[IsaacW]

I need some advice regarding salary. My wife and I are thinking about moving to San Diego. We currently live in Phoenix, AZ, where I work as an Interactive Designer. I have a strong combination of design and coding skills, including:

• Web Design (front-end, visual design & XHTML/CSS/JS coding)
• Flash Actionscripting (2.0, advanced)
• UI Design
• Identity
• Print
• Blogging
• so much more (see isaacw.com for resume and portfolio)

How much should I expect to make in San Diego doing the same stuff? I've looked at the cost of living calculators, but I don't trust them. I need some professional advice. Thanks!

[andi*pandi]

aiga salary survey has salary ranges by location and job title. There was a thread hereabouts with links.

[IsaacW]

Thanks Andi. I'm guessing it's this site http://www.designersalaries.com. Unfortunately, my position isn't one of the positions surveyed. My position is more of a combination of designer and web developer. It's kind of a rare position, as most people tend to strictly be either artistic or technical, rarely both.

[andi*pandi]

then we're a new breed. we're taking over!

[art_director]

You might consider contacting headhunters in San Diego. They tend to have a handle on the going rates for various positions. The downside being they'll want to place you which takes money out of your pocket.

You should also consider contacting people with your skill set in that market and asking them what to expect in terms of compensation.

I've not lived or worked in either community but my guess is you'll want to double your current salary (at the least) to maintain your current standard of living. SD is extremely expensive, especially if you want to own a home vs. rent.

[IsaacW]

I'm not sure I want to mess with headhunters, I'm not that trusting of them. I've started posting this question at various design-related forums. I would ask my boss, but then again he doesn't know I'm looking for a new job yet .

[IsaacW]

Here's what the folks at yayhooray.com have been saying
Yay Hooray | Salary Advice

[art_director]

Originally Posted by IsaacW 

I'm not sure I want to mess with headhunters, I'm not that trusting of them. I've started posting this question at various design-related forums. I would ask my boss, but then again he doesn't know I'm looking for a new job yet .

Trust a headhunter? Who would be so foolish? All you want is free information. Looks like you may have found some.

[Aranamac]

I do both design and technical work in my position at a large medical university north of San Diego by about 100 miles. Cost of living between the two regions isn't much different. Year and a half ago I worked in a different field while living in San Diego. If you don't need to be right along the coast, or in San Diego proper, you'll find cheaper housing and living in East County (Santee, El Cajon, etc.) where I was.

My current job is odd in determining salary. I am technically called a Development Associate in the department of Advancement/Philanthropy, yet I do content development, identity work, graphic design, photography, and website maintenance/coding/design (HTML/CSS). Ideally I should probably be making more than I do, which is about $40,000/year. Our HR dept. won't pay more because my title doesn't allow for more, despite the highly technical work I do.

San Diego is a WONDERFUL place to live. I really miss being there. Amazing food, culture, resources, artistic communities, educational opportunities. There's certainly an element of Southern Californian suburban-sprawl/overgrowth, but that's just typically Californian.

None of this may be useful to you, hope I helped a bit!

[Aranamac]

BTW, Isaac, lovely portfolio. There's some good stuff in there. Best of luck in relocation and employment.

[inkhead]

San Diego is where i worked and lived for a while. However now I'm in Santa Clara (silicon valley) and make quite a bit more. It's strange actually, if you visit San Diego and Los Angeles IT salaries are significantly lower than the salary calculators say they should be. I think in San Diego this is because of the high concentration of military families, that have horrible incomes, and will settle for lower wages. In Los Angeles everyone is a cheep bastard because it's full of film studios that don't pay anything, and it carries over to all the other businesses. Below are some of the salaries I have made, all these in a two year period. UI/Interaction/Design/Web. I had my pick of any job I wanted btw, I had plenty of offers and in most cases took the highest paying one.

Los Angeles: 42,000 (uhhg, but livable)
San Diego: 62,000 (had to argue for this amount)
Santa Clara: 142,000 (current)

[art_director]

Ouch!