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Original poster

How much were you earning at 25?

174 replies

LeedleLee · 02/02/2022 17:19

Hi all. Just that really! I'm 25, graduated uni last year and have been working since. I have had jobs prior to this but they were all MW retail/waitressing type jobs. My current job is my first one in my desired/degree field.

I currently earn 21k. DP is 27 and earns 22k. We live in East Anglia. This is more than enough to support us and DD and we live comfortably, but a recent thread has left me feeling a little deflated, as people not much older than DP and I seem to be earning considerably more.

We both love our jobs and I know we have many years to develop our careers and salaries, but still, it is a little disheartening!

How much were you earning at 25, and how much are you earning now?

Thank you 😊

OP posts:
Asiama · 02/02/2022 22:23

OP please don't be disheartened. It all really depends on the type of job you do and where you are in the country so you can't really compare. On paper, at 25 I was earning a lot more than you, I think 55k. But I had a stressful London job with no time for a life outside work, and paying £1k per month on accommodation costs. I also had two degrees and other qualifications behind me, and about 5 years worth of relevant work experience. I would rather have met someone, had a baby and enjoyed life a bit more!

(Which I did get to do, but later in life).

PussGirl · 02/02/2022 22:24

£12K aged 25 in 1990

£85K now (& have been for the last 4 years)

Hellosunshine1993 · 02/02/2022 22:31

At 25 I was on £27k
Now I’m almost 30 on £52k after a couple of promotions/job moves. I work in London in construction - no degree

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Employment advice Jobs
SpaghettiArmsMurderer · 02/02/2022 22:38

@sparklecrazy unless you love where you are I’d consider looking for a new job, you might be able to get a nice raise Smile

GinJeanie · 02/02/2022 22:45

About 23k in mid 20s I think. I'm in my 50s and on about 42k. Am an SEN teacher so that's the limit if I want to remain clasroom-focused rather than on the management team.

chunkyBUTTsdonotlie · 02/02/2022 22:57

Entry level graduate job 17k ( but not a graduate scheme) , but it might be a bit more now as was sitting a few ££ above minimum wage then. I just had a google and think it's more like 20k now.

stevalnamechanger · 02/02/2022 23:03

@LeedleLee

Hi all. Just that really! I'm 25, graduated uni last year and have been working since. I have had jobs prior to this but they were all MW retail/waitressing type jobs. My current job is my first one in my desired/degree field.

I currently earn 21k. DP is 27 and earns 22k. We live in East Anglia. This is more than enough to support us and DD and we live comfortably, but a recent thread has left me feeling a little deflated, as people not much older than DP and I seem to be earning considerably more.

We both love our jobs and I know we have many years to develop our careers and salaries, but still, it is a little disheartening!

How much were you earning at 25, and how much are you earning now?

Thank you 😊

42k plus bonus / benefits and 4 years later on circa 75 plus bonus and benefits making it around 94k in value
CornishGem1975 · 02/02/2022 23:04

More than I'm earning now! 17 years ago...about £35k. Now £27k which is depressing

CornishGem1975 · 02/02/2022 23:07

Also, it is as a Labour government. The living was good, the salaries were high (so was the debt...) I've never been as well off as I was under Tony Blair #unpopularopinion It's been a downward spiral ever since.

bumblefeline · 02/02/2022 23:11

About £500 a month working part time in an office. I had a five year old,

Currently on zero, hoping to get a job soon but will be a poor minimum wage worker.

Everyone has such good salaries on here.

Itsketotime · 02/02/2022 23:16

Public sector - about £24k at 25 and £45k 10 years later, which includes 3.5 years out of work for childcare reasons.

gemloving · 02/02/2022 23:33

I was on 34k, it doubled because of a great headhunter at 26 but I'm in London.

UnvarnishedTruth · 03/02/2022 00:38

1998, 70k, London, IT

BarbaraofSeville · 03/02/2022 06:25

@CatJumperTwat

Why not look up statistics instead of asking a self-selecting sample here where people can lie? If you've spent five minutes on MN you'll know this thread won't help you stop feeling deflated...
This. Even if the disproportionately frequent high earners are being truthful, the salaries reported are far from representative of the population as a whole.

Asking about income on Mumsnet is asking a demographic that is strongly London/SE based professionals so very different to the average UK resident. Plus, while not everyone on here is a high earner, you won't get as many posts from the people who work part time as a cleaner, carer or in retail or hospitality because after the first few posts talking about six figure incomes, they feel that the thread is not for them.

If you want to know about average incomes, look for statistically robust data from the ONS, or something like ifs.org.uk/tools_and_resources/where_do_you_fit_in for a much better picture, rather than doing the virtual equivalent of walking into Waitrose in North London and asking the 20 women wearing the nicest coats in there. Smile

User0458832 · 03/02/2022 06:30

You won't get a good representation on here OP as these threads are generally answered by people that earn well, same in the mortgage threads.

NatalieH2220 · 03/02/2022 06:31

Can't remember exactly but around 23k

I earn similar now but work 10 hours less a week than I did then.

WutheringHeights66 · 03/02/2022 06:41

No good asking me as I’m 55 but DD earns 32k band 6 nhs. She’s 24 going on 25.

I was probably on the equivalent of about 27 if I compare the current pay skills on my grade then to now. I’m now on 40k FTE.

Original poster
LeedleLee · 03/02/2022 06:54

Thanks all. It's reassuring to know that many of you were earning pretty similar (or an equivalent) at our age. MN often seems like a parallel universe where everyone and their dog is a high earner Grin Then again they could be in London or the SE where the cost of living is extortionate compared to EA.

Comparison is definitely the thief of joy. I know that as long as we are happy and comfortable it doesn't really matter how much we actually earn, but it's still hard not to feel like you're failing sometimes. Because I have a degree a lot of my friends seem to think I should be earning mega bucks already, but it doesn't quite work like that HmmGrin

OP posts:
Original poster
LeedleLee · 03/02/2022 06:58

@BarbaraofSeville Apparently we earn more than 52% of the population, so pretty much average. Certainly doesn't seem that way on MN sometimes, but that is reassuring. Thank you for sharing that.

OP posts:
dubyalass · 03/02/2022 07:33

£18k then, £26k now, the most I've ever earned. But I've changed career several times and always had to start from the bottom. I also don't live in London. Work in civil service so asking for a higher salary not an option and not yet experienced enough to go for a promotion. I love my job and it would be nice to earn a bit more but I do ok.

NightmareSlashDelightful · 03/02/2022 07:45

A combination of nothing and an hourly rate set by the recruitment agency. I lost my retail job at 24 and struggled to find another. So I was unemployed for a bit and then took temp work.

You’ll find it’s your 30s when you really start to see big gains, if you’re career-focused and ambitious.

Sleepyquest · 03/02/2022 07:53

Well this has depressed me Grin
I need a new job!

hivemindneeded · 03/02/2022 08:01

@Asdf12345

At 25 I was still at uni.

55k at 26, seven years later about 115 from all sources but it’s been an unusually good year.

All that said since finishing uni I have more or less lived at work, only once lived in one place for more than two years, seen family a handful of times a year, and am now in a role where the culture is take minimal leave and work long hours. You hopefully have better balance in life.

No criticism of @Asdf12345 but I would way way rather be on £21k in East Anglia with time to enjoy with friends and family than five times that much but at work all day and night.
teaandtoastwithmarmite · 03/02/2022 10:39

I was on about 18k at 25. Now I'm on 23k so not much different. DH has increased by 3 times though.

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 03/02/2022 10:42

40 now. DH 37