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Original poster

Does anyone here have an ‘average’ job with an average wage?

157 replies

gummybearrr · 09/09/2025 08:45

A weird thread I know but, whenever I see posts on here about income, jobs, wages, I’m just in awe, people earning 100k+ (I don’t think I know anyone who earns that??) and there seems to be so many, all with really good jobs too, no debt, owns their own house, I mean - good for your you’ve worked hard for this, that’s my dream but unfortunately not yet..

so, is anyone here like me? Never really had ambition to do anything when I was younger. I work in retail on checkout (or I did, I’m on maternity) earning min wage, Dh is a manager in retail and earns just a little above NMW but not by much, we have UC top up and private rent, we’ve nearly paid ALL our debt (yay)!!! But sadly don’t think home owning is something we will ever do, I do plan on going to college when DC is older to try and get a good job, (I don’t know what, I’m one of those people who want to do something good but with no clue as to what) but yeah, I class myself as extremely average, to which I’ve never really come across anyone really on Mumsnet!

this is not me slating these people - I wish I was you 🤣

OP posts:
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SharpFox · 02/11/2025 21:32

I work in social care, so yep. I'm same as you - get uc on top of wages and rent privately. Would love to buy a house but can't afford in my area (where I grew up). Been completely gentrified and us 'normal' folk have been priced out...

TheNinny · 15/09/2025 11:52

NHS admin role, 34K. Full time 37h. Not too exciting but I have flexible working and leave the job at the door (mostly). Has great pension scheme and I don’t have the fear on Sundays very often. DH earns higher at 49K so we financially comfortable with 1 DC. If I was a single parent it would still be considered a fairly decent wage where I live as full time, above living wage is quite hard to find at the moment.

cadburyegg · 12/09/2025 09:50

I earn 35k doing 30 hours a week. Full time I’d be on 42k. I have a degree and my job is a professional one. Fairly “high up” at work but not management.

Also receive child benefit and a small UC top up. Single parent of two children in primary school. No maintenance from their dad.

I feel like my wage is fine but everything is so expensive. My mortgage and bills take most of my wage. I live in the south east. I inherited money after my dad died which is the only reason I was able to buy my ex out of the house - average 3 bed semi.

Plastictreees · 11/09/2025 20:53

Littletreefrog · 11/09/2025 20:40

A 50k admin job is average?!!! I work full time in a regulated profession with a professional qualification and only earn £30k.

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Executive PA maybe?!

TheGreatWesternShrew · 11/09/2025 20:43

I used to get an average wage (28-43k) but it wasn’t an average job and it had qualification requirements and was very stressful and was full of ambitious people (journalism). I travelled the world doing it but eventually decided to leave as it’s too tumultuous, loads of lay offs, low wages for the stress and frankly I can do without death threats being sent to me.

Littletreefrog · 11/09/2025 20:40

Doggymummar · 09/09/2025 09:15

I'm unemployed, but before that I worked in admin for £50k WFH so pretty average

A 50k admin job is average?!!! I work full time in a regulated profession with a professional qualification and only earn £30k.

NotMyNigelFarage · 11/09/2025 20:39

Truck driver/plant operative earning between £40-£50k. Very average by mumsnet standards.

FieldInWhichFucksAreGrownIsBarren · 11/09/2025 20:37

SereneCoralDog · 11/09/2025 20:19

That's not even minimum wage so definitely not 'average'!

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I said previously, didn't specify when...

MoominMai · 11/09/2025 20:33

Doggymummar · 09/09/2025 09:15

I'm unemployed, but before that I worked in admin for £50k WFH so pretty average

Interesting you class that as an average wage. It’s all subjective though, your peers must be very high earners indeed!

Didimum · 11/09/2025 20:27

As others have said. You’re not ‘average’, OP, but you are in plentiful company, even if it doesn’t seem online.

4% of workers in the UK earn £100k +, 6.5% are on minimum wage, and a whopping 50-60 % of employees are earning under £30k

SereneCoralDog · 11/09/2025 20:19

FieldInWhichFucksAreGrownIsBarren · 11/09/2025 20:16

Ha ha ha, fuck sake. Nooooo, I previously worked in admin and earned around £18k-that is average for an admin role 🙄

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That's not even minimum wage so definitely not 'average'!

FieldInWhichFucksAreGrownIsBarren · 11/09/2025 20:16

Doggymummar · 09/09/2025 09:15

I'm unemployed, but before that I worked in admin for £50k WFH so pretty average

Ha ha ha, fuck sake. Nooooo, I previously worked in admin and earned around £18k-that is average for an admin role 🙄

Selflessness · 11/09/2025 20:07

Me
I don't't monkeys about money because it was never on my radar.
I am better working than not. So have always worked. My job is fun, beneficial to sociey and I'm good at it.
I wanted a home of my own ( but not particularly bothered about investment). I've got a HA property with lifetime lease.

Average is fine !

user1476613140 · 11/09/2025 19:28

blondebombsite13 · 11/09/2025 19:24

I’m so intrigued by this, particularly having 4 kids! What are your outgoings if you don’t mind my asking?

we have less kids than you, but we both work. I’d have loved to have been a SAHM but it was just never an option for us.

Housing is fairly expensive where we are, both to buy and rent. Are you in a cheaper part of the country?

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Mortgage free, was paid off years ago which helps massively to allow me to have been a SAHM all these years.

It hasn't been easy though. Three have been awarded disability benefits. Two have autism. So where we don't have the same money worries we do have a lot of health issues within the family.

blondebombsite13 · 11/09/2025 19:24

user1476613140 · 09/09/2025 18:30

We have slightly less household income than this and have managed fine over the years. Got four DC, eldest 18yo. You just get on with it. I have been a SAHM for 17 years now.

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I’m so intrigued by this, particularly having 4 kids! What are your outgoings if you don’t mind my asking?

we have less kids than you, but we both work. I’d have loved to have been a SAHM but it was just never an option for us.

Housing is fairly expensive where we are, both to buy and rent. Are you in a cheaper part of the country?

PrincessC0nsuelaBananaHammock · 10/09/2025 17:30

HuskyNew · 10/09/2025 16:05

Minimum wage is £25k these days

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£25,350 is what I'm on, DH is on £22,795.

Applepastry · 10/09/2025 17:01

@hungrypanda4
Yes I am why?

OhMeOhMi · 10/09/2025 16:41

I studied at evening classes after my degree, (as it wasn't very useful!), to get myself about the average pay bracket.

Have had to keep studying ever since. Kind of worn out tbh.

hungrypanda4 · 10/09/2025 16:36

Applepastry · 09/09/2025 11:55

I think I win (or not).
DP works in a school (term time only) as a technician, so earns around £20k, take home a month around £1500 as he pays into pension etc.

I am disabled so we claim UC top up, I get the work element and PIP too. Which brings our monthly income to £2,800. That includes child benefit for our son.
We wouldn’t cope on any less. It’s a real struggle. We own our house and pay mortgage, so not eligible for housing benefit. We live in the North so living costs slightly cheaper.

You’re getting £1300 a month in benefits?

garlictwist · 10/09/2025 16:15

I work in comms at a university and am on 28k. Wish I could earn more but the wages are quite low in this sector.

Cherrycola4 · 10/09/2025 16:13

I earn a low wage - just over minimum wage, but I love my job so I don’t care. I work with children, spend lots of my day laughing and don’t have to work long hours/school holidays. Money isn’t everything.

HuskyNew · 10/09/2025 16:09

Juicymed · 10/09/2025 15:09

What does “average” look like to you? I only ask that because £30k total family income with children be incredibly difficult in south east

Edited
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I agree that an average lifestyle is very subjective. There’s no way my social circles average lifestyle could be funded on £30k family income.

HuskyNew · 10/09/2025 16:08

Christmasnewyear · 09/09/2025 18:58

NC for this. Thank you for this thread. Exactly why I didn’t post on the other thread as I didn’t want my genuine post to be mislabelled, so I thought, why bother!

have found reading this thread interesting. What has stood out was a chorus of ‘ I don’t know anyone on 100k’.

to bring balance, I don’t know anyone on less than 120k.’

Isn’t there some indication, in there?

i am sure mn has diverse people and it is interesting reading different perspectives. One can also choose to avoid some threads by just looking at the title.

Edited

Everyone meets people of those extremes in daily life.

The NHS consultant buys a Costa.
The Costa worker meets her kids headteacher.
The Headteacher collects her child from nursery.
The Nursery worker has coffee with her uni friend who runs her own business.

Each of those has a £100k+ worker meeting a less than £30k worker.

Plastictreees · 10/09/2025 16:06

Crushed23 · 10/09/2025 15:55

But there’s no one who doesn’t know a single person earning £100k if they engage in every day things like going to the dentist, having a GP appointment, giving birth or any other medical need under consultant care, sending children to a school where there is a Headteacher. People just like to pretend that £100k pay is so incredibly rare that anyone on MN claiming to earn anywhere near that is a “fantasist”.

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I think people mean they don’t know these people personally. Not that they never come into contact with higher earners.

HuskyNew · 10/09/2025 16:05

PrincessC0nsuelaBananaHammock · 09/09/2025 17:28

50k isn't pretty average! That's more than both DH and I earn combined!

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Minimum wage is £25k these days