How much do you earn if female?

[Pommesdeterre]

Just back from holidays with three other female friends, all in our 40s. We got talking about salaries and future earning aspirations. Am on 65k and might get to 75k on three years but not sure where to go beyond that as am in the public sector. My friends are similar. But not sure whether that's the norm especially as we all live in London.

The answers on this thread are absolutely not typical.

I am a low earner I work in a school approx 17k per annum, 22k FTE. My husband earns approx 50k. I used to earn more pre children but I much prefer my job now.

I was a bit surprised the other day to find out that the top 1% of highest (income tax paying) earners are ‘only’ earning 160k. Only approx 43% of adults pay income tax.

That means an awful lot of people are to be considered low earners in this country.

I wouldn't and I am one 😆🙈

As lovely as (some) of my colleagues are, they are very middle class and self centered as a rule ime.

I'm not in London. Two degrees, other PG quals, a decade in industry and over a decade in education. FTE would be about £52k I think but I'm on a part time post.

Am certainly not planning on taking anything to HR ;-) The trouble is that with spinal points and fixed salaries, you cant actually just complain to HR or move to a different company on a higher wage. My wage would be pretty much the same at all other RG unis. Same for my friends, we are all on fairly fixed payscales.

I work in a school, also £17,000. I’ve got two degrees and should probably do something else!

That's very low for 25yrs experience in any industry, let alone pharma. What job do you do?

Late 40’s - £43k full time

It's funny how 'we' scientists, considered to be the brains of the country, undergoing probably the longest continuous education of anyone, get paid consistently low salaries, with the imoression that we enjoy our work, and therefore no need to entice us with bigger pay cheques.

I totally agree and am really surprised at the low pay. My sibling moved into pharma but got out of lab work and is earning loads.

full time, where I work about £80k but am part time so one £60k. Could probably earn about £100k FT in one of the corporates if I so wanted

Aged 50, I’m earning 195k plus 7% employers pension contribution along with benefits such as private health insurance.

I’ve worked FT throughout my career taking 5 to 6 mths Mat Leave when kids were born. I have one unrelated degree. Like some previous posters, I work in the public sector in a somewhat niche role. I don’t believe family and friends really ‘get’ what I do, in fact I would imagine many think I work in an admin role and that the DH is the main earner. DH earns considerably less than I do.

I’m 27 and I’m on £24k a year

In my profession it’s practically unheard of to work 9-5 and not unusual to work 60-80 hour weeks. Any senior corporate job will be similar- sorry to disappoint. The teachers I know work the shortest hours out of my friends group.

I think the one of the most useful things women can do is talk openly about careers and salaries.

Im mid 30s without children and my salary is 90,000, a bonus took it to a little over 100 this year. I have added 25,000 to my salary in the past year and a half with strategic internal moves and negotiation. I imagine I’ll stay at this level for a while now.

I'm 41 on 30k per year, although I'm part time so it's less. Same company for 20 years and still at same level. No qualifications other than 2 GCSEs, it's just an office job and the next level up would be team manager which I don't want to do.

I work in HE part time as a lecturer and also work as a self-employed consultant. I lecture because I love it but I’d earn too little if I did it full-time. I earn way more in my self-employer role but I don’t find it terribly fulfilling.

About 135k, mid manager in FinTech. I am 43 now but been over 100k since mid/late 30s

Have you never looked at the pay scales for your own organisation, OP? In my CS department £65-£75k is Grade 6. Common sense would tell you there are far more women earning less than you than otherwise.

42, on £15k ish for 3 days per week, got one undergraduate and two post grad degrees. Keep thinking I should do something to earn a bit more but haven't got a bloody clue what or how to go about it.

I have looked at pay scales in my sector. However, in our case, we effectively only have three ranks lecturer, associate prof, prof - unless we get into HE admin. I wonder whether HE has the least scope of progression of all professions, over the course of my career, I could only get promoted twice as there are only three rung on our ladder.

Many careers have salary ceilings for most but the select few as there is no real need or business value (usually financial) paying for extended skill sets. HE is well known to be one of them.

If you want more money you need to take your transferable skills and move to a different sector where there might be more opportunities, but it will be a tough move. I moved from supply chain to IT in my 40s and it was painful.

As One of the lower earning posters, really interested to hear some practical advice from those of you that have moved sectors / career changed to boost your income. At 48 I'd love to think I could take my foot off the gas by 60 but on my current wage and with minimal pension it's looking more like full throttle until 70 .

Full time local government,

take home pay after tax, pension, NI works out at £9.67 per hour.

so well under the norm

£70k - I’m very late 30s. Role is in the south west.

The majority of my social circle are women and I’d say 75% of them earn 6 figures a year, with the remainder earning somewhere around the national average.

I am in my late 30s, 3 kids and I WFH FT as general counsel and earn £135k plus up to 40% bonus (not guaranteed so not included that). I don't live in London, where doing my type of role would have a considerably higher salary, but then so would my outgoings.

Everyone is talking about their gross incomes though so that's not comparing like with like.