to the studio, you're more likely to get higher pay if you've got a family, than if you're a single guy who just wants more cash.
Figure out your expenses, rent, utils, any loans/debt you need to pay off etc and go from there. Shoot a little past what you want with your initial number, so you can negotiate back down to something you're comfortable with. If you want 40K, tell them 45K so you're not SOL when you settle on 39K.
I made around $40k for my first job on the east coast until my lead basically said I got screwed and I got a 25% raise at the end of the year - which tells me I probably could of asked for $55-$60k.
Honestly, we are considered skilled workers to exempt us from overtime pay so we should get paid skilled worker salaries.