Page 11 | To think it is not that easy to 'get a better job'

EuclidianGeometryFan · 2025-08-10T15:33:01+00:00

Seen a few threads lately about people with money issues, and on low wages or minimum wage. Then some posters say things like 'why haven't you got a promotion in the last X years?' 'Why don't you re-train / upskill?' 'Why don't you get a better job?' As if anyone stays in a minimum wage job for years just for the fun of it! The job market is a pyramid - there is not enough room on the higher levels for everyone. Even as you age you can't automatically expect to climb the ladder and move up - the maths don't stack up. Not every field of work has a 'career ladder'. Some people are stuck on minimum wage or not much more, for life. They may not have the ability or skills or aptitude to re-train or get promoted, let alone the time and energy. It smacks of blaming the OP for not being ambitious enough. Some posters seem to have no conception of what life and the job market is like for minimum wage workers.

DiscoBob · 11/08/2025 16:30

WeylandYutani · 10/08/2025 18:14

Same. I have only ever done minimum wage jobs. I just dont have the capability to do more. Even then I struggled and am not able to work at this moment in time due to ongoing mental health issues and autism.

My boyfriend is also autistic and is mid 50s and on £35k in a role he is degree and masters educated for. He is able to do his job as he has reasonable adjustments and is the longest he has stayed in employment. It is a junior role but he knows he could not handle the extra stress if he aimed higher. I hate to think there are people on here that would sneer at him for being middle aged on what they would see as crap salary. He can afford to live on it and that is all that matters. If he couldnt then he would not suddenly be capable of a better job.

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Thank you. Yeah, I'm not able to work anymore either. I hope things improve for you and your partner x

Magnahot · 11/08/2025 15:11

WeylandYutani · 11/08/2025 10:58

Sorry I meant they would get help with rent

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Again
no
a single person with no dependents on a full time NMW on £1750 a month net would most certainly not receive “help with rent”

and… rightfully so

Ashley911 · 11/08/2025 15:09

BleuBeans · 11/08/2025 13:38

When you talk of admin roles, what is it you want to do within admin? & have you spoke to your current employers to see if you can gain the experience in house? Even offering a couple of hours for free each week will do more for your CV than a course

Secondly, the extent of free content online is brilliant. YouTube has a whole array of content and is my go to a lot for excel formula knowledge.

There was someone earlier this year who posted that her full time data/admin job now took her a matter of hours as she had managed to automate so much. I asked what she used as I thought it could come in useful. The main areas she advised was SQL, PowerBI, Power Automate, API and Power Query. These are the skills of the future and usually come with the very well paid salaries.

Lastly, I found checking out some of the job posts on LinkedIn helped me. I could see what those good salaries are looking for and target those skills.

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I thought I would be able to do payroll for example or things like creating spreadsheets for customer order databases etc. I haven't used these programs you have mentioned though I am just experienced in handling data in itself using Excel and in the software my course used. It was a large part of my course and I quite enjoyed it .I have applied for a few voluntary roles but still no luck. Thank you for all the info on software I could learn to use

BleuBeans · 11/08/2025 13:38

Ashley911 · 11/08/2025 12:49

I haven't heard of PowerBi. I will look into this thank you. Maybe I actually need to specifically take admin courses

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When you talk of admin roles, what is it you want to do within admin? & have you spoke to your current employers to see if you can gain the experience in house? Even offering a couple of hours for free each week will do more for your CV than a course

Secondly, the extent of free content online is brilliant. YouTube has a whole array of content and is my go to a lot for excel formula knowledge.

There was someone earlier this year who posted that her full time data/admin job now took her a matter of hours as she had managed to automate so much. I asked what she used as I thought it could come in useful. The main areas she advised was SQL, PowerBI, Power Automate, API and Power Query. These are the skills of the future and usually come with the very well paid salaries.

Lastly, I found checking out some of the job posts on LinkedIn helped me. I could see what those good salaries are looking for and target those skills.

cumbriaisbest · 11/08/2025 13:29

IDontHateRainbows · 11/08/2025 13:20

Unfortunately we are heading for a period of modern day serfdom where the majority will (eventually) earn only enough to eat, put a modest roof over their head maybe in HMO and clothe themselves cheaply. The wealth will become more and concentrated in the 1% and the middle class will effectively disappear. This is already happening. Already in London if you are single and on min wage, unless you hold down two jobs, you will be struggling to survive in a HMO full or randoms.

Edited

Do you think it is 1% who are ferrying kids about to exclusive schools and worrying about Pilates or whatever? I can't weigh it up. It seems way more than 1%

cumbriaisbest · 11/08/2025 13:26

There’s also a tendency to severely undervalue vocational and manual labor, along with the people who choose those path.

A couple of guys who mend roofs ( it is usually guys) or can put in a toilet are coining it in.

IDontHateRainbows · 11/08/2025 13:20

Unfortunately we are heading for a period of modern day serfdom where the majority will (eventually) earn only enough to eat, put a modest roof over their head maybe in HMO and clothe themselves cheaply. The wealth will become more and concentrated in the 1% and the middle class will effectively disappear. This is already happening. Already in London if you are single and on min wage, unless you hold down two jobs, you will be struggling to survive in a HMO full or randoms.

ThisTicklishFatball · 11/08/2025 13:13

Fearfulsaints · 11/08/2025 08:40

I think one of the issues is more and more jobs are becoming minimum wage jobs or hover just above minimum wage. The expectations for a lot of low paid jobs are huge

I spent time training etc and then minimum wage went up and up and my wage stagnated until they nearly met. I then had to train again. Its like a lifelong thing training, not a one off thing.

And I agree 100% that not everyone can get a better job or the country will collapse and that people in those jobs deserve to be able to afford to live. Not everyone has capacity to train either due to life.

Exactly.

It doesn’t help that British cultural norms carry a deep disdain for minimum-wage jobs and those who work them. There’s also a tendency to severely undervalue vocational and manual labor, along with the people who choose those paths.

DorothyWainwright · 11/08/2025 13:12

LifeBeginsToday · 11/08/2025 08:12

I did it with a full time job and 2 children. Evenings and weekends. Drop the children to Stagecoach on a Saturday and spend those 3 hours studying. Study while they are in bed. Get up early and study.

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"Stagecoach" 😂
You do realise how expensive that is don't you? Not available in every area. Some kids can't cope with it, or sports clubs, scouts etc.

Ashley911 · 11/08/2025 12:49

BleuBeans · 11/08/2025 08:34

With qualifications including data analysis, what skills do you have your CV? Have you learned PowerBI and similar, these are starting to be requested more and more. Once my currently qualification (2.5 years) finishes next month, my next plan is getting to grips with PowerBI. Whilst I don’t know how to use or build it yet, I know it could make a big impact to what I do

With AI ingraining itself more and more into complex tasks, admin roles are becoming significantly fewer. You need skills that will have you stand out from others

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I haven't heard of PowerBi. I will look into this thank you. Maybe I actually need to specifically take admin courses

beachwalkx · 11/08/2025 12:12

WeylandYutani · 11/08/2025 10:58

Sorry I meant they would get help with rent

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Only if they have children
a single person on NMW won’t get anything except the 25% council tax discount

dogsandbudgey · 11/08/2025 11:01

I hear you! I looked at a course a while back and it was going to cost £1000 - money I just don’t have.

I just wish I had done better at school is the reality for me

WeylandYutani · 11/08/2025 10:58

Magnahot · 11/08/2025 10:51

Nope

Up top ups aren’t for a single person earning £1750 NMW a month

It would be if that person had dependents (but on £1750 month would be limited to childcare costs only) and or disability benefits

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Sorry I meant they would get help with rent

Magnahot · 11/08/2025 10:51

WeylandYutani · 11/08/2025 10:47

Well even the government recognises that a full time min wage job is not enough to live on hence why UC exists and tops up their pay so they can have a roof over their heads.
But then there are people on here who think that is wrong and that people in low pay jobs should just "get a better job" and here we are with this thread.

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Nope

Up top ups aren’t for a single person earning £1750 NMW a month

It would be if that person had dependents (but on £1750 month would be limited to childcare costs only) and or disability benefits

WeylandYutani · 11/08/2025 10:47

Magnahot · 11/08/2025 10:35

Not everyone wants to or can live in houseshares. Would you want to be house sharing in your middle age?

nope I wouldn’t
But for some who are single and have worked for decades and on full time NMW and can’t afford to possibly live alone on £1750 net a month (unlikely) then yep, that’s what they’ll have to suck up

Edited

Well even the government recognises that a full time min wage job is not enough to live on hence why UC exists and tops up their pay so they can have a roof over their heads.
But then there are people on here who think that is wrong and that people in low pay jobs should just "get a better job" and here we are with this thread.

cumbriaisbest · 11/08/2025 10:44

@WeylandYutani in agreement. I was recently without a car for a few days. Wasting hours on public transport.

R0ckandHardPlace · 11/08/2025 10:41

Magnahot · 11/08/2025 09:59

Full time NMW
£1750 net a month

they can do it

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Try getting a full-time position in retail or hospitality or door management or many other NMW jobs. Most zero-hours contracts pay NMW. Or they’ll give you an 8 hour contract, and you just have to hope you have colleagues off sick or on AL so you can pick up extra hours.

When people are living in this heightened state of worry and stress, living hand to mouth, it is nigh on impossible to plan for the future. The brain won’t let a person focus on anything other than the here and now.

cumbriaisbest · 11/08/2025 10:41

RitaAndFrank · 10/08/2025 17:11

Agree op. There are so many ‘I’m alright Jacks’ on here these days with zero empathy. I can’t be bothered to engage half the time.

It is extremely difficult to get a job or another job. There are those with power and influence who went to the right schools and the rest of us.
I have recent experience of supporting somebody trying a job, admin, low wage.
Absolute nightmare.

Autumn1990 · 11/08/2025 10:37

Geographic area effects job opportunities. I live in a rural area and there’s a lot of minimum wage jobs, or skilled jobs but mainly for men eg hgv driving, a few professional jobs and corporate jobs but many of these are wfh, and many self employed people. If women aren’t a teacher/nurse/similar or self employed in something other than cleaning there are not many opportunities other than nmw.
Yes people could move to a different area but that’s not easy with schooling, renting or selling own home. We’ve become a very immobile workforce mainly due to housing

Magnahot · 11/08/2025 10:35

Not everyone wants to or can live in houseshares. Would you want to be house sharing in your middle age?

nope I wouldn’t
But for some who are single and have worked for decades and on full time NMW and can’t afford to possibly live alone on £1750 net a month (unlikely) then yep, that’s what they’ll have to suck up

Magnahot · 11/08/2025 10:34

WeylandYutani · 11/08/2025 10:05

When rent in a nice area could be well over £1000pm?

My area is not nice at all and rent for a tiny flat is still about £900pm. But people in the low paid jobs still have to live here or those jobs wont get done. Not everyone wants to or can live in houseshares. Would you want to be house sharing in your middle age?

They might be able to afford the bare essentials but it would be a crap life and people in the lowest paid roles deserve to have the nicer things like everyone else does. Otherwise what is the point of living?

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If they’re living alone, they’re going to have to live in studio or move substantially further away

beachwalkx · 11/08/2025 10:30

Half the threads on here “I’m struggling on 50-100k”
the other half “min wage is £1750 per month, of course they can live off it”

Original poster

EuclidianGeometryFan · 11/08/2025 10:28

nearlylovemyusername · 11/08/2025 09:31

Full time NMW at 37.5h/week gives you £1730 net per month.
If it's a couple than it's totally liveable wage of £3460 per months for two adults and one child, your childcare would be heavily subsidised. I have no idea about any other possible benefits.

It's much tougher for a single person, rent would be in shared place most likely, but it's still doable. Not life of luxury for sure, but it's a liveable wage still.

ETA: but yes, I agree that NMW should be higher, or possibly personal allowance should be higher. What government could do is to rebalance the books by reducing welfare bill to make UC time limited but increase personal allowance instead so people who are working get more.

Edited

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What government could do is to rebalance the books by reducing welfare bill to make UC time limited but increase personal allowance instead so people who are working get more.

Both of those are truly dreadful ideas!

What on earth would a disabled person do when their 'time limited' UC ran out? Some people are on UC for life, because that is the way it is - they can't work.

Increasing the personal allowance for income tax is a right-wing propaganda idea. Studies have shown it disproportionally benefits the wealthiest:

a personal allowance increase to £12,500 would give £18 a year to households in the bottom 10% and £203 to households in the top 10%

Personal Tax Allowance: How an Increase Widens Inequality - Equality Trust

This is an old article as the allowance for 24/25 is 12570, but the maths remains true - increasing the personal allowance benefits the rich the most.

What would be better is to reduce the tax rate from 20% to say 15% for those earning under £28k (NMW is about £25.4k for 40 hr week), and increase the rates and/or thresholds for the higher earners. (Perhaps a 50% or 60% rate for those earning over £200k? Tax policy for high earners is complicated, balancing the amount raised against the risk of emigration.)

The personal allowance is not the issue, the % rate is the issue.

Personal Tax Allowance: How an Increase Widens Inequality - Equality Trust

A tax cut that helps high income households more than it helps low income households will not help solve inequality. It seems odd that this needs to be said, but judging from newspaper articles and think tank reports from the last week not everyone has...

https://equalitytrust.org.uk/news/blog/personal-tax-allowance-how-increase-widens-inequality/

OP posts:

Honon · 11/08/2025 10:28

Sunspecs · 10/08/2025 17:01

Some careers are definitely easier to progress in than outers, but it absolutely is possible to get a better job, not overnight, but definitely to work towards as a medium term goal.

My friend is single mum to 4 DC with a dad who's not much help. She does carework, which we know doesn't pay well. For the last 6 years she's also been studying and is about to qualify as a social worker. Six years because all she had was GCSEs before and she had to redo maths. It's been v v tough for her, but if she can do it in her circumstances, most could if they put their mind to it. Those who don't want to, of course can stay as they are, but it is possible if you want to earn more.

It's just not possible for everyone to push themselves like your friend has, though. I'm only an averagely mentally strong person and I'd simply have a breakdown if I took as much on as she has managed to. As it is I'm lucky I have a reasonable job but I really struggle to hold it down alongside parenting my one child alone. I just couldn't cope with studying on top of that.

Amazing respect to her but it's not a case of just putting your mind to it, you need to have exceptional fortitude to be able to do what she has done

5128gap · 11/08/2025 10:17

WeylandYutani · 11/08/2025 10:05

When rent in a nice area could be well over £1000pm?

My area is not nice at all and rent for a tiny flat is still about £900pm. But people in the low paid jobs still have to live here or those jobs wont get done. Not everyone wants to or can live in houseshares. Would you want to be house sharing in your middle age?

They might be able to afford the bare essentials but it would be a crap life and people in the lowest paid roles deserve to have the nicer things like everyone else does. Otherwise what is the point of living?

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Apparantly the point of living if you're not privileged is to work as hard as you can to make wealthy people richer and their lives more convenient by doing the stuff they don't want to do.
In your leisure, you can stare at them in awe and admiration and see them as your role models, believing the lie that if you work even harder at making them richer and their lives better, you too could have a nice life.