For those who were left out from the Salary poll.


Same as other poll...completely anonymous so be honest.

Why all the $$ questions? Didn't your parents teach asking salaries/speaking about $ is rude?

I'm the Barbara Walters of VJ.

She makes zero but does very well for herself

I think she was being sarcastic, Lisa. Is someone standing over your screen right now pointing a gun at you?

Actually I wasn't. One poll was enough, but 2 is really crossing the line, IMO. I was always told it's rude to talk abotu salaries - even moreso in England.

It's anonymous and voluntary... a far cry from going up to someone and asking them directly.

I'm not offended by it - noone's being asked to turn over their financial records, or even post anything at all. The poll is anonymous and voluntary - what's wrong with that?

I'm not offended either. Salary surveys exist all over the Internet, as long as they're anonymous who cares?

Of course, they're more meaningful when conducted in a carefully selected group of people (same profession, same location, or similar).

One more thing. Exchanging salary information is actually helpful to workers who need to negotiate a new salary with a new prospective employer or negotiate a raise. Not talking about salary at all would mean no one would have the slightest idea what their "market value" is. IMHO the whole "don't talk about salary" thing biases the game in favor of employers.

so when is the youtube video of you interviewing charles manson in his cell?

It's true that not talking about salary is something that can really hold people back when they go to negotiate their own salary. And I don't see why anyone would be upset with an anonymous poll. Last year we did have a kerfuffle of some type when I made a poll about whether or not it was ok to talk about your salary. Bragging about it on the internet is a little pathetic, IMO. Also any time we bring up salary, the same few people always make comments about how comfortable they are, which is of course pretty tacky. But nothing wrong with an anonymous survey, and it paints an economic picture of VJers.

I don't remember how much my hubby makes as long as with both our paychecks we can pay the bills and have a decent life it's all good.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...=57452&st=0

i suppose one important factor in overall wages not taken into account in any of these polls is someone's wages measured against the median wages for that area. in other words, making 75k in nyc isn't doing as good as someone making 70k in smalltown missouri, for example, due higher costs of living in nyc (housing, etc).

Why is the assumption being made that anyone's upset? Dev made a comment...nothing more, nothing less. Steven posted 3 topics about money, so imo it was a reasonable question & comment.

I'm certainly not upset Don't have a gun to my head either






I didn't think she was, turns out she wasn't....

Pointing a gun at me? what you getting at? My post isn't welcome unless I agree? wow!

sanita stays home...and works more there than me...she takes care of the hiome..takes a brooom and sweep the yard..and feed her many animal friends and birds friends..daily and in the evening..also, chases hawks and cats they venture to close

And in return, she garnishes all your wages, right?

yeap, and i allow her ..she is Chechen....and i am always cautious about the Black Widows there

Self preservation is #1!

My spouse is a self employed artist who only gets paid when she sells a painting or is given a commision ... No option exists for me to answer this poll...

always the best course of action in a marriage or life

What was wrong with the first poll?

Everyone who has a spouse is a spouse.

I would understand if the first poll was for USC spouses and the second one for foreign spouses,
otherwise it doesn't make any sense.

He's interviewing right now, can I get back to you?

I wondered that myself...

because the other poll doesn't account for people who don't work...

I answered for myself in the first poll, and then for my spouse in this one, who doesn't post here. But maybe I'm looking at it too simplistically.

I never said I was upset. See that winking smilie? Means something ya know...

IMO, I thought there was too many $ polls, so I asked. I also think it's tacky. How that makes me 'upset' I dunno, cuz in my world, I certainly am not.




and if someone's spouse also posts on VJ, it makes no sense to answer both/either.

That's what we did. Well, he posts sometimes, but we share 1 account.

2 tatas sharing one account?

or worse....2 toms

My wife works part-time at the Catholic school near our house. She is classified as a teaching assistant. She works with pre-schoolers during the day and looks after the older kids after school until their parents pick them up. It's part-time hourly work, doesn't pay a lot, and there are no benefits. She gets medical insurance through me and my job.

She was a university degreed English teacher at a public high school in Belarus for 17 years. She knows she can get her foreign degree evaluated and could probably get work as a full time teacher, but she is happy where she is at and works part time for pocket money.

Have you looked into getting her foreign degree evaluated? I've read that it's fairly inexpensive - about $80.

I have read very much the opposite... I would be curious to know for sure... My wife is a Pharmacist and they are very much in demand but her degree evaluation was alledgedly going to be several thousand dollars and then thre was no guaranty of acceptance by the licensing board.....

I found this link - I got this from a thread awhile ago in Living Here in America forum.

http://www.aacrao.org/international/foreignEdCred.cfm

Basic statement of comparability - $75, or

Course-by-course evaluation * - $190

*If the credentials presented are not recommended for university-level recognition (i.e., transfer credit), you will only be charged for a "basic statement of comparability."

http://www.aacrao.org/international/individual.cfm

My neighbor told my wife about a program in the Houston Independent School District that does this for foreign trained teachers so they can get state certification to teach in the H.I.S.D. There is a shortage of teachers in the district. H.I.S.D. has a list of companies they use to evaluate foreign degrees. My wife is aware that she can make much more money and get state retirement benefits if she pursues a full time state teaching position in the public schools.

I urged my wife to go for it, but she is happy working part-time for pocket money. We live well enough on my paycheck and aren't in debt. It's her choice what she wants to do. Apparently she wants to do what she is already doing.

Gosh, it's too bad she wouldn't see the benefit, both long term and short term of getting her license to teach here. Jinky is still trying to decide if it's worth going thru another 2 years of university and then state board exams that are only given every few years just to practice dentistry in California. Right now, she's leaning toward getting certified as a dental hygienist, which still is a reputable career with a decent salary.

A complete strangers opinion - it's so totally worth it. Tell Jinky a complete stranger on VJ said so, so it must be true.

I agree.

--

Side note - J is a licensed RIBA architect (Royal architect, blah blah blah ) which is harder & takes longer than US architecture exams. However, he has no desire to get Cali certified as it takes years & the cost is high. Strangely enough, many LA architects are foreign & just do the design of it & have a Cali certified archietct sign off on it. Lucky him!

UCLA offers a foreign dentist, 2 year program but it currently runs about $86,000. She won't establish residency until Sept, 2008. I think there are 3 board exams, all given on a different years. I'm torn on it. I fully support her if she decides to do it. On the other hand, a Dental Hygienist out here can make about $75,000 and according to report, is one of the top 10 jobs to have in the U.S. right now.

A dentist can make way more than that. $75,000 may be a good salary when you're 5 years out of college but it would suck to top out at that level if you have the skillset to go way higher. JMHO.

I hear you. Family life comes into the equation also. I wouldn't mind being the one sacrificing my career to spend more time with raising the kids, but one of us needs to do it. It might end up being me. A tough decision.

Good luck

My USC husband earns less than a few hundred $$ than me, but still close.

Jinky should definitely go for it. I wouldn't be able to stand being some other dentist's hygienist when I knew I could be a dentist. It would just feel awful...

eta: I mean only if I had already been a dentist before. not that there's anything wrong with being a hygienist, but Jinky has already done the degree, albeit elsewhere.

i think currently my sister jinky has allot on her plate.. a new country..a new marriage..and soon a new son...she needs to relax and if she decides to go to school that is several years down the road...

Agreed!

But Jinky's not even eligible for the program until 2008 anyway, so she's got some time to think and apply for like, 2009 or 2010?

Once she has adjusted and got the baby out of the way it is certainly something she could consider. But if she doesn't, it's no biggy.