Sunday, September 19, 2010

Consider the Cost of Living

Students at Washington State Universities Edward R. Murrow College of Communication know they will get a job after they graduate. Whether they go into advertising, broadcast news, journalism, or public relations,there will be a demand for such skills in every city in America.

However, the allure of the big city is hard to ignore. We see the major media outlets nestled in a bed of skyscrapers and we think, "That's where I should be."

But is it? Would we really make more money, have better careers, and make a more prominent name for ourselves if we lived in Seattle as opposed to Spokane?

My advise to you is this - Consider the cost of living.

This website - http://www.homefair.com/ - offers a variety of essential resources such as a salary calculator, city reports, school reports, moving companies, and more that provide detailed and accurate information to help you make educated moving decisions after you graduate.

One such tool is the cost of living calculator. Let me give you a little preview.

1. Advertising:

- The national average expected salary for a typical Advertising Coordinator in the United States is $50,139.
- The median expected salary for a typical Advertising Coordinator in Pullman, WA is $48,126.
- In Spokane, WA the median salary for the same position is $50,610.
- In Seattle, WA the same job makes $56,356.

Let's say you decide to move to Spokane right after you graduate, but when you find out you could make an extra 6 grand a year in Seattle, you consider another move.

Cost of living:


- The cost of living in Seattle, WA is 25.8% higher than in Spokane, WA. Therefore, you would have to earn a salary of $60,552 to maintain your current standard of living.
- Moving to Seattle from Spokane will cost you $6,962 in net change in disposable income.


2. Broadcast news

- The median expected salary for a typical Media Planner in the United States is $48,460.
- The median salary for the same job in Spokane is $48,915.
- In Seattle, WA the median salary is $54,469.

Cost of living:


- The cost of living in Seattle, WA is 25.8% higher than in Spokane, WA. Therefore, you would have to earn a salary of $60,972 to maintain your current standard of living.
- Moving to Seattle from Spokane will cost you $7,010 in net change in disposable income.

3. Journalism

- The median expected salary for a typical Reporter I in the United States is $31,371.
- In Spokane, WA the salary only increases a little, with $31,666.
- In Seattle the median expected salary for a typical Reporter is $35,261.

Cost of living:


- The cost of living in Seattle, WA is 25.8% higher than in Spokane, WA. Therefore, you would have to earn a salary of $39,471 to maintain your current standard of living.
- Moving to Seattle from Spokane will cost you $4,538 in net disposable income.

4. Public Relations

- The median expected salary for a typical Public Relations Specialist I in the United States is $44,882.
- The median expected salary for a typical Public Relations Specialist I in Spokane, WA is $45,304.
- The median expected salary for a typical Public Relations Specialist I in Seattle, WA is $50,448.

Cost of living:


- The cost of living in Seattle, WA is 25.8% higher than in Spokane, WA. Therefore, you would have to earn a salary of $56,470 to maintain your current standard of living.
- Moving from Spokane to Seattle would cost you $6,492 in net change in disposable income.

Based on these results, the average net income loss for any job in the field of communication is $6,250.50 if you moved from Spokane to Seattle. This is a small difference from one city to a bigger city. Imagine how much larger that number could be if you moved to New York or LA?

You can go to the website to calculate what the cost of living would be like in most big cities in the United States.

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