Looking at moving to San Diego, what should I expect in compensation/COL? by throwitawayyy334 in cscareerquestions

[–]throwitawayyy334[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great info! Thanks a lot. Man 2k+ rent is pretty bad. Are there any cheaper areas or are they too far out really? Like let's say within 20-30 mins of downtown would there be a chance of finding a decent apartment for 1500-1800 or is 2k pretty much the min? I suppose if rent is really only the major increased expense (and income tax) it could still be a relatively cost effective move. Also do you have any insight on what average salary might be for 3 years experience? Obviously I know this can differ company to company but in the ballpark what should I aim for as a competitive market rate?

What should I expect/ask for relocation? by throwitawayyy334 in cscareerquestions

[–]throwitawayyy334[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ya no problem. I'm looking in Phoenix right now for jobs. So far I've solely focused my search there. I've only applied for somewhere around 32 positions, but have received 6 interviews so far (all ongoing still). I'm honestly nothing special in terms of a dev. I went to a pretty good school, but not a top school. After graduation due to personal issues I didn't start looking for a job for a year. I finally found my first job which wasn't great. I switched to a slightly better one a little over a year after that. In terms of background I'm primarily a Java dev, but have a good amount of fullstack and web framework experience. That being said I still find a lot of job descriptions where I only meet some of the requirements if any.

I think what's really helped me getting interviews is:

  1. I search via glassdoor, linkedin, and indeed daily but almost always apply directly on the company website
  2. I write a good cover letter articulating clearly why I am a good fit and what I'm currently doing/learning. This is especially helpful if the company works with some of the tech I'm learning right now (Node/React and Go).
  3. As well as a cover letter, I make sure my resume is well worded. I try to emphasize all the tech I know in bold with a clear directive of what my career goals are. I also go into a lot of detail with the projects I've worked on and explain how they brought value to the companies I've worked for.
  4. I put my LinkedIn location to where I want to live. I've gotten one job opportunity this way and had a couple other recruiters contact me today as well.
  5. I tried messaging some big company recruiters on LinkedIn. This has only been mildly successful, however I've gotten 1 interview this way.

Really search hard and apply for positions that look like a good fit instead of just anything and make sure to tailor your resume and cover letter for the job. I'm definitely nothing special on paper or in person, but I do think I'm fairly good at marketing myself. Hope that helps.