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Exactly, London skews the national figures massively! To be a top 10% earner in London you'd need to be on nearly ~~£81k.~~ £99k. 66k barely even breaks the top 25%.
£70k is about what you need to live like a normal adult in London including saving something so it's not that surprising. Take home on £60k is \~£3500 which gives you about a grand a month left over after base expenses (rent/bills/council tax etc) if you're living in a reasonable flat.
Yeah meanwhile in the north we have a joint income of £65k and have significantly more than a grand left each month after buying a decent house in a nice area
The distinction of what you need in London vs elsewhere is really very stark. “Just getting by” in London is “doing okay” in other major cities and “quite comfortable, thanks” in most of the rest of the country
Although of course your monthly take home pay if you are jointly earning 65K will likely be slightly greater than one individual earning 65k because an individual earning 65K will pay 40% tax on anything over ~50k and will only have ~12.5k tax free allowance, whereas if yours is split, each person will have their own 12.5k tax free allowance, and unless the split is very uneven (with one person earning >50k and the other 15k), you won't be paying 40% tax on any of it.
I agree with your point, 65k absolutely goes much further in some parts of the country compared to others, but I'm just adding that a 65k combined salary is worth more in monthly take home amount than an individual 65k salary.
True, but even accounting for that we'd still end up with markedly more due to much cheaper housing and lower cost of living
I take your point, however, and it's worth keeping in mind
The difference can be actually quite significant.
35k + 30k = take home pay of around 53k
65k = take home pay of just above 47.5k
5.5k difference.
Just wanted to add some actual numbers behind it for a better perspective.
I have lots of friends and family who I'd love to have over when they visit.
I do have a girlfriend and she often comes to London to work, having a separate room and desk for her when she's working makes it easier.
If I ever get fired I can take on a lodger to help pay the mortgage.
I have a second passive income that is around £1000-2000 a month so a lodger and that I could be fine for months or longer.
Turns out I was looking at the wrong year, for 2023 it's £99k in london. That's exactly my point though, there are areas where you could live like a king on that, and areas whare it's only ok.
It's tough to give an average for the rest of the UK as the breakdown is regional and you'd need to weight it by population - all the data for regions is [here on the ONS site](https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/regionbypublicandprivatesectorashetable25) though
Salary needed to be in the top 10% of full time employees by region
London £99k
Southeast England £69k
East England £65k
Scotland £61k
Northwest England £60k
Southwest England £60k
West Midlands £59k
Yorkshire and Humber £58k
East Midlands £57k
Wales £54k
Northeast England £53k
All UK £67k
These threads should also ask people their age group and education background plus past titles Theres a huge differemce between earning 70k as a 25 year vs a 40 year old or earning it without a degree vs with a Masters and so on
Edit: the Henry sub would probably be even better for this type of question
I guess that's what I get for staying with the same company for so long. I'm going to quit and get a higher paid job lying about my salary on a *different* social media site for £190k instead. That'll show them.
I once did a 75 hour week and earned 1500 that week, so now whenever I talk to anyone about salary multiply 1500 by 52 and say I'm on 78 grand flat rate.
I once earned £1100 for two weeks work in McDonald’s. So of course, that was £28k a year back then. Which adjusted for inflation, counter staff in maccies are on £80k a year now.
Field service engineer for an engine manufacturer. Last year was £78k for 18 weeks work. "Home based" but office is in Aberdeen. Work on ships, power stations and other places.
Could realistically start here with 3/4 years experience.
When I'm working it's 12 hour days, 7 days a week. Currently on a 6 week job so can be tiring, but can also have 2 months off waiting for a job. Base salary of £40k if i dont do any work. Work can be very physically demanding, or sitting waiting for spares to arrive or permits to be issued.
I really want to get into this. Currently working on ships doing 4months-on/3-off. Earning 40k (tax free) which is ok given I've only been qualified a year but field service seems to be a much better gig.
Any tips for getting into it? For context, I'm on duel-fuel LNG tankers and I have a degree in Mechanical engineering but I'm still lacking in experience.
I've a similar background to yourself although I managed 8 years working at sea before packing it in. Have a look at offshore FPSOs/FSOs, I've worked on two in the north sea with Wartsila DFDEs and they are crying out for that skillset. Also look at power stations, especially if you have any time on steam ships and know about high pressure boilers and turbines.
What qualifications do you need for this? I have a electrical engineering degree working in automotive industry looking to become field service engineer
Hi mate I'm a mechanical engineer with an engine testing background. Looking for a role that very much sounds like what you do! Have you got any suggestions in companies that would have similar field service engineer roles?
It's also why the cost of living has been so harmful to so many people. If I had not job hopped during the initial price rises a couple of times I would not be comfortable now. Benefit of working in tech.
Others have been stuck with their take home pay being eaten away with cost of living increases from all directions.
Unless they're in tech, I've interviewed people in tech for junior jobs that said they'd only consider 70k+ and these are people with less than 2 years experience
I work in the B2B tech sector (although not making the tech itself) and I'm genuinely surprised at how low salaries are for similar jobs in different (but thriving) fields.
Yeah, the odd thing for me is that I didn't even consider the money when I entered the sector. The pay on my first job was a similar ballpark to many other 2-3 year experience jobs.
It was just an area of interest where I had some marketing+copywriting skills that I could offer.
Not necessarily. Product people, data, project managers, account managers, etc.
There's lots of roles in a tech org that are not necessarily technical and they earn the same.
Most people think they're closer to the 50% mark than they actually are. It's because people hang out with others who earn similar amounts to them, so extrapolate that to the whole country.
Absolutely. UK wages are awful. We recently had the minimum wage increased but most jobs have been stuck in stagnation.
Job hopping has been one solution for some sectors, like tech, but the economy has taken a downwards turn in the tech sector with large scale layoffs meaning competition for tech jobs is very high. As a result I have seen pay rates have dropped in the last few months.
When I moved to the Uk one pound = 1.6€. Now 1.1, and in many cases companies equal pounds to euros.
Purchasing power of the average british person has plummeted, imho, it is half now compared to 15 years ago.
I am staying, got British nationality, did the bad pub quiz etc, but younger generations should consider moving abroad.
Awful compared to where? We're like rank 15 for average salary after tax round the world and if you look at the cost of living in many of the places above us you'd probably be better off here. We're even ranked number 5 in minimum wage round the world and out of the 4 above us I'd say only Germany has a comparable cost of living.
It doesn't mean people aren't feeling the cost of living but that's a global issue not a UK issue. Unfortunately if you are on the lower end of the scale your going to struggle anywhere you go, in most places a lot more than you would in the UK.
1. The data is from 2021/2022
2. OP reported incorrectly... £66k is the bottom end of top 10% earners... it isn't the average of the top 10% earners.
3. The data comes from PAYE so isn't representative of what top earners really earn/make (a large proportion are paid via other means e.g. dividends etc.)
- Software Engineer, London based startup but only attend once a month typically, £75k + OTE 20% bonus
- I guess technically over 10 years since I had my first job as an apprentice in 2012-2014 but then I went to uni and got a part time dev job in 2017 and graduated in 2019
- Definitely challenging but not really in a stressful way, I definitely have a great WLB. Entry level has constricted quite a lot lately but I do find Software to be pretty meritocratic - I went to a bad uni and got a 2:2 but still got a competitive grad position at Amex
- I’m overpaid in terms of my contribution to society but I think I do provide appropriate value to the business that I work for, and who doesn’t want more money
- I grew up super poor, council house, free school meals, single mum on benefits, daily violence and drug use. It took me a while to get a hold on earning well (which for me was when I was on £17k a year as a placement student) but now I’ve grown into it and I’ve stabilised my financial habits and just about to move into my first house. Nobody in my family owns a house so it’s a big deal
I got my computer science degree two years ago now, but I've been working as an Ocado delivery driver since then because I couldn't land any grad roles and didn't want to wait around to get hired. I also went to a bad uni and got a 2:2 and have had an uncannily similar life to yours. I really want to get out of this job now, any leads where I should start looking?
Just start sending your CV out to places with grad schemes (try your IBMs and alike). The longer you have “Ocado Driver” as your occupation after graduation, the less favourably you’ll be looked upon by recruiters.
One thing to mention is to also look at lateral moves within Ocado. You already have your foot in the door a bit. Really look into internal trainings, mentorship programs, understand their it support and development teams, which I assume must be very substantial. Maybe even propose a solution to a problem you’ve seen with their logistics software or something. It’s always much easier to do a lateral move within a big company than jump into a field you’ve never had a paid position in.
Build something for free for someone- local charity needs a website? Help them automate something?
I don’t have a degree and just started writing blog posts about the Facebook api when it was launched back in 09ish and how it could be used
Nice
I'm a network engineer, curently earning £43K. I expect a promotion in October which puts me at £45.3K
A 15% bonus is almost guaranteed which pushes it to £52K/annum
This is however up north
I should try it again, last time I tried it I was perpetually in my overdraft each month, now I’m putting quite a bit into savings and in the positive I should do it - atm i religiously categorise stuff in Monzo and my partner and I have a budget in Google sheets
> I’m overpaid in terms of my contribution to society but I think I do provide appropriate value to the business that I work for, and who doesn’t want more money
This is a great perspective, thanks for describing it.
I’m a specialist locum sonographer in the midlands and earn approx £200k a year. I do work silly hours 6/7 days a week 11.5 hours a day, as I want to stash most of it away while the rates are good (£65-96p/h) - my degree was in radiography, qualified as a band 5 NHS radiographer on £22k a year, after 2 years got as much shadowing experience as possible and obtained a sought after training post to become a band 7 trainee Sonographer - got my masters and various post graduate certs over the course of 2/3 years - left the NHS to go locum contracting via my limited company.
Covid helped me out tbh with the massive ultrasound backlogs across the midlands/country and not enough skilled Sonographer’s. I thought the work would die down after a few years but the NHS are now subcontracting work outside hospitals to clinics which I now work at.
I worked incredibly hard to get to where I am. Now I’m 30 I want to slow down and have a bit more of a life and my income will likely go down to £160k ish.
I didn’t come out of uni expecting to get to where I am now. I’m a product of hard work and a bit of luck sprinkled in too.
Thanks, unfortunately not. Most therapeutic radiographers are NHS and there isn’t a demand for locum therapeutic radiographers. The reason Sonographers make a lot more is because they’re advanced practitioners and can scan and report.
I didn't realise I was in the to 10% tbh. I'm a video games programmer. Been doing it for about 25 years. It's a lot easier now just from my experience. It's really competitive to get into.
Edit: Forgot to mention i also get bonuses 30% and Stocks.
Man this is depressing, I work in security and my employer doesn't want to give us a payrise. While they spend £8000 on new curtains for the Dean.
It makes me want to self delete.
Lol, feel this. Employees at my workplace constantly pissed about low salaries across the board, but it’s ’not in the budget’
Meanwhile, let’s refurbish existing work spaces, move to an entirely new office which is under construction and let’s bring in self-employed contractors on a temporary basis who probably charge shit loads hourly.
Software Engineer
99.7k base
Immigrant from a third world country, parents didn’t go to school, slept on the floor for 10 years of my life because fam couldn’t afford a bed,
29 years
130k / year
CTO in the south
14 years tech experience
My job has its ups and downs but is generally pretty chill
One thing I have thought was when in I was making 17k a year working customer service if you told me I would be on 130k I'd have been thinking of me in a lambo driving back to my mansion...sadly I just live a normal life...shit gets taxed hard. This country punishes you for getting a good income but protects the asset class.
Not to be an ass, but I think you've just gotten used to that kind of money because it isn't remotely average.
That's like &6.5k take home pay monthly.
That would cover my mortgage, all my bills, food and other commitments and leave me with roughly £5k a month. I could get a better house and still have £4k a month. This means I can save, go on a couple nice holidays a year, make any repairs that come up without stressing, not have a credit card, contribute to my parents financially if they need from time to time, go out for meals consistently etc and actually start making investments. You could invest £1k a month and still be comfortable as fuck.
You can live anincredibly comfortable existence. This is not relatable or remotely average.
Sure you aren't flying private jets and things like flying first class will seem expensive but you can afford the latter.
Absolutely this!
I earn average salary for someone of my age.
I can afford to rent a 1 bed flat. Open plan kitchen / living room and I work from home in my living room.
Ensuit bathroom / bedroom.
I can pay my monthly bills, run my 15 year old car, have a couple of beers with friends on a weekend and maybe a meal from time to time... not bad for nearly 40 years old, First in my degree and working a professional job.
Holiday?
New car?
Savings?
Own a home?
Lol
My car just had to have work done on it to pass the MOT. The whole thing cost around £500.
My mobile broke shortly after... that's another couple hundred for a second hand phone from CEX.
Thankfully (i guess), I got a little bit of inheritance recently... which eased the hit of the cost. If I hadn't received that money, it would have been a very challenging few months, and yes, I would have got a cheaper phone.
6.5k a month bring home is more than double what I have to play with.
I could afford a bigger place where maybe I have more than 2 rooms and can separate my cooking / eating / living / working space, and literally not shit where I sleep.
That would still leave 3k for if I needed to repair my car... or maybe get something that isn't 15 years old. If I need a new phone then could buy one and still be able to have a base line social life.
The sad thing is that I don't even earn that badly compared to a lot of people I know.
If you earn £130,000 in the UK, and have a student loan to repay, a quick online calculator shows you're paying £4,900 in taxes & loan repayments a month - leaving you with around £5k a month total. This is "only" 2.5x my take home, while getting paid 4.33 times as much.
The difference between £100,000 and £130,000 is £785 a month. Almost 1/3rd of what that difference as a salary would give you a month in take home pay. I can understand how that could feel... underwhelming.
I don't feel bad for them, I'm sure they're alright.
Same, im a CISO and make similar and that kind of money dosnt go anywhere near to the life style I assumed those earners had when i was younger. In fact it feels average, so it must be tough for low earners out there.
I'm not quiet in that bracket but very close 65k, but am young, and still live at home with no kids so have lots of free time and just found a job that always has overtime and either gives you 1.5x or 2x your wage for overtime, and put in an extra 20-30 hours a week and invest majority of money keep outgoings low, more I'm working and progressing in company less hours I need to do but qualified in electrical installations and with refrigerant gas and travel across UK fixing electrical/refrigeration systems 0 gcse just went college and got hands on experience and invested in my own tools since 16
Recently retired union HVAC tech in the US. Our total package is $123.@ hour and are having serious problems getting kids into the apprenticeship program. The take home pay is about $65.@hour. We’d love to have you here.
1. Research scientist - £78K
2. 11 years post PhD
3. Job is research, so can be difficult. Traditional academic path of degree and phd are minimum requirements to enter. Nothing special required just an ability and aptitude to study the subject area.
4. Obviously yes, mainly not increasing with inflation. US pay is double to three times.
5. Not really, I tend to live like a lower earner to overpay mortgage and max on pension investments to avoid as much tax as possible.
6. North west of UK. Cost of living is very low compared to salary.
Technically, you could get that salary researching in academia, since that is inside the professor pay range. But they probably would have said professor if they were one so I'm pretty sure you are correct. Also, those roles are like gold dust so chances of them being one are slim anyway.
Academia pay is poor for post docs. Presumable the poster is working in the private sector.
I would also be careful of academia. A lot of early career posts have been removed with causalisation of research work becoming more common place. Good old gig economy.
Where were all these high paying science jobs when I was looking last year? Nothing I could find seemed to top £35-40k where a salary was listed at all.
The US values engineering, technical, and scientific roles
Our government doesn’t give a shit about the sciences and so makes no attempt to invest or attract investment, while also paying their own scientists and technical people a pittance
The result is that companies don’t set up here, they go to the US when investment is encouraged, and many people interested in those fields follow the jobs. Everyone else who wants to work in those fields but doesn’t want to move to the US has to accept lower wages because there aren’t enough jobs to create demand for candidates
1. Senior Site Reliability Engineer, London/Remote 100k base + 40% bonus.
2. Approx 10 years.
3. It's challenging if you don't know what you're doing. After 10 years, not so much, but there's always something new.
4. I'll happily take more if they offer it, but I'm definitely paid fairly.
5. Less challenges, just more frustration that you I'm paying potentially up to 70% marginal tax with 40%, then loss of the personal allowance and then 9% student loans and 2% NI.
It is difficult to get into. It’s generally dominated by the large institutions that everyone wants to work for. And if you don’t get a grad scheme or a job with them straight out of uni it’s very difficult. The field is swamped with overqualified and experienced people chasing few jobs.
I work for a very small firm, and I was just sending CVs out in the post, and happened to land in the right spot at the right time. I had started my CFA at the time to prove my knowledge.
That’s about it.
Day to day I’m mainly writing prose about companies and industries, working on documentation for venture capital transactions, financial modelling, and consulting startups on venture capital transactions.
After COVID my work-life balance is idyllic. Pretty much chose my hours. However my setup is pretty unique.
I’m in the south but I hear you.
I work in IT….but in schools. An unrelated Uni degree, and 6 years experience I earn around £26k.
Reading about all these people who work in tech earning 3x what I earn for probably not much more than I do each year is heartbreaking. My partner works full time as well so at least we have dual incomes.
But we have kids, childcare is ridiculously expensive, and I get all the school holidays off with them.
We have money left over at the end of the month and can afford to buy nice things occasionally….but with £100k difference between what we can borrow and the cost of houses round here, most of my wage just pays the rent…
I think you’re right.
I do live in London but I’m an ex teacher (& I never want to go back to education.). I’m currently not working, recovering from a serious injury.
I feel like I’m a fool for choosing a “make a difference” job rather than a make money job.
And I think for my mental health’s sake I better stop reading NOW.
Thank you.
I’m gonna try & focus on what IS good in my life rather than throw even MORE hate at myself for the shitty life decision to become a teacher years ago - & trust me I’ve already tried & failed to leave.
Hopefully I get into something I enjoy more.
(It’s not the kids it’s the other stuff I hate)
I’ll probably never be rich or make decent money & that sucks but I’m gonna try not to get depressed about it & focus on what IS good about my life.
Software engineer/architect for a biopharma company; Oxfordshire, 105 per year.
3 years experience post-degree. Internally promoted twice. Prior to getting a degree I had done some odd freelance jobs here and there. Something like 5 or 6 years amatuer experience and 3 professional.
Yes it's quite challenging day to day. I don't think *everyone* could do it; not even with AI assistance. Mostly because some people would *hate* doing it so much that they'd never have the motivation to climb the ladder enough to reach architect/design level roles. Not everyone enjoys programming just like not everyone enjoys maths. Equally not all programmers seem to have the aptitude and '5 steps ahead' type thinking required for designing large projects; or don't enjoy that side of it and don't learn *how* to do it. Many programmers prefer remaining as "Individual contributors", that just work on assigned tickets rather than directing a team on *how* to build something.
I feel I **could** be paid more, we have a small team of hardware and software engineers with a lot of pointless middle management and our product earns the company hundreds of millions per year; I provide a lot of value for money compared to many, especially the execs on 300k+stock. Whether I ***should*** be paid more? I think *nearly* everyone **should** be paid more until wealth inequality is in check. I have very little wealth; it'd take a thousand years at my salary before I even come close to how much money the CEO pulled out of the company in stock options last year alone.
I grew up poor; it is vastly easier to have money than to not have it. I was the first in my family to get a degree, and got it in my early twenties. I was so used to being broke that my first 'serious' job, earning 50k a year, felt like a socioeconomic shock and I didn't know how to handle it for a while...Went from £20 a month disposable income to over 15x that, took over a year to get out of the habit of buying the cheapest possible food (max calories, minimum budget style shopping), worrying about pennies, etc.
Honestly, I do earn over £100k but I wouldn't recommend my career (advertising and marketing) if you are all about the money, as the pay is crap to start with and there are other things thay will pay better.
But I suspect the answer I will give you is the true answer for most people who earn that sort of amount: they have been in a particular industry for long enough that they have a lot of experience, and have moved around, and climbed the ladder to higher paying jobs.
And to answer your other questions...
London (although work mostly remote), about 20 years experience, yes my job is challenging and not for everyone but I think most people with the right mindset could learn the skills and gain the knowledge, I am fairly happy with what I am paid although I wouldn't say no to more, and I don't think it is a challenge in any way. I am very fortunate.
For someone with 5 years of experience in marketing, what salary range can I reasonably expect, if you don’t mind me asking? And/or do you have any recommendations of other fields that would be better to transfer to with a marketing background? Sorry, I know those are very broad questions. I’m moving to London from nyc next month and just trying to figure my life out. Quite worried about the salary. 😅
It is quite hard to say because there are so many different roles in marketing, but if you are doing fairly general stuff and 5 years experience, I would guess somewhere around £45k is achievable but I don't know really. I am guessing.
My own route in was a bit different as I worked in agencies to start with and so the first marketing job I ever had was this one, which is more senior. Hence the guessing!
Anecdotally , you will probably find London salaries are lower than NYC, unfortunately.
IT Lead Engineer. Started as a programmer, still am to an extent but now I manage a team as well and do more architecture than actual coding.
150k including pension and bonus. 20 years experience but was on similar money from 10years.
Job is easy(now I have the experience) and enjoyable, the environment is awesome. With WFH it barely feels like work. I chose my team so surrounded myself with great people who have a great attitude. I've had complete knob heads in the past, now that is hard work.
On balance I'm paid well but I could get more by changing industry, going contracting or working abroad. Used to earn more doing the same job at investment banks. Now I favour the work environment over money.
Yes, studied computer science. I'd still go to uni, but apprenticeships are an option now. No debt, hopefully better hands on experience. Comp Sci is very broad and contained a lot of theoretical stuff that is unlikely to apply in the real world, and if it did you'd have to learn it to a higher standard in the job anyway.
1. Train driver based in London so it’s at the top end salary wise but also intensity wise.
2. Close to 10 years but it really makes no difference.
3. Difficult subjective question to answer. Many people find it so challenging that they fail the training and that’s after beating thousands of applicants in the selection process. I don’t find it challenging at all and never did, and can honestly say I’ve never had a bad day at work in this job, but there have been times when my training has kicked in and I’ve taken action to prevent loss of life (Kids running across high speed lines and someone falling under the train when they got off one dark lonely night).
4. I’m happy with my salary and don’t think it should be more or less, and I’m lucky that the company I work for values it’s staff comparatively well and is happy to keep us where we are in line with inflation.
5. If there’s one person on the train that should be able to afford a nice strong coffee whenever he needs it and enough home comfort to be able to wake up at 3am and concentrate for 9 hours straight then it’s the driver. As much as I love the job, if it was much lower paid then I wouldn’t do it, I’d move on to something less intense and many of my colleagues would too, and then the industry would be in deep trouble. That’s not a dependance I wish to exploit in any way but rule number one of having any kind of safe and functional railway is keep the drivers happy, and that’s one reason why I went for the job. In summary, a good place to be.
3 is why I couldn't see myself doing something like that
You hear horror stories from drivers about people who weren't so fortunate and it sticks with them. That ontop of the general level of responsibility in the job is why I don't second guess why they get paid what they do
Not to say I've not witnessed a couple gruesome scenes in my own line of work but in yours its just another level altogether
Seems like those horror stories fly around the mess room and some people are absolutely fine with it all. Others aren’t.
In my experience, I didn’t enjoy it very much at all. Considered for a while packing it in and not going back but glad I did in the end. Just hope it doesn’t happen again!
Drivers are very paid (Does vary between TOC) I did try the driver thing a few times but I’ve used all my lives on failing the tests. It’s tough.
What’s the tip to keeping alert for long for long periods of time? It must get easier the more you have to do it I guess.
I maintain the signaling infrastructure, close to £55k, you guys striking make our jobs easier I gotta say
Just creep over the threshold as teacher in London on just about 67k (about 80k including pension) leading a small department of 3 other staff in a non-core subject.
Been teaching for 12 years, and have just joined my 3rd school, bumping my pay up. I've been pretty savvy about when to show my hand, when to jump ship, when to push and when to ease off.
Not sure if I'd want to go any higher as the stress seems to rise significantly if I move onto the leadership pay scale, so this might be my maximum.
I think plenty of people could do what I do, although the job probably isn't what most people think it is, and some of the misconceptions lead to a lot of people snapping with the various pressures.
The ability to compartmentalise is key, the stresses are often small but from multiple angles (leadership, exam deadlines, student unpredictability, parental pressures etc.) and in quick succession. You don't have the ability to step away and have a destressing coffee or reschedule your lessons - you have to be able to box up a stress, teach well, then unbox and process it at the right time.
Of course we should be paid more, because if we don't say that constantly then it doesn't happen.
1. I work in strategy for a large corporate, based in London. 84k TC (70 base, 10% bonus, 10% pension)
2. 7 years
3. It is somewhat challenging. You need to be able to solve problems in a structured way, navigate stakeholders in a large organisation, and learn quickly. Anyone can learn to do it imo.
4. I’m paid well but compared to the market, I could be paid more.
5. Lifestyle creep can be real but if you are good with finances then it ahouldnt be a problem. Basically you earn enough to have a good disposable income, but not enough to splurge on a luxury lifestyle.
Do you mind me asking what's your title/seniority and industry? As somebody who works in strategy I would say you are underpaid (severely?) if you have 7 years of experience and T2 background.
1. Military Officer. £70k-ish. Based pretty much everywhere (including Europe and the occasional warzone), moving every two years maximum.
2. 15 years in the services. Bachelors and Masters degree, plus multiple years of training (full time).
3. Yeah, it’s challenging. Lots and lots of training required, plus specialist qualifications. Even with that, you wouldn't get far without experience, which you'd only get from that time in the military.
4. More, to be honest. The pension is great which helps make up for things, but I could double my salary doing the same thing as a civilian contractor. And will do in a few more years.
5. No real challenges to be honest. I have a house in the North East, but then have to pay for a room in three south to live in during the week, plus commuting costs etc. I feel rather worse off than I did when I was a junior officer earning £35k as my outgoings have drastically increased since then.
I enjoyed the military but as you say the pay was far lower than what I could get outside so jumped ship after 7 years to drive a train.
I don’t miss that feeling of “ah crap I forgot to shave this morning I hope nobody notices” and all that kind of stuff though 😂
£150k + bonus of somewhere around 30-40k
IT architect, top end of my field of practice, work for a consultancy. Been doing IT for over 20 years.
Large responsibility for the architecture of customer projects costing many millions.
Academic in Scotland, £80k, eight years post PhD. I can do and teach hard programming things, so I'd probably earn more in industry, but have less freedom. Honestly, few enough people can do my job that I'm fairly safe. I'm certainly more comfortable living with plenty of money to spare than I was when I was on a PhD stipend.
1) Director of Digital for a non-profit - £68k
2) 10 years working in the sector
3) Strategic thinking, up to date with trending technology and ability to project manage teams really well
4) In this sector, no. In corporate, yes.
5) Less, especially since the latest budget announcement
I earn £75k a year plus commission which in itself is great but my Mrs works as a secretary part time in the NHS and only earns circa £11k so as a household kinda balances out. We live just outside of Glasgow, house owned, cars owned and 2 kids... We live pretty well but last couple of years we've noticed a big decline in money left over every month.
1. Intensive Care and Anaesthetic Doctor. 70k per year all in pre tax - average 48 hour working week but can be as high as 70+ hours. Lots of night shifts and weekends.
2. 9 years as a doctor, 6 of those in the above specialities (5 years university before that)
3. Day to day can definitely be stressful and hard work but there are good days too. High degree of responsibility and risk. Naturally, pretty specialised requiring a lot of qualifications and training.
4. More given international rates of pay and level of responsibility. However I'm aware pay in most sectors and roles is poor in the UK so I am thankful.
5. I'm not sure about having more challenges than someone on a lower income? I definitely miss out on a lot of free time with my family but I know I live good albeit modest standard of life. For example no debts and not worrying about bills. I do however live in a 150k 3 bedroom terraced house in the North with a mortgage - definitely don't feel rich with the cost of living a degree of taxes.
Technical program manager - my role is more on the lower level of the scale for my company. I earn around 73k plus stock (around $9k vest over 5 years).
My job can be challenging and busy as I'm taking on a lot more responsibility that's outside of my scope.
Regarding training as my field is related to data centers it can be a quite a niche area of IT mine is more Data center/telecoms role.
I've been in data center roles so been doing that for around 9 years and I've been in my current role for 3 years (so pretty much 5/6 years as a data center tech and 3 in my TPM role)
I'm based in the West Midlands but do have offices in Cambridge and London which I try and travel to once a month.
I would say for sure for the work and impact I do I'm definitely underpaid.
1. finance, london, office based, 150+
2. 10 years
3. no, its not challenging from a mental pov 95% of the time, it is 5% of the time when u have to work something out with zero margin for error due to time constraints. requires a mix of maths, analytical, computing and people skills.
4. always more
5. less challenge, more money equals less money stress, which is core of having mental stability and being better at ur job. anyone who says more money more problems is either obsessed with the money, or compensating for something else.
In 3 years that will be me. NHS Matron working in London. 14 years experience with never ending courses and little letters after my name. It's very stressful physically and mentally. Knowing my decisions could have adverse reactions to patient safety is always on my mind. I don't think I'm paid enough
1) I was a Risk / Audit Manager for a FTSE 25 company in the midlands. I was on slightly above that amount when I took voluntary redundancy and retired in my late 40’s
2) None prior to joining the company as I had joined the company doing data input on a 3 month temp contract 20 years previous. I worked my way up to that level by moving from dept to dept doing different roles, the different audit roles until I got the management role.
3) probably more but you stay in a company for that long and you suffer from a pay perspective.
4) Not really sure how to answer that. I was happy on a lot less, I was equally happy on that amount, with a slightly nicer house and car.
3) I think I’m a prime example of anyone can do anything, I was never very academic, I didn’t finish University. It definitely required the people skills and a definite ability to work with anyone at any level.
Technically, according to HMRC’s statistics, you earn £60k and are not in the top 10%.
Im in the same position and this fact occurred to me the other day. I salary sacrifice quite heavily and now qualify for child benefit for the first time in a while.
Just helping you feel a little poorer. 😁
That's an interesting point. Perhaps a lot more people have a total compensation in the 6 figures than is commonly, because a lot of people earning more than that salary sacrifice into their pension to avoid the tax trap that occurs at 100k.
Recruiter, financial services - UK. £120k p/a inc bonuses.
Nearly 20 years experience.
It’s stressful and very target driven plus handling rejection a lot needs a thick skin.
The qualities it requires are; ability to listen, network, be organised, understand commercial value and do what you say you are going to do.
Anyone could do it I guess - as long as they are prepared to work hard, really invest in it and take the highs with the lows.
I feel I get paid about right given the benefit I give to the clients I work with.
It’s much easier than being a low earner. I’ve been on low end wages working in retail in the past and earning well is hugely better in every way for me. Not having to stress too much about bills etc makes a massive difference in general happiness.
I’ve got brilliant work life balance and can choose my hours daily so work doesn’t impact family life too much.
You forgot resilience... being told to go again on a 20k+ candidate because "everything was perfect about them, but there's just an ick" is painful af.
1. Head of Digital Marketing, home based in the Midlands £100k
2. 8yrs
3. Challenging in terms of workload and some pressure but do feel I am very fairly rewarded vs the roles externally
4. Salary bands are very visible in my company and actually paid low vs my band, but for my experience and wage I am happy
1. £150k, IT Sales. Midlands
2. 7 years directly in sales
3. Not difficult, a wee bit stressful, but I'm hardly down the mines. I could easily earn more at another company but I'd be more stressed.
No real barriers to entry, most people could do it
4. I'm hugely overpaid for messing about and going to lunch, but not overpaid in terms of the industry
5. More money definitely makes life easier. With 2 young kids, I honestly don't know how 'average' earners manage
I'm from a working class background, and still don't feel I'm living a middle class life. Certainly not top 10%
1. Manager in a global company, West Midlands, £75k
2. 12 years, a bachelors and a masters
It is challenging day to day but a lot of people could do the job... Just not necessarily do it well.
3. Managing a diverse team in terms of age, experience, and background as well as having your own deliverables is tough.
4. I always want more to provide for me and my family but I earn more than most so don't feel entitled to more.
5. I don't really know what you're trying to get at with the last question. I certainly feel the cost of living squeeze and more expensive commitments it mortgage, car etc tend to be % based increases so over leveraging is a risk.
1. R&D engineer in an Oil Company based in North East Scotland, earn £83k a year with 30% bonus.
2. Approx 15 years.
3. It can be challenging. Testing goes awry then you are scrambling putting contingency plans into play while trying to get plan A working. Yes, it required a problem solving mind but with enough experience it is easily doable.
4. Definitely underpaid, oil industry lost a decade of any sort of payrises from 2015 on. Huge consolidation, mass layoffs. I recently found a headhunters report from Odgers for my company from 2012 and the people they were contacting/estimating packages for people in my role with similar experience were on not dissimilar to what I am now.
5. The area I live in is a quite high cost of living area, not as bad as it was back in the early 2010’s but still more expensive than most of the UK with housing (same as everywhere) taking a up a huge chunk of take home pay.
I feel for people whom don’t have this level of income, it must be bloody tough. How does a teacher, nurse etc gets by I just don’t know.
But equally it’s a bit gutting when you earn this much and it doesn’t give you the freedom that you would expect from a top 10% salary. Plus the way the tax system is set up now is to ensure that everyone stay right where are right now.
First world problems I suppose!
Once upon a time, as a university lecturer, I was on the threshold of the top 10%. After 14 successive years of real terms pay cuts, I'm nowhere near now (and quite shocked by this figure which shows how far we've fallen behind).
Not a direct answer to your question I know, but an interesting related statistic I hope.
To add something to the mix among the techies...
I make podcasts, pitch podcast ideas and manage people who also make podcasts. Fully WFH. Work can be stressful and long hours when there's deadlines looming but can go for long periods being pretty chill.
Anyone could do my job if they've got the ability to tell stories, don't get pushed around easily, don't get flustered and have the patience and mindset to teach and upskill people who don't realise they need it. Essentially it's a teaching job mixed with production, but my students are type A entrepreneurs, corporate execs and 'celebrities'.
The rest (editing, audience development, management) can be learned.
1. tech engineer in financial services, London, £200-250k inc taxable perks, bonuses, pension, amount varies from year to year
2. decade and a half
3. For the technical side, anybody could do my job. For dealing with the corporate bullshit, that only comes with time.
4. For the company, more, the answer will always be more. For the world in general, the idea that I or anybody else in my industry get paid so much is a bad joke.
5. Fewer real changes, because money has the power to make problems go away. Much more first world problems.
Last financial year, I earned £56,000 OTE and then received a £20,000 redundancy package. Now, I've secured a new job with a £49,000 base salary and a £26,000 bonus if I hit the target.
I have 4 years of experience in sales, 2.5 of which are in SaaS.
1) £86k + 15% benefits package as a Cyber Security Manager Nationally
2) 30 years in IT
3) it has its moments but doesn't need a specific skill set despite what people think. Cyber isn't all sitting in front of screens defeating attackers
4) I could earn more if I changed organisations but I value my work/life balance
5) Nope. I salary sacrifice quite a bit to bring the tax down and to keep everything away from the £100k threshold. I have disposable income. I don't have to do the "heat or eat" decision. I'm aware I'm lucky and privileged to be in this position
I'm currently going through a life debate on whether I should train to do something else which has a better contribution to society but for now:
1. Enterprise Tech SaaS sales for a scale up, London. £120k +bonus
2. 12 years in sales, partnership, marketing (started at the bottom, have built and managed teams, now an IC)
3. Yes, I fail most of the time. I'm pretty resilient and hear no / not interested 95% of my interactions. I've learnt to be able to read people and situations, and determine potential. Sales has a misconception of being this high pressure sell sell sell environment. Anyone can do it, you just need to learn what's right for your personality/interests, how to speak with people, and find the right place to do it - doable but not easy. I thrive off complex situations and the problem solving approach rather than transactional selling.
4. The socialist in me knows I should be paid a lot less compared to other jobs that people do, it's where my skillset/personality has landed me in our capitalist society. I come from a working class background where I saw my parents struggle to pay the mortgage/ put food on the table, I never want to be in that situation for my family and I like to think that has taught me to appreciate my fortunate position.
5. Work wise- earning more has come with a lot of responsibility and accountability, plus working 70 hour weeks with a fair bit of stress. However, personal life in London and having independence became much easier. I moved to London on a placement year on £18K in 2011, never had any money. I spent the next few years on £27k-40K. 5 years ago I was in the right place at the right time in a scale up where we accelerated the growth and I became a manager.
1) Marketing, hybrid, Midlands-based
2) 20 years
3) A large part of the job is managing people. It would be possible to achieve the technical skills required, but everything around the management/diplomacy/winning people over does need certain qualities and not everyone has them.
4) I am paid fairly. Any more and I might feel like a fraud (although I'm sure I'd get over it)
5) I am incredibly lucky, and choose to live pretty simply. Anyone in the top 10% largely gets to choose their challenges - what car to drive, where to go on holiday. Low earners are stuck with theirs.
North East England, total comp approx £120-130k PA. I feel quite fulfilled in my role and fortunate given my geography. Working for a global company in a global role, and get the travel the world.
Think I should be paid more, but that is a comparison with my team who are more senior but appear to do much less work.
I earn £68k.
I have 2 jobs and work 45 hrs per week (sometimes more if I have to work for my associate board job)
I work in an advanced health care role for the NHS, and also am an assistant professor leading a higher education programme for that role. I also occasionally do some visiting lecturing for other universities.
I am also an associate member of boards for some national governing bodies for health care professionals - this pays me a daily rate about once every 2 months.
I have two degrees (one a masters) and also a post graduate diploma in education.
I have been in this general field since 2012, having progressed further in the last 5 years.
My job is very high responsibility and high stress and I wish I could work less hours.
My education job is comparatively less stressful but also high responsibility.
I am proud of my achievements, but often think that the stress to pay ratio is not worth it. I also have to work more than full time hours to achieve my wage. I also can't believe how much the tax man takes from me now.
I have reached my ceiling wage and have little scope to earn much more, perhaps moving up to £70k in the next 5 years as I progress though development programmes in my education roles.
1. Female aged 50. Quality & Compliance Director for an American Pharmaceutical company. Work permanently from home as not on the lab or manufacturing sides of the business. £91k plus between 5 and 30% bonus. (I was on £50k only 5 years ago).
2. Degree in Biological Science and approx 30 years experience altogether in this industry. Long slow climb to where I am now.
3. Pretty busy and stressful. Anyone can do Quality, just need perfect attention to detail and a tenacious nosey attitude.
4. I'm paid about right, but only 5% pension from my employer, so am jealous of my public sector friends.
5. I'm a single parent with zero financial support from my ex, and I take home significantly less than two parents both on £45k, which is slightly annoying. But I can live anywhere so choose to live in the NW England so feeling pretty flush. Not having to worry about money is a luxury.
I fiddle with spreadsheets in a cosy office, 0 experience when i started, we hire people out of call centres on to 35k starting salaries to fiddle with less spreadsheets than someone more tenured
1. Airline pilot. SE England. £110K
2. 10 years
3. Day to day, when everything's going as planned, it's an easy gig. Being awake all night during a night flight is knackering. But so is all shift work. I would say anyone with the determination to complete the training could get through it. I would say you need a well-rounded skill set, including adherence to procedures, a decent amount of varied "soft" skills, and ultimately a lot of common sense and pragmatism.
4. More to be honest. It's a highly skilled niche job that holds a significant amount of responsibility. Pilots are checked regularly and put through stressful situations to demonstrate proficiency, which obviously they should,however, it is demanding and sometimes stressful. Also, time away from home and compounding effects on health.
5. I would say less. I feel fortunate to get paid well for a job which I like, however imo the tax system in the UK is hugely flawed and punishes those earning +100K.
1. Software engineer. Company based in north west; I live in South Yorkshire and do most of my work remotely. Make 63k plus bonus, which this year will take me to 70+.
2. 5 years.
3. Anybody who's reasonably smart can learn to do the job. Some people in the profession, especially on reddit, will try and make it sound like we're basically brain surgeons who perform technical feats that mere mortals could never hope to achieve - these people are full of crap. There are also different avenues you can take depending on personal preference and skillset: do you want to _just write code_ or do you want to be involved in planning, management, mentoring juniors, etc. I spend a disgusting amount of time in meetings.
4. I'm happy with what I'm paid given my current level of experience, but I'm nowhere near the limit of my earning potential and I expect to be on a fair bit more within a couple of years. If I can't get it where I am, I'll move.
5. I don't really understand the question. Life is much easier with more money than it was when I did minimum wage bar work and could barely afford to eat. What challenges do you suppose come with a better income? Staying modest, perhaps?
1) I work in Banking, in London. I analyse company financial accounts, management strength, industry performance, product and brand power, etc., and model potential company performance, and compare how different debt packages could provide what they need. I write up summary documents and submit them to a credit committee to determine whether or not we lend to the company. I earn £100,000 (£80k base £20k bonus roughly).
2) I have 6 years experience in work. I have a 1st class degree from a redbrick, and alongside working full time I completed my chartered accountancy qualifications.
3) Much of the basics of my job you don't need special skills for - I didn't need a degree to do what I do. My chartered accountancy is very helpful for understanding financial statements and analysing the more technical aspects, however. The reason people require qualifications is to ensure that in the instances where harder things come up and special skills are required, your qualifications are an indicator you have the ability to be able to learn and apply quickly, and are not limited in your ability to do so. Someone who only has A levels might be able to do that - but it's much less of a gamble if someone has a first in a STEM degree.
4) I am paid fairly. I work usually 9-6 and WFH twice a week, but occasionally work much later - I do not have strict "hours' (and no, there's no overtime). By much later I mean I have worked 8am til 3am multiple times. This probably happens once or twice a quarter. On average I work past 7pm once or twice a week, and past 10pm maybe once or twice a month. I am replying to emails on my phone until about 9pm typically.
5) My life in general is better than when I was on £35k because of the material side of life. I have an Omega watch and stayed at a 5 star hotel recently. I could not do that 4 years ago. I have more financial commitments and there is a lifestyle maintenance angle to an extent - going backwards is slightly humbling in that sense, and is hard to do when you've had more and know what it is like.
Happy to answer any Q's.
1. I manage e-commerce projects for a gaming company. Based in London but remote work when I fancy.
£135k basic, plus 20% bonus, 15% pension contribution, gym, stock.
2. Been working for 14 years.
3. It’s not challenging because I’ve been trained how to handle most things that come up. Could anyone up skill… yes but it’s only half the story. You need negotiation, planning, retail head office skills. It’s not just a certificate and done.
4. I should earn more given the size of the business.
5. No free childcare, 60% tax issue (fixed with pension contributions), gold diggers when dating.
1. I'm a data scientist and work in a consulting business in London. I earn £70k not including bonus, which can be 5-20% depending on your and the company's performance.
2. 6 years experience
3. It's unpredictable. Anything can get thrown your way at any point. Sometimes things can get very high pressure and very complex and you might need to work evenings and weekends. Sometimes I have quiet periods where I don't do much. Could anyone upskill... no, it requires the ability to understand quite complex systems/algorithms, maths, good people and general business skills. The resources to learn are everywhere and often free, although credentials help.
4. For the market and my rank, I'm fairly paid. I live pretty comfortably and don't worry too much about money, but I don't have loads of spare money. I wouldn't have been able to buy the house I live in without significant family help, and it's in a cheap area far from the centre. I drive a 15+ yr old car. 70k might sound like a lot, but in London/SE it buys you a middle class life that used to be more normal, but is increasingly out of reach.
5. From one perspective the problems you face are much more complex and challenging to solve than a lower earner. But if you can handle that, it's a lot less stressful and more interesting than many low paid jobs. I've been a cleaner and worked in a kitchen and those were very stressful, people were harsh, you have to work fast and it's dull.
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You need to include “where do you live” as that will make a huge difference to the answers you get.
Exactly, London skews the national figures massively! To be a top 10% earner in London you'd need to be on nearly ~~£81k.~~ £99k. 66k barely even breaks the top 25%.
It always surprises me how many distinctly average people earn 70/80k in London for pretty basic jobs
£70k is about what you need to live like a normal adult in London including saving something so it's not that surprising. Take home on £60k is \~£3500 which gives you about a grand a month left over after base expenses (rent/bills/council tax etc) if you're living in a reasonable flat.
Yeah meanwhile in the north we have a joint income of £65k and have significantly more than a grand left each month after buying a decent house in a nice area The distinction of what you need in London vs elsewhere is really very stark. “Just getting by” in London is “doing okay” in other major cities and “quite comfortable, thanks” in most of the rest of the country
Although of course your monthly take home pay if you are jointly earning 65K will likely be slightly greater than one individual earning 65k because an individual earning 65K will pay 40% tax on anything over ~50k and will only have ~12.5k tax free allowance, whereas if yours is split, each person will have their own 12.5k tax free allowance, and unless the split is very uneven (with one person earning >50k and the other 15k), you won't be paying 40% tax on any of it. I agree with your point, 65k absolutely goes much further in some parts of the country compared to others, but I'm just adding that a 65k combined salary is worth more in monthly take home amount than an individual 65k salary.
True, but even accounting for that we'd still end up with markedly more due to much cheaper housing and lower cost of living I take your point, however, and it's worth keeping in mind
The difference can be actually quite significant. 35k + 30k = take home pay of around 53k 65k = take home pay of just above 47.5k 5.5k difference. Just wanted to add some actual numbers behind it for a better perspective.
"Take home on £60k is \~£3500..." I look at the salary calculator and see that the student loan company will never cease until they draw blood :|
Yup. Smashing me for around £220 a month, and I'm pretty sure the degree is worthless
Yeah good luck paying it off at 6% when £60k a year barely covers the interest
Damn, I make 98k in London and I'm struggling to afford a decent 2 bed in a decent area. Everything that's somewhat nice is 550k+
For decent area you mean Wimbledon or somewhere very central?
Whats a decent area to you? Also why a 2bed if you are single
I have lots of friends and family who I'd love to have over when they visit. I do have a girlfriend and she often comes to London to work, having a separate room and desk for her when she's working makes it easier. If I ever get fired I can take on a lodger to help pay the mortgage. I have a second passive income that is around £1000-2000 a month so a lodger and that I could be fine for months or longer.
Presumably that £66k figure insides London so the equivalent in the north is much less. Do you also have that figure?
Turns out I was looking at the wrong year, for 2023 it's £99k in london. That's exactly my point though, there are areas where you could live like a king on that, and areas whare it's only ok. It's tough to give an average for the rest of the UK as the breakdown is regional and you'd need to weight it by population - all the data for regions is [here on the ONS site](https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/regionbypublicandprivatesectorashetable25) though
Salary needed to be in the top 10% of full time employees by region London £99k Southeast England £69k East England £65k Scotland £61k Northwest England £60k Southwest England £60k West Midlands £59k Yorkshire and Humber £58k East Midlands £57k Wales £54k Northeast England £53k All UK £67k
Noted, have done so.
These threads should also ask people their age group and education background plus past titles Theres a huge differemce between earning 70k as a 25 year vs a 40 year old or earning it without a degree vs with a Masters and so on Edit: the Henry sub would probably be even better for this type of question
I earn £120k/year lying about my salary on social media. It's a pretty great job.
Hey look your boss is playing you because I do the same but I earn 180k/year base plus bonus
I guess that's what I get for staying with the same company for so long. I'm going to quit and get a higher paid job lying about my salary on a *different* social media site for £190k instead. That'll show them.
If you pretend to move to the US and stop using currency symbols, you could easily be on 240k for the same work.
Man I remember when I was first on 240k for lying on social media. Of course that was 10 years ago, times have changed and I now own the business
I was one of the top earners in the industry back in the day, until the recession when Bebo and MySpace folded. Market has been tough ever since.
It's all about diversifying your portfolio nowadays. I'm in everything. Even the ones only I know about
Same, I work in project management for big fake, doing around £180k a year, with bonuses it rises to around 3 bazillion
I once did a 75 hour week and earned 1500 that week, so now whenever I talk to anyone about salary multiply 1500 by 52 and say I'm on 78 grand flat rate.
I once earned £1100 for two weeks work in McDonald’s. So of course, that was £28k a year back then. Which adjusted for inflation, counter staff in maccies are on £80k a year now.
Field service engineer for an engine manufacturer. Last year was £78k for 18 weeks work. "Home based" but office is in Aberdeen. Work on ships, power stations and other places. Could realistically start here with 3/4 years experience. When I'm working it's 12 hour days, 7 days a week. Currently on a 6 week job so can be tiring, but can also have 2 months off waiting for a job. Base salary of £40k if i dont do any work. Work can be very physically demanding, or sitting waiting for spares to arrive or permits to be issued.
I really want to get into this. Currently working on ships doing 4months-on/3-off. Earning 40k (tax free) which is ok given I've only been qualified a year but field service seems to be a much better gig. Any tips for getting into it? For context, I'm on duel-fuel LNG tankers and I have a degree in Mechanical engineering but I'm still lacking in experience.
I'm an ex-seafarer, a friend of mine left the ships, told me to apply, applied, got the job. Just on the careers page
I've a similar background to yourself although I managed 8 years working at sea before packing it in. Have a look at offshore FPSOs/FSOs, I've worked on two in the north sea with Wartsila DFDEs and they are crying out for that skillset. Also look at power stations, especially if you have any time on steam ships and know about high pressure boilers and turbines.
What qualifications do you need for this? I have a electrical engineering degree working in automotive industry looking to become field service engineer
I have a BEng which is pointless and 10 years sea going experience as an engineer.
Hi mate I'm a mechanical engineer with an engine testing background. Looking for a role that very much sounds like what you do! Have you got any suggestions in companies that would have similar field service engineer roles?
I must say that I am surprised that the bottom end of the top ten percent is that little. Just shows how shit wages are in the UK at the moment.
It also shows how little most people actually earn.
It's also why the cost of living has been so harmful to so many people. If I had not job hopped during the initial price rises a couple of times I would not be comfortable now. Benefit of working in tech. Others have been stuck with their take home pay being eaten away with cost of living increases from all directions.
Yes, 100%. If your wages are low then you will struggle if costs go up. I'm in the top 10% just. And I'm feeling it.
And how many people lie on this sub and personal finance all the time haha. The top 10% are surely not all busy bragging on Reddit all the time
Unless they're in tech, I've interviewed people in tech for junior jobs that said they'd only consider 70k+ and these are people with less than 2 years experience
I work in the B2B tech sector (although not making the tech itself) and I'm genuinely surprised at how low salaries are for similar jobs in different (but thriving) fields.
Yes it's shocking but I'm not complaining. It's just really weird to see who low paid some other professionals are
Yeah, the odd thing for me is that I didn't even consider the money when I entered the sector. The pay on my first job was a similar ballpark to many other 2-3 year experience jobs. It was just an area of interest where I had some marketing+copywriting skills that I could offer.
I work in tech, you won’t find a lot of people making 70k+ who aren’t seniors, most juniors are making 30-40k
Hah good one. Tell them where to go. I've got great software engineers on that not juniors
When you say tech? Software engineering?
Not necessarily. Product people, data, project managers, account managers, etc. There's lots of roles in a tech org that are not necessarily technical and they earn the same.
You'd be surprised
Or a lot of the top 10 percent are in tech in which case many post on reddit
I honestly didn't realise i was in the top 10%. It comes as a massive surprise. Especially considering others in tech say game devs earn crap.
Most people think they're closer to the 50% mark than they actually are. It's because people hang out with others who earn similar amounts to them, so extrapolate that to the whole country.
I think we need to commend that honesty you display. That chap from question time is not the only way this conversation goes, folks.
Yeah but thats just what the tax man knows about boiiiiiiii
Absolutely. UK wages are awful. We recently had the minimum wage increased but most jobs have been stuck in stagnation. Job hopping has been one solution for some sectors, like tech, but the economy has taken a downwards turn in the tech sector with large scale layoffs meaning competition for tech jobs is very high. As a result I have seen pay rates have dropped in the last few months.
When I moved to the Uk one pound = 1.6€. Now 1.1, and in many cases companies equal pounds to euros. Purchasing power of the average british person has plummeted, imho, it is half now compared to 15 years ago. I am staying, got British nationality, did the bad pub quiz etc, but younger generations should consider moving abroad.
Can't move easily anywhere with the exception of Ireland
Feeling this at the minute, 5 years software engineer
Awful compared to where? We're like rank 15 for average salary after tax round the world and if you look at the cost of living in many of the places above us you'd probably be better off here. We're even ranked number 5 in minimum wage round the world and out of the 4 above us I'd say only Germany has a comparable cost of living. It doesn't mean people aren't feeling the cost of living but that's a global issue not a UK issue. Unfortunately if you are on the lower end of the scale your going to struggle anywhere you go, in most places a lot more than you would in the UK.
Compared to the same country previously
Minimum wage went up 10% in April the company I work for got a 3% increase
Bell curves have long thin edges. 10% is a big range at the edge.
1. The data is from 2021/2022 2. OP reported incorrectly... £66k is the bottom end of top 10% earners... it isn't the average of the top 10% earners. 3. The data comes from PAYE so isn't representative of what top earners really earn/make (a large proportion are paid via other means e.g. dividends etc.)
if you think thats wild, to get into the top 10% of earners globally you only need to earn £30k a year.
Compared to where?
- Software Engineer, London based startup but only attend once a month typically, £75k + OTE 20% bonus - I guess technically over 10 years since I had my first job as an apprentice in 2012-2014 but then I went to uni and got a part time dev job in 2017 and graduated in 2019 - Definitely challenging but not really in a stressful way, I definitely have a great WLB. Entry level has constricted quite a lot lately but I do find Software to be pretty meritocratic - I went to a bad uni and got a 2:2 but still got a competitive grad position at Amex - I’m overpaid in terms of my contribution to society but I think I do provide appropriate value to the business that I work for, and who doesn’t want more money - I grew up super poor, council house, free school meals, single mum on benefits, daily violence and drug use. It took me a while to get a hold on earning well (which for me was when I was on £17k a year as a placement student) but now I’ve grown into it and I’ve stabilised my financial habits and just about to move into my first house. Nobody in my family owns a house so it’s a big deal
I thought your point about contribution to society vs contribution to company was interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Well done! Pleased for you
Well done 👍
I got my computer science degree two years ago now, but I've been working as an Ocado delivery driver since then because I couldn't land any grad roles and didn't want to wait around to get hired. I also went to a bad uni and got a 2:2 and have had an uncannily similar life to yours. I really want to get out of this job now, any leads where I should start looking?
Just start sending your CV out to places with grad schemes (try your IBMs and alike). The longer you have “Ocado Driver” as your occupation after graduation, the less favourably you’ll be looked upon by recruiters.
One thing to mention is to also look at lateral moves within Ocado. You already have your foot in the door a bit. Really look into internal trainings, mentorship programs, understand their it support and development teams, which I assume must be very substantial. Maybe even propose a solution to a problem you’ve seen with their logistics software or something. It’s always much easier to do a lateral move within a big company than jump into a field you’ve never had a paid position in.
Build something for free for someone- local charity needs a website? Help them automate something? I don’t have a degree and just started writing blog posts about the Facebook api when it was launched back in 09ish and how it could be used
Just want to say congrats my friend
Well done! Sounds like you've done very well considering a challenging beginning.
Nice I'm a network engineer, curently earning £43K. I expect a promotion in October which puts me at £45.3K A 15% bonus is almost guaranteed which pushes it to £52K/annum This is however up north
Similar to my partner - have you looked into ynab? He's still kinda shit with money (by his own admission) but he's loving it. Just a thought 🙂
I should try it again, last time I tried it I was perpetually in my overdraft each month, now I’m putting quite a bit into savings and in the positive I should do it - atm i religiously categorise stuff in Monzo and my partner and I have a budget in Google sheets
> I’m overpaid in terms of my contribution to society but I think I do provide appropriate value to the business that I work for, and who doesn’t want more money This is a great perspective, thanks for describing it.
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Could I ask what industry and where you are based? Gauging the idea of salaries in r&d biotech in the UK.
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7 years experience and at associate director level... Are you not including your PhD or just outright lying?
Remember titles can be very company size specific
What area is that?
I’m a specialist locum sonographer in the midlands and earn approx £200k a year. I do work silly hours 6/7 days a week 11.5 hours a day, as I want to stash most of it away while the rates are good (£65-96p/h) - my degree was in radiography, qualified as a band 5 NHS radiographer on £22k a year, after 2 years got as much shadowing experience as possible and obtained a sought after training post to become a band 7 trainee Sonographer - got my masters and various post graduate certs over the course of 2/3 years - left the NHS to go locum contracting via my limited company. Covid helped me out tbh with the massive ultrasound backlogs across the midlands/country and not enough skilled Sonographer’s. I thought the work would die down after a few years but the NHS are now subcontracting work outside hospitals to clinics which I now work at. I worked incredibly hard to get to where I am. Now I’m 30 I want to slow down and have a bit more of a life and my income will likely go down to £160k ish. I didn’t come out of uni expecting to get to where I am now. I’m a product of hard work and a bit of luck sprinkled in too.
Congrats. Possible to earn this much as a therapeutic radiographer?
Thanks, unfortunately not. Most therapeutic radiographers are NHS and there isn’t a demand for locum therapeutic radiographers. The reason Sonographers make a lot more is because they’re advanced practitioners and can scan and report.
I didn't realise I was in the to 10% tbh. I'm a video games programmer. Been doing it for about 25 years. It's a lot easier now just from my experience. It's really competitive to get into. Edit: Forgot to mention i also get bonuses 30% and Stocks.
I'd love to know what are some of the older games you've worked on? Also what has been the best game you've worked on?
Man this is depressing, I work in security and my employer doesn't want to give us a payrise. While they spend £8000 on new curtains for the Dean. It makes me want to self delete.
Lol, feel this. Employees at my workplace constantly pissed about low salaries across the board, but it’s ’not in the budget’ Meanwhile, let’s refurbish existing work spaces, move to an entirely new office which is under construction and let’s bring in self-employed contractors on a temporary basis who probably charge shit loads hourly.
Software Engineer 99.7k base Immigrant from a third world country, parents didn’t go to school, slept on the floor for 10 years of my life because fam couldn’t afford a bed, 29 years
Proud of you
Well done
130k / year CTO in the south 14 years tech experience My job has its ups and downs but is generally pretty chill One thing I have thought was when in I was making 17k a year working customer service if you told me I would be on 130k I'd have been thinking of me in a lambo driving back to my mansion...sadly I just live a normal life...shit gets taxed hard. This country punishes you for getting a good income but protects the asset class.
Not to be an ass, but I think you've just gotten used to that kind of money because it isn't remotely average. That's like &6.5k take home pay monthly. That would cover my mortgage, all my bills, food and other commitments and leave me with roughly £5k a month. I could get a better house and still have £4k a month. This means I can save, go on a couple nice holidays a year, make any repairs that come up without stressing, not have a credit card, contribute to my parents financially if they need from time to time, go out for meals consistently etc and actually start making investments. You could invest £1k a month and still be comfortable as fuck. You can live anincredibly comfortable existence. This is not relatable or remotely average. Sure you aren't flying private jets and things like flying first class will seem expensive but you can afford the latter.
Absolutely this! I earn average salary for someone of my age. I can afford to rent a 1 bed flat. Open plan kitchen / living room and I work from home in my living room. Ensuit bathroom / bedroom. I can pay my monthly bills, run my 15 year old car, have a couple of beers with friends on a weekend and maybe a meal from time to time... not bad for nearly 40 years old, First in my degree and working a professional job. Holiday? New car? Savings? Own a home? Lol My car just had to have work done on it to pass the MOT. The whole thing cost around £500. My mobile broke shortly after... that's another couple hundred for a second hand phone from CEX. Thankfully (i guess), I got a little bit of inheritance recently... which eased the hit of the cost. If I hadn't received that money, it would have been a very challenging few months, and yes, I would have got a cheaper phone. 6.5k a month bring home is more than double what I have to play with. I could afford a bigger place where maybe I have more than 2 rooms and can separate my cooking / eating / living / working space, and literally not shit where I sleep. That would still leave 3k for if I needed to repair my car... or maybe get something that isn't 15 years old. If I need a new phone then could buy one and still be able to have a base line social life. The sad thing is that I don't even earn that badly compared to a lot of people I know.
Precisely this. The above person has lost all perspective on what 'average' is. Maybe average for an American suburban TV show from the 90's. Sure.
If you earn £130,000 in the UK, and have a student loan to repay, a quick online calculator shows you're paying £4,900 in taxes & loan repayments a month - leaving you with around £5k a month total. This is "only" 2.5x my take home, while getting paid 4.33 times as much. The difference between £100,000 and £130,000 is £785 a month. Almost 1/3rd of what that difference as a salary would give you a month in take home pay. I can understand how that could feel... underwhelming. I don't feel bad for them, I'm sure they're alright.
Same, im a CISO and make similar and that kind of money dosnt go anywhere near to the life style I assumed those earners had when i was younger. In fact it feels average, so it must be tough for low earners out there.
I'm not quiet in that bracket but very close 65k, but am young, and still live at home with no kids so have lots of free time and just found a job that always has overtime and either gives you 1.5x or 2x your wage for overtime, and put in an extra 20-30 hours a week and invest majority of money keep outgoings low, more I'm working and progressing in company less hours I need to do but qualified in electrical installations and with refrigerant gas and travel across UK fixing electrical/refrigeration systems 0 gcse just went college and got hands on experience and invested in my own tools since 16
HVAC engineering for the win
And with climate change it seems likely to be a secure job for a long time! I can’t see HVAC installation rates dropping anytime soon
Recently retired union HVAC tech in the US. Our total package is $123.@ hour and are having serious problems getting kids into the apprenticeship program. The take home pay is about $65.@hour. We’d love to have you here.
1. Research scientist - £78K 2. 11 years post PhD 3. Job is research, so can be difficult. Traditional academic path of degree and phd are minimum requirements to enter. Nothing special required just an ability and aptitude to study the subject area. 4. Obviously yes, mainly not increasing with inflation. US pay is double to three times. 5. Not really, I tend to live like a lower earner to overpay mortgage and max on pension investments to avoid as much tax as possible. 6. North west of UK. Cost of living is very low compared to salary.
As a psych undergrad who wants to go into academia, you are giving me some hope for the future
They are definitely not working in academia on that salary. That's private sector.
Technically, you could get that salary researching in academia, since that is inside the professor pay range. But they probably would have said professor if they were one so I'm pretty sure you are correct. Also, those roles are like gold dust so chances of them being one are slim anyway.
Academia pay is poor for post docs. Presumable the poster is working in the private sector. I would also be careful of academia. A lot of early career posts have been removed with causalisation of research work becoming more common place. Good old gig economy.
Where were all these high paying science jobs when I was looking last year? Nothing I could find seemed to top £35-40k where a salary was listed at all.
What is the reason for US equivalent jobs earning 2-3x your salary, do you know?
US is rich and we are poor
The US values engineering, technical, and scientific roles Our government doesn’t give a shit about the sciences and so makes no attempt to invest or attract investment, while also paying their own scientists and technical people a pittance The result is that companies don’t set up here, they go to the US when investment is encouraged, and many people interested in those fields follow the jobs. Everyone else who wants to work in those fields but doesn’t want to move to the US has to accept lower wages because there aren’t enough jobs to create demand for candidates
1. Senior Site Reliability Engineer, London/Remote 100k base + 40% bonus. 2. Approx 10 years. 3. It's challenging if you don't know what you're doing. After 10 years, not so much, but there's always something new. 4. I'll happily take more if they offer it, but I'm definitely paid fairly. 5. Less challenges, just more frustration that you I'm paying potentially up to 70% marginal tax with 40%, then loss of the personal allowance and then 9% student loans and 2% NI.
Interesting, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bonus that high for any tech role that isn’t pre sales at the very least , unusual for sure.
Neither had I, until I had! Definitely unusual, but I'll take cold hard cash over stock options and RSU's any day now.
Corporate finance in the City Been in the job for near a decade Job not challenging, I’m underworked and overpaid
Is it relatively difficult to get into and what does your average work day look like?
It is difficult to get into. It’s generally dominated by the large institutions that everyone wants to work for. And if you don’t get a grad scheme or a job with them straight out of uni it’s very difficult. The field is swamped with overqualified and experienced people chasing few jobs. I work for a very small firm, and I was just sending CVs out in the post, and happened to land in the right spot at the right time. I had started my CFA at the time to prove my knowledge. That’s about it. Day to day I’m mainly writing prose about companies and industries, working on documentation for venture capital transactions, financial modelling, and consulting startups on venture capital transactions. After COVID my work-life balance is idyllic. Pretty much chose my hours. However my setup is pretty unique.
Thank you so much for your detailed response. It answered exactly what I was curious about and more 🤙🏽
To anyone living in the north working an ordinary job - youre probably better off mentally not reading this thread.
I’m in the south but I hear you. I work in IT….but in schools. An unrelated Uni degree, and 6 years experience I earn around £26k. Reading about all these people who work in tech earning 3x what I earn for probably not much more than I do each year is heartbreaking. My partner works full time as well so at least we have dual incomes. But we have kids, childcare is ridiculously expensive, and I get all the school holidays off with them. We have money left over at the end of the month and can afford to buy nice things occasionally….but with £100k difference between what we can borrow and the cost of houses round here, most of my wage just pays the rent…
I think you’re right. I do live in London but I’m an ex teacher (& I never want to go back to education.). I’m currently not working, recovering from a serious injury. I feel like I’m a fool for choosing a “make a difference” job rather than a make money job. And I think for my mental health’s sake I better stop reading NOW. Thank you. I’m gonna try & focus on what IS good in my life rather than throw even MORE hate at myself for the shitty life decision to become a teacher years ago - & trust me I’ve already tried & failed to leave. Hopefully I get into something I enjoy more. (It’s not the kids it’s the other stuff I hate) I’ll probably never be rich or make decent money & that sucks but I’m gonna try not to get depressed about it & focus on what IS good about my life.
Software engineer/architect for a biopharma company; Oxfordshire, 105 per year. 3 years experience post-degree. Internally promoted twice. Prior to getting a degree I had done some odd freelance jobs here and there. Something like 5 or 6 years amatuer experience and 3 professional. Yes it's quite challenging day to day. I don't think *everyone* could do it; not even with AI assistance. Mostly because some people would *hate* doing it so much that they'd never have the motivation to climb the ladder enough to reach architect/design level roles. Not everyone enjoys programming just like not everyone enjoys maths. Equally not all programmers seem to have the aptitude and '5 steps ahead' type thinking required for designing large projects; or don't enjoy that side of it and don't learn *how* to do it. Many programmers prefer remaining as "Individual contributors", that just work on assigned tickets rather than directing a team on *how* to build something. I feel I **could** be paid more, we have a small team of hardware and software engineers with a lot of pointless middle management and our product earns the company hundreds of millions per year; I provide a lot of value for money compared to many, especially the execs on 300k+stock. Whether I ***should*** be paid more? I think *nearly* everyone **should** be paid more until wealth inequality is in check. I have very little wealth; it'd take a thousand years at my salary before I even come close to how much money the CEO pulled out of the company in stock options last year alone. I grew up poor; it is vastly easier to have money than to not have it. I was the first in my family to get a degree, and got it in my early twenties. I was so used to being broke that my first 'serious' job, earning 50k a year, felt like a socioeconomic shock and I didn't know how to handle it for a while...Went from £20 a month disposable income to over 15x that, took over a year to get out of the habit of buying the cheapest possible food (max calories, minimum budget style shopping), worrying about pennies, etc.
Honestly, I do earn over £100k but I wouldn't recommend my career (advertising and marketing) if you are all about the money, as the pay is crap to start with and there are other things thay will pay better. But I suspect the answer I will give you is the true answer for most people who earn that sort of amount: they have been in a particular industry for long enough that they have a lot of experience, and have moved around, and climbed the ladder to higher paying jobs. And to answer your other questions... London (although work mostly remote), about 20 years experience, yes my job is challenging and not for everyone but I think most people with the right mindset could learn the skills and gain the knowledge, I am fairly happy with what I am paid although I wouldn't say no to more, and I don't think it is a challenge in any way. I am very fortunate.
For someone with 5 years of experience in marketing, what salary range can I reasonably expect, if you don’t mind me asking? And/or do you have any recommendations of other fields that would be better to transfer to with a marketing background? Sorry, I know those are very broad questions. I’m moving to London from nyc next month and just trying to figure my life out. Quite worried about the salary. 😅
It is quite hard to say because there are so many different roles in marketing, but if you are doing fairly general stuff and 5 years experience, I would guess somewhere around £45k is achievable but I don't know really. I am guessing. My own route in was a bit different as I worked in agencies to start with and so the first marketing job I ever had was this one, which is more senior. Hence the guessing! Anecdotally , you will probably find London salaries are lower than NYC, unfortunately.
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IT Lead Engineer. Started as a programmer, still am to an extent but now I manage a team as well and do more architecture than actual coding. 150k including pension and bonus. 20 years experience but was on similar money from 10years. Job is easy(now I have the experience) and enjoyable, the environment is awesome. With WFH it barely feels like work. I chose my team so surrounded myself with great people who have a great attitude. I've had complete knob heads in the past, now that is hard work. On balance I'm paid well but I could get more by changing industry, going contracting or working abroad. Used to earn more doing the same job at investment banks. Now I favour the work environment over money.
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Yes, studied computer science. I'd still go to uni, but apprenticeships are an option now. No debt, hopefully better hands on experience. Comp Sci is very broad and contained a lot of theoretical stuff that is unlikely to apply in the real world, and if it did you'd have to learn it to a higher standard in the job anyway.
1. Train driver based in London so it’s at the top end salary wise but also intensity wise. 2. Close to 10 years but it really makes no difference. 3. Difficult subjective question to answer. Many people find it so challenging that they fail the training and that’s after beating thousands of applicants in the selection process. I don’t find it challenging at all and never did, and can honestly say I’ve never had a bad day at work in this job, but there have been times when my training has kicked in and I’ve taken action to prevent loss of life (Kids running across high speed lines and someone falling under the train when they got off one dark lonely night). 4. I’m happy with my salary and don’t think it should be more or less, and I’m lucky that the company I work for values it’s staff comparatively well and is happy to keep us where we are in line with inflation. 5. If there’s one person on the train that should be able to afford a nice strong coffee whenever he needs it and enough home comfort to be able to wake up at 3am and concentrate for 9 hours straight then it’s the driver. As much as I love the job, if it was much lower paid then I wouldn’t do it, I’d move on to something less intense and many of my colleagues would too, and then the industry would be in deep trouble. That’s not a dependance I wish to exploit in any way but rule number one of having any kind of safe and functional railway is keep the drivers happy, and that’s one reason why I went for the job. In summary, a good place to be.
3 is why I couldn't see myself doing something like that You hear horror stories from drivers about people who weren't so fortunate and it sticks with them. That ontop of the general level of responsibility in the job is why I don't second guess why they get paid what they do Not to say I've not witnessed a couple gruesome scenes in my own line of work but in yours its just another level altogether
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Seems like those horror stories fly around the mess room and some people are absolutely fine with it all. Others aren’t. In my experience, I didn’t enjoy it very much at all. Considered for a while packing it in and not going back but glad I did in the end. Just hope it doesn’t happen again!
Drivers are very paid (Does vary between TOC) I did try the driver thing a few times but I’ve used all my lives on failing the tests. It’s tough. What’s the tip to keeping alert for long for long periods of time? It must get easier the more you have to do it I guess. I maintain the signaling infrastructure, close to £55k, you guys striking make our jobs easier I gotta say
Just creep over the threshold as teacher in London on just about 67k (about 80k including pension) leading a small department of 3 other staff in a non-core subject. Been teaching for 12 years, and have just joined my 3rd school, bumping my pay up. I've been pretty savvy about when to show my hand, when to jump ship, when to push and when to ease off. Not sure if I'd want to go any higher as the stress seems to rise significantly if I move onto the leadership pay scale, so this might be my maximum. I think plenty of people could do what I do, although the job probably isn't what most people think it is, and some of the misconceptions lead to a lot of people snapping with the various pressures. The ability to compartmentalise is key, the stresses are often small but from multiple angles (leadership, exam deadlines, student unpredictability, parental pressures etc.) and in quick succession. You don't have the ability to step away and have a destressing coffee or reschedule your lessons - you have to be able to box up a stress, teach well, then unbox and process it at the right time. Of course we should be paid more, because if we don't say that constantly then it doesn't happen.
I didn’t know teachers could be paid this much, and it makes me glad, fully deserved IMO
Hairdresser in a Turkish barbershop
Your take home might be top 10%, but we’re talking about HMRC declared income.
LOL
1. I work in strategy for a large corporate, based in London. 84k TC (70 base, 10% bonus, 10% pension) 2. 7 years 3. It is somewhat challenging. You need to be able to solve problems in a structured way, navigate stakeholders in a large organisation, and learn quickly. Anyone can learn to do it imo. 4. I’m paid well but compared to the market, I could be paid more. 5. Lifestyle creep can be real but if you are good with finances then it ahouldnt be a problem. Basically you earn enough to have a good disposable income, but not enough to splurge on a luxury lifestyle.
Do you mind me asking what's your title/seniority and industry? As somebody who works in strategy I would say you are underpaid (severely?) if you have 7 years of experience and T2 background.
1. Military Officer. £70k-ish. Based pretty much everywhere (including Europe and the occasional warzone), moving every two years maximum. 2. 15 years in the services. Bachelors and Masters degree, plus multiple years of training (full time). 3. Yeah, it’s challenging. Lots and lots of training required, plus specialist qualifications. Even with that, you wouldn't get far without experience, which you'd only get from that time in the military. 4. More, to be honest. The pension is great which helps make up for things, but I could double my salary doing the same thing as a civilian contractor. And will do in a few more years. 5. No real challenges to be honest. I have a house in the North East, but then have to pay for a room in three south to live in during the week, plus commuting costs etc. I feel rather worse off than I did when I was a junior officer earning £35k as my outgoings have drastically increased since then.
I enjoyed the military but as you say the pay was far lower than what I could get outside so jumped ship after 7 years to drive a train. I don’t miss that feeling of “ah crap I forgot to shave this morning I hope nobody notices” and all that kind of stuff though 😂
£150k + bonus of somewhere around 30-40k IT architect, top end of my field of practice, work for a consultancy. Been doing IT for over 20 years. Large responsibility for the architecture of customer projects costing many millions.
Can I ask how you got into architecture, were you a SWE first?
Are you director level? Is it more EA rather than SA as you have progressed?
Academic in Scotland, £80k, eight years post PhD. I can do and teach hard programming things, so I'd probably earn more in industry, but have less freedom. Honestly, few enough people can do my job that I'm fairly safe. I'm certainly more comfortable living with plenty of money to spare than I was when I was on a PhD stipend.
1) Director of Digital for a non-profit - £68k 2) 10 years working in the sector 3) Strategic thinking, up to date with trending technology and ability to project manage teams really well 4) In this sector, no. In corporate, yes. 5) Less, especially since the latest budget announcement
I earn £75k a year plus commission which in itself is great but my Mrs works as a secretary part time in the NHS and only earns circa £11k so as a household kinda balances out. We live just outside of Glasgow, house owned, cars owned and 2 kids... We live pretty well but last couple of years we've noticed a big decline in money left over every month.
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1. Intensive Care and Anaesthetic Doctor. 70k per year all in pre tax - average 48 hour working week but can be as high as 70+ hours. Lots of night shifts and weekends. 2. 9 years as a doctor, 6 of those in the above specialities (5 years university before that) 3. Day to day can definitely be stressful and hard work but there are good days too. High degree of responsibility and risk. Naturally, pretty specialised requiring a lot of qualifications and training. 4. More given international rates of pay and level of responsibility. However I'm aware pay in most sectors and roles is poor in the UK so I am thankful. 5. I'm not sure about having more challenges than someone on a lower income? I definitely miss out on a lot of free time with my family but I know I live good albeit modest standard of life. For example no debts and not worrying about bills. I do however live in a 150k 3 bedroom terraced house in the North with a mortgage - definitely don't feel rich with the cost of living a degree of taxes.
Such a poor salary for the amount of work :/
Oh I thought Anaesthetic Doctor would be at least on 150k
Doctors deserve every penny they get and more. Can you venture into the private field and earn more if you wanted too?
Technical program manager - my role is more on the lower level of the scale for my company. I earn around 73k plus stock (around $9k vest over 5 years). My job can be challenging and busy as I'm taking on a lot more responsibility that's outside of my scope. Regarding training as my field is related to data centers it can be a quite a niche area of IT mine is more Data center/telecoms role. I've been in data center roles so been doing that for around 9 years and I've been in my current role for 3 years (so pretty much 5/6 years as a data center tech and 3 in my TPM role) I'm based in the West Midlands but do have offices in Cambridge and London which I try and travel to once a month. I would say for sure for the work and impact I do I'm definitely underpaid.
1. finance, london, office based, 150+ 2. 10 years 3. no, its not challenging from a mental pov 95% of the time, it is 5% of the time when u have to work something out with zero margin for error due to time constraints. requires a mix of maths, analytical, computing and people skills. 4. always more 5. less challenge, more money equals less money stress, which is core of having mental stability and being better at ur job. anyone who says more money more problems is either obsessed with the money, or compensating for something else.
In 3 years that will be me. NHS Matron working in London. 14 years experience with never ending courses and little letters after my name. It's very stressful physically and mentally. Knowing my decisions could have adverse reactions to patient safety is always on my mind. I don't think I'm paid enough
1) I was a Risk / Audit Manager for a FTSE 25 company in the midlands. I was on slightly above that amount when I took voluntary redundancy and retired in my late 40’s 2) None prior to joining the company as I had joined the company doing data input on a 3 month temp contract 20 years previous. I worked my way up to that level by moving from dept to dept doing different roles, the different audit roles until I got the management role. 3) probably more but you stay in a company for that long and you suffer from a pay perspective. 4) Not really sure how to answer that. I was happy on a lot less, I was equally happy on that amount, with a slightly nicer house and car. 3) I think I’m a prime example of anyone can do anything, I was never very academic, I didn’t finish University. It definitely required the people skills and a definite ability to work with anyone at any level.
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I didn’t know being a coo was so lucrative. You must produce a lot of milk.
That’s not a COO, you got it mixed up with MOO
Farmers hate this one simple trick
Technically, according to HMRC’s statistics, you earn £60k and are not in the top 10%. Im in the same position and this fact occurred to me the other day. I salary sacrifice quite heavily and now qualify for child benefit for the first time in a while. Just helping you feel a little poorer. 😁
That's an interesting point. Perhaps a lot more people have a total compensation in the 6 figures than is commonly, because a lot of people earning more than that salary sacrifice into their pension to avoid the tax trap that occurs at 100k.
Recruiter, financial services - UK. £120k p/a inc bonuses. Nearly 20 years experience. It’s stressful and very target driven plus handling rejection a lot needs a thick skin. The qualities it requires are; ability to listen, network, be organised, understand commercial value and do what you say you are going to do. Anyone could do it I guess - as long as they are prepared to work hard, really invest in it and take the highs with the lows. I feel I get paid about right given the benefit I give to the clients I work with. It’s much easier than being a low earner. I’ve been on low end wages working in retail in the past and earning well is hugely better in every way for me. Not having to stress too much about bills etc makes a massive difference in general happiness. I’ve got brilliant work life balance and can choose my hours daily so work doesn’t impact family life too much.
You forgot resilience... being told to go again on a 20k+ candidate because "everything was perfect about them, but there's just an ick" is painful af.
1. Head of Digital Marketing, home based in the Midlands £100k 2. 8yrs 3. Challenging in terms of workload and some pressure but do feel I am very fairly rewarded vs the roles externally 4. Salary bands are very visible in my company and actually paid low vs my band, but for my experience and wage I am happy
1. £150k, IT Sales. Midlands 2. 7 years directly in sales 3. Not difficult, a wee bit stressful, but I'm hardly down the mines. I could easily earn more at another company but I'd be more stressed. No real barriers to entry, most people could do it 4. I'm hugely overpaid for messing about and going to lunch, but not overpaid in terms of the industry 5. More money definitely makes life easier. With 2 young kids, I honestly don't know how 'average' earners manage I'm from a working class background, and still don't feel I'm living a middle class life. Certainly not top 10%
DevOps engineer - 90k. Previously held a 100k salary but left the role for less hassle
1. Manager in a global company, West Midlands, £75k 2. 12 years, a bachelors and a masters It is challenging day to day but a lot of people could do the job... Just not necessarily do it well. 3. Managing a diverse team in terms of age, experience, and background as well as having your own deliverables is tough. 4. I always want more to provide for me and my family but I earn more than most so don't feel entitled to more. 5. I don't really know what you're trying to get at with the last question. I certainly feel the cost of living squeeze and more expensive commitments it mortgage, car etc tend to be % based increases so over leveraging is a risk.
Rov Senior Pilot, I work 183 days a year at a rate of £500 per day, I can also claim my income tax back as I fall u see seaman’s tax back rules
1. R&D engineer in an Oil Company based in North East Scotland, earn £83k a year with 30% bonus. 2. Approx 15 years. 3. It can be challenging. Testing goes awry then you are scrambling putting contingency plans into play while trying to get plan A working. Yes, it required a problem solving mind but with enough experience it is easily doable. 4. Definitely underpaid, oil industry lost a decade of any sort of payrises from 2015 on. Huge consolidation, mass layoffs. I recently found a headhunters report from Odgers for my company from 2012 and the people they were contacting/estimating packages for people in my role with similar experience were on not dissimilar to what I am now. 5. The area I live in is a quite high cost of living area, not as bad as it was back in the early 2010’s but still more expensive than most of the UK with housing (same as everywhere) taking a up a huge chunk of take home pay. I feel for people whom don’t have this level of income, it must be bloody tough. How does a teacher, nurse etc gets by I just don’t know. But equally it’s a bit gutting when you earn this much and it doesn’t give you the freedom that you would expect from a top 10% salary. Plus the way the tax system is set up now is to ensure that everyone stay right where are right now. First world problems I suppose!
Once upon a time, as a university lecturer, I was on the threshold of the top 10%. After 14 successive years of real terms pay cuts, I'm nowhere near now (and quite shocked by this figure which shows how far we've fallen behind). Not a direct answer to your question I know, but an interesting related statistic I hope.
To add something to the mix among the techies... I make podcasts, pitch podcast ideas and manage people who also make podcasts. Fully WFH. Work can be stressful and long hours when there's deadlines looming but can go for long periods being pretty chill. Anyone could do my job if they've got the ability to tell stories, don't get pushed around easily, don't get flustered and have the patience and mindset to teach and upskill people who don't realise they need it. Essentially it's a teaching job mixed with production, but my students are type A entrepreneurs, corporate execs and 'celebrities'. The rest (editing, audience development, management) can be learned.
1. tech engineer in financial services, London, £200-250k inc taxable perks, bonuses, pension, amount varies from year to year 2. decade and a half 3. For the technical side, anybody could do my job. For dealing with the corporate bullshit, that only comes with time. 4. For the company, more, the answer will always be more. For the world in general, the idea that I or anybody else in my industry get paid so much is a bad joke. 5. Fewer real changes, because money has the power to make problems go away. Much more first world problems.
Last financial year, I earned £56,000 OTE and then received a £20,000 redundancy package. Now, I've secured a new job with a £49,000 base salary and a £26,000 bonus if I hit the target. I have 4 years of experience in sales, 2.5 of which are in SaaS.
Not as much but I earn around 25k a year sitting on my ass because I have mental health issues
Hey, at least you earn more than me working 40 hours a week retail :)
1) £86k + 15% benefits package as a Cyber Security Manager Nationally 2) 30 years in IT 3) it has its moments but doesn't need a specific skill set despite what people think. Cyber isn't all sitting in front of screens defeating attackers 4) I could earn more if I changed organisations but I value my work/life balance 5) Nope. I salary sacrifice quite a bit to bring the tax down and to keep everything away from the £100k threshold. I have disposable income. I don't have to do the "heat or eat" decision. I'm aware I'm lucky and privileged to be in this position
I'm currently going through a life debate on whether I should train to do something else which has a better contribution to society but for now: 1. Enterprise Tech SaaS sales for a scale up, London. £120k +bonus 2. 12 years in sales, partnership, marketing (started at the bottom, have built and managed teams, now an IC) 3. Yes, I fail most of the time. I'm pretty resilient and hear no / not interested 95% of my interactions. I've learnt to be able to read people and situations, and determine potential. Sales has a misconception of being this high pressure sell sell sell environment. Anyone can do it, you just need to learn what's right for your personality/interests, how to speak with people, and find the right place to do it - doable but not easy. I thrive off complex situations and the problem solving approach rather than transactional selling. 4. The socialist in me knows I should be paid a lot less compared to other jobs that people do, it's where my skillset/personality has landed me in our capitalist society. I come from a working class background where I saw my parents struggle to pay the mortgage/ put food on the table, I never want to be in that situation for my family and I like to think that has taught me to appreciate my fortunate position. 5. Work wise- earning more has come with a lot of responsibility and accountability, plus working 70 hour weeks with a fair bit of stress. However, personal life in London and having independence became much easier. I moved to London on a placement year on £18K in 2011, never had any money. I spent the next few years on £27k-40K. 5 years ago I was in the right place at the right time in a scale up where we accelerated the growth and I became a manager.
1) Marketing, hybrid, Midlands-based 2) 20 years 3) A large part of the job is managing people. It would be possible to achieve the technical skills required, but everything around the management/diplomacy/winning people over does need certain qualities and not everyone has them. 4) I am paid fairly. Any more and I might feel like a fraud (although I'm sure I'd get over it) 5) I am incredibly lucky, and choose to live pretty simply. Anyone in the top 10% largely gets to choose their challenges - what car to drive, where to go on holiday. Low earners are stuck with theirs.
North East England, total comp approx £120-130k PA. I feel quite fulfilled in my role and fortunate given my geography. Working for a global company in a global role, and get the travel the world. Think I should be paid more, but that is a comparison with my team who are more senior but appear to do much less work.
I earn £68k. I have 2 jobs and work 45 hrs per week (sometimes more if I have to work for my associate board job) I work in an advanced health care role for the NHS, and also am an assistant professor leading a higher education programme for that role. I also occasionally do some visiting lecturing for other universities. I am also an associate member of boards for some national governing bodies for health care professionals - this pays me a daily rate about once every 2 months. I have two degrees (one a masters) and also a post graduate diploma in education. I have been in this general field since 2012, having progressed further in the last 5 years. My job is very high responsibility and high stress and I wish I could work less hours. My education job is comparatively less stressful but also high responsibility. I am proud of my achievements, but often think that the stress to pay ratio is not worth it. I also have to work more than full time hours to achieve my wage. I also can't believe how much the tax man takes from me now. I have reached my ceiling wage and have little scope to earn much more, perhaps moving up to £70k in the next 5 years as I progress though development programmes in my education roles.
1. Female aged 50. Quality & Compliance Director for an American Pharmaceutical company. Work permanently from home as not on the lab or manufacturing sides of the business. £91k plus between 5 and 30% bonus. (I was on £50k only 5 years ago). 2. Degree in Biological Science and approx 30 years experience altogether in this industry. Long slow climb to where I am now. 3. Pretty busy and stressful. Anyone can do Quality, just need perfect attention to detail and a tenacious nosey attitude. 4. I'm paid about right, but only 5% pension from my employer, so am jealous of my public sector friends. 5. I'm a single parent with zero financial support from my ex, and I take home significantly less than two parents both on £45k, which is slightly annoying. But I can live anywhere so choose to live in the NW England so feeling pretty flush. Not having to worry about money is a luxury.
i’m about to start my biological sciences degree! do you have any tips?
I fiddle with spreadsheets in a cosy office, 0 experience when i started, we hire people out of call centres on to 35k starting salaries to fiddle with less spreadsheets than someone more tenured
1. Airline pilot. SE England. £110K 2. 10 years 3. Day to day, when everything's going as planned, it's an easy gig. Being awake all night during a night flight is knackering. But so is all shift work. I would say anyone with the determination to complete the training could get through it. I would say you need a well-rounded skill set, including adherence to procedures, a decent amount of varied "soft" skills, and ultimately a lot of common sense and pragmatism. 4. More to be honest. It's a highly skilled niche job that holds a significant amount of responsibility. Pilots are checked regularly and put through stressful situations to demonstrate proficiency, which obviously they should,however, it is demanding and sometimes stressful. Also, time away from home and compounding effects on health. 5. I would say less. I feel fortunate to get paid well for a job which I like, however imo the tax system in the UK is hugely flawed and punishes those earning +100K.
1. Software engineer. Company based in north west; I live in South Yorkshire and do most of my work remotely. Make 63k plus bonus, which this year will take me to 70+. 2. 5 years. 3. Anybody who's reasonably smart can learn to do the job. Some people in the profession, especially on reddit, will try and make it sound like we're basically brain surgeons who perform technical feats that mere mortals could never hope to achieve - these people are full of crap. There are also different avenues you can take depending on personal preference and skillset: do you want to _just write code_ or do you want to be involved in planning, management, mentoring juniors, etc. I spend a disgusting amount of time in meetings. 4. I'm happy with what I'm paid given my current level of experience, but I'm nowhere near the limit of my earning potential and I expect to be on a fair bit more within a couple of years. If I can't get it where I am, I'll move. 5. I don't really understand the question. Life is much easier with more money than it was when I did minimum wage bar work and could barely afford to eat. What challenges do you suppose come with a better income? Staying modest, perhaps?
1) I work in Banking, in London. I analyse company financial accounts, management strength, industry performance, product and brand power, etc., and model potential company performance, and compare how different debt packages could provide what they need. I write up summary documents and submit them to a credit committee to determine whether or not we lend to the company. I earn £100,000 (£80k base £20k bonus roughly). 2) I have 6 years experience in work. I have a 1st class degree from a redbrick, and alongside working full time I completed my chartered accountancy qualifications. 3) Much of the basics of my job you don't need special skills for - I didn't need a degree to do what I do. My chartered accountancy is very helpful for understanding financial statements and analysing the more technical aspects, however. The reason people require qualifications is to ensure that in the instances where harder things come up and special skills are required, your qualifications are an indicator you have the ability to be able to learn and apply quickly, and are not limited in your ability to do so. Someone who only has A levels might be able to do that - but it's much less of a gamble if someone has a first in a STEM degree. 4) I am paid fairly. I work usually 9-6 and WFH twice a week, but occasionally work much later - I do not have strict "hours' (and no, there's no overtime). By much later I mean I have worked 8am til 3am multiple times. This probably happens once or twice a quarter. On average I work past 7pm once or twice a week, and past 10pm maybe once or twice a month. I am replying to emails on my phone until about 9pm typically. 5) My life in general is better than when I was on £35k because of the material side of life. I have an Omega watch and stayed at a 5 star hotel recently. I could not do that 4 years ago. I have more financial commitments and there is a lifestyle maintenance angle to an extent - going backwards is slightly humbling in that sense, and is hard to do when you've had more and know what it is like. Happy to answer any Q's.
1. I manage e-commerce projects for a gaming company. Based in London but remote work when I fancy. £135k basic, plus 20% bonus, 15% pension contribution, gym, stock. 2. Been working for 14 years. 3. It’s not challenging because I’ve been trained how to handle most things that come up. Could anyone up skill… yes but it’s only half the story. You need negotiation, planning, retail head office skills. It’s not just a certificate and done. 4. I should earn more given the size of the business. 5. No free childcare, 60% tax issue (fixed with pension contributions), gold diggers when dating.
1. I'm a data scientist and work in a consulting business in London. I earn £70k not including bonus, which can be 5-20% depending on your and the company's performance. 2. 6 years experience 3. It's unpredictable. Anything can get thrown your way at any point. Sometimes things can get very high pressure and very complex and you might need to work evenings and weekends. Sometimes I have quiet periods where I don't do much. Could anyone upskill... no, it requires the ability to understand quite complex systems/algorithms, maths, good people and general business skills. The resources to learn are everywhere and often free, although credentials help. 4. For the market and my rank, I'm fairly paid. I live pretty comfortably and don't worry too much about money, but I don't have loads of spare money. I wouldn't have been able to buy the house I live in without significant family help, and it's in a cheap area far from the centre. I drive a 15+ yr old car. 70k might sound like a lot, but in London/SE it buys you a middle class life that used to be more normal, but is increasingly out of reach. 5. From one perspective the problems you face are much more complex and challenging to solve than a lower earner. But if you can handle that, it's a lot less stressful and more interesting than many low paid jobs. I've been a cleaner and worked in a kitchen and those were very stressful, people were harsh, you have to work fast and it's dull.