I recently got a job offer from a well known company based in Seattle. They do a lot of retail as well as web services. I'll be leaving my current job and moving there. It will be a big change for me because I'm from a small town and work for a small company. I know there are some Seattle residents on these forums... Any thoughts or advice?
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Got a job working at a big, well known company.
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wonderfield
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I would suggest you attend one of Alexander Stepanov's -- the creator of the C++ Standard Template Library -- classes, when they're available. I believe they're occasionally offered to employees of this unnamed Seattle-based company.
Your paycheck won't go as far as you think it will with SEA sales tax, WA state income tax, and the gas you'll be burning during your commute. Other than that, good opportunity.
Cool! Hope you don't get burned out too quickly. Have any ideas on where you'll be living yet? Have you at least visited the area? Definitely a lot to do and see here. Be prepared for shitty traffic no matter what, too
I'm hoping that the work environment is not that bad... I don't want to get burned out.
I am hoping to find a more affordable house in a northern suburb. I just don't want too long of a commute to get to work. I've been looking online at the Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds areas, etc. But, I'm sure that is just the beginning. Ideally my commute would be no more than 30-40 minutes, and being that my employer has flexible hours I may be able to avoid rush hour by coming a bit later.
Yeah, no state income tax which is great. Actually, I'm from TN and we also have no income tax. The 9.5 % sales tax is not much of a shock, because our sales tax is 9.75% where I live.
I'm most concerned about the real-estate prices and commuting to work. Where I live, 160k will buy you a nice house. Near Seattle, houses are extremely expensive. I'm also not used to having to pay to park etc.
To beat the traffic you have to go in early, not late. It's a mess clear up til about 10am ish, and then from 3 to 6:30 or 7 at least. Then you have days like today where there's some clouds and rain, and it's all the worst.
I don't know which building you're in, but Lynnwood to most of their buildings is a 40 minute drive. Edmonds is even worse. Mountlake Terrace might be a smidge over half an hour or so. Just to give you an idea of how things are here!
I don't know which building you're in, but Lynnwood to most of their buildings is a 40 minute drive. Edmonds is even worse. Mountlake Terrace might be a smidge over half an hour or so. Just to give you an idea of how things are here!
Well, if you have the time, I'd spend a week out here in a hotel before you settle on any place. Or rent month-to-month to start off. Renting in Seattle is bad, but once you get outside of it, it pretty much falls in line with your salary. If you plan on buying, $300k minimum for a decent house a bit out of the city with essentially no yard.
That's all part of the difference in cost of living, and why large, unnamed Seattle-based company should be paying you a lot more than your current employer.
I don't know where exactly you're from in TN, but I put in Clarksville (it seems like a reasonable 'average' place for TN) and compared it against Seattle and you need to be making 68% more 'nominal' income in Seattle to maintain the same 'real' income.
http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/clarksville-tn/seattle-wa/100000
Put in your current city and your current income and compare it against Seattle. If you're making the numbers it says you should be, things will probably not be too bad. If you're not quite making what it says you should be, be prepared to cut back a bit.
Yeah they are paying me about that much more, I'm getting a rather large pay increase to make up for the cost of living. The catch is my wife will have to quit her job and find a new job. However, she also is a software developer and she has a chance to maybe double her income. I think if she were able to find something nearby than we would be doing very well.
In general, it seems for two software developers there are a lot more opportunities nearby.
In general, it seems for two software developers there are a lot more opportunities nearby.
Washington does not have a state income tax.
wonderfield
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In Seattle specifically? For what reasons do you think that is?
Yeah, in Seattle and eastside (Bellevue). a) just look at the job listings for the area (I keep an eye on this frequently - right now a general search will yield ~4,000 results though I don't have time to sift through them all) and b) the vast majority of my friends here are in dev and continually try to recruit me in to their various companies. Also, if you talk to anyone at UW in those programs, they'll tell you it's hot right now. Whether or not it'll last is anyone's guess, though it's been like this for the years I've lived here.
The jobs are there, easily. Now, qualifiying for them and getting them is pretty difficult.
The jobs are there, easily. Now, qualifiying for them and getting them is pretty difficult.
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For commuting, don't forget there are some excellent commuter bus routes from the suburbs into Seattle. I commute daily from Everett to the U district, and it's typically a 40 minute ride from the park and ride to a few blocks from my office. Then again, I head into work around 7AM, so it's the start of the morning traffic.
Thanks for the info... The commute is going to be foreign to me. We don't even have public transportation here!
I was looking at the Mountlake, Edmonds, Everett, Lynnwood areas. It appears I don't want to be East of Lake Washington or else have to go across toll bridges or congested bridges.. What about Renton? Is it in a bad area? I know Rainier is not a good area and they are close.
edit: Also, I have my wife, 14 month old son and a dog. We'll probably have more kids... so I am not like a single bachelor .. I need more of a family place.
Everett is getting WAY out there. At best that's a 45 minute commute to SLU offices. At worst... well, 2 hours . Average is probably a hair over an hour if I had to guess. The mass transit is OK, especially if you live near an express bus. But you have to hope to get parking at a park and ride (a lot fill up quickly) and so on.
The Terrace/Edmonds/Lynnwood triangle isn't too bad, probably about 45 minutes on average, 30-ish on a great day.
Definitely stay away from East Side for the most part. I-90 is shut down to one lane each way (BRILLIANT!), and 520 is a pretty heft toll each way.
Renton is good for the most part.That's basically where I am, though also realize Renton is a pretty large area on the map. If you're in Renton Highlands, you're back to 45+ minutes easily to SLU. If you're nearer the Renton/Tukwila area it'll be about 30 minutes or so.
I used to live in Kent and commuted to 4th & Battery by car. It was about a 25 minute drive, but I was in the office by 7:30am.
So it really just depends on what kind of commute you're willing to put up with, and if you like public transit or not. If you do live on the south end, you can possibly catch the Light Rail to Westlake and walk the remaining few blocks. That's about a 40 minute ride from SeaTac to Westlake.
. Average is probably a hair over an hour if I had to guess. The mass transit is OK, especially if you live near an express bus. But you have to hope to get parking at a park and ride (a lot fill up quickly) and so on.The Terrace/Edmonds/Lynnwood triangle isn't too bad, probably about 45 minutes on average, 30-ish on a great day.
Definitely stay away from East Side for the most part. I-90 is shut down to one lane each way (BRILLIANT!), and 520 is a pretty heft toll each way.
Renton is good for the most part.That's basically where I am, though also realize Renton is a pretty large area on the map. If you're in Renton Highlands, you're back to 45+ minutes easily to SLU. If you're nearer the Renton/Tukwila area it'll be about 30 minutes or so.
I used to live in Kent and commuted to 4th & Battery by car. It was about a 25 minute drive, but I was in the office by 7:30am.
So it really just depends on what kind of commute you're willing to put up with, and if you like public transit or not. If you do live on the south end, you can possibly catch the Light Rail to Westlake and walk the remaining few blocks. That's about a 40 minute ride from SeaTac to Westlake.
Non-express ones definitely do. From my house, where I don't have an express option, to SLU (we have an office there I go to maybe once a month) takes about 50 minutes. The same ride on the bus is about 90-95 minutes. So many stops, and they all add up. If I drive to the Light Rail (20 mins, ish), ride it in (40 mins, ish) and walk to the office (10 ish) it's a good option.
Express buses operate pretty quickly, since they don't have all the small stops and beat a solo driver since they use HOV lanes on 5. It takes me about 15 minutes of driving to get to an express bus, and it's about a 45 minutes ride from there to a block away from the SLU office.
If you can get downtown, don't forget that you can ride the SLUT too.
Express buses operate pretty quickly, since they don't have all the small stops and beat a solo driver since they use HOV lanes on 5. It takes me about 15 minutes of driving to get to an express bus, and it's about a 45 minutes ride from there to a block away from the SLU office.
If you can get downtown, don't forget that you can ride the SLUT too.
LOL.. SLUT what's that? South lake union train?
Was the interview with Amazon as heavily biased toward algorithms and data structures as the recruiter made it sound?
Yep, that's all it was except there was one design question regarding component diagrams and such.
Make sure you insist on maintaining a balanced work/life schedule. I have seen folks break down from all the stress that comes with the work demand.
I've heard this depends a lot on which team you work for... but yeah it is a concern of mine. I will just have to see how it goes.
I start on Sept. 22. I have been doing a ton of work getting ready to move. Eulogy do you work there?
No, I don't work there. The drummer for my band does, and several of my closer friends do too (all in various development roles).
It most certainly depends on which team you are on. Everyone I know really enjoys their job, their managers, and the work they do. I know some other people who are on teams they do not like, though (not my friends, but acquaintences). I do know that if it's not thrilling for you, there are options of moving laterally in the company as well as jumping ship to one of the other many companies around here. I would suggest giving it a good 6 months before thinking of any move at all, even within Amazon. Get settled into the job, and the area.
If you want to PM me which team you'll be on, I'll see if I can get you some insider info you may not have gotten during the interview.
It most certainly depends on which team you are on. Everyone I know really enjoys their job, their managers, and the work they do. I know some other people who are on teams they do not like, though (not my friends, but acquaintences). I do know that if it's not thrilling for you, there are options of moving laterally in the company as well as jumping ship to one of the other many companies around here. I would suggest giving it a good 6 months before thinking of any move at all, even within Amazon. Get settled into the job, and the area.
If you want to PM me which team you'll be on, I'll see if I can get you some insider info you may not have gotten during the interview.