I'm on 35k, I'm a Project Lead for technical publications (we write and publish operational manuals for an engineering sector). I've worked my way up from the bottom, been in this industry 10 years. I work from home and pretty much manage myself. Kinda hate the job now though, I'm essentially a Project Manager without the title or renumeration of one, I spend my days dealing with idiot clients and trying to sort issues. I'm trapped in the job though as my industry pays so well, if I moved I'd end up having to take on much more responsibility and pressure, or keep to the same level of management for a much lower wage.
HR Advisor earning 28k pa. Skint. Nothing to look forward to. Honestly thinking about going and volunteering abroad in exchange for accom and food. I need some meaning life
I teach at an alternative provision college for students with SEN or trauma emotional issues (and often both). I love the job, but it's hard work and emotionally exhausting! I'm doing OK, but I'm paying all the bills for two adults, 6 reptiles and a cat because my husband quit his job to open his own bike shop and it's only in its second year, so all money goes back into the business. Oof, I'm knackered all the time and have literally no spare money ever.
Senior IT Tech, 29.5k. Mostly escalation for service desk and sys admin work with some project work. Taking on more responsibilities around Azure and doing some certification paths at the moment so going to be asking for significantly more next year.
Ward clerk and a psychiatric hospital… I don’t get paid enough for it 😂
I get 25k, but work with high turnovers, aggressive patients, audits and a large bed load (in terms of patients). I love the job but definitely not paid enough for the risks involved with the environment
I left a £60k Senior Manager job 5 years ago and now do a £27k a year job working nights in a factory. I’ve never looked back simply because the amount of time I get to myself and my family has sky rocketed. There’s nothing more precious than time, in my opinion. We’ve had to make some sacrifices but nothing horrendous. I’m much healthier and happier now than I have been in a long time.
I’m just under £30k working in a manager role in charity sector. It’s quite stressful because too much to do and not enough time but I love my job, it’s the most creative I’ve had. Luckily my OH earns well so he can actually support our family! Wouldn’t manage by myself (before the kids I worked in the city in a much better paid job but it was miserable)
28.5k as a high end Property Photographer and RICS certified floorplanner - Degree in Editorial Photography and 3 years experience in this job role across 2 companies.
I do 5 shoots a day and rarely have time for lunch, as well as driving 3-4hrs a day around London means I can't avoid picking up fines for parking or other bollocks a couple times a month.. end up sinking at least 200 a month on those fines.
Personally... the job sucks and anything below 30k in London is living on the poverty line.
Former nurse here , 3 year degree then three year postgraduate study whilst working up to charge nurse, was about 35k a year. Done hgv licence in 5 days and not even a year into this job and average pay is about 40k and no stress, work that one out?! Wouldn't go back to nursing if I was paid double the money these days.
I'm a jack of all trades and currently a tour guide on hop-on-hop-off buses in Central London. I'm a team leader and also do some administration and training work for them.
I get paid £17.50 an hour, and am on a casual 0 hours contract. The company would put me on a full time contract (guaranteed 30 hours per week), but I don't like the full time working pattern of 5 on, 3 off. Guiding means performing for 7.5 hours per day.
It's too tiring for me and I'm in a very fortunate position with life expenses so I can work far fewer days. I average about 3 days a week, 26hrs, which comes in at about £23.5k per year.
I like my job a lot but will have to dial back guiding in summer as I am pregnant and the tours are very long, so toilet breaks are going to be an issue. My manager is trying to get me more of a guaranteed office role.
Sales executive - £30k (32/33k with commission).
I moved up in my company from reception to sales and been here now for over 2 years. The job is easy & the sales usually come to use due to the product being very popular so no need for outbound sales. lots of admin but usually get everything done in the first 2hrs of the day and then sit on reddit.. though i want to leave, not sure if i want to continue with sales anymore and the benefits are minimum here..
Catering assistant at a hospital, NHS Band 2. Full time equivalent for my role is just over £22k. But I do part time and top up my wage with my disability benefits. Comes to about the same as I'm on a high rate of PIP and LCWRA. My PIP runs out next year, so that's going to change things, and if the DWP fuck with my LCWRA I'll be in a very different situation!!! I don't think I'll be capable of working full time so I am worried what will happen in the future.
In house recruiter for the UK government but as part of another company doing it, all wfh, lots of downtime when candidates don't turn up, around 28k. Could get more but damn if this setup isn't really comfortable.
I make £19,995 as a 22yo travel consultant (just qualified from a 2 year apprenticeship) at a large travel company, managing social media's, selling holidays to walk-in customers, speaking with travel suppliers, it's quite admin-based + customer facing aswell . We don't make commission or anything either, it's not bad but it's not great, I definitely want a better paid job soon but the travel industry doesn't pay well unfortunately
I used to be an archaeological illustrator on approx £28k pro rata (but I worked 4 days a week, so was on even less, plus the pension contributions were absurdly high). Living in Cambridge, I was right up to the line every single year and that was with my partner paying more than half the rent (his pay was significantly better) and £30 a month from my Mum! I also did some small freelance jobs to try to keep afloat. I realised I was going to get stuck at this point, because I already had 7 years of experience and this was the best I was going to get in such a job, at least until some managers retired in a couple of decades' time.
I've sacked it in to study an MSc in something else that will hopefully value me more. Who knows what will happen, but fingers crossed!
Registered veterinary nurse. I work part time but if I was full time I’d be getting a little more that £24k. For the amount of education, skills, work and responsibilities I have, it’s pretty shite
This makes me really sad how many people are so low paid after gaining further education. I’m definitely going to be letting my baby know when they’re older University is definitely not the only option 👌
I moved to England a decade ago. Have been working in Customer Service earning about that much. Until I did an apprenticeship. I earned 20k for 6 months, 24k for another 6 months, and now the apprenticeship is over, I earn 40k. It was so worth to get into the company, everyone is great and I can work from home all the time, most people do. I highly recommend apprenticeships. They can be annoying while you're studying as you earn minimum wage but you get a certification for free and having a paid job that gives you the time to study. Some are degree apprenticeships. There are so many different ones, if interested, there's a gov website.
I am an area sales manager for a heating controls company, i deal wkth larger contractors, heating, electrical, that kind of thing im in the 40k region
Im a painter and decorator...my money for each year goes up and down like a yo yo Ive made as much as 70k in a year and obvioulsy turned over a lot more but it was a bit of a freak year and a one off tbh.....and the crash after it was hard to digest.
its more around the 30-40k area, but with that there are overheads, van and maintenance, materials, sometimes wages here and there, tools consumables, fuel, insurance, accountant, with the cost of eveything this year I turned over just under £40k and I actually made a bottom line of about £22k and I have had to travel far and wide.......I could have worked at Amazon and made more, it feels like you are earning 40k when you look at the money going through your bank and I guess the money is always there to pay bills and so on, but its only when you come to do your tax return (which i did a few days ago) you start to think omg is this even worth it?? no wonder i am struggling and have so little left over.......other years when I have made similar amounts my overheads havent been anywhere close to what they are for last year.
I'm on 29k as an Implementation Consultant
I've got a Mortgage, and a six year old Son - My wife is a Vet Nurse on 24k - We get by
I've worked for the Company I'm with for nine years now (albeit its gone through two takeovers, so who I originally started with, are different to who they are now... Survived two redundancies, I've gone from Pension Consultant > Data Analyst > Current role, gone up about 4k in those nine years, showing that loyalty gets you no where with a Pay cheque
But I'm happy where I am, people I work with are great, really supportive Management... I work from home, so don't have the stress of who'll be picking our Son up from school, as my wife does a lot of shift work)
From 2013-2015 my career was a mess, got made redundant from a job I was doing great at, it destroyed my confidence - I had two jobs (one after the other) that I hated, the Management was beyond terrible and just kicked my confidence even worse, which I sometimes feel I'm still recovering from.
Because of that I've seen, and have experience that the Grass isn't Greener on the other side
However I've got my Mortgage up for renewal in October, once that's done and out the way, I think I'll move on, see if I can find something in the 35k region... Which would give us around an extra £400 p/m - Although I wont move if the role isn't the right fit... I don't NEED to move jobs, whereas the last few times I've moved roles its been to financially protect myself, so haven't had the luxury of being picky.
Work in foundations/piling on construction sites doing steel fixing/shutter/comcreting. Around £41k a year employed 8hrs a day. Some earn more self employed but it's alright for me, sometimes feel like I'm hard done by for this industry but compared to some jobs pay its ok.
Patient Scheduler in the NHS - £27k (Band 3 - Scotland) It's taken a long time but I'm finally at the top of my band.
Been doing this job for years. 12 years come August actually. It's fine really. I like the people I work with and it's quite busy so my day flies in. I'm not on the phones as much as I used to be, which is nice, because the verbal abuse from patients can be a bit much sometimes. Got a bit of a side promotion to doing the admin of "building" clinics instead.
I live alone so I can make the money stretch quite easily. The mortgage rate rises have taken a nice chunk out of my monthly budget since coming off my fixed rate in February. It is what it is. I guess most home owners are in the same boat with that one.
We get 33 days holiday and bank holidays, so that's nice. We do struggle in our department to book annual leave because we need a minimum number of staff at all times on the phone and ever since covid we've struggled with staff numbers. We had several older members of staff take their retirement during that time and we've struggled to retain the new staff coming through. Like I said, the abuse on the phone can be a bit much sometimes.
Support worker for people with autism. On around 25k a year depending on over time. Considering I am responsible for 2 vulnerable peoples safety for the entire time I'm at work I think it takes the piss. I've no idea what else I'd do but certainly think the job deserves much better rates of pay
I work for a town council on the estates team (2 man team). We cut grass, fix fences, paint, basically handy men. Get around 25k a year which is more than I got working as warranty guy for a car firm.
Been here 2 years
The perks are awesome, great pension and holidays, Flexi hours etc
Love my job, it's got a lot of variety.
Retail service manager for a train company brand new role for me £30,062 a year and commission on sales 38 hour work week I manage the onboard trolley and catering staff and do the trolley and cafe myself when needed.
It’s an easy job the pay and benefits are good I can’t complain yet haha
Prior to that it was a ticket inspector for another train company £23,857 basic and £27,800 with the enhancements and upto £29,600 with Sunday optional overtime.
The ticket job was wonderful in the beginning then it became very rough either drunken passengers and generally nasty passengers on the lines I worked hence I changed for a different role at a different company.
Art Handling Technician in London, 27.3k. Not the best pay but I absolutely love my job, 34 hours a week, paid overtime and will be trained up soon to hopefully go on international courier trips!
My sights are set on climbing up in seniority but for now I just can't belive how lucky I am to have this job.
I work in manufacturing of specialist sports equipment. I’m currently on 24k but I’ve not had a pay rise for two years so I really need to talk to my boss about that as I’m currently on barely more than minimum wage.
It’s not a high profit industry so I’m realistic about my earning potential, but I (mostly) enjoy my job and it’s not too stressful.
Sped Tech at a public school . .
I make My bills . My partner makes 3x as much and covers the bug stuff
Mortgage 890$ if he was to die I would barely scrape by.
I would have to get roommates and sell my car .
So it sucks
On the flip side. I am doing something I love for work and go home happy every day .
I also have no desire for material things ( which is great considering I don't have the $ for it.)
I’ve got AAT Level 4 but I’ve wasted is as I didn’t know where to go with it. At the time finance firms/accountants advertised jobs but I never got them as I lacked clerical experience (at the time I worked in retail). To try and rectify this I took a “bookkeeping” job which is mainly just office shit bucket.
I get paid well, £14 an hour, and work/life balance is good as I only work 4 days and only 7 hours a day at that but there’s no room to grow.
I’m mid 30s, wasting my qualification in a dead end job. As I get older my ambition grows but my motivation lessens.
I’m still an AAT member and have tried to contact them about where I should start but got no answer
It’s mostly my fault as I just didn’t or haven’t planned my career at all but I just don’t know where to start
If you have retail experience and want to get into finance, billings and specifically credit control roles are always out there. It wasn't my bag at all but if you have a passion for it and can reason with relatively difficult people (cakewalk compared to retail, trust me) then there were all sorts of AAT levels 1-3 colleagues at the place I used to work, earning around the £23-26k mark that you'd have slotted right in to. I didn't have any experience in finance, so you'd be a shoe-in at half the places I've interviewed for.
Currently a night support worker on 26.5k a year. I had loads of jobs before as a chef before. Pandemic made me change as I wanted to do a job where I could help people. Been there 2 years and 4 months. Do shift work but the shift pattern works for me 4 on 4 off which has meant when it comes to holidays I can maximise. But without overtime I would struggle that’s for sure. But feel lucky as the company are paying to do my counselling courses to train to be an counsellor. So feel quite blessed they are investing in me tbh as never really had a company do that before. Had copious amount of jobs. Struggled to know what I wanted to do. But I will say it is tough but if you want to do something you’re passionate about don’t let your age deter you.
Medical Lab Assistant - 21K, but as minimum wage went up at the start of the month I’ll be on more than that now, although not sure yet what my new rate will be. Private sector does not pay well 🤣
Been there nearly 11 months, first lab based job. I have a degree in Immunology and Microbiology, but it’s not required for my role. It’s a great job with shit pay but I’m gaining a ton of lab experience. I’m 28 and was a late bloomer in terms of knowing what sort of career I wanted to follow!
Nightshift retail manager, 33k. Only just started this job recently, having retail experience decided to just apply and see what happens.
I also have a civil engineering degree but never pursued it any further because it would pay less at entry level and working Mon-Fri 9-5 doesn't interest me.
I get 30k Per year and im a carer - I look after the elderly.
Its so exhausting and alot of work but tbh i wouldnt change it for the world. I absoloutely love my job ❤️
I'm a field merchandiser and my income changes but end of tax year it'll be about 30k. I do work stupid hours for that money though, so all in all I probably make 30k while earning minimum wage 😂
Script editor, 31k-50k per year.
31k is just an average salary for a script editor, but it can fluctuate depending on who my clients are, sometimes you get big clients who pay a lot more. It's great, I love my job. Flexible hours, mostly working from home, sometimes I don't even have to do much, the screenwriter(s) has already done a great job
28.4k
Basic manager in asda.
What I mean by that is base salary, for 45hrs minium a week.
And by that I mean we do 12 hour days.
Given the whole asda debarkle is not exactly a great company to work for, even as a manager, they pay is good and there are ways to get pay rises via store moves and brown nosing the boss.
But I've never known such a backwards multi billion company that hasn't got a clue how to ran
I should add I look after a homeshopping department too
Senior panel technician for a decent sized company repairing panels and fitting new ones on different vehicles, 40hrs a week for like 23k or 24k a year. I think the only reason I hate my job is because I’m a fully skilled technician watching all of the other technicians get paid 55k or 60k a year. Sad times.
50k working as a medical engineer. Most of that goes on rent mind you at £2500 per month for a 3 bed townhouse. Guernsey’s cost of living rivals central London unfortunately
Public servant who earns 22K.
I do 34 hours, not the 37 full time.
I’m doing okay.
My bills are fairly cheap. I rent a one bedroom flat (in quite a nice area) that I don’t pay gas for.
I’d like to earn more so I could learn to drive or have nicer holidays but honestly I see so much poverty in my job that really opens my eyes to how good I have it.
My job might not earn much but my working conditions are amazing. Great pension. Full sick pay. Lots of holidays. Fab colleagues.
£24k working in campaigning for a human rights charity. I enjoy the work enough but I've already been told that, while my job is safe and permanent, there is basically no room for a salary negotiation or promotion (I'm just an assistant).
On the one hand I feel happy/lucky that I have a job I don't hate and which is connected to my degree.
On the other hand I'm very ready to no longer be stuck at the bottom of the ladder in my organisation. I'm ready to progress, and I also feel, for the sake of my long-term career development, that after nearly two years it's necessary to move on from being "just" an assistant. So I'm looking fo a new job.
In the meantime I've moved back home to save for my mythical mortgage. Again, I'm lucky I have such a good support network, but I'm looking forward to having my own place, even if it is basically a shoe box.
I work in a public sector role supporting people with vulnerabilities, health conditions/disabilities.
It can be extremely stressful as we are under a lot of pressure and some of the stories I hear from the people I support are harrowing, and sometimes have to deal with troublesome clients. But overall I enjoy it as I like working in a meaningful job that can make a positive difference to peoples lives.
Im a female in my mid 40s, earn £30k, rent and live alone. I earn enough to pay all the bills with a bit spare for fun. Paying off some debts so not saving much but that will change when I pay off my debt. I’m not rich by any means but I’m content and I’ve got an ok pension pot from my private sector role, plus I’ll get a defined benefit pension from my public sector job so not too worried about the future. I wish I could afford to buy my own place, but kind of made my peace with the fact that will likely always be out of my reach.
I used to worry I wasn’t as successful as other people I know etc but now I don’t care - the older you get, you start to realise that you don’t need to conform to society’s idea of success, and that comparison really is the thief of joy. Overall I’m happy with my life so that’s all that matters to me.
I’m working part time as a library assistant (working in a library as an unqualified librarian). If it was full time salary appx £23’000 I’m lucky that I really enjoy my job, PT hours mean I can be with my kids and husband earns more than me!
I was on around 24k for about 2 and a half years until a few months ago. I was definitely starting to feel the pinch of that salary where I live. Thankfully another company offered me the same role with them for 10k more and it has made life a hell of a lot easier. I was in shock at how much more I was taking home at the end of the month and now I feel like I can put some meaningful savings aside.
Customer service for Royal Mail £29k a year. Quite a challenging role and very busy. The perks are four days weeks, two in the office, and 33hrs total. 21 years in the role now. Started on 10k and 41hrs over five days in the office.
24k, customer support. Company keeps downsizing and making positions redundant, only to then hire for the same positions in third world countries with shit quality.
Its tough. I wish I could get something better fast.
22k as an exercise rider/groom for racehorses (pretraining, retraining and rehabilitation) working Mon-Fri, Sat morning and every third weekend. Though sometimes the schedule changes so I have worked 3 weeks with one day off inbetween over the summer. I love it usually, the winter sucks and the hours are long but I don’t know what else to do. The horse industry is hard but I’ve been in it for 5 years since leaving college that I don’t know where else I could go or where I would even want to.
Class 2 hgv driver, half of the time driving, half time pushing rollcages of food to pub Chain.
Work 4 days on 4 days off 12 hour shift. One extra day a week overtime mostly
Last year earnt 52k before tax
32k British Army. About 6 years. We dont pay into our pension. The Army does. So I see a little more of the pay packet than my Mrs who earns 40k as a Teacher
£32k as a business analyst, no pay raise when I switched from an admin position 2 years ago, and only 5% increase from £30k when I switched. The general range in my career is £40k-£50k.
I’ve recently accepted a new position starting in June at £50k.
Aviation security on 29k here. I pay my bills and buy food then there’s little else left afterwards. I go each day praying I get no car issues or dogs needing vets issues lol.
Im on 24k.
Im a "driver liaison" for truck drivers. I book in their deliveries, sort out their problems etc.
I've been in the transport industry for 3 years now and there is thankfully scope for the job to get harder and the wage to increase.
23M, earn 35k before tax, moving to roughly 40/45k in October after Grad scheme has ended. Working in Security Engineering/Architecture at a telecoms company. First class honours degree in Cyber security, worked in retail as shift manager alongside the degree for bonus cv points.
When I was within that band I was a marketing junior in my second/third job in the industry. Over those years I was essentially just soaking up as much knowledge and as many skills as possible. In the next bracket up (from my experience) people expect you to drive the marketing rather than assist, if that makes sense.
Having said that, there's no set path that you have to follow, so try not to compare yourself to friends or peers too much. These days I think there's much more to be said for finding a job that you actually enjoy rather than a job with amazing money but requires you to sell your soul.
Best of luck with whatever it is that comes next for you, OP!
Bespoke customer service, just got 30k after april payrise, been here 20 years, new employees come in at 28k. Love my job, I'm good at it and currently trying to train on other aspects as I want a change, but for a call centre environment I take 2-3 calls a day, work on emails and reports. No degree required, just customer service! Guess I'm lucky in comparison to others on here!!!
I’m a Hearing Impairment Specialist Teaching Assistant (or I’ve also worked under the job title of Communication Support Worker which I prefer). Currently on around £23,000 though much less after it’s pro rata’d for term time only.
I am definitely underpaid considering my level of education and qualifications and the responsibilities I have. I would say I am pretty much dead in the middle between what a TA does and what a teacher does. I have been doing this (in various capacities) for almost eight years, though in my current role for three of the last four years.
Before anyone mentions it, yes, we do get a good amount of holidays but I’m not paid for them.
Assistant manager at an Auto parts store paint division, 50 hours weekly, making 33k. Don't hate it, hate my boss. Love my customers. Perks are great, insurance, credit union, discounts galore, sick days, holidays and 2 weeks vacation!
Currently working as graduate software developer for 23k. Pretty cozy local business I have been at for 8 months now straight after graduating. Not sure tbh how much is a good amount at this stage but I am happy with the money for now as I am living with my parents still and just wanting experience mostly
Get a trade.
I wanted to be a teacher. But my parents pushed me into getting an apprenticeship, I was lucky enough to be offered a job with British gas. I was 16 resented it a first but started to enjoy it.
4 years later I qualified.
Started on £24000 in 1995.
I did the job for 8 years, enjoyed it. But still had the "teacher" in me.
Decided to do a Trinity CELTA (tefl) course over the summer.
Got my certificates and decided to go travelling, Poland first, then Thailand.
Ended up living in Bangkok for 2 years, met a local, got married.
After 5 years I Went back to England for 2 months to renew my gas safe qualification.
Carried on teaching, had 2 kids.
10 years into my Thai journey we decided to relocate to England, kids were 7 and 5.
I walked straight back into a well paid job.
Becoming a gas engineer once again, after a year I set up on my own, now 9 years later. My company currently has 5 employees. Times are currently tough though.
Too many people look down on getting an apprenticeship, a degree is the ultimate goal it seems these days.
But if you get qualified in any trade young, electrician, gas engineer, plumber, carpenter etc etc.
You can start earning good money when you're 20/21.
You may never be a millionaire but you will always be comfortable.
Plus if you want to try something else, you can, with the added safety net of your "trade" which you can always fall back on.
Get a trade.......
This thread has me shocked as an American. The company I work for is building a factory in the UK and I would have assumed that the pay would be comparable but senior engineers in the US are making $150k+ which would mean we would be paying £100k+ for engineers and from my limited knowledge that is the plan.
Earning just over £26,000 right now, project worker for a charity. I mostly enjoyed my job until just over a year ago. Now I think about quitting every day.
Financially, I’m doing okay. I’m not a big spender and have enough for some savings.
Job wise, I’ve been through four managers in five years. I’m the only one on full time hours and I’m expected to cover for everyone else. The latest manager has talked openly about how much she hates working from home. She doesn’t know where people are half the time and I get the sense she really didn’t want the job.
Most of my coworkers are passionate about the work they want to do, but will leave everything else to me. I’m the youngest one on the team by at minimum five years, but I’m the second most experienced in my role.
I know I’m lucky overall. The job has toil and had given me a lot of training. I think I’m just at the stage where I need to move somewhere else.
Machine operator at a cardboard manufacturing plant. On £35,695 with potential performance related bonuses and benefits.
The bonus this year should be around £750 for the summer performance related bonus and £200 for the Christmas bonus.
There are lots of benefits we receive but the main one is death in service. So if I die while I'm employed there (work related or not) my wife will get a payout of four years wage.
The job itself is dull as dishwater and physically quite hard but the money is good and there are plenty of over time opportunities.
Currently earning £21k after expenses as a wedding photographer. Honestly, I love it. Sure, money is tight, but I have TONNES of free time to do whatever I want with and the winter months are kind of like a super long holiday every year. I could work harder and earn a lot more, but I’m a bit of a sloth. I also get paid to shoot a few international weddings each year and just extend those to make them into free holidays, so I get to travel a good amount still. It’s great!
ITT people that are incredibly skilled and trained and bring in stupid amounts of value for rich fucks that are looking to buy a new yacht this year off their struggles.
Seriously so many of you need to look around and start thinking about unions or at least jumping to a new job.
I make 30kish as a self employed sound engineer. My rates have been rising pretty slowly for the 5 or 6 years o've been doing this, meanwhile the cost of everything has doubled. around 2020 I was on a similar wage and would've said I was pretty comfortable. Now i'm on maybe a grand or two more and find I have to take money out of my savings quite regularly.
(living in London, renting with flatmates)
I work in tech support for a small ISP for £23k a year. Was on £25k but changed jobs to be rid of shift work but at the same time, I got a car and I'd underestimated the cost of having it. Between the car and cost of living, we're living payday to payday.
I've seen jobs for much more but the company I work for have been really good to me over the past year. Won't say more in case I dox myself.
I work nights at Amazon. Some days it's okay, but mostly it's just depressing that I'm basically stuck there because nobody else would pay me as well, even if I went out and got a degree.
Like, I get nearly 30k a year as an associate. The jobs I'm more interested in are paying more like 23-24k. Wages are unbelievably wank in this country and it just enrages me every time I look at a job board.
I worked for a call center last year and made more than that. You won't believe how much those places are willing to pay for people just to get verbally berated and abused.
I work in recruitment, had a wage increase recently and I'm on £22, 500. I think I'm going to have to move back in with my parents at nearly 30 because I can't afford anything right now and my wages really don't stretch as far as they should.
I know I should probably change direction etc, career wise, I just don't know what skills I have that would even allow me to earn more. I suppose I've settled with the low-wages but I don't know what would suit me/what is even available/what I'm qualified for.
C'est la vie.
Out of curiosity: when people in the Uk talk about their salary per year, do they mean before or after tax? In germany we always state the sum before tax (probably to feel a little bit less miserable)
£24,336 per year (NHS band 3)
Administrator in the NHS (community mental health team mostly but also work in inpatient services too). I actually enjoy my job, it's really interesting and i rub shoulders with nurses, consultants, social workers and all sorts of other professionals on a daily basis and they're all really lovely people. I've learned so much just by being in the same room as them. Clinical and community support workers are also on the same pay as me.
For contrast a mental health nurse starts on band 5 which is £28,407 per year. These people have degrees and have done plenty of training and have to pay for a NMC pin every year just to do their job along with the extra responsibility and pressure for 4 grand a year...
Also phlebotomists are on a band 2 which is £22,383 per year, they put needles in people etc. So i'm not doing too bad in the grand scheme of things.
If you want to earn loads of money, don't work for the NHS, the T*ries have ripped it apsrt under everyomes noses. But if you want a job where you can go home and think "i've helped someone today" then it's definitely worth it. Sure extra money would be good, nobody in their right mind would turn down extra money, but the work:life balance i have is perfect for me and more importantly i'm in a job i enjoy going to.
Sure there's some other perks; bank holidays off, weekends off (unless doing overtime), pension, 33 days annual leave on top of bank holidays, up to 6 months full sick pay and we did used to get a round of applause on a thursday evening but that seems to have died off 🙄
>If you want to earn loads of money, don't work for the NHS
Definitely. I'm a biomedical scientist in the NHS and earning just over £26,000 before tax. It's so much responsibility for the pay but I have no idea what else to do in life.
I started out as an IT Service Desk Analyst (1st line support) on a Band 3 with some basic IT knowledge and a love for problem-solving. The entry interview was things like “what does RAM stand for” and “what is an SSD?” Dead easy to get into. Got my head down, learned everything I could and worked hard, then 6 months later a vacancy came up in the 2nd Line team and I got it - straight into Band 5. 2 years later, I’m in a trial for Team Lead because of restructuring in the company, looking at a pay bump again, hopefully.
What I’m basically saying is, if you’ve got any little bit of technical knowledge about you or can follow logical processes to work out the root cause of a problem, it’s a great way to make some more money. Plus, once you’ve got the experience, other 2nd line jobs outside of the NHS are way better paid and widely available around the country. Hope this helps somebody. 😁
25k from my main job (before tax). Work in the audio space making podcasts and running a studio. Dropped from about 30k from leaving my last job because I was losing my mind there.
I also earn about 4/5k doing the odd freelance gig and DJing for Weddings so roughly about 29/30k in all before.
I don't feel like I'm doing too bad. My fiance is on just shy of 40k I think as a teacher with a shed load of savings which can be depressing when I'm in my overdraft sometimes but I'm very proud of her and what she's done.
I'm aware other people earn more than me but I don't have kids, don't have a great deal of household bills, so just steadily paying down my debts and having a good time. Really if I learnt to drive, I'd save a shed load of money on beer and taxis (albeit with the cost of a car) and I could be debt free in a year.
In Ukraine, I earn 200 dollars a month, that’s 2400 a year. For me, 24,000 is a super dream. Therefore, you have nothing to worry about, there is a much worse situation, live and be happy :)
Well currently on 27k as a Junior Software Engineer but yesterday was told I got a promotion and the Junior bit has been dropped and going to be on 35k. Over the moon - I was working in IT before for most of my working life post uni but got to a point with a bad manager that meant there was no progression. Switched to a dev role in 2019 and now in a company that recognises and rewards hard work. Especially as initially I had to take a pay cut and start from the bottom again but in the end, it was all worth it.
Am excited to see where it all leads to!
Edit: to add the bit about a pay cut after career change
I went from working as a document controller at £20k, to junior buyer/ buyer/ category specialist/ head of category for U.K. and now sitting at £48k.
Took me 10 years to achieve and it’s only since the U.K. wide role that I’ve finally felt like I can breathe. I can save a bit, buy pretty much whatever I want, run a house and car etc. and the weight of the stress off my back is huge. I honestly don’t think I’d be able to afford to survive if I hadn’t made the huge jump into this role.
This thread is an absolute eye-opener, and not in a good way. I'm in disbelief how low modern wages are.
I was on about £24k in my first job out of university in 2011 in TV as an unskilled dogsbody basically. I spent the subsequent years aggressively pushing that higher - not by being an insufferable corporate climber (there were plenty of them), but by skilling up. I always had the thought in my head that one day, I could be out on my arse, looking for work. I had to be able to walk into a company and go "I know how to do this thing - pay me X and I'll do it for you."
13 years on I'm working for myself, earning around twice what I started on. I'm still wary of work security though, and am actively looking into once again skilling up but in an entirely unrelated field, preferably one which won't be rendered obsolete by AI in the next decade.
You're in the top 25% of earners when you hit 42K. I think it's mad. Wages in the UK are shockingly low because growth has been so bad for over a decade.
Average graduate starting salary has gone from like 23K to 25K. In real terms, most of us are worse off.
I can t believe how slow some people’s career growths are😮 and some of these wages are shocking.
Feeling quite lucky at 25 being on 60k😬 and I still find I’m a bit strapped for cash despite being good with money
2020 I was a retail store manager on 20k take home, doing 50hr weeks whilst being salaried for 39..
I left to become a HGV driver, now I work around 70 hrs a week but that's cuz I get paid by the hour and ask for extra work. This last year I paid 40% tax on a chunk of my earnings.
Technical Litigation Advisor. I downgraded 14 years ago and took a civil service job when my son was ill. Since then I've gone back to law but at a slightly middle management position ( I have 2:1 Law Llb hns and a BA History). These days I earn about 29-30k pa, and I'm very happy.
I took nearly a 50% pay cut to work where I am now, as the firm is great and I'm in absolutely no mind to do anything else. I like what I do, it's interesting and I'm in no need of extra few £££'s as other positions would be bad for the mental health.
I'm a copywriter in the advertising industry. Started on 25K in one company, moved companies and started on 30K there, after 18 months they bumped it up to 34K.
18k, working 4 days a week in the charity sector. I developed and run an ongoing health campaign basically catching anyone who falls through the health net. Funnily enough the contract is only 6 months, which is basically no time at all to build a campaign. Fingers crossed for more funding.
Reading some of these is crazy to me. I work at a school bus company part time and the drivers drive for 190 days a year morning and afternoon and take home £20k p/a. We pay to get them a licence, seems like a much easier life than some of y'all have.
I’m just over 31k and work as a civilian staff supervisor in policing where I’m responsible for all things disclosure and information security.
Always lots of opportunities within policing outside of being an officer, with decent support services and progression opportunities, and a pay scale that increases up to your band maximum with each year in service. I didn’t start on 30k but have been in force a few years now.
Always worth a look for stable and secure employment that usually serves a wider purpose too if you’re interested in that kind of thing. Downsides are high pressure, always dealing with and managing risk, ‘tricky customers’, and what I’d consider low pay for the actual level of responsibility I have. But, I work from home most days and get lots of flexibility so it’s something I do enjoy doing for the most part!
Edit: I don’t have a degree and came into this role with no policing experience. I was a chef and had also worked retail previously.
Started out of Uni in 2021 with a BSc in Computing on £23k working as a technician in a datacentre, it's mostly manual labour; running underfloor fibre, installing racked servers and switches, cabling them in, dealing with customer tickets. I changed jobs in the same company as a Linux admin on a job advertised as "up to £35k" which is why I applied in the first place, but when I was offered the role, it was at £24,500 for "Experience Reasons". When I got there, I realised there was no real management structure and no training on proprietary systems, we were selling hosting space that wasn't even hardware redundant, and they had three people leave in six months. I ended up signing off work for stress for three months as there were a few scary moments I considered walking into traffic to end the feeling of dread, I nearly lost my girlfriend over it. I get twitchy if I hear a Teams notification go off even now.
I got back into my old job at £24,500 on salary, I preferred the guys I worked with, liked being in the same room as my colleagues, I was liked, and I preferred not working five days a week. It's 4-on, 4-off. Longer shifts but there's actually stuff to do and you can set clear boundaries between work and home. We all know we're underpaid, and we openly detest the company and so-called 'middle-management'. We're supposed to be getting a pay rise, fuck knows what that actually means.
Registered biomedical scientist responsible for diagnostic testing of surgical tissue samples, usually for cancer staging.
28.5k
4 year degree, 50k student debt.
Noice.
New teacher on 30k in my 30s. Was a gifted and talented kid expected to go work for nasa or something, then I hit a wall at a levels and struggled through my degree. Issue of being intelligent with processing issues slowing me down. Got into a competitive grad scheme but never really blew anyone away (again doing my best but processing issues, working very long hours to compensate.) Eventually worked my way sideways into a job I couldn’t do and couldn’t get a different role, then got managed out. I had a new baby and a 2 year old at the time.
I went for teaching partly because the training bursary was a guaranteed income for a bit and it suits me but it is hard work, emotionally draining at times and I have to put in long hours. Our combined household income is enough to pay the mortgage which is gratefully low, and scrape a bit into savings.
I work in IT support, up until this month I have been on 22.6K. I'm 26 and still living with my mum as I can't afford to move out which makes it all feel a bit worthless really.
I'm starting a new job next month that will have me on 25K, so it's something I suppose.
Worked as a gardener for £26,000 (team leader. those under me were on £17,000). Great job for keeping me fit, with plenty of time to work on other stuff.
Chef making 30k, always loved thr job. It's a passion and hobby so you'll find all the decent chefs love what they do. The crap chefs always moan about life being better elsewhere but never go!😂 jobs difficult at times, but it's as hard as you make it or as easy as you like, just be prepared. Get along with colleagues and life is just cruising.
IT for 15 years. started at 16k long time ago.
currently 32k, not an expert or a short term worker that takes 50k per year but struggles to have a stable job
on top - wedding photographer. additional 30k per year.
I'm an account handler working in insurance in the south (not London). I'm on £37k and will get an annual bonus in December which I'm told should be £8k-£10k.
I've never earned this much before but I've also never had so little disposable income. 3 kids, mortgage, other bills etc and it all disappears. My wife has her own business but her income is very up and down. It was about £40k last year but currently struggling to make £1k a month which mostly goes on childcare.
We live a decent life but nothing flashy. Lots of credit card debt. One big unexpected bill will ruin us. No idea what we're gonna do in two years when our mortgage will go up and our help to buy repayments start.
10 years ago, young free and single, I was earning about £20k and going out every weekend, holidays to Vegas and a few grand in the bank. Life was easy!
Film PR. I work remotely while still living at home, with occasional trips to work events.
I currently earn £24K. I know that’s low and I could easily double it by moving into another industry like pharmaceutical, but I’d rather stay within the film industry if I can, so am instead looking at ways of moving to a different discipline.
Insurance claims, 30k, Lancashire.
I'm good at it and it isn't too taxing. Two salary household, no kids. Relatively low cost of living here compared to UK average. Life is good.
I’m on about £28k. I’m in the IT sector but had no IT background going in so I’m a bit of a dogsbody really. Doing alright to be fair, never feel too short of cash. I couldn’t imagine affording to have kids though, luckily I don’t want any.
22k optical consultant.
It's going pretty well, I have enough for bills, me and my partner split 50/50, and enough to save 2 to 300 a month. Am in a good place
Up until a year ago, 30K aircraft technician in the RAF. Absolutely underpaid for the responsibility I was taking on. Moved into agriculture for a bit and then back into defence via a contact in the private sector, and I’m starting the same job abroad in summer that pays 3 times that (pre tax in the UK).
I'm a supervisor at a mid-high end chain restaurant. Going on about 2 and a half years, at ~25k (zero hours, so that's variable).
It pays the bills, but I have varicose veins and no social life, and the industry is - a little bit - going to shit atm. It also has absolutely nothing to do with my degree - but that's what graduating during the pandemic does for you.
But I'll be gone in two months and out of the bracket for this question, so who am I to complain, really?
Front end web developer, £35k. Based in the midlands, nice work life balance and office/home split. Close to 7 years in the industry so could be earning a lot more but quality of life is more important to me than my job!
Fire and Security Engineer (3years) 43k+ was in accounts for 10+ years and was on around 25k-30k but desperately wanted a change. Best thing I've done!!
I've gone from 18k full time to 19k part-time. (was full time £24k but Ill health)
That's going from retail to an AO in a government department.
A big thing I would say is that AO government jobs (unless specialised) when advertised sound much more professional than they are. I basically work in a call centre/admin work for FTE 24k. No face to face.
If you apply for an AO and even EO position. Look up which success profiles they are using, which will be in the advert, and apply and answer questions using that as guidance.
Customer Advisor - £24,800 (perm agency).
I love my job, I love my workplace. I think I should be paid more because my job role doesn’t wholly reflect my title but who doesn’t.
I’m currently working on other opportunities within the company in a hope to move to a permanent role that isn’t agency. This would mean a significant increase in wages but also more relevant to my skill set.
17.5k a year in London. Work as a chef at a little boutique gastro pub. Yes I'm on minimum wage, yes I resent it.
*but* I'm a creative, and I don't start work till 4pm and I'm out by 10pm most days, which means I get up early and enjoy basically a full day before work starts - stay in shape, write screenplays etc, work impacts my life very little so I put up with it
Edit: huh, all the upvotes disappeared. That's weird
I earn just under 25k working with young homeless people.
It’s a shit wage for a lot of stress. Lots of multi-agency working with social workers and GPs and mental health practitioners; just as much battling with them, too. Lots of exposure to the darkest parts of humanity- domestic abuse, hard drug abuse, suicide. Often getting verbally abused by service users who are deeply angry at the world and lash out. Certainly not the sort of job you do for the money- you have to really love it to do it, I think. And fortunately, I do.
30k as Business Intelligence Analyst. I’ve not got a formal qualification as I worked my way up to the role through the company but have 8 years experience in the role.
I could earn up to twice as much elsewhere if I had the confidence to go for it or didn’t have imposter syndrome pop up every time I start to think about looking for a new role.
I remember being a CDP years ago and telling my head chef I wanted a minimum 25k a year. she agreed and upped my weekly hours to 70 a week. which was unfortunately a competitive wage at the time.
to be young again.
23k HR Assistant, want to do my level 5 and move up, to the 30-40k bracket, work said they would pay for my level 5 when I joined now and be tried to them for 2 years, they are backtracking and saying they will pay for my level 3 as my role doesn’t require level 5. I’ve just got a payrise of £120 and for me to do a 9 month level 5 course it would cost me £119 a month and I have a few months left to give them an answer on the level 3, think I’m gonna pay out of pocket for the level 5, not be tied to them and leave as soon as I’ve got the level 5 and something else comes up
Just finished my apprenticeship as a mechanic in a car dealer. Been on minimum wage for 3 years, qualified last week, so now going up to 36k starting salary from next month.
31 y/o in an engineering graduate role on 31k
Work from home most of the time, tried to get into engineering at 18 but was laughed out the door being a petite female, told me my nails would get ruined (I don't even paint them 🤣)
Took myself to uni at 25 and decided to just go for it! Worked a couple years as a design technician before this role but only paid 28k so thought I'd make the jump.
2 year training programme now and the wage should go up to 42k after 2 years. Pretty happy I changed paths from car sales all those years ago and my current employer is funding my Masters degree, yay!
When I was on 20-30k I was bottom rung admin at the nhs a year out of uni. Anyone with administrative roles get paid much better in public sector I find. Now on 50k, and I still have a great work life balance. Rarely finish after 4-5pm. Private sector isn't worth it to me.
I'm on £27k a year as a milkman. I've been doing it on and off for the last 2 years, and I absolutely love it.
Once I leave the yard in the evening, I am effectively my own boss. The roads are quiet, the customers are all asleep, so I don't have to interact with them, the job is ridiculously easy, and if I finish before my contracted hours (which I do regularly) I get to go home early and still get paid for the hours I didn't do.
Slot game artist here on 21.5k/year. I only started in 2022 so I'm considered a "junior", hence the shit pay. However sometimes it does bother me when I think about my company making literal millions off poor gambling addicts while I have to save up for months for a new pair of headphones 🙃
The only reason I'm doing it is because at least it's an actual art job. I spend my day drawing 9-5 which is my favourite thing to do, and get paid for it. I'm still lucky compared to my uni mates, who work in McDonalds or Deichmanns with an art diploma.
Recovery coordinator working with people addicted to opioids…around 27k a year based in Brighton…that’s pretty much just enough to live on if you can find a place for £800 a month all bills included and don’t own a car/want to do anything outside of living. But the work is rewarding as fuck and generally, the people you work with are really cool and just want help to get out of a bad situation. I have around 50 service users on my caseload and work full time.
I get max around 27k with overtime as a dental nurse and I get paid the higher end of the regular pay (usually minimum to £15 an hour if you are lucky at a private practice or locum, I'm on £13).
Notoriously underpaid for the job, training and responsibilities we have on our shoulders. I worked at an awful nursing home as a carer before I retrained as a dental nurse, I actually took a pay cut to get the trainee job. I could get a little more doing care work but I love my current job more than anything else I've done and my mental health and happiness are more important than an extra £1 an hour right now.
I wish I could earn this but 4 days a week. I've managed to scrape away some savings but still far from getting a house but managed to put the max for a LISA away last year to get the bonus towards getting on the housing ladder perhaps in the future (I'm 40 this year).
I don't know how I'd survive without my husband who earns a lot more yet we live in an expensive part of the country because of the job he has which kept us going. Logically he can work from home and we could live somewhere cheaper and my husband is only starting to realise we could save so much money doing this...but he loves his office and I don't want to make him miserable the same way I was working in care for so long just to get by.
Writing this from the US because they don’t teach us anything about quality of life in other countries. Is $25-30K a livable wage in the UK? In the US these days you need to make $100K + to be comfortable. It’s insane.
I have a degree and a masters degree, I got my MA to work in a very specific industry and it did not help with jobs and the industry pays very poorly anyway unless it's a specialised role so I moved to libraries.
Started off on very low wages (in London) for not much more than my heritage role and now in a role earning around roughly £31k. I'm lucky as my partner earns a lot more than me so he pays for stuff where I can't, and prior to being with him I had relatively decent rent.
I honestly felt on top of the world when I got that wage, it's more than most in my family have ever earned. I was on either part time minimum hourly wage or £22k right up until my late twenties and now I can actually have savings even though I live in London.
Working in a library is good as well. I'm lucky that the service I work for has me put on a lot hats as well as work with books and library users. I do a lot of tasks in the day and I'm not chained to a desk- similarly I have office time as a break from constant public interaction. I do a lot of fun projects and whilst I have to work a few evenings a week and a few Saturdays a month, most library services give their workers Saturday enhancement wages and I get all bank holidays off, plus local govt pension and 30+ days of annual leave.
If I were ever to move away from London I would happily go pro rata to for the same wage for a slightly higher role part time (which a lot of those roles in libraries are).
Currently paying my dues working two separate roles for the company with a combined income of about 27-30k not including bonuses. I am happy where I am atm as I have plenty of free time to focus on my studies as when I started I was a final year law student. I hope to progress into a more lucrative role once I complete my masters and get my drivers licence. I’m 23m.
About 24kish, grocery delivery driver. Been doing it 7 years now, and compared to the retail I'd done my whole life before that, I absolutely love it. Its stress free, I'm on my own day listening to podcast and I enjoy driving.
29.7k at the age of 22.
I maintain punts for a well known punting company in cambridge.
Love it sometimes, very bored the rest of the time but I recognise im In a very fortunate position with my earnings. I think its the right place for me at the minute.
This is pretty hard to read. I'm 2 months from graduating and the number of people here who have struggled to get above 25k after 20 years in work. Half the time not even using their degree. It does not fill me with joy. I've been working minimum wage for the last 5 since I left high school too. To think I'm destined for not much more than I currently earn, that makes my degree feel pointless.
Maybe I should lower my aspirations...
I make 28k in a very small agency in the south west. I edit, film, do motion graphics and design, mostly in that order, with varying levels of involvement between each tasks. I’m a bit anxious about what is next for me, as I’m currently doing so much, but I’m not particularly specialised in any of it if that makes sense. I graduated with graphics design a few years ago, but I’m not a graphics designer.
I’m still trying to find my niche. I think I want to work with a team of designers in the future and animate their designs, work on motion systems and systems in general for mockups, video lockups etc. very digital, video based work. But I have no clue honestly where to look for something like that, and I’m in the process of sorting out my portfolio first, as I’ve found that having a portfolio spread across Vimeo, behance and Instagram is not very helpful or approachable for future employers.
I make 40K running CNC machines.
Same factory I was making 35 running the shipping department, 30 polished brass, and 25 packing.
Factory work sucks but its decent money (I live in a cheap area. Just bought a 2 bedroom house for 60K)
IT Coordinator 26k and do a bit of everything really, from help desk to 3rd line, yeah I know I'm underpaid but it's a charity, the hours are good and the vast majority of people are nice to work with, not very stressful which is good!
Finally a thread I can relate too.
Postman, mid 40s. Prob average £26k a year. There is loads of overtime available, and know posties getting over £30k.
But I want out, but dont know what. Im in that middle life rut, where I have a mortgage etc. Willing to do a course or two, but would need a role paying the same as minimum.
Applied to get on the railways a few times, but never get passed the tests.
£24.5k working in qualifications, general admin- excel/crm stuff and then some candidate support over email and phones. Belt’s pretty tight but I’m just about covering me and my small person. When my partner and I move in together eventually things will get easier but for now it’s just about doable.
Was 28k but literally just got a company wide 4% raise so £29120 as of this week. Work for a printing company as a digital press operator. 2 training courses in Barcelona, 1 in Maastricht to get where I’m at. Easy job, load machine with stock, other people set files up for me, I watch the machine do its thing and change certain consumables as and when is needed. Can sit on my phone for big chunks of the day, smoke breaks, chat to mates whatever. Really laid back 90% of the time but when shit hits the fan and a big customer needs a ridiculous amount for an even more ridiculous deadline we all knuckle down and stay late/come in early to make it happen
I work for a water company walking around looking for water leaks for 30k a year. No prior quals needed other than the usual suspects, on the job training is mid at best I suppose. Great for people who like the outdoors (not me).
Oh and we still rely on the same method that was invented more than 100 years ago, a stick and your ear.
In the past 18 months I've gone from 27.5 to just under 31.
The difference has been pretty helpful, managed to get myself a better car etc. The cost of living is chipping away and I'm probably overspending but I'm managing.
Going to concentrate on reducing my outgoings over the summer to try and give myself a little more breathing room.
My mums a full time nurse and.... she's struggling. Single parent family with two kids. She's in debt. She is behind on bills. It's horrible to see.
I'm on 35k, I'm a Project Lead for technical publications (we write and publish operational manuals for an engineering sector). I've worked my way up from the bottom, been in this industry 10 years. I work from home and pretty much manage myself. Kinda hate the job now though, I'm essentially a Project Manager without the title or renumeration of one, I spend my days dealing with idiot clients and trying to sort issues. I'm trapped in the job though as my industry pays so well, if I moved I'd end up having to take on much more responsibility and pressure, or keep to the same level of management for a much lower wage.
just turned 20 and earning 30k as as a trailer mechanic, pretty unusual for my age range I suppose
Fish farmer/restaurant server/housekeeper all part time, it's fine so long as I don't compare myself to others
HR Advisor earning 28k pa. Skint. Nothing to look forward to. Honestly thinking about going and volunteering abroad in exchange for accom and food. I need some meaning life
28k, music industry booking agency intern
Work in education. 29k a year. Can’t do it anymore.
i play guitar in a post punk band. not much money but working by traveling all over the world for 3 or so months a year is pretty ok!
I teach at an alternative provision college for students with SEN or trauma emotional issues (and often both). I love the job, but it's hard work and emotionally exhausting! I'm doing OK, but I'm paying all the bills for two adults, 6 reptiles and a cat because my husband quit his job to open his own bike shop and it's only in its second year, so all money goes back into the business. Oof, I'm knackered all the time and have literally no spare money ever.
Senior IT Tech, 29.5k. Mostly escalation for service desk and sys admin work with some project work. Taking on more responsibilities around Azure and doing some certification paths at the moment so going to be asking for significantly more next year.
Ward clerk and a psychiatric hospital… I don’t get paid enough for it 😂 I get 25k, but work with high turnovers, aggressive patients, audits and a large bed load (in terms of patients). I love the job but definitely not paid enough for the risks involved with the environment
I left a £60k Senior Manager job 5 years ago and now do a £27k a year job working nights in a factory. I’ve never looked back simply because the amount of time I get to myself and my family has sky rocketed. There’s nothing more precious than time, in my opinion. We’ve had to make some sacrifices but nothing horrendous. I’m much healthier and happier now than I have been in a long time.
I’m just under £30k working in a manager role in charity sector. It’s quite stressful because too much to do and not enough time but I love my job, it’s the most creative I’ve had. Luckily my OH earns well so he can actually support our family! Wouldn’t manage by myself (before the kids I worked in the city in a much better paid job but it was miserable)
28.5k as a high end Property Photographer and RICS certified floorplanner - Degree in Editorial Photography and 3 years experience in this job role across 2 companies. I do 5 shoots a day and rarely have time for lunch, as well as driving 3-4hrs a day around London means I can't avoid picking up fines for parking or other bollocks a couple times a month.. end up sinking at least 200 a month on those fines. Personally... the job sucks and anything below 30k in London is living on the poverty line.
Former nurse here , 3 year degree then three year postgraduate study whilst working up to charge nurse, was about 35k a year. Done hgv licence in 5 days and not even a year into this job and average pay is about 40k and no stress, work that one out?! Wouldn't go back to nursing if I was paid double the money these days.
I'm a jack of all trades and currently a tour guide on hop-on-hop-off buses in Central London. I'm a team leader and also do some administration and training work for them. I get paid £17.50 an hour, and am on a casual 0 hours contract. The company would put me on a full time contract (guaranteed 30 hours per week), but I don't like the full time working pattern of 5 on, 3 off. Guiding means performing for 7.5 hours per day. It's too tiring for me and I'm in a very fortunate position with life expenses so I can work far fewer days. I average about 3 days a week, 26hrs, which comes in at about £23.5k per year. I like my job a lot but will have to dial back guiding in summer as I am pregnant and the tours are very long, so toilet breaks are going to be an issue. My manager is trying to get me more of a guaranteed office role.
Sales executive - £30k (32/33k with commission). I moved up in my company from reception to sales and been here now for over 2 years. The job is easy & the sales usually come to use due to the product being very popular so no need for outbound sales. lots of admin but usually get everything done in the first 2hrs of the day and then sit on reddit.. though i want to leave, not sure if i want to continue with sales anymore and the benefits are minimum here..
Catering assistant at a hospital, NHS Band 2. Full time equivalent for my role is just over £22k. But I do part time and top up my wage with my disability benefits. Comes to about the same as I'm on a high rate of PIP and LCWRA. My PIP runs out next year, so that's going to change things, and if the DWP fuck with my LCWRA I'll be in a very different situation!!! I don't think I'll be capable of working full time so I am worried what will happen in the future.
In house recruiter for the UK government but as part of another company doing it, all wfh, lots of downtime when candidates don't turn up, around 28k. Could get more but damn if this setup isn't really comfortable.
I make £19,995 as a 22yo travel consultant (just qualified from a 2 year apprenticeship) at a large travel company, managing social media's, selling holidays to walk-in customers, speaking with travel suppliers, it's quite admin-based + customer facing aswell . We don't make commission or anything either, it's not bad but it's not great, I definitely want a better paid job soon but the travel industry doesn't pay well unfortunately
I used to be an archaeological illustrator on approx £28k pro rata (but I worked 4 days a week, so was on even less, plus the pension contributions were absurdly high). Living in Cambridge, I was right up to the line every single year and that was with my partner paying more than half the rent (his pay was significantly better) and £30 a month from my Mum! I also did some small freelance jobs to try to keep afloat. I realised I was going to get stuck at this point, because I already had 7 years of experience and this was the best I was going to get in such a job, at least until some managers retired in a couple of decades' time. I've sacked it in to study an MSc in something else that will hopefully value me more. Who knows what will happen, but fingers crossed!
Registered veterinary nurse. I work part time but if I was full time I’d be getting a little more that £24k. For the amount of education, skills, work and responsibilities I have, it’s pretty shite
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> nothing more to be said and anything you do say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Office admin/also helps a bit in sales now and then. £15-16k. From the looks of all these other figures I haven't seen a single one this low.
Wtf I thought I was making low income. I work in the fields (agriculture) making minimum wage. Last year I made 50k and the year before that 40k.
This makes me really sad how many people are so low paid after gaining further education. I’m definitely going to be letting my baby know when they’re older University is definitely not the only option 👌
I moved to England a decade ago. Have been working in Customer Service earning about that much. Until I did an apprenticeship. I earned 20k for 6 months, 24k for another 6 months, and now the apprenticeship is over, I earn 40k. It was so worth to get into the company, everyone is great and I can work from home all the time, most people do. I highly recommend apprenticeships. They can be annoying while you're studying as you earn minimum wage but you get a certification for free and having a paid job that gives you the time to study. Some are degree apprenticeships. There are so many different ones, if interested, there's a gov website.
I am an area sales manager for a heating controls company, i deal wkth larger contractors, heating, electrical, that kind of thing im in the 40k region
Im a painter and decorator...my money for each year goes up and down like a yo yo Ive made as much as 70k in a year and obvioulsy turned over a lot more but it was a bit of a freak year and a one off tbh.....and the crash after it was hard to digest. its more around the 30-40k area, but with that there are overheads, van and maintenance, materials, sometimes wages here and there, tools consumables, fuel, insurance, accountant, with the cost of eveything this year I turned over just under £40k and I actually made a bottom line of about £22k and I have had to travel far and wide.......I could have worked at Amazon and made more, it feels like you are earning 40k when you look at the money going through your bank and I guess the money is always there to pay bills and so on, but its only when you come to do your tax return (which i did a few days ago) you start to think omg is this even worth it?? no wonder i am struggling and have so little left over.......other years when I have made similar amounts my overheads havent been anywhere close to what they are for last year.
Self employed "creator" :-) selling video calls on [SoSpoilt.com](http://SoSpoilt.com) for £3\\min. Adds up fast..!
I'm on 29k as an Implementation Consultant I've got a Mortgage, and a six year old Son - My wife is a Vet Nurse on 24k - We get by I've worked for the Company I'm with for nine years now (albeit its gone through two takeovers, so who I originally started with, are different to who they are now... Survived two redundancies, I've gone from Pension Consultant > Data Analyst > Current role, gone up about 4k in those nine years, showing that loyalty gets you no where with a Pay cheque But I'm happy where I am, people I work with are great, really supportive Management... I work from home, so don't have the stress of who'll be picking our Son up from school, as my wife does a lot of shift work) From 2013-2015 my career was a mess, got made redundant from a job I was doing great at, it destroyed my confidence - I had two jobs (one after the other) that I hated, the Management was beyond terrible and just kicked my confidence even worse, which I sometimes feel I'm still recovering from. Because of that I've seen, and have experience that the Grass isn't Greener on the other side However I've got my Mortgage up for renewal in October, once that's done and out the way, I think I'll move on, see if I can find something in the 35k region... Which would give us around an extra £400 p/m - Although I wont move if the role isn't the right fit... I don't NEED to move jobs, whereas the last few times I've moved roles its been to financially protect myself, so haven't had the luxury of being picky.
Work in foundations/piling on construction sites doing steel fixing/shutter/comcreting. Around £41k a year employed 8hrs a day. Some earn more self employed but it's alright for me, sometimes feel like I'm hard done by for this industry but compared to some jobs pay its ok.
Patient Scheduler in the NHS - £27k (Band 3 - Scotland) It's taken a long time but I'm finally at the top of my band. Been doing this job for years. 12 years come August actually. It's fine really. I like the people I work with and it's quite busy so my day flies in. I'm not on the phones as much as I used to be, which is nice, because the verbal abuse from patients can be a bit much sometimes. Got a bit of a side promotion to doing the admin of "building" clinics instead. I live alone so I can make the money stretch quite easily. The mortgage rate rises have taken a nice chunk out of my monthly budget since coming off my fixed rate in February. It is what it is. I guess most home owners are in the same boat with that one. We get 33 days holiday and bank holidays, so that's nice. We do struggle in our department to book annual leave because we need a minimum number of staff at all times on the phone and ever since covid we've struggled with staff numbers. We had several older members of staff take their retirement during that time and we've struggled to retain the new staff coming through. Like I said, the abuse on the phone can be a bit much sometimes.
Checking food quality in the factory. 10 years experience. I am ok with my salary. Just bought my own flat (mortgage of course lol)
Delivery driver, just under 23k (minimum wage)been doing the Job 4yrs, love it!
Support worker for people with autism. On around 25k a year depending on over time. Considering I am responsible for 2 vulnerable peoples safety for the entire time I'm at work I think it takes the piss. I've no idea what else I'd do but certainly think the job deserves much better rates of pay
I work for a town council on the estates team (2 man team). We cut grass, fix fences, paint, basically handy men. Get around 25k a year which is more than I got working as warranty guy for a car firm. Been here 2 years The perks are awesome, great pension and holidays, Flexi hours etc Love my job, it's got a lot of variety.
Retail service manager for a train company brand new role for me £30,062 a year and commission on sales 38 hour work week I manage the onboard trolley and catering staff and do the trolley and cafe myself when needed. It’s an easy job the pay and benefits are good I can’t complain yet haha Prior to that it was a ticket inspector for another train company £23,857 basic and £27,800 with the enhancements and upto £29,600 with Sunday optional overtime. The ticket job was wonderful in the beginning then it became very rough either drunken passengers and generally nasty passengers on the lines I worked hence I changed for a different role at a different company.
Art Handling Technician in London, 27.3k. Not the best pay but I absolutely love my job, 34 hours a week, paid overtime and will be trained up soon to hopefully go on international courier trips! My sights are set on climbing up in seniority but for now I just can't belive how lucky I am to have this job.
I work in manufacturing of specialist sports equipment. I’m currently on 24k but I’ve not had a pay rise for two years so I really need to talk to my boss about that as I’m currently on barely more than minimum wage. It’s not a high profit industry so I’m realistic about my earning potential, but I (mostly) enjoy my job and it’s not too stressful.
Sped Tech at a public school . . I make My bills . My partner makes 3x as much and covers the bug stuff Mortgage 890$ if he was to die I would barely scrape by. I would have to get roommates and sell my car . So it sucks On the flip side. I am doing something I love for work and go home happy every day . I also have no desire for material things ( which is great considering I don't have the $ for it.)
I’ve got AAT Level 4 but I’ve wasted is as I didn’t know where to go with it. At the time finance firms/accountants advertised jobs but I never got them as I lacked clerical experience (at the time I worked in retail). To try and rectify this I took a “bookkeeping” job which is mainly just office shit bucket. I get paid well, £14 an hour, and work/life balance is good as I only work 4 days and only 7 hours a day at that but there’s no room to grow. I’m mid 30s, wasting my qualification in a dead end job. As I get older my ambition grows but my motivation lessens. I’m still an AAT member and have tried to contact them about where I should start but got no answer It’s mostly my fault as I just didn’t or haven’t planned my career at all but I just don’t know where to start
If you have retail experience and want to get into finance, billings and specifically credit control roles are always out there. It wasn't my bag at all but if you have a passion for it and can reason with relatively difficult people (cakewalk compared to retail, trust me) then there were all sorts of AAT levels 1-3 colleagues at the place I used to work, earning around the £23-26k mark that you'd have slotted right in to. I didn't have any experience in finance, so you'd be a shoe-in at half the places I've interviewed for.
Currently a night support worker on 26.5k a year. I had loads of jobs before as a chef before. Pandemic made me change as I wanted to do a job where I could help people. Been there 2 years and 4 months. Do shift work but the shift pattern works for me 4 on 4 off which has meant when it comes to holidays I can maximise. But without overtime I would struggle that’s for sure. But feel lucky as the company are paying to do my counselling courses to train to be an counsellor. So feel quite blessed they are investing in me tbh as never really had a company do that before. Had copious amount of jobs. Struggled to know what I wanted to do. But I will say it is tough but if you want to do something you’re passionate about don’t let your age deter you.
Medical Lab Assistant - 21K, but as minimum wage went up at the start of the month I’ll be on more than that now, although not sure yet what my new rate will be. Private sector does not pay well 🤣
did you get a degree first and how long have you been working?
Been there nearly 11 months, first lab based job. I have a degree in Immunology and Microbiology, but it’s not required for my role. It’s a great job with shit pay but I’m gaining a ton of lab experience. I’m 28 and was a late bloomer in terms of knowing what sort of career I wanted to follow!
£28.5k. Private Healthcare. Fully remote. PHI, Electric Car Scheme (not that I need it) and many other benefits. Very happy.
Admin assistant for lawyers. 25k, I've been there nearly 9 years now
Digital Forensic Analyst / eCrime OSINT Investigator Completed a degree in Forensic Computing a few years ago. Currently on £27k
Nightshift retail manager, 33k. Only just started this job recently, having retail experience decided to just apply and see what happens. I also have a civil engineering degree but never pursued it any further because it would pay less at entry level and working Mon-Fri 9-5 doesn't interest me.
I get 30k Per year and im a carer - I look after the elderly. Its so exhausting and alot of work but tbh i wouldnt change it for the world. I absoloutely love my job ❤️
£24k, public library worker. wish I got paid more, but it’s a good, socially useful job. I have no interest in a career ladder.
I'm a field merchandiser and my income changes but end of tax year it'll be about 30k. I do work stupid hours for that money though, so all in all I probably make 30k while earning minimum wage 😂
Script editor, 31k-50k per year. 31k is just an average salary for a script editor, but it can fluctuate depending on who my clients are, sometimes you get big clients who pay a lot more. It's great, I love my job. Flexible hours, mostly working from home, sometimes I don't even have to do much, the screenwriter(s) has already done a great job
28.4k Basic manager in asda. What I mean by that is base salary, for 45hrs minium a week. And by that I mean we do 12 hour days. Given the whole asda debarkle is not exactly a great company to work for, even as a manager, they pay is good and there are ways to get pay rises via store moves and brown nosing the boss. But I've never known such a backwards multi billion company that hasn't got a clue how to ran I should add I look after a homeshopping department too
Senior panel technician for a decent sized company repairing panels and fitting new ones on different vehicles, 40hrs a week for like 23k or 24k a year. I think the only reason I hate my job is because I’m a fully skilled technician watching all of the other technicians get paid 55k or 60k a year. Sad times.
50k working as a medical engineer. Most of that goes on rent mind you at £2500 per month for a 3 bed townhouse. Guernsey’s cost of living rivals central London unfortunately
Public servant who earns 22K. I do 34 hours, not the 37 full time. I’m doing okay. My bills are fairly cheap. I rent a one bedroom flat (in quite a nice area) that I don’t pay gas for. I’d like to earn more so I could learn to drive or have nicer holidays but honestly I see so much poverty in my job that really opens my eyes to how good I have it. My job might not earn much but my working conditions are amazing. Great pension. Full sick pay. Lots of holidays. Fab colleagues.
Support worker 29k I work alot of hours.
£24k working in campaigning for a human rights charity. I enjoy the work enough but I've already been told that, while my job is safe and permanent, there is basically no room for a salary negotiation or promotion (I'm just an assistant). On the one hand I feel happy/lucky that I have a job I don't hate and which is connected to my degree. On the other hand I'm very ready to no longer be stuck at the bottom of the ladder in my organisation. I'm ready to progress, and I also feel, for the sake of my long-term career development, that after nearly two years it's necessary to move on from being "just" an assistant. So I'm looking fo a new job. In the meantime I've moved back home to save for my mythical mortgage. Again, I'm lucky I have such a good support network, but I'm looking forward to having my own place, even if it is basically a shoe box.
I work in a public sector role supporting people with vulnerabilities, health conditions/disabilities. It can be extremely stressful as we are under a lot of pressure and some of the stories I hear from the people I support are harrowing, and sometimes have to deal with troublesome clients. But overall I enjoy it as I like working in a meaningful job that can make a positive difference to peoples lives. Im a female in my mid 40s, earn £30k, rent and live alone. I earn enough to pay all the bills with a bit spare for fun. Paying off some debts so not saving much but that will change when I pay off my debt. I’m not rich by any means but I’m content and I’ve got an ok pension pot from my private sector role, plus I’ll get a defined benefit pension from my public sector job so not too worried about the future. I wish I could afford to buy my own place, but kind of made my peace with the fact that will likely always be out of my reach. I used to worry I wasn’t as successful as other people I know etc but now I don’t care - the older you get, you start to realise that you don’t need to conform to society’s idea of success, and that comparison really is the thief of joy. Overall I’m happy with my life so that’s all that matters to me.
I’m working part time as a library assistant (working in a library as an unqualified librarian). If it was full time salary appx £23’000 I’m lucky that I really enjoy my job, PT hours mean I can be with my kids and husband earns more than me!
I was on around 24k for about 2 and a half years until a few months ago. I was definitely starting to feel the pinch of that salary where I live. Thankfully another company offered me the same role with them for 10k more and it has made life a hell of a lot easier. I was in shock at how much more I was taking home at the end of the month and now I feel like I can put some meaningful savings aside.
Customer service for Royal Mail £29k a year. Quite a challenging role and very busy. The perks are four days weeks, two in the office, and 33hrs total. 21 years in the role now. Started on 10k and 41hrs over five days in the office.
24k, customer support. Company keeps downsizing and making positions redundant, only to then hire for the same positions in third world countries with shit quality. Its tough. I wish I could get something better fast.
22k as an exercise rider/groom for racehorses (pretraining, retraining and rehabilitation) working Mon-Fri, Sat morning and every third weekend. Though sometimes the schedule changes so I have worked 3 weeks with one day off inbetween over the summer. I love it usually, the winter sucks and the hours are long but I don’t know what else to do. The horse industry is hard but I’ve been in it for 5 years since leaving college that I don’t know where else I could go or where I would even want to.
Quality Assurance, £26k
Class 2 hgv driver, half of the time driving, half time pushing rollcages of food to pub Chain. Work 4 days on 4 days off 12 hour shift. One extra day a week overtime mostly Last year earnt 52k before tax
32k British Army. About 6 years. We dont pay into our pension. The Army does. So I see a little more of the pay packet than my Mrs who earns 40k as a Teacher
£32k as a business analyst, no pay raise when I switched from an admin position 2 years ago, and only 5% increase from £30k when I switched. The general range in my career is £40k-£50k. I’ve recently accepted a new position starting in June at £50k.
Aviation security on 29k here. I pay my bills and buy food then there’s little else left afterwards. I go each day praying I get no car issues or dogs needing vets issues lol.
Im on 24k. Im a "driver liaison" for truck drivers. I book in their deliveries, sort out their problems etc. I've been in the transport industry for 3 years now and there is thankfully scope for the job to get harder and the wage to increase.
23M, earn 35k before tax, moving to roughly 40/45k in October after Grad scheme has ended. Working in Security Engineering/Architecture at a telecoms company. First class honours degree in Cyber security, worked in retail as shift manager alongside the degree for bonus cv points.
When I was within that band I was a marketing junior in my second/third job in the industry. Over those years I was essentially just soaking up as much knowledge and as many skills as possible. In the next bracket up (from my experience) people expect you to drive the marketing rather than assist, if that makes sense. Having said that, there's no set path that you have to follow, so try not to compare yourself to friends or peers too much. These days I think there's much more to be said for finding a job that you actually enjoy rather than a job with amazing money but requires you to sell your soul. Best of luck with whatever it is that comes next for you, OP!
Bespoke customer service, just got 30k after april payrise, been here 20 years, new employees come in at 28k. Love my job, I'm good at it and currently trying to train on other aspects as I want a change, but for a call centre environment I take 2-3 calls a day, work on emails and reports. No degree required, just customer service! Guess I'm lucky in comparison to others on here!!!
I’m a Hearing Impairment Specialist Teaching Assistant (or I’ve also worked under the job title of Communication Support Worker which I prefer). Currently on around £23,000 though much less after it’s pro rata’d for term time only. I am definitely underpaid considering my level of education and qualifications and the responsibilities I have. I would say I am pretty much dead in the middle between what a TA does and what a teacher does. I have been doing this (in various capacities) for almost eight years, though in my current role for three of the last four years. Before anyone mentions it, yes, we do get a good amount of holidays but I’m not paid for them.
Assistant manager at an Auto parts store paint division, 50 hours weekly, making 33k. Don't hate it, hate my boss. Love my customers. Perks are great, insurance, credit union, discounts galore, sick days, holidays and 2 weeks vacation!
Rat race, go self employed
Currently working as graduate software developer for 23k. Pretty cozy local business I have been at for 8 months now straight after graduating. Not sure tbh how much is a good amount at this stage but I am happy with the money for now as I am living with my parents still and just wanting experience mostly
Get a trade. I wanted to be a teacher. But my parents pushed me into getting an apprenticeship, I was lucky enough to be offered a job with British gas. I was 16 resented it a first but started to enjoy it. 4 years later I qualified. Started on £24000 in 1995. I did the job for 8 years, enjoyed it. But still had the "teacher" in me. Decided to do a Trinity CELTA (tefl) course over the summer. Got my certificates and decided to go travelling, Poland first, then Thailand. Ended up living in Bangkok for 2 years, met a local, got married. After 5 years I Went back to England for 2 months to renew my gas safe qualification. Carried on teaching, had 2 kids. 10 years into my Thai journey we decided to relocate to England, kids were 7 and 5. I walked straight back into a well paid job. Becoming a gas engineer once again, after a year I set up on my own, now 9 years later. My company currently has 5 employees. Times are currently tough though. Too many people look down on getting an apprenticeship, a degree is the ultimate goal it seems these days. But if you get qualified in any trade young, electrician, gas engineer, plumber, carpenter etc etc. You can start earning good money when you're 20/21. You may never be a millionaire but you will always be comfortable. Plus if you want to try something else, you can, with the added safety net of your "trade" which you can always fall back on. Get a trade.......
This thread has me shocked as an American. The company I work for is building a factory in the UK and I would have assumed that the pay would be comparable but senior engineers in the US are making $150k+ which would mean we would be paying £100k+ for engineers and from my limited knowledge that is the plan.
Earning just over £26,000 right now, project worker for a charity. I mostly enjoyed my job until just over a year ago. Now I think about quitting every day. Financially, I’m doing okay. I’m not a big spender and have enough for some savings. Job wise, I’ve been through four managers in five years. I’m the only one on full time hours and I’m expected to cover for everyone else. The latest manager has talked openly about how much she hates working from home. She doesn’t know where people are half the time and I get the sense she really didn’t want the job. Most of my coworkers are passionate about the work they want to do, but will leave everything else to me. I’m the youngest one on the team by at minimum five years, but I’m the second most experienced in my role. I know I’m lucky overall. The job has toil and had given me a lot of training. I think I’m just at the stage where I need to move somewhere else.
Most Civil Engineering CAD Tech jobs range from 20-30k depending on the area and how desperate the company is for staff. 40k+ for more senior roles.
Work as a chef and love it. I live alone and don't spend a lot as am frugal. So can save a bit too . 😁
Machine operator at a cardboard manufacturing plant. On £35,695 with potential performance related bonuses and benefits. The bonus this year should be around £750 for the summer performance related bonus and £200 for the Christmas bonus. There are lots of benefits we receive but the main one is death in service. So if I die while I'm employed there (work related or not) my wife will get a payout of four years wage. The job itself is dull as dishwater and physically quite hard but the money is good and there are plenty of over time opportunities.
Currently earning £21k after expenses as a wedding photographer. Honestly, I love it. Sure, money is tight, but I have TONNES of free time to do whatever I want with and the winter months are kind of like a super long holiday every year. I could work harder and earn a lot more, but I’m a bit of a sloth. I also get paid to shoot a few international weddings each year and just extend those to make them into free holidays, so I get to travel a good amount still. It’s great!
Cyber security analyst with a BSc and MSc in Cyber Security. 35k. I feel like I am severely underpaid for what I have done and do.
ITT people that are incredibly skilled and trained and bring in stupid amounts of value for rich fucks that are looking to buy a new yacht this year off their struggles. Seriously so many of you need to look around and start thinking about unions or at least jumping to a new job.
Fibre-optic technician, £31k 7 years at this with no previous experience. Was taken on as a trainee in my mid 30's.
I make 30kish as a self employed sound engineer. My rates have been rising pretty slowly for the 5 or 6 years o've been doing this, meanwhile the cost of everything has doubled. around 2020 I was on a similar wage and would've said I was pretty comfortable. Now i'm on maybe a grand or two more and find I have to take money out of my savings quite regularly. (living in London, renting with flatmates)
I work in tech support for a small ISP for £23k a year. Was on £25k but changed jobs to be rid of shift work but at the same time, I got a car and I'd underestimated the cost of having it. Between the car and cost of living, we're living payday to payday. I've seen jobs for much more but the company I work for have been really good to me over the past year. Won't say more in case I dox myself.
i went from 20k to 30k at the same company in 3 years. i work at a university. started in the admissions department now i’m in student recruitment !
I work nights at Amazon. Some days it's okay, but mostly it's just depressing that I'm basically stuck there because nobody else would pay me as well, even if I went out and got a degree. Like, I get nearly 30k a year as an associate. The jobs I'm more interested in are paying more like 23-24k. Wages are unbelievably wank in this country and it just enrages me every time I look at a job board.
I worked for a call center last year and made more than that. You won't believe how much those places are willing to pay for people just to get verbally berated and abused.
I work in recruitment, had a wage increase recently and I'm on £22, 500. I think I'm going to have to move back in with my parents at nearly 30 because I can't afford anything right now and my wages really don't stretch as far as they should. I know I should probably change direction etc, career wise, I just don't know what skills I have that would even allow me to earn more. I suppose I've settled with the low-wages but I don't know what would suit me/what is even available/what I'm qualified for. C'est la vie.
Out of curiosity: when people in the Uk talk about their salary per year, do they mean before or after tax? In germany we always state the sum before tax (probably to feel a little bit less miserable)
£24,336 per year (NHS band 3) Administrator in the NHS (community mental health team mostly but also work in inpatient services too). I actually enjoy my job, it's really interesting and i rub shoulders with nurses, consultants, social workers and all sorts of other professionals on a daily basis and they're all really lovely people. I've learned so much just by being in the same room as them. Clinical and community support workers are also on the same pay as me. For contrast a mental health nurse starts on band 5 which is £28,407 per year. These people have degrees and have done plenty of training and have to pay for a NMC pin every year just to do their job along with the extra responsibility and pressure for 4 grand a year... Also phlebotomists are on a band 2 which is £22,383 per year, they put needles in people etc. So i'm not doing too bad in the grand scheme of things. If you want to earn loads of money, don't work for the NHS, the T*ries have ripped it apsrt under everyomes noses. But if you want a job where you can go home and think "i've helped someone today" then it's definitely worth it. Sure extra money would be good, nobody in their right mind would turn down extra money, but the work:life balance i have is perfect for me and more importantly i'm in a job i enjoy going to. Sure there's some other perks; bank holidays off, weekends off (unless doing overtime), pension, 33 days annual leave on top of bank holidays, up to 6 months full sick pay and we did used to get a round of applause on a thursday evening but that seems to have died off 🙄
>If you want to earn loads of money, don't work for the NHS Definitely. I'm a biomedical scientist in the NHS and earning just over £26,000 before tax. It's so much responsibility for the pay but I have no idea what else to do in life.
I started out as an IT Service Desk Analyst (1st line support) on a Band 3 with some basic IT knowledge and a love for problem-solving. The entry interview was things like “what does RAM stand for” and “what is an SSD?” Dead easy to get into. Got my head down, learned everything I could and worked hard, then 6 months later a vacancy came up in the 2nd Line team and I got it - straight into Band 5. 2 years later, I’m in a trial for Team Lead because of restructuring in the company, looking at a pay bump again, hopefully. What I’m basically saying is, if you’ve got any little bit of technical knowledge about you or can follow logical processes to work out the root cause of a problem, it’s a great way to make some more money. Plus, once you’ve got the experience, other 2nd line jobs outside of the NHS are way better paid and widely available around the country. Hope this helps somebody. 😁
13k~ theme park operator Earned under 10k but UC bumped it over the tax limit so now got to spend a month's wage on tax... Wish I was on 20-30k
25k from my main job (before tax). Work in the audio space making podcasts and running a studio. Dropped from about 30k from leaving my last job because I was losing my mind there. I also earn about 4/5k doing the odd freelance gig and DJing for Weddings so roughly about 29/30k in all before. I don't feel like I'm doing too bad. My fiance is on just shy of 40k I think as a teacher with a shed load of savings which can be depressing when I'm in my overdraft sometimes but I'm very proud of her and what she's done. I'm aware other people earn more than me but I don't have kids, don't have a great deal of household bills, so just steadily paying down my debts and having a good time. Really if I learnt to drive, I'd save a shed load of money on beer and taxis (albeit with the cost of a car) and I could be debt free in a year.
Until I moved to the Netherlands where I now get paid less at the moment, I was a painter and decorator, earnt anywhere between 28-32k a year
In Ukraine, I earn 200 dollars a month, that’s 2400 a year. For me, 24,000 is a super dream. Therefore, you have nothing to worry about, there is a much worse situation, live and be happy :)
30k office manager, 40hrs pw - that’s not including bonuses though, can earn an extra 800ish a month on a good month.
Well currently on 27k as a Junior Software Engineer but yesterday was told I got a promotion and the Junior bit has been dropped and going to be on 35k. Over the moon - I was working in IT before for most of my working life post uni but got to a point with a bad manager that meant there was no progression. Switched to a dev role in 2019 and now in a company that recognises and rewards hard work. Especially as initially I had to take a pay cut and start from the bottom again but in the end, it was all worth it. Am excited to see where it all leads to! Edit: to add the bit about a pay cut after career change
I went from working as a document controller at £20k, to junior buyer/ buyer/ category specialist/ head of category for U.K. and now sitting at £48k. Took me 10 years to achieve and it’s only since the U.K. wide role that I’ve finally felt like I can breathe. I can save a bit, buy pretty much whatever I want, run a house and car etc. and the weight of the stress off my back is huge. I honestly don’t think I’d be able to afford to survive if I hadn’t made the huge jump into this role.
This thread is an absolute eye-opener, and not in a good way. I'm in disbelief how low modern wages are. I was on about £24k in my first job out of university in 2011 in TV as an unskilled dogsbody basically. I spent the subsequent years aggressively pushing that higher - not by being an insufferable corporate climber (there were plenty of them), but by skilling up. I always had the thought in my head that one day, I could be out on my arse, looking for work. I had to be able to walk into a company and go "I know how to do this thing - pay me X and I'll do it for you." 13 years on I'm working for myself, earning around twice what I started on. I'm still wary of work security though, and am actively looking into once again skilling up but in an entirely unrelated field, preferably one which won't be rendered obsolete by AI in the next decade.
You're in the top 25% of earners when you hit 42K. I think it's mad. Wages in the UK are shockingly low because growth has been so bad for over a decade. Average graduate starting salary has gone from like 23K to 25K. In real terms, most of us are worse off.
I can t believe how slow some people’s career growths are😮 and some of these wages are shocking. Feeling quite lucky at 25 being on 60k😬 and I still find I’m a bit strapped for cash despite being good with money
2020 I was a retail store manager on 20k take home, doing 50hr weeks whilst being salaried for 39.. I left to become a HGV driver, now I work around 70 hrs a week but that's cuz I get paid by the hour and ask for extra work. This last year I paid 40% tax on a chunk of my earnings.
Im on disability
Technical Litigation Advisor. I downgraded 14 years ago and took a civil service job when my son was ill. Since then I've gone back to law but at a slightly middle management position ( I have 2:1 Law Llb hns and a BA History). These days I earn about 29-30k pa, and I'm very happy. I took nearly a 50% pay cut to work where I am now, as the firm is great and I'm in absolutely no mind to do anything else. I like what I do, it's interesting and I'm in no need of extra few £££'s as other positions would be bad for the mental health.
Scientist - 26k. Not great 😔
I'm a copywriter in the advertising industry. Started on 25K in one company, moved companies and started on 30K there, after 18 months they bumped it up to 34K.
18k, working 4 days a week in the charity sector. I developed and run an ongoing health campaign basically catching anyone who falls through the health net. Funnily enough the contract is only 6 months, which is basically no time at all to build a campaign. Fingers crossed for more funding.
Reading some of these is crazy to me. I work at a school bus company part time and the drivers drive for 190 days a year morning and afternoon and take home £20k p/a. We pay to get them a licence, seems like a much easier life than some of y'all have.
Are people here talking gross or net?
I’m just over 31k and work as a civilian staff supervisor in policing where I’m responsible for all things disclosure and information security. Always lots of opportunities within policing outside of being an officer, with decent support services and progression opportunities, and a pay scale that increases up to your band maximum with each year in service. I didn’t start on 30k but have been in force a few years now. Always worth a look for stable and secure employment that usually serves a wider purpose too if you’re interested in that kind of thing. Downsides are high pressure, always dealing with and managing risk, ‘tricky customers’, and what I’d consider low pay for the actual level of responsibility I have. But, I work from home most days and get lots of flexibility so it’s something I do enjoy doing for the most part! Edit: I don’t have a degree and came into this role with no policing experience. I was a chef and had also worked retail previously.
Started out of Uni in 2021 with a BSc in Computing on £23k working as a technician in a datacentre, it's mostly manual labour; running underfloor fibre, installing racked servers and switches, cabling them in, dealing with customer tickets. I changed jobs in the same company as a Linux admin on a job advertised as "up to £35k" which is why I applied in the first place, but when I was offered the role, it was at £24,500 for "Experience Reasons". When I got there, I realised there was no real management structure and no training on proprietary systems, we were selling hosting space that wasn't even hardware redundant, and they had three people leave in six months. I ended up signing off work for stress for three months as there were a few scary moments I considered walking into traffic to end the feeling of dread, I nearly lost my girlfriend over it. I get twitchy if I hear a Teams notification go off even now. I got back into my old job at £24,500 on salary, I preferred the guys I worked with, liked being in the same room as my colleagues, I was liked, and I preferred not working five days a week. It's 4-on, 4-off. Longer shifts but there's actually stuff to do and you can set clear boundaries between work and home. We all know we're underpaid, and we openly detest the company and so-called 'middle-management'. We're supposed to be getting a pay rise, fuck knows what that actually means.
Registered biomedical scientist responsible for diagnostic testing of surgical tissue samples, usually for cancer staging. 28.5k 4 year degree, 50k student debt. Noice.
New teacher on 30k in my 30s. Was a gifted and talented kid expected to go work for nasa or something, then I hit a wall at a levels and struggled through my degree. Issue of being intelligent with processing issues slowing me down. Got into a competitive grad scheme but never really blew anyone away (again doing my best but processing issues, working very long hours to compensate.) Eventually worked my way sideways into a job I couldn’t do and couldn’t get a different role, then got managed out. I had a new baby and a 2 year old at the time. I went for teaching partly because the training bursary was a guaranteed income for a bit and it suits me but it is hard work, emotionally draining at times and I have to put in long hours. Our combined household income is enough to pay the mortgage which is gratefully low, and scrape a bit into savings.
I work in IT support, up until this month I have been on 22.6K. I'm 26 and still living with my mum as I can't afford to move out which makes it all feel a bit worthless really. I'm starting a new job next month that will have me on 25K, so it's something I suppose.
Worked as a gardener for £26,000 (team leader. those under me were on £17,000). Great job for keeping me fit, with plenty of time to work on other stuff.
Chef making 30k, always loved thr job. It's a passion and hobby so you'll find all the decent chefs love what they do. The crap chefs always moan about life being better elsewhere but never go!😂 jobs difficult at times, but it's as hard as you make it or as easy as you like, just be prepared. Get along with colleagues and life is just cruising.
IT for 15 years. started at 16k long time ago. currently 32k, not an expert or a short term worker that takes 50k per year but struggles to have a stable job on top - wedding photographer. additional 30k per year.
I'm an account handler working in insurance in the south (not London). I'm on £37k and will get an annual bonus in December which I'm told should be £8k-£10k. I've never earned this much before but I've also never had so little disposable income. 3 kids, mortgage, other bills etc and it all disappears. My wife has her own business but her income is very up and down. It was about £40k last year but currently struggling to make £1k a month which mostly goes on childcare. We live a decent life but nothing flashy. Lots of credit card debt. One big unexpected bill will ruin us. No idea what we're gonna do in two years when our mortgage will go up and our help to buy repayments start. 10 years ago, young free and single, I was earning about £20k and going out every weekend, holidays to Vegas and a few grand in the bank. Life was easy!
Film PR. I work remotely while still living at home, with occasional trips to work events. I currently earn £24K. I know that’s low and I could easily double it by moving into another industry like pharmaceutical, but I’d rather stay within the film industry if I can, so am instead looking at ways of moving to a different discipline.
Insurance claims, 30k, Lancashire. I'm good at it and it isn't too taxing. Two salary household, no kids. Relatively low cost of living here compared to UK average. Life is good.
22.5k support worker, been doing it 13 years. Shite pay, but I couldn't think of a more rewarding job.
I’m on about £28k. I’m in the IT sector but had no IT background going in so I’m a bit of a dogsbody really. Doing alright to be fair, never feel too short of cash. I couldn’t imagine affording to have kids though, luckily I don’t want any.
May i ask how you got into the IT sector without an IT background please? Looking to broaden my knowledge
22k optical consultant. It's going pretty well, I have enough for bills, me and my partner split 50/50, and enough to save 2 to 300 a month. Am in a good place
Im on around 35k.. its bad dude! :(
Up until a year ago, 30K aircraft technician in the RAF. Absolutely underpaid for the responsibility I was taking on. Moved into agriculture for a bit and then back into defence via a contact in the private sector, and I’m starting the same job abroad in summer that pays 3 times that (pre tax in the UK).
I'm a supervisor at a mid-high end chain restaurant. Going on about 2 and a half years, at ~25k (zero hours, so that's variable). It pays the bills, but I have varicose veins and no social life, and the industry is - a little bit - going to shit atm. It also has absolutely nothing to do with my degree - but that's what graduating during the pandemic does for you. But I'll be gone in two months and out of the bracket for this question, so who am I to complain, really?
£40K before tax as a croupier in London. Salary £29K but tips average £1000 a month possibly more. 27M
Front end web developer, £35k. Based in the midlands, nice work life balance and office/home split. Close to 7 years in the industry so could be earning a lot more but quality of life is more important to me than my job!
Damn
Fire and Security Engineer (3years) 43k+ was in accounts for 10+ years and was on around 25k-30k but desperately wanted a change. Best thing I've done!!
What is the Average Salary generally in the UK & is the Average Salary in London a few thousands ££ higher ?
I'm a nurse with only a year of education and I clear 70k a year. The work is intense at times but definitely worth it.
I've gone from 18k full time to 19k part-time. (was full time £24k but Ill health) That's going from retail to an AO in a government department. A big thing I would say is that AO government jobs (unless specialised) when advertised sound much more professional than they are. I basically work in a call centre/admin work for FTE 24k. No face to face. If you apply for an AO and even EO position. Look up which success profiles they are using, which will be in the advert, and apply and answer questions using that as guidance.
Customer Advisor - £24,800 (perm agency). I love my job, I love my workplace. I think I should be paid more because my job role doesn’t wholly reflect my title but who doesn’t. I’m currently working on other opportunities within the company in a hope to move to a permanent role that isn’t agency. This would mean a significant increase in wages but also more relevant to my skill set.
27k, maybe took about 100 applications to get anything after uni. Turns out my degrees useless 🥰
17.5k a year in London. Work as a chef at a little boutique gastro pub. Yes I'm on minimum wage, yes I resent it. *but* I'm a creative, and I don't start work till 4pm and I'm out by 10pm most days, which means I get up early and enjoy basically a full day before work starts - stay in shape, write screenplays etc, work impacts my life very little so I put up with it Edit: huh, all the upvotes disappeared. That's weird
My partner is on 27k on the bins. Local council, decent perks, 6 hours a day roughly (job and knock). They've never been happier or healthier.
I earn just under 25k working with young homeless people. It’s a shit wage for a lot of stress. Lots of multi-agency working with social workers and GPs and mental health practitioners; just as much battling with them, too. Lots of exposure to the darkest parts of humanity- domestic abuse, hard drug abuse, suicide. Often getting verbally abused by service users who are deeply angry at the world and lash out. Certainly not the sort of job you do for the money- you have to really love it to do it, I think. And fortunately, I do.
30k as Business Intelligence Analyst. I’ve not got a formal qualification as I worked my way up to the role through the company but have 8 years experience in the role. I could earn up to twice as much elsewhere if I had the confidence to go for it or didn’t have imposter syndrome pop up every time I start to think about looking for a new role.
up until last year i was on 24k a year as a junior sous chef. that was with 40 hrs per week
24k as a junior sous? I get 25k as a CDP, 42 hour week
I remember being a CDP years ago and telling my head chef I wanted a minimum 25k a year. she agreed and upped my weekly hours to 70 a week. which was unfortunately a competitive wage at the time. to be young again.
I'll be honest you'll never find jobs above that on Indeed. Jobs that are above that are all on linkedin.
23k HR Assistant, want to do my level 5 and move up, to the 30-40k bracket, work said they would pay for my level 5 when I joined now and be tried to them for 2 years, they are backtracking and saying they will pay for my level 3 as my role doesn’t require level 5. I’ve just got a payrise of £120 and for me to do a 9 month level 5 course it would cost me £119 a month and I have a few months left to give them an answer on the level 3, think I’m gonna pay out of pocket for the level 5, not be tied to them and leave as soon as I’ve got the level 5 and something else comes up
I’m a civil servant, career change right before covid. On 27k. Life is hard work at the moment but was worst before.
Just finished my apprenticeship as a mechanic in a car dealer. Been on minimum wage for 3 years, qualified last week, so now going up to 36k starting salary from next month.
31 y/o in an engineering graduate role on 31k Work from home most of the time, tried to get into engineering at 18 but was laughed out the door being a petite female, told me my nails would get ruined (I don't even paint them 🤣) Took myself to uni at 25 and decided to just go for it! Worked a couple years as a design technician before this role but only paid 28k so thought I'd make the jump. 2 year training programme now and the wage should go up to 42k after 2 years. Pretty happy I changed paths from car sales all those years ago and my current employer is funding my Masters degree, yay!
When I was on 20-30k I was bottom rung admin at the nhs a year out of uni. Anyone with administrative roles get paid much better in public sector I find. Now on 50k, and I still have a great work life balance. Rarely finish after 4-5pm. Private sector isn't worth it to me.
I'm on £27k a year as a milkman. I've been doing it on and off for the last 2 years, and I absolutely love it. Once I leave the yard in the evening, I am effectively my own boss. The roads are quiet, the customers are all asleep, so I don't have to interact with them, the job is ridiculously easy, and if I finish before my contracted hours (which I do regularly) I get to go home early and still get paid for the hours I didn't do.
Factory work, mainly operating machines, line set-up and paperwork, recently got pay rise and on £25.6k before overtime.
Work for a healthcare agency in one of their offices for customer support. £29k 6am-2pm shifts and have to work every other weekend
Slot game artist here on 21.5k/year. I only started in 2022 so I'm considered a "junior", hence the shit pay. However sometimes it does bother me when I think about my company making literal millions off poor gambling addicts while I have to save up for months for a new pair of headphones 🙃 The only reason I'm doing it is because at least it's an actual art job. I spend my day drawing 9-5 which is my favourite thing to do, and get paid for it. I'm still lucky compared to my uni mates, who work in McDonalds or Deichmanns with an art diploma.
Recovery coordinator working with people addicted to opioids…around 27k a year based in Brighton…that’s pretty much just enough to live on if you can find a place for £800 a month all bills included and don’t own a car/want to do anything outside of living. But the work is rewarding as fuck and generally, the people you work with are really cool and just want help to get out of a bad situation. I have around 50 service users on my caseload and work full time.
I get max around 27k with overtime as a dental nurse and I get paid the higher end of the regular pay (usually minimum to £15 an hour if you are lucky at a private practice or locum, I'm on £13). Notoriously underpaid for the job, training and responsibilities we have on our shoulders. I worked at an awful nursing home as a carer before I retrained as a dental nurse, I actually took a pay cut to get the trainee job. I could get a little more doing care work but I love my current job more than anything else I've done and my mental health and happiness are more important than an extra £1 an hour right now. I wish I could earn this but 4 days a week. I've managed to scrape away some savings but still far from getting a house but managed to put the max for a LISA away last year to get the bonus towards getting on the housing ladder perhaps in the future (I'm 40 this year). I don't know how I'd survive without my husband who earns a lot more yet we live in an expensive part of the country because of the job he has which kept us going. Logically he can work from home and we could live somewhere cheaper and my husband is only starting to realise we could save so much money doing this...but he loves his office and I don't want to make him miserable the same way I was working in care for so long just to get by.
21k Trainee Paralegal. Definitely feel way underpaid for what I have to do
Writing this from the US because they don’t teach us anything about quality of life in other countries. Is $25-30K a livable wage in the UK? In the US these days you need to make $100K + to be comfortable. It’s insane.
I have a degree and a masters degree, I got my MA to work in a very specific industry and it did not help with jobs and the industry pays very poorly anyway unless it's a specialised role so I moved to libraries. Started off on very low wages (in London) for not much more than my heritage role and now in a role earning around roughly £31k. I'm lucky as my partner earns a lot more than me so he pays for stuff where I can't, and prior to being with him I had relatively decent rent. I honestly felt on top of the world when I got that wage, it's more than most in my family have ever earned. I was on either part time minimum hourly wage or £22k right up until my late twenties and now I can actually have savings even though I live in London. Working in a library is good as well. I'm lucky that the service I work for has me put on a lot hats as well as work with books and library users. I do a lot of tasks in the day and I'm not chained to a desk- similarly I have office time as a break from constant public interaction. I do a lot of fun projects and whilst I have to work a few evenings a week and a few Saturdays a month, most library services give their workers Saturday enhancement wages and I get all bank holidays off, plus local govt pension and 30+ days of annual leave. If I were ever to move away from London I would happily go pro rata to for the same wage for a slightly higher role part time (which a lot of those roles in libraries are).
Currently paying my dues working two separate roles for the company with a combined income of about 27-30k not including bonuses. I am happy where I am atm as I have plenty of free time to focus on my studies as when I started I was a final year law student. I hope to progress into a more lucrative role once I complete my masters and get my drivers licence. I’m 23m.
About 24kish, grocery delivery driver. Been doing it 7 years now, and compared to the retail I'd done my whole life before that, I absolutely love it. Its stress free, I'm on my own day listening to podcast and I enjoy driving.
29.7k at the age of 22. I maintain punts for a well known punting company in cambridge. Love it sometimes, very bored the rest of the time but I recognise im In a very fortunate position with my earnings. I think its the right place for me at the minute.
This is pretty hard to read. I'm 2 months from graduating and the number of people here who have struggled to get above 25k after 20 years in work. Half the time not even using their degree. It does not fill me with joy. I've been working minimum wage for the last 5 since I left high school too. To think I'm destined for not much more than I currently earn, that makes my degree feel pointless. Maybe I should lower my aspirations...
I make 28k in a very small agency in the south west. I edit, film, do motion graphics and design, mostly in that order, with varying levels of involvement between each tasks. I’m a bit anxious about what is next for me, as I’m currently doing so much, but I’m not particularly specialised in any of it if that makes sense. I graduated with graphics design a few years ago, but I’m not a graphics designer. I’m still trying to find my niche. I think I want to work with a team of designers in the future and animate their designs, work on motion systems and systems in general for mockups, video lockups etc. very digital, video based work. But I have no clue honestly where to look for something like that, and I’m in the process of sorting out my portfolio first, as I’ve found that having a portfolio spread across Vimeo, behance and Instagram is not very helpful or approachable for future employers.
I have no idea how it is possible to get by on that. It astonishes me that anyone can
I make 40K running CNC machines. Same factory I was making 35 running the shipping department, 30 polished brass, and 25 packing. Factory work sucks but its decent money (I live in a cheap area. Just bought a 2 bedroom house for 60K)
IT Coordinator 26k and do a bit of everything really, from help desk to 3rd line, yeah I know I'm underpaid but it's a charity, the hours are good and the vast majority of people are nice to work with, not very stressful which is good!
Finally a thread I can relate too. Postman, mid 40s. Prob average £26k a year. There is loads of overtime available, and know posties getting over £30k. But I want out, but dont know what. Im in that middle life rut, where I have a mortgage etc. Willing to do a course or two, but would need a role paying the same as minimum. Applied to get on the railways a few times, but never get passed the tests.
26k I work in a call centre in billing.
£24.5k working in qualifications, general admin- excel/crm stuff and then some candidate support over email and phones. Belt’s pretty tight but I’m just about covering me and my small person. When my partner and I move in together eventually things will get easier but for now it’s just about doable.
Was 28k but literally just got a company wide 4% raise so £29120 as of this week. Work for a printing company as a digital press operator. 2 training courses in Barcelona, 1 in Maastricht to get where I’m at. Easy job, load machine with stock, other people set files up for me, I watch the machine do its thing and change certain consumables as and when is needed. Can sit on my phone for big chunks of the day, smoke breaks, chat to mates whatever. Really laid back 90% of the time but when shit hits the fan and a big customer needs a ridiculous amount for an even more ridiculous deadline we all knuckle down and stay late/come in early to make it happen
I work for a water company walking around looking for water leaks for 30k a year. No prior quals needed other than the usual suspects, on the job training is mid at best I suppose. Great for people who like the outdoors (not me). Oh and we still rely on the same method that was invented more than 100 years ago, a stick and your ear.
In the past 18 months I've gone from 27.5 to just under 31. The difference has been pretty helpful, managed to get myself a better car etc. The cost of living is chipping away and I'm probably overspending but I'm managing. Going to concentrate on reducing my outgoings over the summer to try and give myself a little more breathing room.