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

I did yes, before I retired. I don’t live in London though. I think the Mumsnet demographic is heavily weighted towards London and the south east.

I earn 31k full time and have moved up the ladder! DH on min wage, we're very average, and in our fifties.

Teacher - £34k a year.

DH - Bank admin - £30k ish.

very average!

Fortunately we live in the NW and bought our very average 3 bed semi for £120k around 15 years ago or so and just paid it off so we can live quite well.

Dont have a lot of savings but pensions are ok. One holiday a year.

I know what you mean - I work in mental health too, did 3 postgrad qualifications and spent my twenties earning peanuts whilst spending an extortionate amount on rent! It was very demoralising.

I don’t know what your specific job is, thankfully things improved for me in my thirties when I completed a doctorate which led to better paying jobs. But I remember the stress and uncertainty of those years very well.

Public sector posts are woefully under funded and under resourced.

sorry you feel this way - i can relate - what was the right degree out of interest :)

Over half the population have average paid jobs.

I work as a seamstress doing tailoring and alterations.
Work is not consistent at all, it's one of those jobs like busses you don't get any work for ages, then twenty jobs come in at once and you have to tell people to wait ages or go elsewhere!!

Nevermind though, I wouldn't do anything else.

I earn about 10-12K a year.
Husband and I own our own house, no mortgage. He and I are politically and artistically active outside of work, as life is more than your job and money.

Statistics don't lie, but people do. As PP have said, median UK household disposable income is about £36,700 as of 2024 - that means half of households have more income than this, and half have less.

The way tax assessment works in the UK along with the cash-in-hand culture makes it, by European standards, really easy to under-report income for people not on PAYE, so I don't doubt that there will be many households better off than the figures suggest.

On the other hand, the distribution curve of household income is nowhere near a traditional bell shape. The ONS doesn't calculate or publish a modal average which would be the figure more households are on than any other; my guess is that it would be a good bit lower than the median. The mean is significantly higher than the median, because it is distorted by small numbers of extremely high incomes. Whichever way you look at it, when the cost of living is taken into account the UK is no longer a rich country.

But more than that, I suspect many of the people here spending all day typing massive essays on MN are either in £100k+ jobs where they don't actually have to do anything all day long (unlikely), or they're fantasists.

Do those of you on these salaries having holidays also save an amount per month? I would find it very hard to do both.

Live in SE currently on MAT leave atm but will be going back part time 4 days per week and will hopefully earn over £30k which is pretty good. Partner earns over £45k. Live in a 3 bed terrace. Luckily had 2 holidays in UK so far this year. Very average but happy.

Looking at the answers here and the people on 100k I suppose I am pretty average. No debt but don’t own (our bills are cheap so not sure whether I would want to change that although security would be great). Full time nurse.
Better off than many but worse off than many others. I love my job which makes a huge difference.

Compared to my childhood I feel like a millionaire.

I’m a adult social worker and earn £45k my DW earns slightly more. We’ve both only just reached these wages in last few years though. We’ve own a house but shared ownership. We wracked up a lot of debt in our 20s but we’ve gone from £45k worth of debt (including a finance car) to £13k. Feel quite well off now but we’re both from working class families. Don’t have children yet so maybe will feel a lot less well off when we finally have a baby

I work 37 hours per week in a hybrid admin role and I earn £29.5K. My mortgage will soon be paid off (due to inheritance), I own my car, and I don't have any debt.

I once read a thread on here where a woman described her partner has having a good salary. He earned 45k from memory and all the posts after just belittled it as not good at all and were actually quite patronising. I work in an emergency services and know loads of people who live a good life on that type of money. I do live in the north though so maybe that makes a difference

The median salary in London is 47k so 50k isn't on the low side.

This is what I mean about median feeling poor because it is much lower than the mean. The mean is harder to calculate though, as the very rich will have complicated sources of income.

£50K isn't average but then neither is minimum wage. I dislike this idea that anyone earning above MW or NLW is somehow out of touch.

I do freelance work. Maybe £15k a year around my health issues and home educating.

My husband works full time. £28k a year.

It is in London. Even on the low side.

London and just below high rate tax threshold here

Me. I make £36k with around £6k per year in bonuses.

Part time admin, 17k a year, single parent to three children in rented accommodation. UC claimant. However when my youngest starts secondary school next year I fully intend to return to work full time.

I work in the civil service and earn about £32k.

Had another career before this with a higher salary and much greater earning potential but there’s more to life than meaningless deadlines and WIP.

I earn 28k working for a homeless charity. Dh on 30k but works part time so earns 23k. Live in the south east but still manage a holiday or two each year. We are below average. I like my job though

How do you survive on this?!

Surely average must be above minimum wage- otherwise that wouldn't be average thats the least you would earn? Or are we assuming mode rather than median averages?

I am a nurse- average job I'd say! Earn about £42k a year 30 hours a week, whole time would be £52k. We would really struggle on just my salary I don't know how people manage on much less and we aren't excessive! DH is on £80k odd which doesnt feel a huge amount after tax etc.

Exactly. My 'average' household income of around 70k pa gets us quite a nice life but we: have 1 kid who no longer needs paid child care, live in a very cheap part of the country, pay £400 a month mortgage.

I can see how a family of 5 in the SE with 2 kids in nursery and a huge mortgage could find it tight even on double our household income.

I feel you, I often feel depressed seeing what people earn on here!
I was in legal admin at 27k but now sahm and DH is on around 45k. Distinctly average!