Is it easy to find work in the US ?

[oldtobor]

I would like to live for a few months in the US. Is it easy to find even a small job like at a mall or whatever where I can make about 800 dollars a month, pay rent for 400 dollars a month and live with the reamining 400 dollars? Could I pull it off ?

I also know some IT, could I easily find a small job as consulting IT, programming always for a minimal, but enough to get by amount of money ? Any state would do, just to have an idea. Thanks for any information.

 

[Pengwuino]

For one person, $400 a month rent is reasonable in most places besides NYC. Getting an $800 a month job with actual skill should be a breeze.

 

[russ_watters]

Well, it depends on where you look, but in most places you are equally unlikely to find a job that pays only $800 a month as you are to find a decent apartment (unless you get a roommate) for $400 a month. Where I live (suburban Philly), the "real" minimum wage is about $7 an hour ($1200 a month) and a half-decent one-bedroom apartment starts at about $600. Then there is the problem of transportation: unless you live in a city (where rent is higher), there is no public transportation.

I don't know how the tax laws work for foreigners, but if you can get out of the federal taxes, you can probably make it work.

 

[Pengwuino]

$600 russ? ouch...

My father rents out a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house for $550 in fresno, CA. He's reluctant to raise rent however...

 

[hypatia]

http://immigration-law.freeadvice.com/work_visas/

You half to apply for a work visa, and in most cases, you half to have a job sponsor you, before you come here. It is a goodly amount of paper work involved, but actually not hard to do.

 

[Monique]

I don't know how the tax laws work for foreigners, but if you can get out of the federal taxes, you can probably make it work.

First of all he'd have to get a visa and work permission. For a visa you need to show that you are able to support yourself during the time you are there, for the work permission you have to find a sponsor. It depends on the type of work whether you'll be able to get a tax exemption.. I'd guess you won't get if for a job at the mall (research jobs usually have a 2-yr tax exemption). But all depends on what country oldtobor is from..

*edit* I see hypathia beat me to it :P

 

[oldtobor]

I got US citizenship. 50 years old and did some IT work, programming. Maybe far from the big cities in some malls, since housing costs are lower. Do you think I could pull it off ?

 

[Astronuc]

I don't know how the tax laws work for foreigners, but if you can get out of the federal taxes, you can probably make it work.

If one works and lives in the US, one pays federal (FIT and SSI) taxes - no way around it. Foreigners, who 'legally' work in US, pay taxes just like citizens who 'legally' work. By legally, I mean that they work on the books as opposed to off the books.

 

[Monique]

If one works and lives in the US, one pays federal (FIT and SSI) taxes - no way around it. Foreigners, who 'legally' work in US, pay taxes just like citizens who 'legally' work. By legally, I mean that they work on the books as opposed to off the books.

No, you can legally get US tax exemption. Information here http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf under tax treaty benefits. More detailed information here http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p901.pdf

Tax Exemptions Provided by Treaties
In addition to the tables in the back of this publication, this publication contains discussions of the exemptions from tax and certain other effects of the tax treaties on the following types of income.

*Pay for certain personal services performed in the United States.

*Pay of a professor, teacher, or researcher who teaches or performs research in the United States for a limited time.

*Amounts received for maintenance and studies by a foreign student or apprentice who is here for study or experience.

*Wages, salaries, and pensions paid by a foreign government.

The fact that he has US citizenship will change the whole situation, since he's not an alien

 

[gravenewworld]

Good lord only 550 for a 3 br house w/ 2 baths? I am from where Russ lives and my college roomates and I paid $2000 a month for a duplex house w 4 br. and 1.5 bath.

 

[Moonbear]

Good lord only 550 for a 3 br house w/ 2 baths? I am from where Russ lives and my college roomates and I paid $2000 a month for a duplex house w 4 br. and 1.5 bath.

Yeah, geez, even in cheap parts of the country, a 3 br, 2 bath house is going to go for about $1000/month easy, more if it has some other nice amenities.

$400/month for rent is a bit low unless you're just in an efficiency (which may be plenty if he's just visiting for a bit) in an old run-down building in a noisy part of town. Make that more like $500, and you might be okay, but then that's usually without including utilities. If the place includes utilities, expect it to be closer to $600. Either way, you need to budget for utilities, whether included in the rent or not. If you're only earning $800/month, you're not going to have much left after rent and taxes.

 

[stoned]

go to china man. almost all american companies are based there. but you can still find job at Mcdonalds though.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Yeah, geez, even in cheap parts of the country, a 3 br, 2 bath house is going to go for about $1000/month easy, more if it has some other nice amenities.

That all depends on where you are. In North Carolina I staid in a house, 4 bedrooms two baths, large kitchen (with appliances), large living room, and I think a quarter acre for about $800 if I remember correctly.


I'm not very well informed about what it's like in other states aside from here in california. I'm pretty sure though that you could find temp work in your field online if you have a good resume. Monster.com or something like that. Just looking for a job when you get here may be a bad idea. Most people don't want to hire someone who won't be around long unless they are specifically looking for short term employees. Also, I hate to bring it up, but my best friends father was looking for a job recently and had a hell of a time because of his age. This may or may not hinder you as well I'm not sure. I'm thinking though if you look online you will be more likely to find a short term job where they won't mind if you have no intention to stay or how old you are.

Not sure if you were considering California at all but most of the areas in and around cities tend to be expensive, depending. The place Penguin is referring to is out in the desert if I remember correctly. Not very close to any major cities like LA, San Diego, or San Francisco. In the area that I live a decent one bedroom is going to run about $800 or more. If you don't mind the ghetto you might be able to find one for around $600 maybe a bit less if you don't mind it being a studio. You can also look for people renting rooms and possible find one for your target of $400, possibly less.
Oregon is much cheaper but apearantly it's much harder to find a job. As long as you have skills or don't mind a more menial job it shouldn't be that hard though. When I was there I was told it would be hard to find a job but I still had one working at a grocery store within a week of arriving. I think that job started at $8 an hour and was full time.

 

[loseyourname]

$600 russ? ouch...

My father rents out a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house for $550 in fresno, CA. He's reluctant to raise rent however...

That's because Fresno has a higher population density of cattle than humans, and it's 700 degrees half the year. I'm paying a little over $1000/month for 2 beds, 1.5 baths in the North Bay and I'm more than happy.

oldtobor, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a job that can pay you $800/month, even if its only temporary. I'm only working the summer and I made more than that despite missing just over 2 weeks of work with allergy and asthma attacks last month. My roommate makes that much and only works 2-3 days a week.

 

[Pengwuino]

That's because Fresno has a higher population density of cattle than humans, and it's 700 degrees half the year. I'm paying a little over $1000/month for 2 beds, 1.5 baths in the North Bay and I'm more than happy.

lol oh what the hell, that wasnt cool haha. And it only gets to 580 degrees in august, i don't know what your talking about.

A lot of other places like my father's rental are renting for $1000 but he just won't bring up the price. He says good tenants are better then higher rent. With the last 2 tenants we've had, i can see why he would say that lol.

 

[oldtobor]

Then how on Earth do people pull it off in the US ? I mean most people are not rocket scientists and most pays are average/low, but with these housing costs even in cheap parts of the country, how do they pull it off ? I imagine everyone comes from well off families having multiple homes they bought in the 60s 70s when it was still feasable...

I really think of going to suburban areas like suburb NJ or even non-flashy states like oklahoma or tennesse because the housing costs are lower. Any kind of job in a mall would do. I imagine finding a better job in better companies or offices is probably very hard given all the competition, am I right ? Anyways I have the impression that NY or CA have the same "european" problems, always low pay but sky high housing so you can't really pull it off. Thanks for any information.

 

[Pengwuino]

Housing prices are high in NY and CA but the wages are higher too (however both haven't had wages increase in the same respect as housing prices have, ESPECIALLY in California).

Otherwise, the idea that everyoens living off their parents home is wrong. I ran a home mortgage calculator and for say, a $150k loan for a decent house in the rest of the country (not for a family) at todays interest rates, all you need is about a $15 an hour job which, with experience and skill, isn't that hard to get. I used around 33% of your gross salary going towards your home loan as i heard 50% of your take-home pay should go towards your mortgage.

Some might object to the idea that you can buy ah ouse for $150 but my cousin bought a house for $180K for him and his girlfriend. Supposedly my aunt has seen pictures of the house and she said in San Diego, their house would go for a million bucks. Texas housing is cheap as hell... but property tax is a *****.

It also depends when you get here and how the economy going. naturally, jobs are easier to get in a good economy as people expand and think positively about the future. In a bad economy, people look at their account books much closer then normal.

One thing to note is that most people here are quoting you minimum wage jobs. These jobs are for like, teenagers who live at home and are just getting extra money to buy a new TV or something. Nothing that can be called a "career" job pays anything near minimum wage.

 

[oldtobor]

But I imagine finding a better job in better companies or offices is probably very hard given all the competition, am I right ? Even a job paying a little more than minimum just to be able TO PULL IT OFF would do, but who knows how much competition there is...

 

[Pengwuino]

You'll get more then minimum wage if you have any skills. Its hard to say if there's competition because it all depends on where you go

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

http://www.monster.com/
Take a look around.
This is just one site that is pretty popular. There are others too.
I'm not sure how much time you're going to be wanting for yourself while you're here. The higher paying opportunities are probably mostly going to be asking you to work more hours. It all depends. A friend of mine is currently working a temp job, through an agency, at COX Communications for $15 an hour. He works normal hours and gets weekends and holidays off. What's available will ofcourse depend on your location.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

...North Bay...

Wish I had known/remembered. I would have tried to get ahold of you while I was up in the Bay area on vacation. I always assume that you live closer to Napa Valley or somesuch.

 

[Moonbear]

I really think of going to suburban areas like suburb NJ or even non-flashy states like oklahoma or tennesse because the housing costs are lower. Any kind of job in a mall would do. I imagine finding a better job in better companies or offices is probably very hard given all the competition, am I right ? Anyways I have the impression that NY or CA have the same "european" problems, always low pay but sky high housing so you can't really pull it off. Thanks for any information.

NJ is just as bad as NY anymore. I'd need to at least double my salary to move back there and live with any semblance of the lifestyle I have where I am (and most places do pay higher salaries there). The midwest is still affordable.

 

[Evo]

But I imagine finding a better job in better companies or offices is probably very hard given all the competition, am I right ? Even a job paying a little more than minimum just to be able TO PULL IT OFF would do, but who knows how much competition there is...

What job skills do you have? Mall jobs are mostly for teenagers with no skills. You can't survive in this world if you are afraid of competition, maybe we just need to fine tune what you have to offer.

My 17 year old daughter makes $20/hour (tips) serving hot dogs & burgers at a Sonic fast food place.

 

[nameta9]

EVO, so the girl is making more than 2000 dollars a month ? I have tons of IT experience and would content myslef with 800 dollars a month, 400 rent and 400 live. Thanks anyway for your information!

 

[Pengwuino]

Pff, IT EXPERIENCE? $800 a week more like it! Ok well that's exageration but if you have experience, especially in that field, life should be easy with your idea of 'content'. In the last few years, the new grads of the IT field boom probably just graduated so there's not a whole lot of experienced people out there in the world. Or well, at least not enough to justify the idea that your facing much competition.

 

[Evo]

EVO, so the girl is making more than 2000 dollars a month ? I have tons of IT experience and would content myslef with 800 dollars a month, 400 rent and 400 live. Thanks anyway for your information!

She only works part time.

 

[loseyourname]

I never realized the workers at Sonics received tips. I've never heard of that at a fast food place before. I'm pretty sure I've eaten there before, but we drove through. Should we have tipped the person at the window?

 

[loseyourname]

Wish I had known/remembered. I would have tried to get ahold of you while I was up in the Bay area on vacation. I always assume that you live closer to Napa Valley or somesuch.

I'm toward the south end of Sonoma County, right off the 101. Napa is much further inland. Where are you at exactly?

 

[Evo]

I never realized the workers at Sonics received tips. I've never heard of that at a fast food place before. I'm pretty sure I've eaten there before, but we drove through. Should we have tipped the person at the window?

The Sonics here all have "car hops", the girls bring your food out to you and wait on you in your car. I wouldn't tip at a drive up window.

 

[russ_watters]

Then how on Earth do people pull it off in the US ? I mean most people are not rocket scientists and most pays are average/low, but with these housing costs even in cheap parts of the country, how do they pull it off ? I imagine everyone comes from well off families having multiple homes they bought in the 60s 70s when it was still feasable...

Its pretty simple - very few people besides high school kids (and even then, not many high school kids) get paid minimum wage. It does depend on where you live, but around here, the McJobs start at about $7 an hour. When I was in high school (10 years ago) I worked as a temp doing data entry at $8-$12 an hour (job dependent). If you're a high school graduate in my area and you're not making at least $8 an hour, you're doing something seriously wrong.

 

[Pengwuino]

The Sonics here all have "car hops", the girls bring your food out to you and wait on you in your car. I wouldn't tip at a drive up window.

I never see people get the car hop service and tip at the sonics here! Thats weird...

 

[Evo]

I never see people get the car hop service and tip at the sonics here! Thats weird...

That's the only type of Sonic we have here, there is no drive through or option to sit inside.

 

[Pengwuino]

That sucks. Sonic sucks :D

My city is a testing ground for drive thru's. We were one of the testing grounds for Sonic going into the west coast... man... they really don't stand a chance. They have a huge menu and there food is decent... but your facing a carls jr, mcdonalds, jack in the box, and taco bell at every corner...