To think £31500 pa is less than average wage?

[Elderwand]

That's it, I work as a nurse in the Nhs, I'm 33. , just thought at this stage of my life I would be earning more. (unhappy & bitter) have 2 young DD, So career change at the mo would be difficult.

YABU.

Surely your real question is: should I take a pay cut to change my career and prospects? And we can't possibly tell you based on the information you've provided.

Teachers are pretty well paid, I think some people are under a bit of an illusion with that one. Not sure about fireman.

Bin men should be paid for what they do, basic manual labour same as other essential workers. I don't believe they are badly paid. If you look at managers in community pre-schools they are often earning a lot less than £20k a year even with huge responsibility due to the fact the minimum qualification they require is a NVQ3.

I am not sure why people feel that certain jobs should be better paid than they are, it seems to directly relate to the amount of qualifications required to get the jobs and how long it takes. Therefore doctors, solicitors and accountants (and teachers) tend to be highly paid once they have reached a certain level of qualifications.

I understand we need these public services but they are also providing employment to people in these difficult economic times.

ivykaty: are those taxpaying figures based on earned income, or total income?

It's not clear, and much of the lower income end if total income will arise from small occupational pensions.

The "average" earnings is around £28k pa, so OP is wrong to think she is not well remunerated.

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

That list of taxpayers totals just over 30m, whereas the 2012 census put the working population at 38m. Unemployment certainly isn't 8m.

The numbers show total income, not effective annual, so it hugely underestimates annual income (median is in the £15K-£20K bracket, average about £24K).

There is a massive drop from £30K-£50K to £50K-£70K, not the normal bell curve you'd expect to see in a normal distribution.

What is the source of the figures?

I've found the source: Wikipedia, quoted as HMRC figures for 2004-2005.

I'm on 13,500!

I'd love to be a nurse. I got into uni to do it but didn't go because my mum found out she had cervical cancer and a brain tumour.
Now I can't afford to be a poor student :(

You want to be a nurse, great, well done, you are. Don't expect the salary of a banker. I think nurses should earn more but the fact of life is that they don't so why you're surprised by this is baffling.

You are not a band 5 nurse. You must be band 6- are either deputy sister or a specialist nurse. I actually think us nurses are actually quite well paid, ok not going to earn 60k but still on a decent wage with decent career progression, holidays, pension etc. YABVU.

^

That's what I was wanting to post.

I agree that it depends where you live. My husband and I are the same age as you, earn the same give or take (or would if I had gone back FT), and I know we'd be well off if we lived, say, where my parents do. But we live in London and are struggling to afford a 2-bed flat in a not-very-well-thought-of area plus childcare. Most of our friends earn way more than we do... Reality is that we'd never find jobs elsewhere, though.

I've recently gone back to nursing in Ireland and due to a recruitment embargo in the Health Service, the only job I could get was a private nursing home. There is no scope to further my career here, and my wages will remain the same. I'll be earning ?34k, so a good bit less than you.

I work in a job where I have a degree and a masters degree (which gives me my professional qualification). If I worked full time I would earn about £24,000. As my employer restricts me to term-time only, I actually earn just over £19,000. I am one of the most qualified people in my school and have a huge amount of cross-curricular expertise but I am one of the lowest paid. So not much sympathy for 'only' earning £31000 here I'm afraid

Also is an average wage for average hours? Many people see 35-40 hours as full time work and I think the uk average is based on 40 hr week.
I think the shortest week Iv worked is 55hr so obviously someone working say 20hrs more would expect a higher income
Op can you work longer hours?

In a previous role i used to promote nursing as a career (for a PCT in East London) to local schools and colleges and careers fairs. I was amazed at how many people said they wanted to do nursing (or concerned parents of daughters who did - sadly it was almost always girls -) but were put off because the pay was so low.

When i explained there would be; no fees as all that was paid by the NHS (with no obligation to actually work for the NHS after), subsidised accomodation, CPD (continuing professional development) opportunities paid for by the employer and a higher than average pay scale, they were shocked.

Sadly the media have perpetuated this idea it is a poorly paid and horrible job. It really isn't. But they have been so successful in this portrayal that the amount of british young people who apply is negligible. The majority of the applicants i interviewed were older African ladies or young Bengali's.

That list of taxpayers totals just over 30m, whereas the 2012 census put the working population at 38m. Unemployment certainly isn't 8m

Surely the working population and the tax paying population are different though? As not everyone working earns enough to pay tax?

Surely the working population and the tax paying population are different though? As not everyone working earns enough to pay tax?

My post was written before I discovered that those salary figures were nearly 8 years out of date. I should have realised as the tax threshold there was £4745, and it is currently £7475.

Im a nurse and earn 23,500 sob

sorry I did say they were out of date and asked if someone could find more recent figures?

I do think some public sector workers don't realise what private sector workers generally earn, on the news it all bankers bonuses and pinging red braces.

It's a good salary compared to the average I think, however as a nurse you work hard and deserve to earn a good wage.

And there is nothing wrong with wanting more dollar! I do. All the time!!

Does sound more than all the nurses I know actually, are you senior/ London weighted or something?

I have 3 university degrees, a number of publications to my name and 15 years of experience in my field.

I earn 28k full time. [shrug] I earn alot less than somw of my friends (solicitor/banker/teacher) and alot more than others.

To add- i think the average wage is appallingly low anyway. I am not sure how people can live comfortably. We struggle, and DH earns about the same as me, and we do not really live extravagantly. Mortgage, commuting fees and childcare kill us.