Help! Relocating to San Francisco!

[SallySimpson]

I am posting under an alias, as my boss lurks here.

I would have posted this in the Job Forum, but it would (hopefully) get more views here.

My husband may be relocated to San Francisco (from Connecticut) in September.

Can anyone tell me what the job market is like out there? I have also heard that it is very expensive to live there. What is the pay scale like?

I am a licensed optician, ABO/NCLE and have been in the field for ~15 years.

Thank you in advance!

[eyeneeds]

Hi,
I moved to the Bay area from Connecticut 6 years ago. Yes, it is expensive here, and the salaries are much lower in the optical field than CT. I took aloss of about $6.00 an hour. There are places that pay a little more, but they are far and few between.
We lived in Clayton, which is sort of a suburb of Concord. If you work right in San Francisco you can probably get a better salary, but the commute is long and expensive.
Liscensing laws are different here, also. A lot of unliscened and inexperienced people are working in Dr's offices and optical shops.

I was very used to how the optical field was in Washington State and Connecticut. It was hard for me to adjust to the way it is done here. I was spoiled and loved where I worked in CT!!

Needless to say, after 23+ years in the field I have purchased a totally different kind of business and put the optical career on the back burner. We have moved to the Sacramento area, my husband left corporate America and we purchased our new business which is .8 of a mile from our house. We are having a great time!

Don't know if I know you, I worked in Fairfield County, last job in Westport, lived in Trumbull.

Good luck in what ever you do. If you are a good optician you will find your place here. I think I just finally got burned out.:)

[aaron]

Eyeneeds is right in his observations. The actuall city of Frisco is one of the most expensive cities to live in in the U.S.


Most people live in the suburbs and take the bridges to commute. Sad to say, CA is not and may never be a licensed state. It is very difficult to find ANY person who claims to be an optician that is worth their salt. But you could turn this to your advantage if you know how to interview well.

Now don't get me wrong, 1 out of every 9 people in the U.S. live in CA because it has incredable beauty at times. And there are some really skilled opticians here. But your pay will most likely suffer just a bit.


My advise would be to be picky in which job you take, (if you know what you are doing you WILL be hired easily). Interview the doctor a little yourself. And you might even try (audible gasp ) , one of the chains. They historically pay better in management and as long as you don't mind a little selling out it may be a consideration.


There is more but I am taking to long to write this so e-mail me with any questions you may have. Try not to make this your first and last post maybe..........:bbg:



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[labrat]

I have been living in San Francisco for 10 years. Since moving here I have had only two employers. The first was a chain which I will leave nameless. Let's just say we didn't see eye to eye on things like teaching techs how but not why. My current employer I got lucky in finding and I am happy to say I have been with for over nine years. My advice for you would be to send your reume to everyone you can and beware of the ads in the San Francisco Chronicle. So of these places have trouble keeping good people.

As far as the city is concerned I couldn't think of a better city to live in. I am from New Jersey and went to school in New Haven CT. Trust me, once you get use to being around people who truely want to live where they are you will be hooked. I gave SF a year and 10 years later I am still here. Yes it is REALLY EXPENSIVE here. However, if you are going to rent you are coming at the right time. Vacancy is at an all time high and you can hagle with landlords to reduce your rent! This is not just in a few places in the city either. Plus, the rest of Northern California is beautiful. You can drive to snow one day and the next be on a nice beach.