Where do these massive salaries exist?

[AliceinRealityLand]

I've been reading the "Are you Rich?" thread on here and some people seem to have very high salaries indeed. Apprentice candidates each year on the programme are already on salaries of 100k plus before being on the show. Plenty of people seem well off and have houses and cars that mean they are obviously not earning the minimum wage.

I do not know anyone locally (east anglia) that earns more than about £20,000 per year. There are no jobs around here that pay anymore than that. And the ones that I know earning 20k or so are teachers and nurses. Nothing is ever advertised in my area with a higher salary than that.

Where are all these 100k+ jobs?

darleneoconnor

No I haven't lived on benefits but I have experienced life where salary is way way lower. I was brought up in a very different financial situation than I live now. I have lived through my parents coping on three day weeks hen factories were running on low capacity. I have been on free school meals. I grew up in a council house in what would be considered a pretty dodgy estate. My parents worked far harder than me and DH have to these days for more way mre money. but my parents worked really hard, they valued our education, they encouraged to try our best and not be scared to be the first int he family to go to university, etc. My parents fell lucky through their hard work. My mum retrained at college and started to work. My dad taught himself new skills and moved up through the various roles in his work. They managed to, after we'd all left home, move home, and now have a comfortable lifestyle which is different to what they first started out with.

So, actually, I do know what the other side is. And yes, back then I would have assumed £100k would be really rich and people would live in massive houses, etc. However, I know now that this is not the case at all.

Please don't make assumptions about everyone. All is not always as it may seem.

darleneoconnor - yes, I have lived on benefits. dh earns over the £100k threshold people are talking about here.

it isn't stinking rich, believe me.

we are comfortable.

we can afford to do htings we want to, and we do not have to think to omuch about everyday costs like petrol (although we moved house to cut down my commute to dd1's school, as we were spending a ridiculous amount per week on fuel - around £200 18 months ago. woudl be about £300 now, I guess. instead, we moved, and now spend around £100. this is a non-negotiable amount - d1 has to go to that school (SN), and we cannot move any closer due to bureaucratic nonsense)

due to that same bureaucratic nonense, we are stuck in a far more expensive town, renting a far more expensive house than we woudl otherwise choose. so our costs are more than we woudl wish them to be.

we are comfortable, and can afford most things we want. but stinking rich? no.

I think that using the term 'rich' is not very helpful. It's means different things to different people and the cut off point between 'not rich' and 'rich' is never going to be agreed upon by everyone.

However, I think the majority of people would think that anyone earning £100k is well off financially. if you earn that much and live in a pokey hole in London you are still well off financially as your pokey hole is an asset worth much more than someone earning £20k could generally afford.

DP and I have a combined income of £110,000 and I wouldn't say we were rich. But we are comfortable. and we both realise that this could change tomorrow so we enjoy what we have.

'Comfortable' is a much better word to use than rich! I think being comfortable means just not having to worry too much about money... personally I'd rather be comfortable than 'stinking rich'!!

DH earns 44k plus a third for on call work, he is a Dr in his registrar rotation and can apply for consultant posts next year. His wage will go up to 75k at that point but without the oncall aspect.

Take home every month after all deductions, tax, ni, pension etc is £3200 aprox.

He has to put away around £200 per month to cover various professional fees for the year.

I am a SAHM but was earning 35k as a senior sister prior to having DS.

DH's wage is enough for us in the north to have a nice 4 bed house, no debts and to save every month. Saying that though, we have low living costs. I home cook everything and the back garden is full of fruit and veg, we have no car and either walk or take the bus everywhere and I cant remember when I lsat bought clothes that weren't for DS!

I guess it might not feel like enough if we wanted fancy holidays and a nice car. If we want to do any home improvments DH does locum shifts to cover it, he had to do it last year to replace the boiler and probably will this year to replace the windows. We are really lucky that he can usually get overtime whenever we need it.

Yes I have lived on benefits and I have had times in my life where I did not know where money for my next meal would come (I in that time made some dear friends whom ensured we did get fed)
I am grateful I do not have to worry about where we get the next meal from it is a horrific feeling to have to deal with and I am not at all claiming to be on the breadline.. But I cant simply go to Bondstreet and spend spend spend (I wish) I live in SE in a 4 bedroom house

I don't know why but I've always disliked 'comfortable' as a description for standard of living.

Most lawyers don't earn vast amounts, I read a survey recently that said the average wage is in the region of 30-60k for a solicitor, depending on PQE. Commercial lawyers (particularly in London) partners in large firms, and barristers/advocates will earn significantly more than that.

DH and I now live on a joint salary of about £85k and feel incredibly lucky. 5 years ago we lived on 19k so I feel pretty well-off these days I would see £100k as rich but that would buy you quite a nice lifestyle up here in the wilds of Scotland.

Was just going to ask 'Why?' Stopthenonsense but then re-read your post! I don't know if I like it particularly, but I think it's more meaningful for most people than 'rich'. People are generally not going to see themselves as rich when they can see people who are better off, but they're more likely to admit to being 'comfortable'.

I would agree 100K is comfortable.

I think what a lot of people on here don't understand are that to earn 100K / year (I don't.....yet) there are costs associated with earning that kind of money. My professional expenses account for > 3K pa. My employer does not cover them. I also pay for approximately 2K/ year of courses including travel/ overnight accommodation. I need to do these courses to do my job but I only get £500 back.

I have certain expectations regarding the house that I live in and the car that I drive which I might not have if I only earned 20K.

I am also expected to dress in a certain way although the advent of cheaper high street clothes has made that much more affordable than I suspect it was 10 years ago. Men haven't benefitted so much - one of my acquaintances is still a relatively junior solicitor but they are still expected to buy their suits from somewhere more upmarket than M&S......

can someone please linky to original thread

Remember when you look at lifestyles that for many people a big part of their money doesn't arrive through their salaries. For instance, the vast majority of people now get family money to buy houses. Consider also inheritance, canny investments, interest on savings, and so on. Don't forget welfare payments and subsidised rents either - it's still cash in the pocket.

corygal - although I don't dispute that much "hidden" money comes from inheritance, I'm not so sure "the vast majority of people" get family money to buy houses?

I'm finding the increasing amount of these threads difficult to understand. It is hard to do a high powered job. Most people can't do it; that's why it pays so much, simple supply and demand. Only a limited numbe of people are capable of it. I earn about half what's bandied around here but am super stressed ATM because I have to make decisons myself under really really hard circumstances. I don't know how to do parts of my job, and noone can show me. Can you imagine how stressful that is? Do x by x. How? We don't know, work it out for yourself. Sometimes it's as alien as being chucked in a hospital and told to nurse, or a pharmacy and told to dispense drugs. That's how hard it is. That's why it pays well. It's niave to say "well I got good gcses, went to a good uni, why didn't I get it ?"

What did you offer to make you worth it? No employer pays someone 50,70,100k for fun.

I have lived on benefits as a young single parent (one child) and these days (two parents, four kids)our household income is around 70k. I feel like I have about the same amount of spare cash, by which I mean for stuff like clothes or going out .

To a certain point as income increases so do outgoings, unless of course a choice is made not to have a mortgage, run a car etc. No doubt we would feel better off with less children but again that's a choice.

Our monthly salary is just over £3000 (the rest of the 70k is made up by bonus which isn't guaranteed). Mortgage is just over 1K a month- our house isn't expensive but we fixed at 5.7% just before the rate drop like a pair of idiots our DDs account for another 1K which leaves 1K for everything else. Sounds a lot on paper but doesn't seem to go very far.

Again everything is about choices, I could food shop cheaper and knock all paid for after school activities on the head but there has to feel like there is some point to all the hours hubby puts in.

We haven't had a foreign holiday in 11 years, camping all the way for us :)

I appreciate that we are fortunate but I do think some peoples perception of how far 100k might go is a little skewed, it certainly isn't second home territory unless mortgages etc.. are already paid off.

Bath isn't really the south west. Devon and Cornwall are completely different and totally lacking in decent career opportunities. It makes me laugh the way so many things seem to stop at Bristol. It's like the real west country doesn't exist except as a provider of beach holidays and holiday homes. Working age people in Devon and Cornwall earn very low wages, but the stats on average income are scewed by rich Londoners with fat pensions who have moved here post-retirement.

Local polititions seem to be blinkered into promoting tourism, which only provides low-paid insecure jobs. I used to work for Grobag when they were based in town. They had to move the business miles away because the local area doesn't provide suitable premises for them to expand. I think that is a real shame because they could have provided a real boost to the local economy all year round. They need to promote these kinds of businesses more, but don't.

Whenever I look for jobs at the jobscentre and put "south west" I get jobs for LONDON, FFS, which is 200 miles away!

Doctors, head teachers, some lawyers, accountants and IT consultants might get these big salaries, in stark contrast with the rest of humanity that get around 10k.

I can appreciate that outgoings rise as earning rise but for me some of these sums of money seem so utterly unachievable that it's hard to imagine not feeling 'rich' on them - I feel like just an extra £500 per month would make me comfortable and our combined income is very low as I'm a student and DH is only on about £17000.
I am sure 'high powered city jobs' are stressful, however so are many professions which get paid nowhere near that amount. When I qualify as a Social Worker I intend to work in CYPS (Child Protection team - if there are any jobs left!) and a starting salary where I live is £24000. I would say that was pretty stressful with lots of important decisions too (sometimes life changing/saving) but it doesn't unless you become a high up manager it doesn't seem to warrant a very reflective salary compared to jobs managing businesses or financial sector jobs. I also rack up plenty of debt gaining my degree. Oh well I guess it's not a job you can go do for money - and at least I will feel more satisfied than I ever did in the offices I worked in.

Ignore my terrible grammar and sentence structure - bf so one handed typing!

Pedigree - surprising tho it seems, 82 per cent of homebuyers get cash from their families to do so. That figure, which dates from two years ago, won't be going down in a hurry either - banks are now asking for a 30 per cent deposit.

There are 100K+ jobs all around the country - granted more will be in some areas than others. Find out how much the folks that run the councils earn, NHS regional managers etc etc etc. Of course many of these jobs won't be advertised in local job centre or the corner shop. Trade journals or recruitment consultants etc.

Regular classroom teachers can easily be on over 40K+ if been in profession more than 20 years (without London weighting). You could argue pay in teaching is unfair as the sclaes means that someone in North where cost of living is lower is on a 'beter salary than someone in South but not London weighting.

100k+ is not mega rich - it gives you options and more choices but you still have to plan the money - so it is a comfortable salary. When you get several £k a week - top footballers, tv celebs and the like now that is rich.

Our wheelie-bin washer earns over 1k a week.

Well said missymarmite as I have been told on here a few times if I want more money I should be working harder.They dont understand Devon and Cornwall and what the job situation is like. Employers here take advantage and have you slogging your guts out for minimum wage for jobs in London you would get 30k for. Then Londoners come here and buy second properties pushing up prices higher and higher and leaving them empty for 3/4 of the year.

London! not me I hasten to add

Having been a single working person in London and now starting a small family, I can honestly say that I would not have more than one child unless my household income was at least 50 thousand a year. And that would not be a 'nice middle class lifestyle' as the cost of living in London is so high. A 100k household income is good though, I would say for a family of 3 kids and two adults to live in a descent area without having to budget everything and to have a bit of luxury, you would need 70k.

My family who live in the West Midlands who earn far less in household income may not be rich but have a much superior quality of family life and life in general, plus living cost's are so much lower. Money isn't everything when you consider just how stressful it is to live somewhere like London, especially with children in tow. I cannot wait to move from here so I can have a better family life one day.

My DP and I will probably have a household income of 50k within the next three years. As we climb up our respective career ladders (I am taking a year out the going back PT to begin with) this will rise steadily. But, we will pay rediculous housing and transport cost's to live in London.

DP currently spends £40 weekly just to use busses and the underground, one single bus fare is something like £2.20p no matter if you are going one stop or the full journey. It all adds up. Soon we will need a car and be paying the congestion charge too. A descent two bed flat in our area (which is neither posh nor horrid) cost's about £350 to rent weekly! And that is all before food, bills and general expendature.

In London 100k is a very good salary, but not rich. 70k is a descent salary for a family, but not even 'upper middle class'. I wouldn't turn my nose down at it though

If you are a single person however, it is different obviously.