Better paying Careers.

[BirdFeederFun]

My daughter's thinking about A level options and I thought I'd ask here.

Lots of people say nursinf/teaching isnt well paid (35-45 once established) so I'm curious as to what you can plan to go into that pays more. It's not really in my realm of expertise.

Obviously there's doctors and lawyers and programming but there's all these general jobs that people go into what do they look like and how?

The other things she wondered about are optometry and psychologist but I know the psychologist route is hard.

People seem to switch careers on mn is that more general "business" jobs. And what are they? Project management? I do t really know. Do you just do any degree and a graduate programme or can you go into that world a different way?

Thankyou

Eta currently I think 35-45 IS well paid and I'd love to get back into a job paying that. Despite 2 degrees I've failed at the career thing hence asking here.

Anything in Finance will be well paid. Even finance assistants make more than admin assistants. HR usually pays well especially when you get about 5 years under your belt.

I work in corporate training; depending on the organisation this can be very well paid with a company bonus attached to the salary. I've worked in Learning & Development teams as well as Sales Enablement. Sales Enablement tends to pay better by 30% or more, so I've stayed in that side of things - heads of department typically get a six figure salary or near enough. I don't have a degree, but I do have a Level 5 CIPD qualification in Learning & Development, which has been very well received by various employers. My colleagues have all sorts of different university degrees that have no bearing on their jobs today.

Funnily enough I'd wondered if I'd be able to love from teaching into L and D and work up.. Or if it's a young shiny person's game.

But really it was more to advise my duaghter it's so hard to know at 16 what you'd like or enjoy in a career.

Surely It’s important to choose options you’re interested in and enjoy. It also depends on whether you consider earning a high salary is the main consideration.

I wouldn’t have coped with spending a working life doing something I hated just for the money. Enjoyment and fulfilment is important.

Of course, anything in the financial sector will be highly paid, but certain trades can be very well paid too. People need plumbers, electricians and soon.

I suppose dentistry, medicine and related careers are well paid, but not immediately.

If she's looking at healthcare look at what the band 7 and up jobs are - there's a large variety. If she's good with numbers then she wants to look at a graduate pathway with someone like PWC or KPMG. If she like pouring over paperwork and formulating and argument law or insurance might be the way to go. If she's good with practical things get her to college and learning a trade.

Loads of teachers move into L&D, so it's definitely a possibility for you.

When my DC were this age, I encouraged them to follow their interests and remember that most people change careers at least once or twice in their working life, so the decision they make at this age isn't necessarily a permanent one. Follow your interests and develop your talents, and see what happens next.

She should study something she loves at as good a uni as possible (and make sure she gets a 2:1 for maximum possibilites on grad schemes). There are lots of careers that pay well that don’t require a specific degree. I’ve got a chemistry degree (and a PhD) and am an accountant. If I were doing things again I’d have become an actuary instead…neither of those careers require a specific degree. Yes, you might get a couple of exemptions from professional exams if you do but, frankly, that’s made no odds to my career. Other things that are not degree specific include law (although it then takes an extra year), HR, civil service and I’m sure there are many more.

My DS is going into policy. Starts at about £35k and will likely go into 6 figures as he moves forward depending on what route he takes and how good he is

So they've seen how we live (terraced house, not a lot of spare money) and explicitly want to "do better" so this has formed part of their questioning. You really don't know at 16 how much careers pay or what they will look like do you.

Theyre in a Grammar school and will get good grades but then I was told to do what I enjoy, have amazong qualifications and have dropped out of teaching with burn out so I think them having half an eye as to what things pay is worth it.

They will definitely pursue interests but again at 16 I didn't know what half these jobs where and so didn't know they were there. Ones interested in chemistry other in craft and maths..currently. But so many people end up in jobs unrelated to their degrees.

If she goes and does an optometry degree (ie just had an eye test and thought oh that looks fun) then that's a particular career path marked out isn't it based on a half hour appointment.

I know I'm waffling but I think higher earning parents and wlel connected parents mean their children are exposed to all these ideas and jobs in a way mine aren't currently. They just know they won't teach!

I think in a really general way, “doing things” salaries top out about £45k and “running things” salaries stretch higher and higher. At this point I’d encourage her to find a career where she enjoys doing whatever it is. At some point she may progress to running it, and that’s where the higher salaries come in. (Obviously this does not apply to absolutely everything!)

Lots of people on mumsnet thread say things like "well people know teaching and nursing aren't well paid..." (I think they can be but I guess people's definitions vary)

So I kind of wondered what all these people that think nurses are badly paid went into as well.

What does going into policy mean? I'm curious about OPs question too as my DC are making their choices.

Yes, I get you - you don't know what you don't know. Are there any careers conversations happening at school? Work experience opportunities? I agree that doing what you enjoy only takes you so far at age 16, and I also agree that a bit of a flinty-eyed focus on potential salary is no bad thing.

I'd start by researching jobs related to the subjects they're taking now, maybe even use ChatGPT for the research, asking it for job titles and responsibilities. Look on LinkedIn and Glassdoor for salary ranges and years of experience required. Then research grad programmes, internships, and apprenticeship schemes. Work backwards and find out what the basic requirements are to apply for these, and go from there.

You might be surprised at what sort of opportunities exist out there, for example, I know that BT offers graduate schemes in a variety of technical roles that open a lot of doors for people.

I think it’s worth calling out that degrees don’t automatically equal career success. So many fall into that trap.
I know plenty of academically qualified people who just don’t add proper value in the workplace and hence never progress through levels of responsibility or earn much money.
And I know more grafters who don’t have mahogany framed paperwork, but who learn quickly, retain information, use it appropriately and who are incredibly successful in their careers.
Young people should be aware of this early before loading themselves up with wasted time / debt and assume employers will just be tripping over themselves to pay them lots of money. Graduates are genuinely ten a penny. There was even an assumption it was a foot in the door to interview… these days smart employers open the door to all smart candidates regardless or extended school based bits of paper.

In terms of career success, which is not all just about money, I coach others using an Ikigai framework:

what you love (your passion so you enjoy daily work and have high productivity)

what the world needs (your mission so you remember that bigger purpose when you're tired and losing motivation or so that you focus on solving bigger problems / opportunities)

what you are good at (your vocation so you might need a degree as a minimum ie accountant or doctor, the world is fiercely competitive so never forget you’re competing with other Jack and Jills’s every single day who are trying to get ahead as well).

what you can get paid for (your profession so that you’re adding value people will pay for and you’re getting your slice of the cake, no point grafting away producing products or services that aren’t valued, you’ll just be a busy fool doing lots for very little money in return).

Yes love the matrix but knowing what's out there that people will pay for is the tricky bit isn't it beyond the happy land type characters of "dr, nurse, teacher, fireman, tradesman, hairdresser, baker...",

Most mn people who wfh say with a high salary aren't from these groups and I have no idea what they actually DO.

Civil service? They have a good graduate pathway.

But not that many six-figure jobs!

There's a big gap between 35 and 99 that must have lots of careers...

I found my way into my role by accident and did other things on the way. Didn’t do well at A levels and didn’t go to uni (dad was a uni lecturer and said don’t go till you know what you want to do. I still don’t know.) I did professional quals once I worked out what I liked doing.

I’ve worked since I was 15. No gaps. Studying a degree now for fun (in my 40s).

Am advising my 13 year old to do GCSEs she is interested in. Will do the same if she chooses to do A levels or a degree. The rest will come later. Very few people in that generation will have one career. Portfolio careers are becoming much more popular now and enjoying what you do is so much more important than where you might get to one day.

I went from NHS in my mid twenties and ended up in higher education so did completely change careers.

Look MN is crazy for the six figure earners. I do know some six figure earners in real life but the percentage is small, only around 5% of the population are on 100k plus. There are two of them, they are DH friends he met in Cambridge when they were all reading for their PhD’s. DH is one of the poorest out of his mates as he remained in academia as did two of his other mates, so not remotely poor but will be compared to their city boy mates.

Finding happiness is so much more than just money though being actually poor is shit, I grew up poor . You are at work for so many of your waking hours. You certainly need no money stress but chasing just money is not a good idea.

One of DS mates from school is training as an actuary, they will have the potential to earn a lot of money but Christ alive I couldn’t think of anything worse for me personally.

Even though I left the NHS in 1992 I still have when incredibly stressed nightmares that I’m assisting in theatre and can’t find an instrument and someone’s life is on the line.

Completely agree. Brilliant posts.

if you look at nursing, since it’s become a degree-entry profession, the majority start wanting to become band 7 ASAP (“when can I get into management?”) but there is probably 1 band 7 role to every 150(?) band 5 roles.

Medicine and IT are jobs that pay well with experience. In civil service, it's incredibly hard to get to the 6 figures as it's only Directors and above who get paid that much and there's lots of competition to get there.

There is also are you prepared to relocate, nationally or internationally and what of relationships? As soon as you are in one you have to consider that other person.

I grew up in a somewhat rural idyll by the sea. When I say where I grew up people are very much OMG it’s so lovely I went on holiday there once why would you leave? Well because I didn’t want to do a NMW waitressing, hotel receptionist job or work in agriculture.

DH had a chance to work in NZ, we really would have been better off but it’s just too far away. I had the chance to move to America when young and at that career change time, I had some relatives who said they would sponsor me. I chose not to go. I have relocated twice within the UK but just didn’t want to work overseas.

Teaching can be well paid if you move up to leadership, heads of department, assistant and deputy head. The bar is quite low to get into those ranks at the moment because so few people are going into the profession.

Remember that she will have 50 plus years in her working life. Make sure that she goes into a career that she enjoys and not only for the money.

Try to teach her about budgeting as well. We so often read threads on here about people earning big money but are in debt. Being financially comfortable and secure is about more than your take home salary each month.