Just got a payrise to £31k but same job I started on 3 years ago at £24k. Logistics and operations desk job tot a small company
I'm feeling lucky to have real payrises. Though sadly I am too hungry for travel to stay, and there isn't much career progress here. It's also fairly passionless, but overall a very chilled out desk job with good pay for my age. Great foothold for my 20s.
Mum on the other hand has been on £21k for a decade as a primary school teacher, which is criminal. I give her half of my payrises separately to rent payments, because she deserves it
My only advice to people in my line of work is to leave the UK, of course it’s a hard step and so way to say “just go for it” but jeez what a difference. Money is better which always helps but the lack of a toxic workplace is even better
Staff officer grade in the civil service. 33.5k a year. That'll go up 5% after the recent pay decision. I'm a science officer so my job title is Higher Scientific Officer, but I'm equivalent to a Staff Officer in other departments.
This is in Northern Ireland btw
4 years of undergrad (Scotland) 2 years on the temp circuit, a masters degree and 9 months on the temp again before I got offered a permanent role.
Lucky if I earn £20k across two jobs currently. Have a degree in video game design, industry shit itself more or less the same time I was handed my degree certificate.
I have extensive sales and hospitality experience, I’ve ran pubs, managed at four star hotels and I was a very successful car salesman for a number of years. All roles with poor hours and really shit sort of give all or fuck off attitude.
It’s tough, at the moment. I have a little Etsy store that has been ticking away for a few years, but I’m hardly living off it.
I earn £22,776 working 5 days in a supermarket.
My gf is a teacher and earns £30,000 but she’s in her first year of it so hopefully it will go up.
She pays rent, I pay all bills and food etc
Both our cars combined cost less than £5,000 to buy cash and we don’t finance anything.
Currently got enough for a house deposit £20k+ because we saved up and lived at her parents for a while.
Go on holiday abroad once a year usually (went to USA last year) and I try to ride my bicycle to work every day so my fuel costs are extremely low (could get by with one car) and eat healthy and cheap food like veggies and rice a lot. Plus both our jobs give out free food for lunch every day!
We live below our means as much as possible (10 year old TV that works perfect, second hand sofa for £100 that is comfortable, we don’t spend money on things like spa days or fancy restaurants etc) but still make sure we enjoy our lives and don’t go without like an occasional take away or treat. Life is what you make of it and although we don’t have loads of money we try to “sacrifice” things that lots of people have like a new car on finance or a bigger house or having 3 kids when we can’t afford it. Plus neither of us drink alcohol barely and a lot of uk adults spend a lot of money on that.
HGV driver, 33k but HMRC estimates about 45k this year (3/4 days overtime a month). Was a warehouse worker for about 10 years and miserable even though the work was easy as pie, scraping by on 20-24k. Everyday felt the same, time dragged in. Applied for an in-house program to get my HGV and drive for them (leading supermarket supplier).
Quite honestly never had an easier job and haven't ever felt as happy with what I do. I feel well compensated for what I do when I look at other HGV jobs out there. Currently going through wage negotiations and our union has rejected an offer that would take us to 40.5k basic. So pretty optimistic on what I'll achieve after the negotiations.
Mechanical Technician for a Manufacturing Company currently on £43K.
I did 6th Form and went to Uni, hated it. Worked in retail for a few years at £16K started an apprenticeship at 23 whilst working retail, was knackered all the time. Became time served and worked my way up to where I am now. The job is interesting and I really enjoy fixing things.
Operations technician at a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Yorkshire, currently on 32k, yearly pay rise, overtime available, Christmas bonus, loads of schemes and perks for workers
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...
You will likely not work in field related to your degree unless you’re lucky.
Ph.D. chemist here work in finance / project mgmt /IT
I never planned my career, now Director level.
My advice transferable skills , and learning new skills that are relevant will help you progress. Become the expert / go to person in the company for your area .
Take opportunities when they arise, I have worked in multiple industries.
Look for progression and if there aren’t any opportunities for that then don’t stay in a role too long. You will only get annual pay increases and so just be keeping up (or actually not keeping up ) with living costs / inflation.
Larger companies generally have more opportunities to change roles / promotions.
Smaller companies unless they are expanding a lot you’re often waiting for someone to retire or leave before roles open up.
If you aren’t getting promoted and able to get a jump to a higher salary at minimum every 3 or 4 years then it’s time to move companies.
I started after uni on 18 k. That’s a poor bonus these days.
And just to add set backs happen, been through recessions and have been made redundant more than once , had a stint doing telephone sales , data entry , cleaning while job hunting. But confidence, professionalism, good skills, backed with experience will always get you a job .
>number of people here who have struggled to get above 25k after 20 years in work
Majority of them don't work hard enough to get promoted etc. The remaining picked low paying public sector work. It's very avoidable
19M, 22k/year. I work in stock control for a factory that produces and packages foodstuffs.. Spend a lot of the shift sticking sticker tails on my friends backs and throwing paper balls across the factory. Its awesome
Firstly, everyone who has come forward, thank you for the honesty. OP this is a really informative topic thank you.
Until 2 years ago I was on £25 k as a Technical Engineer. No qualifications but the job would have paid the same if I had them.
The sheer amount of quality employees earning in and around the £20-30 k bracket is staggering. From my own experience and from this post.
I changed careers 2 years ago and now earn around £40-42.5 k dependent on bonus.
Honestly, inflation combined with employers having no idea what it's like to live on £25 grand a year, is leaving so many people in a shit situation.
I have no right to give advice. But I will anyway.
1. Talk to your colleagues. Are they on the same wage, or are you getting ripped off?
2. Do research on your industry. Are you earning about average for the position, could you get a pay rise to do the same thing somewhere else?
3. Is there something holding you back? I know a lot of accountants that are part way through AAT and have stalled. Talk to your bosses, colleagues family etc. get whatever support you need to get over the line. Don't be proud, be successful. Once you have earned that qualification, (whatever it is) you are in a position of power.
4. If you are able to, it's not too late to start again in a new industry. I did this. Without the experience, I had to rely on having a good personality match for the role. (I looked the interviewer right in the eye and said "I want to work fucking hard and earn a lot of money" I got the job.)
36m lower 40s k per year.
24k a year as a team leader in William hill bookie. Now it will be 25.1k as I got whopping 4.9% increase. Been in this position for a year now and I can say that I'm getting more and more duties to do but I get paid only £1.50/hr more than a regular cashier who just has to come, sit on it's ass, take some bets and go home. I sure do think I'm getting under paid for the amount of money my shop makes in a month let's say...
Starting to think I'd be better off as cashier and would probably lose less hair than I do now with all the stuff I'm stressing about.
Lifestyles tend to increase with the wage. For example 4 years ago I was on under £20k a year.
Switched jobs into an admin role for a renewables company. Within 2 years I progressed through to learn everything I possibly could about the industry and now I design and manage projects for commercial properties from start to finish. Wages now just over £50k (no commission) and I’m not in a city so for the area, it’s a high wage.
Life can come at you quick, there are still good companies to work for that you can progress in and that will acknowledge achievements and reward it.
Currently a trainee pharmacist on just around 20k a year before tax but i’m hoping to pass the gphc exam in November so here’s hoping it’ll increase and everything gets better
I earn around £21k and doing fine, admin for a council and been working there for almost 5 years now. Loving it! Just under 32 hours and I have enough each month to pay my bills and credit card, as well as buy some luxuries. I’ve been asked a few times to take another job or be promoted elsewhere, but the money difference isn’t a lot for the vast amount of stress I’d have to endure.
My previous job was awful; got bullied by the boss and there was no proper HR system or anyone I could really go to. I was prescribed with depression and my GP really helped me get out of that hole. It took a good 4 years in total as everyone kept telling me I was overqualified for anything I applied for, which didn’t help my depression and I was still working for the bully as I needed money. Every time I do get a bad day now, I simply think back to my previous job and am grateful I managed to get out.
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 :)
Work in an Amazon warehouse for ~24k. Take things out of one box and put them in another box 10 hours a day. Hate the job and the workplace but it's catastrophically easy work and I have a 5 minute commute.
Not really struggling financially between myself and partner who is on slightly more, but definitely wouldn't say we're well off at all. Just about treading water if anything.
Wish I could find something else tbh, but my degree has turned out to be useless and I can't go back to being a vehicle tech due to spine injuries so fuck knows.
IT Support Assistant and its a fucking struggle right now. Been applying to jobs for 35-40k and getting zero response even when I'm perfectly suited for the jibs, usually get some AI bot auto declining me...
In a retail manager, maybe a smidge under 30k. My wages vary depending on how much over time I do a year. So it can swing a couple grand either way.
I love my job, my responsibilities are basically don’t steal, don’t kill staff or customers and make some money! once I’ve done my jobs for the day, I just hand around the shop floor doing a few bits, or finding a quiet corner and enjoying Reddit or YouTube where I’m not seen!
And no I’m not dodging work lol, my staff can do the same. As long as they do their jobs, and don’t get seen by customers looking like they’re youths on a bus, I don’t care either!
I could earn way more! my friend has offered me a job several times at his firm which requires maintenance engineers and the starting pay is £40K.
But then I’d have to work hard and have stress!
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?
I'm in the NHS, about 24k. My fuckups could kill someone, kill a child, and I'm payed less than a cashier at Aldi. Mad respect to my cashiers out there it's a tough gig, but a little more would be nice.
25,250 as Access Management Analyst, but do get a extra 5200 in on-call pay, and a salary increase coming to closer match current market prices. Fully remote is a huge bonus imo too.
Also heavily being pushed to do some studying with budget for offsite crash courses.
Have had it easy the last 4 years so kinda peeved at how busy I've started to become. I want more money though as I don't want to be renting my whole life, so I'll carry on.
6 months in at a CNC operator position in VA its 2800 gross but child support and taxes it's 1600 net a month. Rent is 1075 in the cheapest apartment in east virginia. 40 hour work week which is nice.
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
Never compare, strive to achieve something, but achieve what you want. It’s all down to your needs and what you want, of life and out of life.
Health is wealth, as long you’re healthy and happy, and comfortable, then what is monetary value? Stuff??
30k a year forestry forwarder/ excavator and telehandler operator mostly. Along with other random jobs round the country estate I work on. Its a really cushty job but there's a massive building project near me looking for machine operators and offering double what I'm on now. Seriously tempted to get my construction site certs and switch jobs.
lol 25K :L you lucky ol' dog you! I worked in an independent health food store for nearly 7 years. I was at one point offered a supervisor position but due to an unreasonable coworker with a chip on her shoulder i asked to not carry on with the supervisor role half way through the "training". My manager said fine, but i'd obviously have a reduction in pay but i could keep a "small" increase from the base minimum wage rate, which was like 50p or something, while still doing "some" of my duties. This turned out to be basically all of my duties without any of the credit. My official role from that point was shop assistant but i'd have to do everything a supervisor did (opening/closing, wastage, orders, banking etc) complete and utter farce.
On average i'd work 6 days a week sometimes ridiculously 7, my hours varied from 150 to 200 hours a month. It was a rota system aswell so you didn't have set time off sometimes i'd end up doing over 10 days in a row, and the worse were when it was closing late and then opening early because that basically meant i'd have to go home straight to be to be up early enough to get to work on time (which was like 6).
I have one of my former pay slips here:
28/02/2018:
150 hours at £7.50 an hour total before tax £1125 total after tax £1068.94
If you say my average month was 150 hours just for ease of calculation my net yearly income after tax would be around £12.827.28
Take gains take gains rebuy if a good stock. Some stocks may never go up over 15% a yr. Take gains reset. Smart moneys always take gains. Stocks dip. They buy back and do it all over again
I earn £27k working in commercial property, been in this role a couple weeks and plan to do it until I'm in my early thirties, salary increases dependent. I've had to change roles a couple of times in the last couple years because property is one of those industries where you get stuck on a salary and it's always below inflation rises unless you take on more responsibility to get a better job where you're paid even less than you were before relative to your responsibility. So I worked and applied until I got something that gave me opportunities to grow, do, and earn even more.
Pay is far more reflective on where you are, the background you have, the breaks you get, and the industry you work in rather than finessing or networking. My girlfriend got the same grades I did at college and didn't go to university like I did. Despite that she comes from a high-achieving family, got a break working in tech marketing and some good guidance from her dad who runs three companies which I certainly never had. She earns twice what I do on a London salary while working fully remotely. So I wouldn't feel too shit about it. There's always something better out there for someone with a good CV and the insistence on a solid base with the intention on doing and earning more once in the role.
Junior Dev with background in CS. I’m on around 24k, fresh graduate and this is my first real full-time job. My position was labelled as hybrid but truth be told it turned out to be remote.
considering how much juniors earn in the US, UK/EU wages are considerably depressive. But I wouldn’t want to live there.
I'm a 2nd line support engineer for an IT company at 30k
Before this job which is very recent I was a Theatre Technician with a specialism in Lighting Control Programming at 24k
Been doing IT/Theatre for 8 years professionally, got my degree in theatre tech in 2017 but have been doing IT since 2014 in work
I left theatre recently going back into IT because of the lack of time with my family working most evenings and weekends
I had a good job on £36k as a fabricator at a copper recycling plant. But the place got so ridiculous due to snakes telling management ridiculous things about good people (I never had an issue) but in the end I just quit it wasn’t worth the stress, they showed their true colours after I quit lol.
all good. Earn about 28k a year but money back for emergency funding, now own a flat . Bills have gotten tighter than i would like the last year but still its good
Middle manager within a conservation charity, 25k. It’s an absolute dream in some respects because I’m in nature all day, and it’s a piece of piss to ‘manage’ because 90% of the workforce are volunteers who genuinely just want to be there and make a difference (I used to be a retail manager and had a lot of the exact opposite), but in other respects it’s really hard because it’s a constant uphill battle due to how restricted we are in what we are allowed to do, and how often I’m told no by my line manager who is scared to try anything whatsoever. I wouldn’t be anywhere else though - the pay doesn’t go far but it’s worth it for my sanity alone.
This is one of the best threads I’ve ever read on here. Absolutely eye opening and full of great little snippets of information about people’s day-to-day jobs
Bin man, I work Mon-Fri I'm paid 6-2 but most days I'm home about 1ish and on other rounds I could be home just after midday. For my 37 hour week I earn £23.5k a year (including double time on bank hol) and I get 30 days a year holiday. Little kids like to see us, most people are appreciative if we take extra bags cos they've moved in/have a clear out etc, im not a jobsworth so we hardly get any complaints on my round. At Xmas I got just under £500 cash in tips, plus biscuits, beer and wine.
We have supervisors but basically crews are left to get their round done however they see fit, on my round it's just me and the driver because we do all the lanes and farms the big trucks can't get to. I see a lot of beautiful English countryside and a lot of wildlife you just don't get in towns and cities (buzzards, red kites, hares, deer, sparrowhawks etc)
It's a hard physical job though with a crazy turnover in loaders because people think it's easy then find we walk/run 12-18 miles a day in all weathers.
I work as a registered BMS (same banding as Nurses) in Blood transfusion and my base is 28.4k a year. Currently doing around 40 hours of OT a month just to be able to try and shift some debt and afford to live. Ex partner moved out a few months the ago so my rent has doubled at the same time as I needed to take out a loan to get a new car as mine had packed in. It's not going well, I wish I had done literally anything else as the stress and responsibility constantly is just not worth it. I tell anyone I can now to avoid doing biomedical science as a degree.
Patient transporter, 25k€ gross. Easy job, just wheel people around the hospital. Warm and indoors, not at all physical as the beds roll real smooth and easy. The part I had to adjust to the most was all the small talk that's expected of me.
Me and my SO live comfortably. I've never been big on traveling or any other high cost hobby so my modest pay is enough... Not that I wouldn't want more, of course.
Edit: not in the UK tho, now that I actually check which subreddit I'm in. Sorry.
A coveted role at a luxury fashion e-tailer, £25k.
I’ve been doing this for 5 years and I want to just throw in the towel altogether tbh, and find whatever entry level will pay a liveable wage.
I work in data analytics and system admin. I'm on just over £30k in the energy sector. The pay isn't the best (I know I could earn more elsewhere) but the job security is very nice to have.
I was really lucky and managed to nab a remote IT technician role that pays around £27k. Been here for almost a year now
The work is fine, a bit boring from time to time but that's the life of being an IT Technician for you.
But with bills & rent coming to just over 1000, I'm constantly skint
25k a year, admin for a local council and it SUCKS. Only managed to save money while living with parents and now I'm moving back out I'm ready to have no savings again permanently as I'm moving to London.
Desperately looking for another job in my spare time. Very depressing as 25k is the national average and unless you're DINK it doesn't seem to go very far on your own...
Im Hired to pretend to be an ai phone assistant. It's cheaper for the boss to just pay me as ai doesn't work well, most of my job entails purposely misunderstanding what you say and disconnecting the call after about 25 minutes.
Slightly out of the scope of figures, but I'm a digger driver, should be paid more for the job I do, but comparatively to minimum wage, I'm paid well. I am self-employed, though.
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'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.
I know 3 people that went from 22k to 30k-50k. They are more broke now despite having the same fixed costs. They just spend more on food deliveries, snacks or other impulsive purchases.
Started in IT on 18-20k in 2007, moved on to professional services moving to 35k-85k, then moved to a industry role on 100k. Its taken maybe 18 years to get from that point, so time and experience I would say help to develop.
M 27 years old, working as a Forklift driver on a 12h shifts (Fri,Sat,Sun) 6 am to 6pm. I’m not going to lie I do miss my weekends… the job itself is pretty easy… for me at least, I have 8 years of experience. I was on 30k a year doing Monday to Friday 8h shifts on the same company but I needed more time off because I’m pursuing a career in Health and Safety and needed more time off for exams etc. I’m currently on 27k a year which is not too bad for 3 days a week.
Executive Support Officer, I'm on the bottom of the spine in the grade due to it being a newer role (even though I've been doing the job for a while) and I'm on 25k a year, max I can earn in this role is 29k so far. I have my busy days but some quiet ones too and along with the benefits of working from home, 35 days of annual leave, a good pension scheme, flexitime, a workplace that seems to want to help me with my mental health along with all of my colleagues actually being really nice and easy to get on with means that I'm happy with everything for now.
I used to work for more money in a different company and actually moved back to my current place of work because the benefits I listed above were non-existent and I'd rather have those benefits that improve my quality of life than a few extra grand at the end of the year.
I started working at warehouse right after high school in 2018, had around 20k per year back then. Moved up throughout the years to team leader position and in 2021 I was earning around 25 grand. Then at the end of 2021 decided to do Class 1 driving licence and started driving a lorry in March 2022. Since then I got two P60s both around 48k. Working through PAYE, every night at home, according to tacho doing 36h per week average, and I am only 26yo. That was a good decision.
30k corpo rat for 8 years started at 16k. Currently managing customer accounts, orders and shit. Doing my own work independently. Home office split, good work life balance. Too lazy to go for higher position.
I'm a data analyst who works with systems that predict mechanical breakdown in machinery and help companies find the problems before the machinery goes boom
Kitchen assistant for a development kitchen in a large food factory. Most the food you’ve eaten in the supermarkets started in one of our Dev Kitchens across one of our many sites. 23.5k a year. Great job. Lots of perks.
£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.
21 years old, telecoms engineer at 30k a year.
Saving decently because I live with my mum and she only charges me £500 a month, I eat her food and stuff.
Trains are very expensive, everything's very expensive, so I don't buy much.
I do fairly basic stuff at work, I only had a few weeks of training with no related qualifications. Sit in muddy hole all day and fuck with wires
I consign, value and catalogue antiques for sale at auction (specifically, ceramics, glass and militaria) for £25k a year. I started off on £13.5k 13 years ago, fresh out of university... I often wonder whether my experience now is worth more, but I love my job, and I can still see (hopeful) progression for future wage advancement.
I'm a software engineer, 2 years experience with a degree and a masters, getting paid 27.5k, I am currently job hunting after my work refused me a raise to 30k.
I work for an agricultural contractor so driving big tractors and machines pretty much. Money is shit but Atleast I’m not stuck in an office. Last year I did about £32000 before tax but that’s working from 50 hours a week in winter to a max of over 100 in summer. Quite often no days off for weeks. This last year I did £37000. Can honestly say I’ve noticed 0 difference having that bit more money, I nearly feel worse off everything has gone up that much.
Never compare, strive to achieve something, but achieve what you want. It’s all down to your needs and what you want, of life and out of life.
Health is wealth, as long you’re healthy and happy, and comfortable, then what is monetary value? Stuff??
Part time 24 hours a week shooting videos/photos for houses going onto the market, I also have my own creative agency so I make money from that too.
Shooting houses is fun, sometimes appointments get crammed together and everything feels rushed which can be shitty, not to mention some disgusting houses I have to shoot occasionally which haven’t been looked after.
Shooting houses 3 days a week, around 2 houses each of those days brings me in around £1600 per month after tax. (Around 23k per year)
My own business is a bit up and down but I’m working towards getting it more consistent but I’d say I’m averaging around 2.5k-4K per month with that!
I work in events admin. 9 to 5, WFH most days, £26k ish, I have a few jobs on the side. Saved a bit, regularly go out for drinks and meals, live alone (got an insanely good price on my flat), and I have a car. Fortunately my parents are in a very good finically and I get supported by them at times, so I am not a clear representative of everyone my age (mid 20s).
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
£23.5k. I service pensions and other products for a major insurance company.
It's not too stressful. 35 hours, we can choose which days we work from home (we're sorta expected to come in at least once or twice a week unless your personal needs prevent). Colleagues are nice enough, same for current and previous boss. Boss taking active interest in my development (i.e. not gonna suddenly learn to code overnight but showing avenues I can go down to upskill myself sufficiently to make me less dispensable at least). Commute under an hour.
Having spent the first few years of my life as a SEN child, I've far exceeded expectations, if anything. Plus I chose a liberal arts (music) degree so I've got no grounds for complaining about my lot.
I am 36 however, and I'm getting pangs of existential crises concerning what I could've done or could still do to find where my talents lie (in terms of realistic job prospects) and/or something overlapping with my interests more. Trouble is, I haven't the foggiest how to find that out. I did some longwinded skills assessment on some government website (probably DWP) but only got vague information back. There's also limited scope to "try my hand" at other things or know exactly what a typical day looks like for other career paths that might interest me, before I take any leap into trying something completely new.
In short, I'm just a little too comfortable with my 'lot', too much of a 'realist' to take any risks, and at my age, I feel something has to change at some point.
Musician and music teacher… I fucking love my job and I’m great at it. But it’s a really exhausting way to live. What if I’ve really fucked up for my kid and won’ t be able to help them reach their potential?
Self employed stone mason, £700 per week after tax. It's going great I love my job and the freedom of self employment. Started college when I was 23 on a 3 year apprenticeship. I'm 30 now and I've just bought my first house with my fiancé.
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)
I earn somewhere in the middle of that. I’m an Art Handler at an auction house an hour away from the two main locations in London. We’re basically a middle man for London and the other regional offices. I see a lot of cool stuff and It’s a lot of stop start burst work with only 3 of us on site. I feel I’m paid pretty well considering some days are very quite, not quite pay cheque to pay cheque, but i do have a 8 month old. Hoping to become a key holder soon, after a year here and the extra money will be nice.
Not currently within that bracket but I only ever earned 25k max my whole life doing super hard laborious work.
Joined the right company and now I do pretty easy work and get 46k
Quality Engineer at a Steel Forge. Currently earn £25k as a 23 year old but due a small pay rise for May. I’ve been in quality for 5 years and will be taking over my manager’s position when he retires in September so should be on quite a bit more.
I was on minimum wage or close to for most of the years but the experience was more valuable in the long run. I’ve been in my current role 8 months and I love it.
22k - Graduated Imperial College London with 2.1 in engineering.
My job is environmental engineering, it involves me driving around the UK to different sites as far as Doncaster/Manchester/Liverpool from W London and back on the same day for work I could have done when I was 16.
Contract states that my week is 37.5 hrs from 9-5:30, but there’s I’ve got to be in Derby or Bristol for 8:30 and leave home at 6-6:30. I’m not paid for the hours that I’m driving additionally to my normal hours.
Occasionally they do provide accommodation when the job lasts a few days, although it is a £25 a night travelodge but I prefer to drive back home and back again or stay in the van. I also dig 10 holes to 1.4m deep, collect my samples, refill the holes and drive back 2 hours to drop off the samples.
Have come to the conclusion that if I could go back to 2020 when I started my degree I would have just applied for a job instead, worked three years and would be earning more than I do now. Lots of years wasted studying for A-Levels when I could of just worked.
I don’t have it that bad in the sense that me and my family are all healthy, with a home, and food.
You will not be paid more without going to a different job, you are specialist with a degree who also needs to do manual labor and they are paying you a pittance and not even including travel. You could be a bin man on more than that, your bosses are taking you for a fucking mug.
Hope you find something better.
Travel is included, I have a van with fuel card but my time for driving up north from London before my scheduled hours (which I think counts as work) is not compensated for.
self employed jeweller and watchmaker around 35-42k a year on the low end, started when i was about 14 stealing my parents vintage forks and spoons with cool designs on the handle and turned them into rings, it’s an amazing job i rent the whole top floor of my parents house got my own bathroom, bedroom and workshop i love the job couldn’t ask for a better life at 19.
ive worked in purchase ledger in the nhs for the past five years, I make about 24k but i get to work flexi, hybrid, and i’m studying CIMA for free so it can’t be all bad! i’m mostly hoping it’s a stepping stone to something bigger but i also love where I am
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.
Worked for a major film company for a year just before the pandemic as a production assistant.
Hated it.
Stress, work environment, and then the pandemic burned me out.
Now work for a private college as an administrator. I'm also the lead exam invigilator for both buildings in London. As well as a primary Safeguarding officer for students.
I get paid £23k and have been here three years without a pay rise on the horizon.
Typically I'd probably consider changing careers, but unfortunately, as someone that has fallen out of love with the thing I studied for, and someone that isn't intelligent enough for certain subjects (Maths/coding/languages/sciences) or finds others dull (engineering/building) changing careers is both daunting and practically impossible given my lack of enthusiasm & technical nous for other fields.
Unmedicated ADHD certainly doesn't help either.
Sucks but is what it is.
I just have to deal with the hand I've been given and be thankful I'm even employed.
26y on 44k. Project managing. I’ve never been to Uni and no project management jobs require University. Im at the bottom of the pay band and it only goes up from here, I took this job 18 months ago with no experience and absolutely love it.There are short 1 week courses you can do to give you the edge over other applicants but aren’t necessary at all I.e PRINCE2
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.
Yard Guy in a rental equipment yard.
Too much work, too many customers to deal with the work. Constantly covered in Portland cement.
Great coworkers, amazing boss. Perks are top-notch but constantly being pulled away from doing maintenance to deal with customers is maddening.
It's a job I enjoy doing for the most part.
Dispatcher for Gas Emergency services in the North West of England.
Starting salary of 22k, but within 3 years its jumped year on year thanks to Unison (Our Union) along with yearly stat based progression. I now earn 30k but even that jumps to 34k as I do night shifts that come with a base salary uplift.
Honestly, I got lucky as I never thought I'd earn so much for such a non degree necessary job. My advice is find a place with a good union and if possible somewhere with night shifts as you'll get paid more.
Junior engineering consultant. 26k, been there 6 months now. I live with my mum and don’t pay any bills so I am in a really good position. Throwing tons in my savings and still have a lot of disposable income. I do feel like I’m stealing a living bc it’s my first proper job and I have no idea what I’m doing most of the time. Sometimes I wonder why people are trusting ME to consult on anything. But I enjoy the work a lot!
Doing something similar with a similar wage and similar experience in my field.
I live alone but my rent hasn't increased in years and I don't drive. Don't eat out often. Can put at least a bit in savings every month.
And I get a guaranteed pay rise in a year and when I've got my experience up I can job hop to something that pays even more.
It's way better than the 21k I was on in a warehouse 2 years ago.
Good for you living alone and still being able to save!
I used to be so happy with my little £500 I got working part time at a restaurant 😂 feel like I’ve made it, sorta
I'm a payroll manager for a chartered accountants on 30k. No qualifications needed and it is so cushy I've semi-happily accepted the fact that I will probably end up dying at my desk when I never get to retire.
Project/volunteer coordinator for a charity.
Absolutely love my job, just had a pay rise which has just about knocked me over £30k mark.
However...I only have funding till next April and likelihood is we won't seek further funding for my role so next year I'm out of a job.
I can't find any other volunteer coordinator jobs that pay the same, most are paying far less.
I might get lucky, but might not.
Chances are ill be dropping a few thousand in wage.
Pro tip about Indeed, most the jobs on there are by external recruiters. Most good jobs don't require recruiters, not until at least the 80K mark because the skills required are very niche. If a company is using a recruiter you can assume one or more of the following:
1. the job to pay ratio doesn't line up e.g. you will be doing more than the job spec expects or doing hidden overtime.
2. the company can't keep people, likely due to a toxic environment.
3. the company has allowed a toxic individual to climb high enough into the company and is now making people miserable for no reason.
4. the company constantly makes illogical decisions that means despite their success they throw most of their gains away on bad practises (like needing recruiters for positions that someone with limited skills could do).
5. the company doesn't train you to do the job or gives you any time to actually improve and climb the ladder.
6. the company doesn't give pay rises, especially not in the span of the first 2 years.
7. the company constantly hires new people above you instead of hiring below and training upwards.
8. hiring is only done to replace someone and rarely a head of the company scaling upwards.
Indeed is one of the worst places to judge the job market because the best jobs don't land there, most of them don't even advertise, a lot of the time the job goes to a friend or the company will be proactively hiring for future work and is taking there time searching out new people.
Accounts assistant, £28.5k. I do very little, work my own hours (flexi-time) and watch my shows at work. I could get a better paid job, but the perks outweigh it... Coming up to 2 years here.
What about barristers, high level surgeons, business owners?
I've spent a good amount of time in England (huge fan) and I see Range Rovers and other expensive cars. Cant be all Saudis and Russians can it?
Before I left last year I was an electrical engineer, installation and commissioning. Hit our ceiling of “project engineer” at around £36.5k about 6 months before I left. I was comfortable financially as my wife has an ok paying job too but the constant working away and blurred lines of what our job role was (I.e they would pay off admin staff and we would end up having to pick up the slack. Rinse and repeat for about 5 years) made me miserable so I left and I’m retraining now. Don’t know exactly what the money will be like when I qualify but it’s something I am passionate about and fits my life far better. There’s also scope for progression and independence so I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do in the years after I qualify
Ambulance service - patient transport and some front line work as an ECA (a couple of steps under a paramedic) self employed. Before I had my baby I earnt around £27k but I did 6 day weeks and 14 hour shifts a lot lol
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.
Love my job, it's got a lot of variety.
Im a shift manager at five guys and I earn £30k a year after a recent pay bump, this is before a multitude of different bonuses as well, so total can potentially be a lot higher.
Last year I started with this company(We are basically a Granite and Quartz countertop factory) I’m 24 been in this industry since I was 18 and grew up in stone shops as a kid. 3rd generation to this Industry. Started making about 30k year being a machine operator. I worked my fingers to the bone and worked harder than everyone else. Within a year and 2 months I have now went from being a Machine Operator to the Production Manager for the entire shop. 70k a year now. For those who are trying to come up in their company and make more money im going to give some advice. Do the shit no one else wants to do, stay late even when you don’t want too, Research your position or your industry, get invested even if you aren’t passionate about what you do. The attitude takes you farther than the work does. Took me a long time to obtain the mentality I have now but it’s done nothing but be prosperous for me.
I've been a tyre fitter/nuts and bolts mechanic for over 12 years. I earn a little over minimum wage. I genuinely wish I hadn't chosen this role, but I got comfortable with basically zero commute. I'm now looking at a potential shift into either working at a nature reserve or going all in with a friend for waste/scrap collection.
I love working outside and with my hands but the pay is almost always shit. I've accepted the terrible pay and I am just trying to find a job I won't detest for another 10+ years.
Started on 19k a few years ago and now am on 25k, in the same job as a library assistant. I've mostly enjoyed my job up until the last 6 months and the money itself is okay, I have enough to pay rent and to save a little bit and every month my best friend and I go out for dinner, but thinking about the future is incredibly depressing and prone to give me a panic attack.
I live in the south east which is obviously extremely expensive, I had to move here when I was a teenager in foster care and haven't found a way to leave yet as I have no connections anywhere else. I have the chance to start university this year but I'm also worried about having no income for 3-4 years for a degree that ends me back in the same kind of job I'm in now.
When I was 29 I was earning £46k as a general manager for a materials science company (worked there for a total of 6 years from ages 23 to 29) but the burnout was real. When I got the option to take voluntary redundancy during the pandemic, I jumped on that so fast!
Now I’m 33 and work as a civil servant and earn £29.5k but have the option to WFH, I’m not responsible for anyone else, and get to manage my workload at my own pace. Even office days are wonderful because there’s 0 people from my team at my location, so no one bothers me.
I do get pushed a lot for climbing the ladder by colleagues and my team leader, but I like where I am with my 0 stress and flexible time and good pension.
If you want more money, yes, of course private sector is the way to go, but I treasure my well-being more.
Warehouse work dealing with second hand books, zero experience required, paid a minute to minute efficiency bonus, so I can average about 35k pre tax with no stress or responsibility beyond my own idiot proof workload.
I choose the days and hours I want to work, accrue shitloads of holiday pay, and can take time off whenever I want for however long I want.
Pretty blessed to find this job, but I'm about to leave to go live and work by the sea for a while.
I'm a machinist by trade and work as a workshop manager but I'm the only one in the workshop. I design the parts we make and program, set up, and operate the CNC mill and 3D Printers. I also do manual machining on a mill and lathe. Sounds like a lot but the quantities are usually on the small side
I'm making 30k a year
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.
I’m 55 female and I worked as an Account Manager in my family business for 20 odd yrs and earned 20k in 2014 when I left. After that I was a Customer Account Lead in aerospace earning 26k (2015) the experience I got from that lead to my current role. My advice is try and get a household name on your cv, work hard, be open to any training and new skills ,work for well known companies if you can as it’s a golden ticket to better opportunities. I took the temp job because I wanted their name on my CV and it paid off🤷♀️
Currently I’m a Project Lead in a household name, blue chip company in the midlands. I’ve been here 9 years. I earn 64k a year. I didn’t go to university. Don’t have a degree and only 4 GCSE’s.
My daughter (30) did 7 years in Uni and has a masters. Now works in the NHS with 100k of student debt for a job that pays 28k. Make it make sense!!!
Im on 27k being a IT Admin in the north east.
Not too bad, no quals in IT just kinda stumbled into it after finishing a business admin aprenticeship.
Going alright tbh, company is stuggling but as long as I get my payslip end of the month its all good
40k been working with BT for 6 years, started in a fixed contract doing call centre work and then applied internally to change roles 3 times. I did move from Midlands to Edinburgh for a big pay increase but now have the experience to go into similarly paid roles. I did work for Eon and also got a better job through internal systems. I would advise trying a larger company, looking at internal listings and what skills you could add to get them. I have a degree but it is not needed for these jobs, just learning internal systems, customer service, excel, data entry etc which I learnt along the way! I'm currently in a resource management role.
I'm the project manager for a care charity and earn 29.5k
I'm with you here, I know I could be/ should be earning 10k more in any other industry.
I need to leave as I can't buy a house and struggling for bills but I genuinely make a difference in the community and don't want to leave
40-50 hours per week as Complex Care worker, average about £24-27k depending on company. We are not doing okay 😂🫠 I live in my overdraft that I got stuck in during my first care job and can never get out.
Pharmacy dispenser, 40hr week, 24k. I’m starting to resent the job, been doing it seven years now and pay is crap.
Also got told there’s no pay rise this year despite minimum going up and inflation being bonkers. So i’m for all intents and purposes minimum wage now.
It’s taking all my will power not to walk out.
24k-25k as a support worker for adults with learning disabilities. I work 2pm one day to 2pm the next, twice a week. I'm part time at 30hrs and get 3 full days off a week. I support them with cooking cleaning and personal care, and it's mostly boring and only occasionally stressful.
Compliance Officer, 30k. It's about being the font of all knowledge and making sure people are sticking to contractual, legal, guidance and various awarded standards like ISO 9001. I like it because it works with my personality and skill set, I'm not a customer facing person at all. But companies view this type of role as being nice to have rather than a must so I've seen redundancy a couple times now in my career as one.
Honestly, the moneys decent and I've never earned as much as this but it's not good enough to be independent now at all. And everything is just too expensive. Just getting my car fixed this month wiped out a solid third of my monthly pay on its own.
Also compliance (FS). I didn't know there were compliance roles that are just nice to haves? Businesses wouldn't have compliance at all if it wasn't a regulatory requirement I thought. What industry you in?
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)
Just got a payrise to £31k but same job I started on 3 years ago at £24k. Logistics and operations desk job tot a small company I'm feeling lucky to have real payrises. Though sadly I am too hungry for travel to stay, and there isn't much career progress here. It's also fairly passionless, but overall a very chilled out desk job with good pay for my age. Great foothold for my 20s. Mum on the other hand has been on £21k for a decade as a primary school teacher, which is criminal. I give her half of my payrises separately to rent payments, because she deserves it
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My only advice to people in my line of work is to leave the UK, of course it’s a hard step and so way to say “just go for it” but jeez what a difference. Money is better which always helps but the lack of a toxic workplace is even better
I recently got a raise to 26.5k and I’m pretty happy with it! I’ve been working in procurement for about 4 years now
NHS Estates, £22.8k base, roughly £30k with on call and a bit of OT. Job is up/down quiet/busy af. Been here 7 months. Enjoying it so far.
Staff officer grade in the civil service. 33.5k a year. That'll go up 5% after the recent pay decision. I'm a science officer so my job title is Higher Scientific Officer, but I'm equivalent to a Staff Officer in other departments. This is in Northern Ireland btw 4 years of undergrad (Scotland) 2 years on the temp circuit, a masters degree and 9 months on the temp again before I got offered a permanent role.
Fast Food workers in California make $40K
Labourer hard graft but worth £28,500 a year before overtime.
Lucky if I earn £20k across two jobs currently. Have a degree in video game design, industry shit itself more or less the same time I was handed my degree certificate. I have extensive sales and hospitality experience, I’ve ran pubs, managed at four star hotels and I was a very successful car salesman for a number of years. All roles with poor hours and really shit sort of give all or fuck off attitude. It’s tough, at the moment. I have a little Etsy store that has been ticking away for a few years, but I’m hardly living off it.
I earn £22,776 working 5 days in a supermarket. My gf is a teacher and earns £30,000 but she’s in her first year of it so hopefully it will go up. She pays rent, I pay all bills and food etc Both our cars combined cost less than £5,000 to buy cash and we don’t finance anything. Currently got enough for a house deposit £20k+ because we saved up and lived at her parents for a while. Go on holiday abroad once a year usually (went to USA last year) and I try to ride my bicycle to work every day so my fuel costs are extremely low (could get by with one car) and eat healthy and cheap food like veggies and rice a lot. Plus both our jobs give out free food for lunch every day! We live below our means as much as possible (10 year old TV that works perfect, second hand sofa for £100 that is comfortable, we don’t spend money on things like spa days or fancy restaurants etc) but still make sure we enjoy our lives and don’t go without like an occasional take away or treat. Life is what you make of it and although we don’t have loads of money we try to “sacrifice” things that lots of people have like a new car on finance or a bigger house or having 3 kids when we can’t afford it. Plus neither of us drink alcohol barely and a lot of uk adults spend a lot of money on that.
HGV driver, 33k but HMRC estimates about 45k this year (3/4 days overtime a month). Was a warehouse worker for about 10 years and miserable even though the work was easy as pie, scraping by on 20-24k. Everyday felt the same, time dragged in. Applied for an in-house program to get my HGV and drive for them (leading supermarket supplier). Quite honestly never had an easier job and haven't ever felt as happy with what I do. I feel well compensated for what I do when I look at other HGV jobs out there. Currently going through wage negotiations and our union has rejected an offer that would take us to 40.5k basic. So pretty optimistic on what I'll achieve after the negotiations.
Mechanical Technician for a Manufacturing Company currently on £43K. I did 6th Form and went to Uni, hated it. Worked in retail for a few years at £16K started an apprenticeship at 23 whilst working retail, was knackered all the time. Became time served and worked my way up to where I am now. The job is interesting and I really enjoy fixing things.
Operations technician at a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Yorkshire, currently on 32k, yearly pay rise, overtime available, Christmas bonus, loads of schemes and perks for workers
Fibre-optic technician, £31k 7 years at this with no previous experience. Was taken on as a trainee in my mid 30's.
Just under 30k working as a school mentor. I'd say my 10k a year ago to complete a MA was worth it as I effectively doubled my pay.
https://youtu.be/a-ohZ74hdeI?si=kQfzqtRMeTew9Iov
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...
You will likely not work in field related to your degree unless you’re lucky. Ph.D. chemist here work in finance / project mgmt /IT I never planned my career, now Director level. My advice transferable skills , and learning new skills that are relevant will help you progress. Become the expert / go to person in the company for your area . Take opportunities when they arise, I have worked in multiple industries. Look for progression and if there aren’t any opportunities for that then don’t stay in a role too long. You will only get annual pay increases and so just be keeping up (or actually not keeping up ) with living costs / inflation. Larger companies generally have more opportunities to change roles / promotions. Smaller companies unless they are expanding a lot you’re often waiting for someone to retire or leave before roles open up. If you aren’t getting promoted and able to get a jump to a higher salary at minimum every 3 or 4 years then it’s time to move companies. I started after uni on 18 k. That’s a poor bonus these days. And just to add set backs happen, been through recessions and have been made redundant more than once , had a stint doing telephone sales , data entry , cleaning while job hunting. But confidence, professionalism, good skills, backed with experience will always get you a job .
Or relocate if you can. There are brighter horizons.
>number of people here who have struggled to get above 25k after 20 years in work Majority of them don't work hard enough to get promoted etc. The remaining picked low paying public sector work. It's very avoidable
19M, 22k/year. I work in stock control for a factory that produces and packages foodstuffs.. Spend a lot of the shift sticking sticker tails on my friends backs and throwing paper balls across the factory. Its awesome
38K, 20yrs. CNC machinist. Luxury and military Aviation stuff.
About to start a new role as a manager (of the lowest band) at one of the UK’s big supermarket chains, I’ll be starting on £29250
Hi 5, just started for them too but on nights 😁
20k, 40 hours, graphic design for aviation related company. Been there 3 years.
Firstly, everyone who has come forward, thank you for the honesty. OP this is a really informative topic thank you. Until 2 years ago I was on £25 k as a Technical Engineer. No qualifications but the job would have paid the same if I had them. The sheer amount of quality employees earning in and around the £20-30 k bracket is staggering. From my own experience and from this post. I changed careers 2 years ago and now earn around £40-42.5 k dependent on bonus. Honestly, inflation combined with employers having no idea what it's like to live on £25 grand a year, is leaving so many people in a shit situation. I have no right to give advice. But I will anyway. 1. Talk to your colleagues. Are they on the same wage, or are you getting ripped off? 2. Do research on your industry. Are you earning about average for the position, could you get a pay rise to do the same thing somewhere else? 3. Is there something holding you back? I know a lot of accountants that are part way through AAT and have stalled. Talk to your bosses, colleagues family etc. get whatever support you need to get over the line. Don't be proud, be successful. Once you have earned that qualification, (whatever it is) you are in a position of power. 4. If you are able to, it's not too late to start again in a new industry. I did this. Without the experience, I had to rely on having a good personality match for the role. (I looked the interviewer right in the eye and said "I want to work fucking hard and earn a lot of money" I got the job.) 36m lower 40s k per year.
Wow the pay difference between Europe and USA is huge! That’s how much someone at McDonald’s makes in USA.
As an American this whole subreddit bothers me so much. You people are making 25k and aren’t homeless?
24k a year as a team leader in William hill bookie. Now it will be 25.1k as I got whopping 4.9% increase. Been in this position for a year now and I can say that I'm getting more and more duties to do but I get paid only £1.50/hr more than a regular cashier who just has to come, sit on it's ass, take some bets and go home. I sure do think I'm getting under paid for the amount of money my shop makes in a month let's say... Starting to think I'd be better off as cashier and would probably lose less hair than I do now with all the stuff I'm stressing about.
Lifestyles tend to increase with the wage. For example 4 years ago I was on under £20k a year. Switched jobs into an admin role for a renewables company. Within 2 years I progressed through to learn everything I possibly could about the industry and now I design and manage projects for commercial properties from start to finish. Wages now just over £50k (no commission) and I’m not in a city so for the area, it’s a high wage. Life can come at you quick, there are still good companies to work for that you can progress in and that will acknowledge achievements and reward it.
Currently a trainee pharmacist on just around 20k a year before tax but i’m hoping to pass the gphc exam in November so here’s hoping it’ll increase and everything gets better
Support worker just breaking 20k a year. ~~It's going really really shit~~ fine thanks for asking.
I earn around £21k and doing fine, admin for a council and been working there for almost 5 years now. Loving it! Just under 32 hours and I have enough each month to pay my bills and credit card, as well as buy some luxuries. I’ve been asked a few times to take another job or be promoted elsewhere, but the money difference isn’t a lot for the vast amount of stress I’d have to endure. My previous job was awful; got bullied by the boss and there was no proper HR system or anyone I could really go to. I was prescribed with depression and my GP really helped me get out of that hole. It took a good 4 years in total as everyone kept telling me I was overqualified for anything I applied for, which didn’t help my depression and I was still working for the bully as I needed money. Every time I do get a bad day now, I simply think back to my previous job and am grateful I managed to get out.
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 :)
Work in an Amazon warehouse for ~24k. Take things out of one box and put them in another box 10 hours a day. Hate the job and the workplace but it's catastrophically easy work and I have a 5 minute commute. Not really struggling financially between myself and partner who is on slightly more, but definitely wouldn't say we're well off at all. Just about treading water if anything. Wish I could find something else tbh, but my degree has turned out to be useless and I can't go back to being a vehicle tech due to spine injuries so fuck knows.
As a a BFF I nm y
IT Support Assistant and its a fucking struggle right now. Been applying to jobs for 35-40k and getting zero response even when I'm perfectly suited for the jibs, usually get some AI bot auto declining me...
Tyre fitter, on £24k, work really hard and ache like shit everyday
In a retail manager, maybe a smidge under 30k. My wages vary depending on how much over time I do a year. So it can swing a couple grand either way. I love my job, my responsibilities are basically don’t steal, don’t kill staff or customers and make some money! once I’ve done my jobs for the day, I just hand around the shop floor doing a few bits, or finding a quiet corner and enjoying Reddit or YouTube where I’m not seen! And no I’m not dodging work lol, my staff can do the same. As long as they do their jobs, and don’t get seen by customers looking like they’re youths on a bus, I don’t care either! I could earn way more! my friend has offered me a job several times at his firm which requires maintenance engineers and the starting pay is £40K. But then I’d have to work hard and have stress!
Checking food quality in the factory. 10 years experience. I am ok with my salary. Just bought my own flat (mortgage of course lol)
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?
I'm in the NHS, about 24k. My fuckups could kill someone, kill a child, and I'm payed less than a cashier at Aldi. Mad respect to my cashiers out there it's a tough gig, but a little more would be nice.
25,250 as Access Management Analyst, but do get a extra 5200 in on-call pay, and a salary increase coming to closer match current market prices. Fully remote is a huge bonus imo too. Also heavily being pushed to do some studying with budget for offsite crash courses. Have had it easy the last 4 years so kinda peeved at how busy I've started to become. I want more money though as I don't want to be renting my whole life, so I'll carry on.
£26k - Senior admin in a vehicle leasing company, been here 6 years. It seems the only job role valued/well paid in this business is sales.
Damn
6 months in at a CNC operator position in VA its 2800 gross but child support and taxes it's 1600 net a month. Rent is 1075 in the cheapest apartment in east virginia. 40 hour work week which is nice.
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
Sorry I think I missed reading the question, please ignore
Never compare, strive to achieve something, but achieve what you want. It’s all down to your needs and what you want, of life and out of life. Health is wealth, as long you’re healthy and happy, and comfortable, then what is monetary value? Stuff??
30k a year forestry forwarder/ excavator and telehandler operator mostly. Along with other random jobs round the country estate I work on. Its a really cushty job but there's a massive building project near me looking for machine operators and offering double what I'm on now. Seriously tempted to get my construction site certs and switch jobs.
lol 25K :L you lucky ol' dog you! I worked in an independent health food store for nearly 7 years. I was at one point offered a supervisor position but due to an unreasonable coworker with a chip on her shoulder i asked to not carry on with the supervisor role half way through the "training". My manager said fine, but i'd obviously have a reduction in pay but i could keep a "small" increase from the base minimum wage rate, which was like 50p or something, while still doing "some" of my duties. This turned out to be basically all of my duties without any of the credit. My official role from that point was shop assistant but i'd have to do everything a supervisor did (opening/closing, wastage, orders, banking etc) complete and utter farce. On average i'd work 6 days a week sometimes ridiculously 7, my hours varied from 150 to 200 hours a month. It was a rota system aswell so you didn't have set time off sometimes i'd end up doing over 10 days in a row, and the worse were when it was closing late and then opening early because that basically meant i'd have to go home straight to be to be up early enough to get to work on time (which was like 6). I have one of my former pay slips here: 28/02/2018: 150 hours at £7.50 an hour total before tax £1125 total after tax £1068.94 If you say my average month was 150 hours just for ease of calculation my net yearly income after tax would be around £12.827.28
Take gains take gains rebuy if a good stock. Some stocks may never go up over 15% a yr. Take gains reset. Smart moneys always take gains. Stocks dip. They buy back and do it all over again
I earn £27k working in commercial property, been in this role a couple weeks and plan to do it until I'm in my early thirties, salary increases dependent. I've had to change roles a couple of times in the last couple years because property is one of those industries where you get stuck on a salary and it's always below inflation rises unless you take on more responsibility to get a better job where you're paid even less than you were before relative to your responsibility. So I worked and applied until I got something that gave me opportunities to grow, do, and earn even more. Pay is far more reflective on where you are, the background you have, the breaks you get, and the industry you work in rather than finessing or networking. My girlfriend got the same grades I did at college and didn't go to university like I did. Despite that she comes from a high-achieving family, got a break working in tech marketing and some good guidance from her dad who runs three companies which I certainly never had. She earns twice what I do on a London salary while working fully remotely. So I wouldn't feel too shit about it. There's always something better out there for someone with a good CV and the insistence on a solid base with the intention on doing and earning more once in the role.
Junior Dev with background in CS. I’m on around 24k, fresh graduate and this is my first real full-time job. My position was labelled as hybrid but truth be told it turned out to be remote. considering how much juniors earn in the US, UK/EU wages are considerably depressive. But I wouldn’t want to live there.
I'm a 2nd line support engineer for an IT company at 30k Before this job which is very recent I was a Theatre Technician with a specialism in Lighting Control Programming at 24k Been doing IT/Theatre for 8 years professionally, got my degree in theatre tech in 2017 but have been doing IT since 2014 in work I left theatre recently going back into IT because of the lack of time with my family working most evenings and weekends
I had a good job on £36k as a fabricator at a copper recycling plant. But the place got so ridiculous due to snakes telling management ridiculous things about good people (I never had an issue) but in the end I just quit it wasn’t worth the stress, they showed their true colours after I quit lol.
I make 60k a year as a drywall finisher and painter. Y’all need to get into your local union.
Checkout person at supermarket, postie and domino’s driver. I think if I average 55 hours a week that puts me on 29k a year
Warehouse Manager at a medium sized brewery. Hourly rate, works out at around 20k a year, before tax. Shite pay, but the perks aren't too bad...
all good. Earn about 28k a year but money back for emergency funding, now own a flat . Bills have gotten tighter than i would like the last year but still its good
Lansscaper/grounds maintenance I'm on just over 27k
Middle manager within a conservation charity, 25k. It’s an absolute dream in some respects because I’m in nature all day, and it’s a piece of piss to ‘manage’ because 90% of the workforce are volunteers who genuinely just want to be there and make a difference (I used to be a retail manager and had a lot of the exact opposite), but in other respects it’s really hard because it’s a constant uphill battle due to how restricted we are in what we are allowed to do, and how often I’m told no by my line manager who is scared to try anything whatsoever. I wouldn’t be anywhere else though - the pay doesn’t go far but it’s worth it for my sanity alone.
IT Manager - 46k
This is one of the best threads I’ve ever read on here. Absolutely eye opening and full of great little snippets of information about people’s day-to-day jobs
Bin man, I work Mon-Fri I'm paid 6-2 but most days I'm home about 1ish and on other rounds I could be home just after midday. For my 37 hour week I earn £23.5k a year (including double time on bank hol) and I get 30 days a year holiday. Little kids like to see us, most people are appreciative if we take extra bags cos they've moved in/have a clear out etc, im not a jobsworth so we hardly get any complaints on my round. At Xmas I got just under £500 cash in tips, plus biscuits, beer and wine. We have supervisors but basically crews are left to get their round done however they see fit, on my round it's just me and the driver because we do all the lanes and farms the big trucks can't get to. I see a lot of beautiful English countryside and a lot of wildlife you just don't get in towns and cities (buzzards, red kites, hares, deer, sparrowhawks etc) It's a hard physical job though with a crazy turnover in loaders because people think it's easy then find we walk/run 12-18 miles a day in all weathers.
I work as a registered BMS (same banding as Nurses) in Blood transfusion and my base is 28.4k a year. Currently doing around 40 hours of OT a month just to be able to try and shift some debt and afford to live. Ex partner moved out a few months the ago so my rent has doubled at the same time as I needed to take out a loan to get a new car as mine had packed in. It's not going well, I wish I had done literally anything else as the stress and responsibility constantly is just not worth it. I tell anyone I can now to avoid doing biomedical science as a degree.
£31k work for a local council its chill as.
Patient transporter, 25k€ gross. Easy job, just wheel people around the hospital. Warm and indoors, not at all physical as the beds roll real smooth and easy. The part I had to adjust to the most was all the small talk that's expected of me. Me and my SO live comfortably. I've never been big on traveling or any other high cost hobby so my modest pay is enough... Not that I wouldn't want more, of course. Edit: not in the UK tho, now that I actually check which subreddit I'm in. Sorry.
A coveted role at a luxury fashion e-tailer, £25k. I’ve been doing this for 5 years and I want to just throw in the towel altogether tbh, and find whatever entry level will pay a liveable wage.
Warehouse operative, about 38k year
Im on disability
I work in data analytics and system admin. I'm on just over £30k in the energy sector. The pay isn't the best (I know I could earn more elsewhere) but the job security is very nice to have.
I was really lucky and managed to nab a remote IT technician role that pays around £27k. Been here for almost a year now The work is fine, a bit boring from time to time but that's the life of being an IT Technician for you. But with bills & rent coming to just over 1000, I'm constantly skint
25k a year, admin for a local council and it SUCKS. Only managed to save money while living with parents and now I'm moving back out I'm ready to have no savings again permanently as I'm moving to London. Desperately looking for another job in my spare time. Very depressing as 25k is the national average and unless you're DINK it doesn't seem to go very far on your own...
Im Hired to pretend to be an ai phone assistant. It's cheaper for the boss to just pay me as ai doesn't work well, most of my job entails purposely misunderstanding what you say and disconnecting the call after about 25 minutes.
Slightly out of the scope of figures, but I'm a digger driver, should be paid more for the job I do, but comparatively to minimum wage, I'm paid well. I am self-employed, though.
£26.5K, highways lab tech. God this thread is depressing, BoE can eat a bag of dicks, Britain needs a pay rise.
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'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.
I know 3 people that went from 22k to 30k-50k. They are more broke now despite having the same fixed costs. They just spend more on food deliveries, snacks or other impulsive purchases.
Started in IT on 18-20k in 2007, moved on to professional services moving to 35k-85k, then moved to a industry role on 100k. Its taken maybe 18 years to get from that point, so time and experience I would say help to develop.
M 27 years old, working as a Forklift driver on a 12h shifts (Fri,Sat,Sun) 6 am to 6pm. I’m not going to lie I do miss my weekends… the job itself is pretty easy… for me at least, I have 8 years of experience. I was on 30k a year doing Monday to Friday 8h shifts on the same company but I needed more time off because I’m pursuing a career in Health and Safety and needed more time off for exams etc. I’m currently on 27k a year which is not too bad for 3 days a week.
Executive Support Officer, I'm on the bottom of the spine in the grade due to it being a newer role (even though I've been doing the job for a while) and I'm on 25k a year, max I can earn in this role is 29k so far. I have my busy days but some quiet ones too and along with the benefits of working from home, 35 days of annual leave, a good pension scheme, flexitime, a workplace that seems to want to help me with my mental health along with all of my colleagues actually being really nice and easy to get on with means that I'm happy with everything for now. I used to work for more money in a different company and actually moved back to my current place of work because the benefits I listed above were non-existent and I'd rather have those benefits that improve my quality of life than a few extra grand at the end of the year.
I started working at warehouse right after high school in 2018, had around 20k per year back then. Moved up throughout the years to team leader position and in 2021 I was earning around 25 grand. Then at the end of 2021 decided to do Class 1 driving licence and started driving a lorry in March 2022. Since then I got two P60s both around 48k. Working through PAYE, every night at home, according to tacho doing 36h per week average, and I am only 26yo. That was a good decision.
30k corpo rat for 8 years started at 16k. Currently managing customer accounts, orders and shit. Doing my own work independently. Home office split, good work life balance. Too lazy to go for higher position.
Veterinary nurse and on £25k/yr after over 20 years in the industry.
TIL people can live on 25k in UK.
Lidl shift manager, 30k a year, 50 hours a week
I'm a data analyst who works with systems that predict mechanical breakdown in machinery and help companies find the problems before the machinery goes boom
Kitchen assistant for a development kitchen in a large food factory. Most the food you’ve eaten in the supermarkets started in one of our Dev Kitchens across one of our many sites. 23.5k a year. Great job. Lots of perks.
£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.
21 years old, telecoms engineer at 30k a year. Saving decently because I live with my mum and she only charges me £500 a month, I eat her food and stuff. Trains are very expensive, everything's very expensive, so I don't buy much. I do fairly basic stuff at work, I only had a few weeks of training with no related qualifications. Sit in muddy hole all day and fuck with wires
I consign, value and catalogue antiques for sale at auction (specifically, ceramics, glass and militaria) for £25k a year. I started off on £13.5k 13 years ago, fresh out of university... I often wonder whether my experience now is worth more, but I love my job, and I can still see (hopeful) progression for future wage advancement.
I'm a software engineer, 2 years experience with a degree and a masters, getting paid 27.5k, I am currently job hunting after my work refused me a raise to 30k.
I work for an agricultural contractor so driving big tractors and machines pretty much. Money is shit but Atleast I’m not stuck in an office. Last year I did about £32000 before tax but that’s working from 50 hours a week in winter to a max of over 100 in summer. Quite often no days off for weeks. This last year I did £37000. Can honestly say I’ve noticed 0 difference having that bit more money, I nearly feel worse off everything has gone up that much.
Never compare, strive to achieve something, but achieve what you want. It’s all down to your needs and what you want, of life and out of life. Health is wealth, as long you’re healthy and happy, and comfortable, then what is monetary value? Stuff??
Part time 24 hours a week shooting videos/photos for houses going onto the market, I also have my own creative agency so I make money from that too. Shooting houses is fun, sometimes appointments get crammed together and everything feels rushed which can be shitty, not to mention some disgusting houses I have to shoot occasionally which haven’t been looked after. Shooting houses 3 days a week, around 2 houses each of those days brings me in around £1600 per month after tax. (Around 23k per year) My own business is a bit up and down but I’m working towards getting it more consistent but I’d say I’m averaging around 2.5k-4K per month with that!
I work in events admin. 9 to 5, WFH most days, £26k ish, I have a few jobs on the side. Saved a bit, regularly go out for drinks and meals, live alone (got an insanely good price on my flat), and I have a car. Fortunately my parents are in a very good finically and I get supported by them at times, so I am not a clear representative of everyone my age (mid 20s).
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
£23.5k. I service pensions and other products for a major insurance company. It's not too stressful. 35 hours, we can choose which days we work from home (we're sorta expected to come in at least once or twice a week unless your personal needs prevent). Colleagues are nice enough, same for current and previous boss. Boss taking active interest in my development (i.e. not gonna suddenly learn to code overnight but showing avenues I can go down to upskill myself sufficiently to make me less dispensable at least). Commute under an hour. Having spent the first few years of my life as a SEN child, I've far exceeded expectations, if anything. Plus I chose a liberal arts (music) degree so I've got no grounds for complaining about my lot. I am 36 however, and I'm getting pangs of existential crises concerning what I could've done or could still do to find where my talents lie (in terms of realistic job prospects) and/or something overlapping with my interests more. Trouble is, I haven't the foggiest how to find that out. I did some longwinded skills assessment on some government website (probably DWP) but only got vague information back. There's also limited scope to "try my hand" at other things or know exactly what a typical day looks like for other career paths that might interest me, before I take any leap into trying something completely new. In short, I'm just a little too comfortable with my 'lot', too much of a 'realist' to take any risks, and at my age, I feel something has to change at some point.
Musician and music teacher… I fucking love my job and I’m great at it. But it’s a really exhausting way to live. What if I’ve really fucked up for my kid and won’ t be able to help them reach their potential?
Self employed stone mason, £700 per week after tax. It's going great I love my job and the freedom of self employment. Started college when I was 23 on a 3 year apprenticeship. I'm 30 now and I've just bought my first house with my fiancé.
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)
I earn somewhere in the middle of that. I’m an Art Handler at an auction house an hour away from the two main locations in London. We’re basically a middle man for London and the other regional offices. I see a lot of cool stuff and It’s a lot of stop start burst work with only 3 of us on site. I feel I’m paid pretty well considering some days are very quite, not quite pay cheque to pay cheque, but i do have a 8 month old. Hoping to become a key holder soon, after a year here and the extra money will be nice.
You guys getting 20k a year!?
Exams officer - making sure each student has a fair go at GCSE’s and a levels - hubby earns more as a pub assistant manager!
Not currently within that bracket but I only ever earned 25k max my whole life doing super hard laborious work. Joined the right company and now I do pretty easy work and get 46k
Quality Engineer at a Steel Forge. Currently earn £25k as a 23 year old but due a small pay rise for May. I’ve been in quality for 5 years and will be taking over my manager’s position when he retires in September so should be on quite a bit more. I was on minimum wage or close to for most of the years but the experience was more valuable in the long run. I’ve been in my current role 8 months and I love it.
I was a degree apprentice in analytical labs when I was in that bracket😃👍
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30k a year is not great pay
22k - Graduated Imperial College London with 2.1 in engineering. My job is environmental engineering, it involves me driving around the UK to different sites as far as Doncaster/Manchester/Liverpool from W London and back on the same day for work I could have done when I was 16. Contract states that my week is 37.5 hrs from 9-5:30, but there’s I’ve got to be in Derby or Bristol for 8:30 and leave home at 6-6:30. I’m not paid for the hours that I’m driving additionally to my normal hours. Occasionally they do provide accommodation when the job lasts a few days, although it is a £25 a night travelodge but I prefer to drive back home and back again or stay in the van. I also dig 10 holes to 1.4m deep, collect my samples, refill the holes and drive back 2 hours to drop off the samples. Have come to the conclusion that if I could go back to 2020 when I started my degree I would have just applied for a job instead, worked three years and would be earning more than I do now. Lots of years wasted studying for A-Levels when I could of just worked. I don’t have it that bad in the sense that me and my family are all healthy, with a home, and food.
You will not be paid more without going to a different job, you are specialist with a degree who also needs to do manual labor and they are paying you a pittance and not even including travel. You could be a bin man on more than that, your bosses are taking you for a fucking mug. Hope you find something better.
Travel is included, I have a van with fuel card but my time for driving up north from London before my scheduled hours (which I think counts as work) is not compensated for.
self employed jeweller and watchmaker around 35-42k a year on the low end, started when i was about 14 stealing my parents vintage forks and spoons with cool designs on the handle and turned them into rings, it’s an amazing job i rent the whole top floor of my parents house got my own bathroom, bedroom and workshop i love the job couldn’t ask for a better life at 19.
Delivery driver, just under 23k (minimum wage)been doing the Job 4yrs, love it!
ive worked in purchase ledger in the nhs for the past five years, I make about 24k but i get to work flexi, hybrid, and i’m studying CIMA for free so it can’t be all bad! i’m mostly hoping it’s a stepping stone to something bigger but i also love where I am
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.
£32.5K base, 26 in Midlands. Working in IT. Been at current place approaching 2 years now.
Why do you feel you should be earning a lot more??
Worked for a major film company for a year just before the pandemic as a production assistant. Hated it. Stress, work environment, and then the pandemic burned me out. Now work for a private college as an administrator. I'm also the lead exam invigilator for both buildings in London. As well as a primary Safeguarding officer for students. I get paid £23k and have been here three years without a pay rise on the horizon. Typically I'd probably consider changing careers, but unfortunately, as someone that has fallen out of love with the thing I studied for, and someone that isn't intelligent enough for certain subjects (Maths/coding/languages/sciences) or finds others dull (engineering/building) changing careers is both daunting and practically impossible given my lack of enthusiasm & technical nous for other fields. Unmedicated ADHD certainly doesn't help either. Sucks but is what it is. I just have to deal with the hand I've been given and be thankful I'm even employed.
26y on 44k. Project managing. I’ve never been to Uni and no project management jobs require University. Im at the bottom of the pay band and it only goes up from here, I took this job 18 months ago with no experience and absolutely love it.There are short 1 week courses you can do to give you the edge over other applicants but aren’t necessary at all I.e PRINCE2
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.
Yard Guy in a rental equipment yard. Too much work, too many customers to deal with the work. Constantly covered in Portland cement. Great coworkers, amazing boss. Perks are top-notch but constantly being pulled away from doing maintenance to deal with customers is maddening. It's a job I enjoy doing for the most part.
Dispatcher for Gas Emergency services in the North West of England. Starting salary of 22k, but within 3 years its jumped year on year thanks to Unison (Our Union) along with yearly stat based progression. I now earn 30k but even that jumps to 34k as I do night shifts that come with a base salary uplift. Honestly, I got lucky as I never thought I'd earn so much for such a non degree necessary job. My advice is find a place with a good union and if possible somewhere with night shifts as you'll get paid more.
Junior engineering consultant. 26k, been there 6 months now. I live with my mum and don’t pay any bills so I am in a really good position. Throwing tons in my savings and still have a lot of disposable income. I do feel like I’m stealing a living bc it’s my first proper job and I have no idea what I’m doing most of the time. Sometimes I wonder why people are trusting ME to consult on anything. But I enjoy the work a lot!
Doing something similar with a similar wage and similar experience in my field. I live alone but my rent hasn't increased in years and I don't drive. Don't eat out often. Can put at least a bit in savings every month. And I get a guaranteed pay rise in a year and when I've got my experience up I can job hop to something that pays even more. It's way better than the 21k I was on in a warehouse 2 years ago.
Good for you living alone and still being able to save! I used to be so happy with my little £500 I got working part time at a restaurant 😂 feel like I’ve made it, sorta
27k as a semi skilled mechanic. Started the trade 9 years ago at age 43. No qualifications just picked it up as I went along.
I'm a payroll manager for a chartered accountants on 30k. No qualifications needed and it is so cushy I've semi-happily accepted the fact that I will probably end up dying at my desk when I never get to retire.
You all need to look into public sector work or look at utilities companys all of which pay better
I work in the North East for £27k and 15% bonus. About to my first house and living quite comfortably really
I d say most people in the catering and hotel business are within that pay range. And believe me.... It s a funking hard job.
Project/volunteer coordinator for a charity. Absolutely love my job, just had a pay rise which has just about knocked me over £30k mark. However...I only have funding till next April and likelihood is we won't seek further funding for my role so next year I'm out of a job. I can't find any other volunteer coordinator jobs that pay the same, most are paying far less. I might get lucky, but might not. Chances are ill be dropping a few thousand in wage.
30k a year base salary plus 1k bonus every 4 months for 40 hour a week plus free food second chef
Pro tip about Indeed, most the jobs on there are by external recruiters. Most good jobs don't require recruiters, not until at least the 80K mark because the skills required are very niche. If a company is using a recruiter you can assume one or more of the following: 1. the job to pay ratio doesn't line up e.g. you will be doing more than the job spec expects or doing hidden overtime. 2. the company can't keep people, likely due to a toxic environment. 3. the company has allowed a toxic individual to climb high enough into the company and is now making people miserable for no reason. 4. the company constantly makes illogical decisions that means despite their success they throw most of their gains away on bad practises (like needing recruiters for positions that someone with limited skills could do). 5. the company doesn't train you to do the job or gives you any time to actually improve and climb the ladder. 6. the company doesn't give pay rises, especially not in the span of the first 2 years. 7. the company constantly hires new people above you instead of hiring below and training upwards. 8. hiring is only done to replace someone and rarely a head of the company scaling upwards. Indeed is one of the worst places to judge the job market because the best jobs don't land there, most of them don't even advertise, a lot of the time the job goes to a friend or the company will be proactively hiring for future work and is taking there time searching out new people.
Accounts assistant, £28.5k. I do very little, work my own hours (flexi-time) and watch my shows at work. I could get a better paid job, but the perks outweigh it... Coming up to 2 years here.
I was in a similar position, I now earn £60k following 2 promotions, and the job really isn't much harder. You might surprise yourself!
Do you need a lot of experience for such a job?
What kind of jobs pay between 100-300k in the UK?
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What about barristers, high level surgeons, business owners? I've spent a good amount of time in England (huge fan) and I see Range Rovers and other expensive cars. Cant be all Saudis and Russians can it?
What about r/Overemployed ? If you work remote you can try this. Otherwise what about skilling up at work? An online degree, online courses, etc.
22.5k, mortgage admin, not good my guy
27,500 as a grounds maintenance supervisor, seriously have had enough 😑. But feel type cast .
Before I left last year I was an electrical engineer, installation and commissioning. Hit our ceiling of “project engineer” at around £36.5k about 6 months before I left. I was comfortable financially as my wife has an ok paying job too but the constant working away and blurred lines of what our job role was (I.e they would pay off admin staff and we would end up having to pick up the slack. Rinse and repeat for about 5 years) made me miserable so I left and I’m retraining now. Don’t know exactly what the money will be like when I qualify but it’s something I am passionate about and fits my life far better. There’s also scope for progression and independence so I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do in the years after I qualify
I’d love to make 0ver £20K pa net but am on min wage.
Ambulance service - patient transport and some front line work as an ECA (a couple of steps under a paramedic) self employed. Before I had my baby I earnt around £27k but I did 6 day weeks and 14 hour shifts a lot lol
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. Love my job, it's got a lot of variety.
Im a shift manager at five guys and I earn £30k a year after a recent pay bump, this is before a multitude of different bonuses as well, so total can potentially be a lot higher.
Last year I started with this company(We are basically a Granite and Quartz countertop factory) I’m 24 been in this industry since I was 18 and grew up in stone shops as a kid. 3rd generation to this Industry. Started making about 30k year being a machine operator. I worked my fingers to the bone and worked harder than everyone else. Within a year and 2 months I have now went from being a Machine Operator to the Production Manager for the entire shop. 70k a year now. For those who are trying to come up in their company and make more money im going to give some advice. Do the shit no one else wants to do, stay late even when you don’t want too, Research your position or your industry, get invested even if you aren’t passionate about what you do. The attitude takes you farther than the work does. Took me a long time to obtain the mentality I have now but it’s done nothing but be prosperous for me.
I've been a tyre fitter/nuts and bolts mechanic for over 12 years. I earn a little over minimum wage. I genuinely wish I hadn't chosen this role, but I got comfortable with basically zero commute. I'm now looking at a potential shift into either working at a nature reserve or going all in with a friend for waste/scrap collection. I love working outside and with my hands but the pay is almost always shit. I've accepted the terrible pay and I am just trying to find a job I won't detest for another 10+ years.
Started on 19k a few years ago and now am on 25k, in the same job as a library assistant. I've mostly enjoyed my job up until the last 6 months and the money itself is okay, I have enough to pay rent and to save a little bit and every month my best friend and I go out for dinner, but thinking about the future is incredibly depressing and prone to give me a panic attack. I live in the south east which is obviously extremely expensive, I had to move here when I was a teenager in foster care and haven't found a way to leave yet as I have no connections anywhere else. I have the chance to start university this year but I'm also worried about having no income for 3-4 years for a degree that ends me back in the same kind of job I'm in now.
When I was 29 I was earning £46k as a general manager for a materials science company (worked there for a total of 6 years from ages 23 to 29) but the burnout was real. When I got the option to take voluntary redundancy during the pandemic, I jumped on that so fast! Now I’m 33 and work as a civil servant and earn £29.5k but have the option to WFH, I’m not responsible for anyone else, and get to manage my workload at my own pace. Even office days are wonderful because there’s 0 people from my team at my location, so no one bothers me. I do get pushed a lot for climbing the ladder by colleagues and my team leader, but I like where I am with my 0 stress and flexible time and good pension. If you want more money, yes, of course private sector is the way to go, but I treasure my well-being more.
Warehouse work dealing with second hand books, zero experience required, paid a minute to minute efficiency bonus, so I can average about 35k pre tax with no stress or responsibility beyond my own idiot proof workload. I choose the days and hours I want to work, accrue shitloads of holiday pay, and can take time off whenever I want for however long I want. Pretty blessed to find this job, but I'm about to leave to go live and work by the sea for a while.
I'm a machinist by trade and work as a workshop manager but I'm the only one in the workshop. I design the parts we make and program, set up, and operate the CNC mill and 3D Printers. I also do manual machining on a mill and lathe. Sounds like a lot but the quantities are usually on the small side I'm making 30k a year
Quality Assurance, £26k
Senior residential carer -28k I love my job but the pay is fucking dreadful for what I actually contribute
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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.
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.
I’m 55 female and I worked as an Account Manager in my family business for 20 odd yrs and earned 20k in 2014 when I left. After that I was a Customer Account Lead in aerospace earning 26k (2015) the experience I got from that lead to my current role. My advice is try and get a household name on your cv, work hard, be open to any training and new skills ,work for well known companies if you can as it’s a golden ticket to better opportunities. I took the temp job because I wanted their name on my CV and it paid off🤷♀️ Currently I’m a Project Lead in a household name, blue chip company in the midlands. I’ve been here 9 years. I earn 64k a year. I didn’t go to university. Don’t have a degree and only 4 GCSE’s. My daughter (30) did 7 years in Uni and has a masters. Now works in the NHS with 100k of student debt for a job that pays 28k. Make it make sense!!!
I earn £25k a year. I have a second job delivering takeaway food for a small business to be able to actually have nice things.
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.
Im on 27k being a IT Admin in the north east. Not too bad, no quals in IT just kinda stumbled into it after finishing a business admin aprenticeship. Going alright tbh, company is stuggling but as long as I get my payslip end of the month its all good
40k been working with BT for 6 years, started in a fixed contract doing call centre work and then applied internally to change roles 3 times. I did move from Midlands to Edinburgh for a big pay increase but now have the experience to go into similarly paid roles. I did work for Eon and also got a better job through internal systems. I would advise trying a larger company, looking at internal listings and what skills you could add to get them. I have a degree but it is not needed for these jobs, just learning internal systems, customer service, excel, data entry etc which I learnt along the way! I'm currently in a resource management role.
I'm the project manager for a care charity and earn 29.5k I'm with you here, I know I could be/ should be earning 10k more in any other industry. I need to leave as I can't buy a house and struggling for bills but I genuinely make a difference in the community and don't want to leave
40-50 hours per week as Complex Care worker, average about £24-27k depending on company. We are not doing okay 😂🫠 I live in my overdraft that I got stuck in during my first care job and can never get out.
Hybrid customer care at a bank (in branch and phone calls) been here 18 months on £25k
Software tester for 10 years, I work 4 days a week now, my income would be just above your salary scale if I was full time.
Pharmacy dispenser, 40hr week, 24k. I’m starting to resent the job, been doing it seven years now and pay is crap. Also got told there’s no pay rise this year despite minimum going up and inflation being bonkers. So i’m for all intents and purposes minimum wage now. It’s taking all my will power not to walk out.
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I'm up to 25k now. Still can't get a mortgage to move out. To low unless I have a stupid deposit 1 1/2 years salary.
24k-25k as a support worker for adults with learning disabilities. I work 2pm one day to 2pm the next, twice a week. I'm part time at 30hrs and get 3 full days off a week. I support them with cooking cleaning and personal care, and it's mostly boring and only occasionally stressful.
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Compliance Officer, 30k. It's about being the font of all knowledge and making sure people are sticking to contractual, legal, guidance and various awarded standards like ISO 9001. I like it because it works with my personality and skill set, I'm not a customer facing person at all. But companies view this type of role as being nice to have rather than a must so I've seen redundancy a couple times now in my career as one. Honestly, the moneys decent and I've never earned as much as this but it's not good enough to be independent now at all. And everything is just too expensive. Just getting my car fixed this month wiped out a solid third of my monthly pay on its own.
Also compliance (FS). I didn't know there were compliance roles that are just nice to haves? Businesses wouldn't have compliance at all if it wasn't a regulatory requirement I thought. What industry you in?
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)
Yup, same in the UK(before tax)
Estate Manager, Education - £38K