Am I being unrealistic? How old are you, and how much do you earn?

[adhdneedsajob]

Doing my tax return and depressed at how little my self employment brings in.
I have a degree in the arts from a RG university and over 20 years experience in the workplace I am 45 ffs and barely scraping £1200 a month
But am barely making any money

What do you do and how have you got there and how can I charge more for what I do?

I'm 30, DH is 28 and we earn around £140,000 a year. We run a plumbing and heating company, we started it 3 years ago and it's gradually growing bigger and bigger. Before we started our company DH was a gas engineer for a company in London earning £45,000 a year.

Wow. Good move PP!

I'm 48. I work part-time 3 half days per week and take home around 768 month.
DH around 2300 per month.
We also have a couple of rental properties that bring in a bit extra.

OP, I’m 40, a work in policy and am on £70k, which becomes £3500 net/month. It goes v quickly on mortgage and bills.

You said you’re self employed. In what? I think it’s products? But can’t advise without the field.

I’m 34, and I take home approx £2.35k per month. I am a civil engineer, 8 years into my career, working towards chartership and I have an undergrad degree from a former polytech uni and a masters degree from a non-RG uni. To get here, I picked a vocational uni course that gave me a clear route into the career. I’m not hugely ambitious but I worked hard to learn my skills. I work to live, not live to work.

I'm not sure comparing incomes is going to help you. If you want to earn more from self-employment, maybe tell us more about your business and then people may be able to suggest ideas to help boost it.

Teacher. 42 k gross py.
Knackered and disillusioned though.

Both 34. I work one day a week term time take home £760 a month. Husband approx £46,000 a year.

I’m 39 and on £88k base and just over £100k with my bonus. The husband is 44 years old and on £250k a year.

Im a middle manager (team lead/director) in a research agency and my husband is a self employed network lead working in investment banking.

Dh is a hgv driver earns £67k per year. I’m a specialist cleaner and earn around £24k per year.

I’m 42 and earn £2050 a month. I also have a second job that’s zero hours so I can be flexible in how many I do a month. It’s £28 an hour.

Networking is how you earn more. The most competent people are never at the top of the pile, it's the people who know how to sell their 'brand' whether that's to external clients or within circles inside an organisation. So you need to work out how to get in with the right people and promote yourself accordingly.

Should have said the £2050 is for 33 hours a week

I’m 57 and earn 35k gross. First-class humanities degree from top university.

£45,860 per year

Age 41, red brick arts graduate

Life abroad though ( not ME)

36, 30.5k, 2 years qualified, 60+k student debt.
Simply having a degree is irrelevant, what’s your job role and what’s your experience?

I agree with this, I'm an accountant on 45k but unless you're an accountant as well my salary won't help put yours into any kind of perspective etc.

It's really hard being self employed. I am too and have found things really hard since the pandemic. I have actually decided to try to find a salaried job now. At least it will mean a stable income.

My age and background is identical to you. I work in central govt and earn about £75k.

I’m 31, in accountancy and earn about £42k 😊

Hubby is sole earner. Engineer worked his way up over 15years and is now in Management away form the hands on stuff earning £54k. BUT he could earn more but he hates stress and know it will only get worse the higher he goes. He would be on £80k a year 5+years ago which annoys me as we still rent. We don't do Mortgages for religious reasons, but had he been earning more we would be on our way to buying our first little home even a 1 bed and then moving up the property ladder slowly.
I am still trying to convience him as he has a fantastic mind and a hard worker he could he doing wi much more!!!

Im 37, I earn €2800 a month and my DH about €3000 a month. I'm in healthcare, he's in a specialist safety role

Tech.
132k basic, plus between 50 and 80k bonus.
Arts degree from a second rate university.

I've been doing this for 22 years and broke six figures when I was 34. This is probably the highest my salary will go except incremental annual increases.

I work ridiculous hours, always have, and probably always will.

I love my job.

I'd also like more free time.

Not disclosing, but I'm at the highest I want to be. Any higher and I'd be into middle management, and that's not what I want. Pay rises from now on will be small, but stable.

That's the 'danger' with science. Waking up every day wanting to work, but limited on pay.

36, lawyer, salary of just over £150k which brings in around £7.5k pm. I went to law school straight after uni, got a training contract at a City firm and qualified at 24. Have worked in the same area ever since. DH is same age and a civil servant on £40k. We both work full time.