To ask how you've reached a high salary? 50k+

I am 26 years in the civil service, did a degree before I joined and other studies since (including a Masters), and have worked hard to go up through the ranks - sat at AP for 16 years in the middle which was frustrating. But the work has been varied and interesting, I've had times doing EU work (including Brussels travel) and times focussed on domestic matters (so no travel then).

I am in senior management now (although don't have "Secretary" in my title) and earn what I think is a very good salary. But have gone through the years of the "beans and rice" type diet on the way there.

I earn £52K plus unsocial enhancemens of around £4K. I'm a nurse and have been for 14 years. I've just worked up the agenda for change bands and have just reached the top of band 7.

Moving companies is a real hassle, but the people I know who reach the highest salaries in their field move companies/jobs every 2 years. Sell your skills and move for a pay rise each time and you'll double your salary in no time

Can you move to London? Get your foot in the door of a large financial organisation. Even some basic admin / PA roles pay 50k.
Once you’re in, you can move around and try and better your job or salary.

NHS manager, c. 80k at 33.

degree entirely unrelated, then 1 year gap year and 1 year random basic admin role before joining nhs 10 years ago as band 3 I think on 17k ish. Progressed every 18m to 2 years up the scales. 2 maternity leaves and Covid in that too.

I'm at HMRC. If you want support with development and some advice about progression then feel free to PM me. There are tons of opportunities to progress in the civil service!

Find a way to move into compliance/governance or similar

Yes I did this each time- stepped in for my boss whenever there was opportunity and generally got myself 'seen' by the senior management. Always made sure I was well prepped for meetings and tried to make sure I was adding value, not just sitting there

Happy where I am for now and not interested in my bosses position so am enjoying just doing my job for once (well apart from studying part time for an MBA 😀)

Could you do private tutoring as a sideline alongside your full time job?

Bloody hell that's brilliant!

Good for you @Mummer123

I work in corporate sales training, in a SaaS org. The pay is higher than equivalent roles in other departments, because there's a certain element of risk in sales, especially in volatile fast paced industries. I've lost a job with no notice, but then ended up in a new job with higher pay. So there's always at least a small undercurrent of stress involved, but usually I can direct that to keeping me energised and enthusiastic at work. I quite enjoy what I do, and I'm very good at it, so the stress levels are manageable for me.

What do you teach?
Certain subjects (Maths, English and Science) it's easier to gain a TLR and move up to UPS due to the nature of the subjects.
If in primary, I wouldn't bother. You'll struggle to get a post in SLT or with a TLR after being out for a while.

Chartered accountant. Qualified as chartered at 25, 3 years later on over £50k in a lower paid regional part of the UK. On pathway to partner so will be over £250k hoping by time I’m 35.

I'm a childminder and earn around 50k

I agree putting yourself forward and acting doing a part of a job above your pay grade is the only way, that way when a position comes up you have the experience. Harder in some industries I suppose but in my experience that’s the best way to show capability.

I did unpaid work experience alongside my studies for about 5 years, then about 5 years of traineeships / apprentice schemes, and after a bit of (badly paid) freelancing I got a position at around 60k. It’s the way it works in my particular industry within arts & entertainment - you put in about 10-15 years of barely-paid work, and about 10% of those people end up in a salaried job. (The rest continue freelancing for just a little over what bills and food cost…)

Having said that - I still go on £19.99 Ryanair holidays and stay with friends or family for free because having a “decent” salary doesn’t mean I can afford to spend it however I want… I’m not able to pay £2-3k for a week somewhere luxurious - I’d need at least double my salary for this to become possible.

Edit to add - I am also regularly having to work 50-60 hours a week, although that is still way less than I did as a freelancer, as I don’t have to travel quite as often anymore (1-2 times a month instead of 4-6…).

31, grade 7 CS. To be honest, it’s been a lot of luck, working for managers who have been willing to give me a lot of experience and responsibility, but I’ve also moved jobs every two years (both internally and to different organisations).

I think the key is moving jobs every couple of years, particularly if you’re CS. I think there’s good progression in CS as you can move to so many different areas. It doesn’t sound like you’re quite in the right role in terms of your manager not being able/willing to facilitate giving you the necessary skills and experience to progress. When you’re able, I’d look elsewhere (either within the CS or alternatively look at local councils -I got a lot of experience in local authority before being able to move to a higher level CS role based on the experience I’d gained in LA roles)

NHS manager (agenda for change)
Currently at 8c (74k)

I chose to work in the highest paid area of recruitment for the highest paying industry.

That’s what I told my kids, don’t go into teaching as all the unpaid hours means you’re earning less than the minimum wage

Take a look at education positions in local authorities. There's a variety of different roles, usually with a good flexible working policy, too.

Analyst here. No work out of hours. I'd have a look at Analyst jobs on LinkedIn. I have loads of teacher friends who earn far less than me and suffer a lot with stress. Unless you want to do teaching I would not recommend. My teacher friends said if they worked out all the hours they work in a week they are on less than minimum wage. They work evenings and weekends prepping and marking work.