To think that a salary of £35-40k a year ....

[Doowta]

... doesn't seem all that much when your contracted working hours are Monday to Friday, 09:30 - 17:30; yet:

1. You never work those hours
2. In fact, you frequently work 60-70+ hours between Monday and Friday
3. When working outside of these contracted hours, you never get time back in lieu
4. You have to work erratic but frequent weekends on little to no notice (and no, you don't get time back in lieu for this either)
5. You have your booked leave cancelled due to work "emergencies"
6. You have a work phone which enables you to work "flexibly"; however, it simply means that you are on call permanently/have to check and answer emails/make conference calls

etc

So ...

if a salary of £35-40k a year doesn't make such a job worth it, what kind of salary would?

Oops the last sentence should read taking advantage of people knowing there are no other jobs.

What a depressing thread. My husband works ridiculous hours and doesn't get time off in leiu and lives away often mon-fri all for £25 grand.

But its easier said than done to find other jobs in your 30s when you're only qualified in one field and don't have the benefit of a private education/contacts etc.

Grrr,

You knew all this before choosing job though. I was a trainee 8 yrs ago on £23-£25k, qualified on £40 - the issues you raise (plus the endless nights drinking with middle aged male clients etc) are par for the course. Would have been crap doing it with DC though - that's why I'm now In House part time. Less money, but much begged hours

I am a more senior lawyer and it gets a bit better as you gain more control over your diary and the rewards increase but it is, frankly, a sh1t lifestyle. Yes, the financial rewards at the top are very good but only a tiny percentage of those entering the profession will ever reach those heights. Why so many grads are still falling over themselves to get training contracts is beyond me. I guess the firms do well in disguising what it is really like until you get there.

That said, I do very much enjoy what I do, but the firm environment, the travel at short notice and the hours are just rubbish.

Sinister, you said,

Also in working these hours you are setting a bar that all other employees have to adhere to when they may not be able to commit to it.

Well, given that you?re not actually qualified in your field and are still a trainee (and thus can add limited value yourself) it?s hardly bad money, is it? Been there, done that on less cash than you?re on now. But frankly none of this should have been a shock to you.

Not read the thread, but you must be in retail op!

Most of you with experience of the same/similar professions are right - none of this should have come as a shock to me. In fact, up until I started, I was absolutely sure I knew what I was letting myself in for and was determined to make it work. I expected it to take a toll on my private life but I didn't realise how much so. Another friend of mine is going through exactly the same thing in a firm of the same calibre and, though she also finds it tough, she seems to be enjoying it a lot more so than I am (whether that is due to us being in different types of departments, or the fact she has fewer DC than I do, or perhaps just a different/better attitude to the whole thing, I don't know).

In any event, I'm going to take each day as a new beginning and try my best to make it work. Thanks for all the advice (even the "boot up my arse" ones, which were much needed!).

I hope you won't mind, but I shall be requesting that MN delete the thread (the friend I mentioned above who's also an avid Mumsnetter managed to "out" me, albeit in a private email), so I'm guessing I've made myself a bit too recognisable on here.