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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think this salary is an insult?

345 replies

FlyingSolo16 · 26/10/2025 11:38

I’m a solicitor and recently interviewed for a position. Five rounds of interview, meetings with different people within the firm, etc etc.

Get to the offer stage and the “competitive salary” they’re offering was £27,500 a year. AIBU or is that an insult?

OP posts:
Crushed23 · 26/10/2025 17:12

Rhinohides · 26/10/2025 16:20

If this is for your training contract or even first couple of years and not London based, I would take it. Competition fierce and as previous posters say, generally you need to know someone for an entry.
once your foot is in the door, specialize then look for an out.
Yes, I think it’s an insult but it can pay in the long run to turn the other cheek- a bird in the hand as they say

It’s partly this kind of attitude why wages have stagnated so much in the UK. Businesses pay as little as they can get away with. We shouldn’t be letting them get away with ridiculous salaries. OP is a qualified solicitor. She should absolutely not accept such a low salary. She said she’s in a job currently so it’s not like she desperately needs to earn. Best to hold out for a better paid role.

Crushed23 · 26/10/2025 17:01

FlyingSolo16 · 26/10/2025 16:21

Graduates, not actual solicitors? As I said. A solicitors salary used to be enough to support a family with one salary.

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They were solicitors and barristers. It was just a TV show but very representative of the life of young professionals in the 1990s.

TheNinny · 26/10/2025 17:00

yes it’s taking the piss. secretaries with 1 interview and a typing test earn 33k (in scotland).

VaccineSticker · 26/10/2025 16:59

FlyingSolo16 · 26/10/2025 11:42

It seems like we can’t anymore. Salaries are just stagnating.

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Not an Aldi, our local Aldi is recruiting for £26k !!! Honestly I am tempted of packing in what I’m doing and just go for an Aldi job. Hassle, stress free job and good pay. This country has killed all aspiration left in it.

WearyCat · 26/10/2025 16:59

For a 40-hour week, it’s £13.22 per hour.

For context that’s less than a pound an hour more than NMW.

For further context my H is on £13/hr as an unskilled labourer in a local company (that’s the title for his role). He’s expecting that wage to go up soon to £14/hr. While I don’t subscribe to the view that white-collar roles are inherently more valuable than manual jobs, at all, my H is working outside of the industry he trained in and got his 20 years of experience, he walked in to this job with very little relevant experience. OP has studied, done further training and professional exams, and has work experience in that field and is offered the same money as he is on. It’s not hard to see that something has gone very wrong with careers, education, and cost of living in this country.

Hotflushesandchilblains · 26/10/2025 16:57

OchreSnail · 26/10/2025 11:42

That's a ridiculous salary, and yes, insulting.

I've seen so many jobs advertised recently with frankly laughable salaries that bear no relation to the cost of existing as an adult. i do wonder how people are supposed to live?

Psychotherapist and counselling salaries are regressing at a really fast pace - no meaningful pay increases in the NHS for over a decade and private companies wanting to pay 10 - 20K less than NHS positions would pay.

Legolava · 26/10/2025 16:56

Yes!

WhitstablePearl · 26/10/2025 16:55

That is ridiculous, especially for a private client lawyer - I’ve been trying to recruit one for ages, and we start at about £35-£40 for NQ, not in London

MsCactus · 26/10/2025 16:53

FlyingSolo16 · 26/10/2025 16:41

No, not unless you’re at a larger firm.

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OP - why don't you get a job at a larger firm? All the solicitors I know earn v well

pointythings · 26/10/2025 16:52

That's a joke. I earn more than that and I'm a PA in the NHS.

Original poster
FlyingSolo16 · 26/10/2025 16:41

TeaRoseTallulah · 26/10/2025 16:38

It'll go up quickly though,won't it? My friend's dd started at that and is on 50 now a couple of years later.

I do think for what solicitors do the pay is shockingly low, it's a complete myth they're all rolling in it.

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No, not unless you’re at a larger firm.

OP posts:
TeaRoseTallulah · 26/10/2025 16:38

FlyingSolo16 · 26/10/2025 11:57

I said no.

im an NQ, but this role is open to all and it’s apparently their flat rate across the firm for all solicitors. There’s “generally” a 5% pay rise each year.

It'll go up quickly though,won't it? My friend's dd started at that and is on 50 now a couple of years later.

I do think for what solicitors do the pay is shockingly low, it's a complete myth they're all rolling in it.

NewsdeskJC · 26/10/2025 16:35

I work in insurance claims. We pay £24k plus bonus to school leavers to answer the phones.

Fandango52 · 26/10/2025 16:35

Florencesndzebedee · 26/10/2025 16:29

Could you not pivot to commercial law in London? £150 K starting salary.

I appreciate you’re trying to come up with a well-meant solution, but I don’t think it’s workable.

It is almost impossible to get into that sort of role as it’s staggeringly competitive and the work-life balance is zero.

OP would be competing with new graduates with perfect grades, connections and experience, who are willing and able to work 12-15hr+ shifts in the office at least 5 days a week and dedicate their life to work with barely any social life.

I don’t know OP’s circumstances, and I apologise for being so blunt, which I don’t mean to be, but I think there is a very slim chance that OP would be able to successfully apply for a commercial law role at a top London firm if the roles they’re currently applying for advertise a £27.5k salary.

Ilovemycatsanddogs · 26/10/2025 16:31

Florencesndzebedee · 26/10/2025 16:29

Could you not pivot to commercial law in London? £150 K starting salary.

😂

Florencesndzebedee · 26/10/2025 16:29

Could you not pivot to commercial law in London? £150 K starting salary.

Fandango52 · 26/10/2025 16:26

FlyingSolo16 · 26/10/2025 16:21

Graduates, not actual solicitors? As I said. A solicitors salary used to be enough to support a family with one salary.

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What level solicitor are you, OP - if you don’t mind me asking? And are you based in London/the South East, or elsewhere? And what sort of salary would you expect for the rule you applied for, and what’s your current salary? You don’t have to answer, of course, but this might help with calibrating the salary of the job you applied for with the expected salary of similar roles in your area.

Original poster
FlyingSolo16 · 26/10/2025 16:21

Crushed23 · 26/10/2025 16:18

When you say “now”, this has been the case for decades. The TV show ‘This Life’ aired in the mid-1990s and was literally about a group of law graduates who were house sharing.

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Graduates, not actual solicitors? As I said. A solicitors salary used to be enough to support a family with one salary.

OP posts:
Rhinohides · 26/10/2025 16:20

If this is for your training contract or even first couple of years and not London based, I would take it. Competition fierce and as previous posters say, generally you need to know someone for an entry.
once your foot is in the door, specialize then look for an out.
Yes, I think it’s an insult but it can pay in the long run to turn the other cheek- a bird in the hand as they say

NoodleHorses · 26/10/2025 16:20

I make more salary as a claims handler.

  1. Rounds of interviews for a solicitor? That’s not enough for what you do.
Crushed23 · 26/10/2025 16:18

FlyingSolo16 · 26/10/2025 16:03

I’m not judging anyone that does it, it’s just a shame to me that this is the way our society functions now.

Show quote history

When you say “now”, this has been the case for decades. The TV show ‘This Life’ aired in the mid-1990s and was literally about a group of law graduates who were house sharing.

Original poster
FlyingSolo16 · 26/10/2025 16:17

WaryCrow · 26/10/2025 16:08

It has destroyed the entire social fabric, all the social contracts, that I was born into and the baby boomers still expect to enjoy. This is not the same country it was - meritocracy is dead, the infosphere that democracy relies on is dead and what little is left hopelessly corrupted (yay the internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, if anyone remembers enough to grasp that point).

And most of all, this is normalised and so there is little hope for change now. The elites are just going to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze, until either something like the French Revolution erupts or people are just dying on the streets. I would say, thank god for the low birth rate, but of course the elites can replace us from around the world now.

Edited

There’s so many people who seem to think it’s not just the norm but should be celebrated.

Back in the 70s one professional salary was enough to bring up a family and live comfortably. 50 years on, it’s only enough for a flat share. Maybe a house share if you’re lucky.

OP posts:
Catfox1 · 26/10/2025 16:14

Timewasters. I genuinely think my secretary deservedly gets paid more.

Onegingerhead · 26/10/2025 16:13

I have a feeling that whenever you see “competitive salary” in a job description, it’s usually best to steer clear. More often than not, it’s just code for “slightly above minimum wage” or whatever the lowest the role can legally pay.

LupinLou · 26/10/2025 16:11

A lot of these roles are going to start falling foul of minimum wage legislation unless they stick absolutely to contracted hours.