To be in this job and feel poor?

I think lots people brought houses thinking interest rates wouldn't go up. When we brought our house 5% to 6% was pretty standard mortgage interest rate. Then years of being lulled into low rates thinking they would never increase

But didn't she do her research into:

How much debt she would get into

Versus how much she would earn?

I wouldn't do a medical degree as its a very long time studying and the pay is not great

I actually understand your point OP.

being single is very expensive. I am the only single person at my level at work. Others have a much higher lifestyle - better cars, bigger houses, amazing holidays!

when you cover all the bills alone it puts a real dent in even a healthy salary. My lifestyle is not what I expected it would be when I reached this income level!

I think many people are missing Op's point.

OP is complaining that she spent years training, studying and is on £58k without much salary change in the offing.

Sounds like many people saying they wish they had £58K 1) didn't spend years studying (of course, you worked have hit the jackpot in that case) or 2) tried to do all things right.

I know OP hasn't said, and maybe she doesn't want a family, but at 35 yo she is probably also wondering about starting a family/partner and wondering if her new unit would manage. All after spending years studying to qualify!

At some stage it will change op, once your loans go you will start being sble to save etc so in that way you’re better off than most but yes, seeing wages go into a bank account and then literally start disappearing into loans is awful. We were poor poor for years, loans, car, mortgage, childcare, we used to pick a bill not to pay monthly! But when the loans start disappearing it’s literally like being able to breathe again

I trained for 7 years for my job and I earn 40k if that's any consolation

@fedippp So how much are you having to pay each month for your student loans? That could make a huge difference to the answers you get here!

So you earn almost £4.5k/month, is that before or after tax? Sounds like you need to downsize and live within your means if you’re unable to afford your outgoings on such a large salary.

Depends. It sounds like OP did 7 years of study, so likely 7 years of tuition loans. She (and you) don’t mention the additional Cost of Living Loan, which is based off of your parents’ income and whether you study while living at home with your parents, in London, or outside of London. OP doesn’t say whether she took the COL loan for the 7 years, and whether where she studied/her parents’ income meant that she got anywhere between £3k-£13k/year. Your total loan amounts could be very different. She may be nowhere near paying hers off.

58k is a huge salary, but it's not if her student loans are huge

I'm on about 28k, but I have no student loans.

My net income could be similar to the ops.

It does bring up the question of - are the long medical degrees worth it, for the huge student loan debt"?

She said she studied for 7 years so she must have a medical degree

I mean, I understand your frustration, but what is your AIBU, exactly? Do you think you should have done something differently, or is it just a moan about COL (which is fair enough!)?
You must realise you're on significantly more than most of your age group (£37544, https://www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/business/average-uk-salary-by-age/) or just the population in general, so if you're struggling with your current job, then surely you understand you'd be struggling a lot more in most other jobs.
Do you regret going to uni? Student loans repayments are a lot, but do you think you'd make more/similar amount to your monthly salary minus deductions if you hadn't gone?
Most people feel a bit frustrated when they work hard and don't have a lot left over, but at least you're frustrated that you can't afford luxuries because your essentials are so high, you could be frustrated about not being able to afford luxuries but also not afford rent or a car. And at least there will hopefully be a point in the future where you will have more money - interest rates reduce, student loan paid off, car finance paid, etc. Rent costs are likely to only ever go up.

I voted YANBU as it’s possible to feel poor on quite a high income if your outgoings are high enough

Well unless the OP states her take home, how much her car finance (and other costs like tax, insurance etc), along with where her money goes then it's all speculation.

She says she feels 'poor'. This shouldn't be because she can't cover the basics and some discretionary spending, so it would suggest that she does have room to cut back so her money goes further. For example, she had to buy a car, but did she get a small, cheap to run one, or is it an expensive one, that costs a lot to fuel, tax and insure?

Likewise, people will often say they 'feel poor' and 'never have anything nice' then you see their mobile phone bill is £40 pm, they buy their lunch out each day, spend £300 pm on car finance etc. Their 'nice' is the expensive version of day to day essentials.

@Minikievs ah ok sorry!

Student loans are like a tax. There are different rates, etc for different years of entry into the loan system, but it’s approximately 9% of anything you earn above about £27k. You can pay a big lump sum, but you will continue to pay that 9% until the loan is paid in full. And if your loan expires, you will have paid back that lump sum unnecessarily—it would have been forgiven anyway.

Now, if you earn hundreds of thousands per year, it can be worthwhile to pay off lump sums because you WILL end up paying off the entirety of the loan before it expires with your 9% payments. Paying off early would save you on the interest paid over the years.

How much is your monthly payment towards the student loan?

So if you pay a big lump sum off the student loans, the monthly payments will still remain the same?

Why would that be? That's a strange set up

You CAN overpay on a student loan, although it’s not always the best option. If OP loses her job, student loan payments will pause, unlike her mortgage or car payment. Once OP reaches a certain age, any unpaid balance on her student loans will be forgiven/expire. This is not true for her mortgage or car payment. If OP overpays on her student loan, it will not reduce her monthly bill—it will reduce the amount of time she has to continue paying it (which she may never reach anyway, if she reaches the loan expiration date before it’s paid off). If she’s paying anything off early, it would likely be more beneficial to overpay the mortgage or car loan.

I earn less than OP and my pension contributions are 12.8% - some employers don't let you chose your pension contributions %

Is it possible for you to change jobs and make more money?

I guess I don't understand we are all of your money is going to as that is a fairly decent and come and you are expenses seem to be reasonable.

I wish I was on 58k

Can you overpay your student loan? I've never had one. So I'm not sure if you can.

Our mortgage plus service charge is about the same as your mortgage a month and we more than managed on just my very similar income when Mr Monkey was out of work after Covid.

I have long paid off my student loan (which was £137 pm) but i do pay 10% additional voluntary contributions a month in to my pension. We don't have a car so that mans we have a bit more money to play with.

I tihnk you need to look carefully at what you are spending money on.

YABU for feeling poor.
You are not BU to feel you would like more money. But it sounds like you are poor at managing your money. Why not post your budget on a moneysavingexpert forum to get advice on how to make your money go much further.

I meant that I didn't want MY OWN post to be a race to the bottom, by me saying "well I earn less than the OP AND I have two kids so she shouldn't be moaning"

@TigBitss Sorry, I was agreeing with your point, that actually it's only a decent salary in a double wage household. I can see why you thought I wasn't-I'm not sure I worded it quite well.
My point was that I agree with you, it's not THAT decent of a salary. However with no dependants, it shouldn't be as much of a struggle as the OP states.