to think a lot of posters here believe the ONLY reason they are in a well paid is because they worked so much harder than anyone else and good luck and favourable circumstances had NO BEARING AT ALL

[ssd]

GOD there are some amount of smug posters here who seem to believe they are so far above the rest of us lowly workers, they can't stop telling us how hard they have worked, how academic they are etc etc and if you're not, well really you probably claim benefits and expect the system to help you out with your crap paid job

well guess what folks, some of us are in crap paid jobs due to unforeseen life events, not because we spent years at school studying and trying hard so we could earn minimum wage and be lectured to by people who don't have to compromise all their bloody lives

[Fecklessdizzy]

Some really useful and worthwhile jobs don't pay very well but that doesn't mean they're not worth doing!

[usualsuspect]

OP .yanbu ..it gets on my tits too

Smug fuckers ,I don't believe half of them anyway

[catgirl1976]

I haven't seen anyone being smug. Must be reading the wrong posts too.

[KidderminsterKate]

YANBU ssd.....completely agree.

However, alot of the posters aren't in well paid jobs themselves, their husbands are

[MissMarjoribanks]

I think it is a combination of luck and hard work.

I have a job I love. It's not 'highly paid' but I get enormous satisfaction from it.

I wouldn't have got it if I hadn't made a snapshot decision to sack orchestra off one night and go out on the piss. I met my current boss that night. If my talent, thirst for hard work and determination hadn't come across when I was talking to him about work issues then he wouldn't have wanted me to apply for a job with him and subsequently let me know about a position at his organisation when it came up. For which I was the best candidate.

[BrawToken]

Some jobs aren't well paid in the monetary sense but are a hell of a lot more rewarding than working for mega bucks.

[redskyatnight]

I'm in a well paid school hours job (i.e. what a lot of working parents would love to have). I get a lot of "you are so lucky". And yes I am lucky. Lucky to have my health. Lucky that those around me have their health. Lucky that I have a level of intelligence that means I can do the job. And that I (mostly by chance) fell into a job where they were prepared to employ me for school hours.

However there was nothing particularly "lucky" about rising above parents who had low expectations for me, working for peanuts for years, living in shitholes, working all the hours there were, taking on all the crappy jobs that no one else wanted and going above and beyond the call and duty, not complaining while all around me were doing so and working for 3 years for basically no money while my children were small.

Lots of the people who think I am "lucky" have made different choices because they weren't prepared to do the same.

I do agree by the way, that lots of people do work very hard and are (sadly) not so well off. But there are also many people who could, and don't.

[gapants]

Anyone read The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell? Like everything in life there are lots of contributing factors to one persons "luck" and another persons woe. Hard work, being in the right place at the right time, parental guidance, practice, practice, practice. I think most people acknowledge that many have benefited from being born at the right time into the right family and the opportunities that that affords one.

I have not seen any smug high earners on here. I have worked in well paid roles and worked very hard for the money. I have also worked in not so well paid jobs and worked hard too, but IME the stress and responsibility levels were quite different. In my well paid role I worked about 30-40% in excess of my contracted hours, regularly took work home. Worried and thought about it a lot more. Hence to my mind the higher salary justification. I have down shifted now, work hard, but very much "clock off" at the end of the day.

My DH works hard, earns well and he is attached to his blackberry.

[BrawToken]

Shit, that sounded smug Just meant I bet there are people out there selling their soul wondering whether life would be better if they could be making the world a better place. I expect so.

[ThisIsANiceCage]

Oh absolutely. Hard work is a necessary but not sufficient ingredient to making money.

For most of us, anyway. There are those who simply inherit or marry money.

[TheFalcon]

People that work hard and take advantage of their opportunities when they are offered to them generally find themselves to be luckier than those that slack off and expect things to be handed to them on a plate.

[catgirl1976]

I am not sure what is lucky about having to be back at work when my baby will be 8 weeks old just to sustain my well paid job because it is so bloody cut throat. There are a lot of sacrifices. I work hard. But yes I don't deny there has been some good luck and in this climate I am not taking anything for granted.

[JemimaMuddledUp]

I am in a low paid job out of choice. I am a graduate from a half decent university, but choose to work part time for a charity. It is a stressful job at times, and I often take work home with me, but the pay is shite. There aren't that many well paid jobs around here anyway, but I choose to live here because the quality of life is very good.

I find that some posters on here assume that if you work hard at school and university you automatically go on to get a high flying job in London or similar. Some people just don't want that.

[DuelingFanjo]

I agree actually, though I wouldn't have posted quite like you. There are lots of very lucky people in life, and some are on here, who are very lucky to earn shitloads. I love my job but have shit pay (though better than many others) - I have been unlucky and lacking in ambition.

[toptramp]

Well I've got good a-levels, degree, post grad qualifications and have always worked hard but am on benefits as my ex dumped me with small baby so obviously i am not well qualified in some areas! I will never understand why nurses and teachers etc aren't paid more.

[RedHotPokers]

I think it is a combination of hard work, good choices, personality and life chances (wealth and education of parents for example).

I have a good-ish job. I am a very hard worker and always go above and beyond. I have always tried very hard, studied conscientiously, made sensible decisions. What also helps is that my parents are well-educated (although not at all wealthy) and instilled in me the importance of a good education and hard work, plus I am a fairly confident person. I realise that I am lucky to have been brought up in a supportive environment.

However I do not believe AT ALL that if people aren't well-educated and don't have good jobs, this is because they haven't/don't work hard. In some cases this is true, but bad luck, lack of opportunities, bad choices, illness etc etc can all be reasons why.

PLUS I do not believe that wealth is a true indicator of success and happiness.

[potterschmotter]

it is true though that getting a degree means you can earn shit loads more than someone who doesn't, like it or not.

[goinggetstough]

I gree with thefalcon. However it must be remembered that people sometimes slack off for reasons beyond their control eg family crisis.
Proudfoot university will be very expensive as although the fees don't need to be paid up front many DC will only receive a maintenance loan and these often don't cover hall fees, books and basic living expenses.

[catgirl1976]

In this day and age potter I do not think that is true at all unless the degree is in medicine / law or something specifically vocational. Your average graduate with a sociology degree has very little (if any) advantage in the jobs market at the moment, expecially if up against someone with 3 years more experience. Once in a job, having or not having a degree makes no difference to promotion.

[catgirl1976]

University is a lot more accesible now than when I went as well.

[Fimbo]

My dh has worked hard to get where he is today. He was one of only a handful that went to Uni from the school he was at. Even when he started out in the job he does he was looked down upon despite his qualifications because he didn't have the "family money" to go with it. Eventually he was overlooked for promotion because of that fact, in favour of someone less capable then him but who came from the "right background". Laughably he is now in a much more senior role earning more money than the guy he was overlooked for.

[Pagwatch]

I think there is one massive misunderstanding though.
I think sometimes just sometimes, a poster will say " I have worked fucking hard to get the money/house/things I have because it is a common assumption that people with money had an inheritance, or have a wealthy family or got it by some lucky means.
I think " I worked fucking hard for what I have" does not mean 'and people with no money are lazy' but rather ' I was not born with a silver spoon nir gifted this'


I think having cash always requires luck, even if it was the luck to be born with the drive, wits and aspiration to overcome circumstance. That is luck too.

[TheFalcon]

"I gree with thefalcon. However it must be remembered that people sometimes slack off for reasons beyond their control eg family crisis.
Proudfoot university will be very expensive as although the fees don't need to be paid up front many DC will only receive a maintenance loan and these often don't cover hall fees, books and basic living expenses."
People from low income households can get additional loans and grants.

Kids that are not smart enough to go to a RG uni should be going to their local uni and living at home if this is at all possible. The days of University being a right of passage for nice but dim middle class kids have to end.

[potterschmotter]

well i guess it depends on what job you want, i'm currently doing a degree, and already have tons of experience, just the degree will let me go for promotion and earn more, just a fact