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Better paying Careers.

77 replies

BirdFeederFun · 01/09/2024 09:46

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

OP posts:
Trainham · 01/09/2024 11:16

Have you thought about apprenticeships. One of mine did that and in his second year.of training he earned marginally more then me. In his third year loads more then me.
Then when qualified he was having pay rises every 5 months. Plus no uni debts to pay back.
There are some good apprenticeships out there maybe that might be a good starting point.

MindTheGap099 · 01/09/2024 11:19

Have she done work experience yet ?
I'm based in London and working for the financial services company (not in finance department). A lot of youngsters come for work experience, when they go around different departments and get to talk to people, they are amazed how many roles is out there that they never heard about.
So, I would most definitely try to steer in that direction.
Good luck x

Bluebellsanddaffodil · 01/09/2024 11:26

It's so tricky. My career pays well. If I hadn't had a break for children I expect I would be on 70 or 80 now. I did have a break so am on about 50. I don't think I'll get to 70 or 80 now because I really don't 'want it' in the same way I once did and don't think I'm cut out for the stress on top of children!

Anyway, my career is B2B marketing. Starting salary isn't great but if you are focused you can move your way up quite quickly.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

GargoylesofBeelzebub · 01/09/2024 11:31

What are her strengths? There's no point in her picking a maths a level for example if it's not one she's likely to get her best grade in.

I think the only careers that a levels matter so much for are if you're going to go into medicine/dentistry or something like an actuary where you will need a level maths.

Otherwise pick the a levels she's likely to get the best grades at.

Then when it comes to degrees, if she doesn't have a specific career in mind yet then I would always recommend doing something that could give her entry into as broad a range of fields as possible. Maths is always a good shout as so many career paths can come from that.

Getting a degree also doesn't fix your career path. I did an engineering degree but I am now an actuary. Degrees just demonstrate to an employer that you I can take in the knowledge, apply it and have some self discipline and drive.

I am a six figure earner as an actuary. It's a good career path, but the exams are very very tough.

I think if I did things over again I'd quite fancy marketing or HR. The salary ranges for those always seem quite high to me.

menopausalmare · 01/09/2024 11:35

Teaching isn't a bad career for earning. There are many roles in school which will add to your basic salary, the pension is generous and the 13 weeks holiday is great. Many staff tutor or mark exams in their spare time.
Some schools admissions policies allow children of staff to jump the queue which is another benefit.

invisiblecat · 01/09/2024 11:40

Not all that many people do know what job they want to do when they're still a child. I reckon the best option for the undecided is to choose the subjects that they like the most and are best at, and do those A-levels. They are more likely to get good A-level grades if the subjects are of interest or they find them easy.

Spatchula · 01/09/2024 12:04

BirdFeederFun · 01/09/2024 10:50

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

Yes. Those are the jobs where you've started at the bottom and worked your way into/need a lot of experience to be in post. As a pp said there's the doers and the managers. To be management you need to understand and have experience of the doing.

BirdFeederFun · 01/09/2024 12:07

I've never mentioned "6 figures" again I think that's a mumsnet obsession.

However an apprenticeship as an operating technician is going to have a ceiling limit isn't it.

And of course we'll follow interests but she wants to know where these could take her.

She will not be teaching. There's a reason most teachers want to leave/have left and end up on much lower paid jobs but that's for another thread and been done to death.

She's good at everything - grammar school. Loves chemsitry, enjoys maths history, etc. Would love to do psychology, music, history, chemistry physics and maths A levels if possible!.

She has ruled out being an actual doctor or surgeon or dentist but hasn't ruled out other careers.

Looked at opticians but again if you train at 18 to be one (and not many unis to choose from. I couldn't find a spot grad route but there must be one).

She might be suited to engineering or some project manaehemt role but she just doesn't know as has no experience of this.

As above nursing tends to be band 5as there's a lot less management positions. Although she doesn't want to do nursing because of shifts anyway.

Hence wondering what jobs people went into that pay more than 35k (well after a few years anyway) or have progression.

Once you're in teaching or presumably opticians you're trapped. I initially thought a science degree might suit her but she's fixed on what she's going to become

She's open to degree apprenticeships but locally they seem either accountancy or lower level medical (operating technician for example).

She's got good grades and wants to aim high just doesn't know what high looks like.

I'm a good example of "do what you enjoy" failing sadly. I wish I'd knowm about Educational Psychology or occupational therapy as a teen as that's where'd I'd have thrived I think. But you don't know at 18/16.

OP posts:
BirdFeederFun · 01/09/2024 12:09

Spatchula · 01/09/2024 12:04

Yes. Those are the jobs where you've started at the bottom and worked your way into/need a lot of experience to be in post. As a pp said there's the doers and the managers. To be management you need to understand and have experience of the doing.

Yes in tesching/nursing that's definitely the case.

But careers like doctors or IT or psychologists they're higher paying after experience anyway. There's different fields out there aren't there.

Of course you need to work up whatever you're in (unless you're Xenias kids going into high paying law of course 😂)

OP posts:
Spatchula · 01/09/2024 12:09

Just because she's at a grammar school doesn't mean an apprenticeship isn't for her - trades and engineering are both good pathways with good earning potential. She would need to not only excel at but be extremely competent at maths to do engineering at university. I know many an A grade maths A level student who quit an engineering degree.

Spatchula · 01/09/2024 12:11

BirdFeederFun · 01/09/2024 12:09

Yes in tesching/nursing that's definitely the case.

But careers like doctors or IT or psychologists they're higher paying after experience anyway. There's different fields out there aren't there.

Of course you need to work up whatever you're in (unless you're Xenias kids going into high paying law of course 😂)

Gen Z seem to think they can walk into huge salaries without working (mine are Gen Z and it's a constant source of frustration explaining they need to work and every year or two go up to the next step. They think degree = mega bucks).

BirdFeederFun · 01/09/2024 12:12

Absolutely. I think I said she was interested potentially in apprenticeships. The ones we've seen so far though are mainly lower level medical so wouldn't qualify her professionally but there could well be more by the time she's at that point.

OP posts:
Spatchula · 01/09/2024 12:12

Spatchula · 01/09/2024 12:11

Gen Z seem to think they can walk into huge salaries without working (mine are Gen Z and it's a constant source of frustration explaining they need to work and every year or two go up to the next step. They think degree = mega bucks).

And everyone's told you lots of ideas

Finance
Insurance
Actuary
Trades
Project management
IT
Research scientist
Civil service
NHS admin to management

BirdFeederFun · 01/09/2024 12:14

The grammar school comment was more that she's high achieving in lots of areas whereas sometimes people are leaning towards science or humanities for example. Some people know they want to be an astronaught/hairdresser/build things but when your main thing is "I like school and am good at exams" it's not so clear!

She doesn't at all expect to wlak into megavucks but doesn't want to go into a career that doesn't progress as well.

OP posts:
GhostOrchid · 01/09/2024 12:37

16 is still very young and she is likely to change a lot over the next few years.

But it might be worth getting her to think about her values and what’s important to her and her personality and working style - does she like detail, strict procedures, does she like solving problems, is she creative and big picture, does she like working on her own or in teams, does she get satisfaction from helping people and making other people happy… that might help narrow some options.

also, some weekend or holiday jobs might give her a flavour of the sort of work and working cultures she does and doesn’t like.

It’s also fine to change career if the first thing you try doesn’t work out.

GhostOrchid · 01/09/2024 12:41

And bear in mind that career progression and salary is affected a lot by things like sector and location.

Haggisfish3 · 01/09/2024 12:43

It’s worth looking at big companies like Severn water, bt, engineering companies and their recruitment pages for apprenticeships and school leaver schemes.

BirdFeederFun · 01/09/2024 12:52

GhostOrchid · 01/09/2024 12:41

And bear in mind that career progression and salary is affected a lot by things like sector and location.

Yes that's exactly it so why I'm asking about sectors Im not fmailiar with I guess

OP posts:
DarkDarkNight · 01/09/2024 12:54

Don’t discount apprenticeships. They’re not just in Trades if she’s not into that (they can pay very well though). I know people doing apprenticeships in Project Management and there are Cost Engineering and Planning ones. They’re well paid and you move onto good money. A lot will depend on where you live. I know several school leavers who are starting on 25k jobs and will be on a very good salary in a few years time.

I know what you mean about wanting to give her good advice. I didn’t come from a home where I was taught about well paying careers, and as you say 35-40k would have been thought of as very well paid. Of course I want my child to make his own choices, but I will be showing him ways to get into Engineering or degree apprenticeships in Project Management so he knows they are out there.

It’s all very well saying they should do what they love but if that limits them to a lowish salary and struggling to make ends meet it’s good for them to go in with eyes wide open. If your daughter has seen your lifestyle and thinks she wants to earn more, it’s practical not materialistic. Also don’t discount the value of a good pension and annual leave, a good overall package not just salary.

JoanCollected · 01/09/2024 12:56

It’s all a game. And the choices you make DO matter. At each stage. Only some kids will have access to the good salaries and ‘do what you love’ most of the time gets your kid to a low salary. And many of the people who did what they love hate their jobs.

Money is freedom so we’ll be helping our kids place themselves in the world where they can achieve the most financial freedom possible based on their personalities.

BirdFeederFun · 01/09/2024 12:57

DarkDarkNight · 01/09/2024 12:54

Don’t discount apprenticeships. They’re not just in Trades if she’s not into that (they can pay very well though). I know people doing apprenticeships in Project Management and there are Cost Engineering and Planning ones. They’re well paid and you move onto good money. A lot will depend on where you live. I know several school leavers who are starting on 25k jobs and will be on a very good salary in a few years time.

I know what you mean about wanting to give her good advice. I didn’t come from a home where I was taught about well paying careers, and as you say 35-40k would have been thought of as very well paid. Of course I want my child to make his own choices, but I will be showing him ways to get into Engineering or degree apprenticeships in Project Management so he knows they are out there.

It’s all very well saying they should do what they love but if that limits them to a lowish salary and struggling to make ends meet it’s good for them to go in with eyes wide open. If your daughter has seen your lifestyle and thinks she wants to earn more, it’s practical not materialistic. Also don’t discount the value of a good pension and annual leave, a good overall package not just salary.

Yes this is all the things thank you for understanding it 😊. She definitely want a degree but is flexible how to get there.

OP posts:
anonhop · 01/09/2024 13:02

Lots of careers don't require specific degree, but they do want something with a STEM element. There aren't that many options for English, history etc that don't require a conversion course of some kind (which is fine!).
Most careers have aspects/routes that are highly paid (eg commercial law in the City- over £100k on qualifying) vs less highly paid (eg criminal law in the regions- struggle to ever earn over £50k without partnership)

Good luck x

Spatchula · 01/09/2024 13:05

JoanCollected · 01/09/2024 12:56

It’s all a game. And the choices you make DO matter. At each stage. Only some kids will have access to the good salaries and ‘do what you love’ most of the time gets your kid to a low salary. And many of the people who did what they love hate their jobs.

Money is freedom so we’ll be helping our kids place themselves in the world where they can achieve the most financial freedom possible based on their personalities.

They really don't. If she enjoys working and doesn't mind picking up courses here and there or uni at an older age she can take whatever route she wants to get to the destination she enjoys it she stays in work while doing it. It only truly matters for kids who couldn't care less about exams, school and work and need a bit of a shove.

Say she gets a Saturday job at college in a bar, that's some customer service experience that could lead to a job in a shop which could see her promoted to team leader to assistant manager to manager and then from there she can look at area and regional manager jobs, head of sales etc. she could go from bar to shop to reception in a solicitors to admin to legal executive to solicitor studying along the way (she could even get work to pay for it if she's lucky).

You can squiggle your way through life if you enjoy working. It's only on Mumsnet are you expected to take a Roman road through life.

GhostOrchid · 01/09/2024 13:14

Most careers have aspects/routes that are highly paid (eg commercial law in the City- over £100k on qualifying) vs less highly paid (eg criminal law in the regions- struggle to ever earn over £50k without partnership)

this is what I mean by sector. Magic Circle lawyer is very different from one working in a small high street firm in a provincial town. A marketing director for a charity isn’t going to be making as much as a marketing director in a FTSE100 or Big Four firm.