I got pinged about a Solaris x86/Linux support contract with Sun in Burlington, MA. I've never actually worked with Solaris x86; I know it's different, but not how much. The Linux experience they want is RHEL4 and SuSE.
Problem: This is not a job that pays well. It's a fairly low-level support job. The recruiter fed me some actual numbers, pre- and post-tax, W2; post-tax, I'd bring home about $737 per week.
With both of us working away from the house during the day, we'd need child care ten hours a day, five days a week. We've been given to understand that for 2 to 3 kids, it's actually cheaper to have a nanny come into the home, and that's going to cost around $20 per hour.
Do the math... taking the job would put us about $260/week into the hole. That is, of course, before deducting childcare expenses from taxable income; but even taking that childcare cost from pre-tax income and assuming it wipes out the taxable income from the job, I'd net $100 per week ... before commuting expenses.
Math is hard, so it's said, but not doing it can be harder.
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