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.

As someone else has already said, the big difference with nursing as opposed to something like teaching is that they don't have huge student loans to pay off as they get big bursuries from the NHS.

Oh yes- I want more money too! But I cannot at present see any kind of career progression, unless I am never home. I am 40 btw.

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.

I agree. Some public sector workers, probably a minority to be fair, seem to think that the private sector is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

It's not that long since that a teacher on here was talking about how she would definitely be earning a lot more if she hadn't gone into teaching, based upon the fact that 'everyone' she knew in the private sector was on a higher base salary, bonus, company car, etc.

That might have been the case for the people she knew but it's really not the norm.

The median gross weekly pay of full-time employees in the public sector was £556 in 2011, up 0.3 per cent from £554 in 2010.

For the private sector the comparable figure was £476, up 0.8 per cent from £473 in 2010.

Figures taken from ONS 2011 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (SOC 2000)

I'm a band 6 mental health nurse and my wage is same as yours. I earn more than most of my peer group but yet I always seem to be skint!!! But... I can afford to continue paying my mortgage (i have freinds who have had theirs repossesed over the past few years), I have two children under 3 in nursery and a previous loan which I am able to meet the repayments on without too much stress.

Agree that there does seem to be a misunderstanding in the minds of a lot of public sector workers that they are low paid when they are in fact earning more than the average.

You are earning a very good wage for your level of training - and for the fact that while what you are doing for a living is important, it doesn't create any wealth overall for the national 'pot'.

I worked full time in Civil Service for 34 years, at retirement 3 years ago was on £27,000 pa. (3 grades up from lowest so not minimum pay bracket).
I'd have given my right arm to be on your pay scale at age 33!!!

sorry if my above post sounded a little harsh - if it helps, most of my uni friends who didn't get a first and who are in their early 30s are earning between £30 - 40k in the private sector. some are taking home a little more than you, but not having massively more each month, and they didn't get NHS burseries towards their study costs. The ones from amongst my friends who have wages above £100k got firsts and had to do additional post graduate training of some sort.

You might have a lot of 'successful' friends so don't realise that compared to the national average, you are doing very well, and for the average of your peer group, you are about the norm.

Have a think about how much you'd have to pay into a private pension to get the same levels of return that you're guaranteed. Then add in the risk that the private one will go under or have its tax rules changed.

What band is the post?

I don't understand how you can be a Junior Sister or Senior Staff Nurse and be so oblivious to others salaries and what the national average is. You are the same band as my husband who qualified in 1996 and is considered senior. You MUST be aware of this

I'm 35, an NHS Staff Nurse (I work on a Adult Surgical ward).
I was full time until last year; top band 5 on £26K - had been nursing for 7 years - i think it was a very good salary compared to what friends & family in other demanding jobs earn.

Now i've got chronic serious health problems so i'm only able to work 2 days a week - so get approx £900 net including unsocial hours pay.
That is still very good for just 2 days. I now receive lowest rate DLA so can apply for other benefits to top it up & therefore pay the bills.
I'm single; & don't have children yet so only myself to worry about though.
I watch every penny now obviously - but i didn't before i got ill; i had a fairly good lifestyle to be honest.

Personally i'm not complaining - i trained for 3 years to Adv Diploma level at uni to get my Registration & lived on a Bursary.

I worked bank shifts on a wide variety of hospital wards as an HCA to meet all my living costs but it was well paid & good experience that enhanced my training. After qualifying; my Trust paid for me to 'top up' to a BSc.

I've paid into the NHS pension since i was an HCA; as a full time SN i had 28 days paid Annual Leave + the 7 'bank holidays'.
Before i got ill i could also work paid overtime shifts on my ward.
When i became ill April '11 i got 6mths full pay sick pay; then 6mths half pay + SSP - because i'd worked there for years.

The pay & conditions may now change under this govt.

I've always found it annoying that compared to similar professions such as Police, Firemen, Social Workers; Physios; OTs & Teachers - most ordinary 'Adult Nursing' Staff Nurses on wards receive less pay than them.
The majority of students are now encouraged to do the BSc at uni which they don't get any Bursary for: only Adv Diploma students get it. Also you can't 'top up' to a BSc for free now.

OP - I don't know how you get the £31K?? Even many Band 6 nurses don't get that; possibly the Nurse Practitioners get that much but they are like junior Drs. Do you live in London?
You can progress in your career but it depends on your willingness to change departments; & extra training courses that you may have to pay for.
The important thing is to make friends & get contacts in the right places - like all careers i think.

I'm not ambitious personally; i'm happy with my job level but struggling to cope with daily life due to cognitive problems that have got worse - i may have to work as an HCA instead which will be a shame but it's still basic nursing & i enjoy nursing - it's fun, interesting, challenging, rewarding & sociable!
I can't fault my Clinical Leaders - they have supported me through everything; even the Managers have been understanding & that is unusual even in the NHS; most other places would have made me redundant by now - so i know that i'm lucky in that respect so far.

Oh shit, that's a bit of an essay; sorry everyone :)

My partner is on next to minimum wage. He gets £6.33 an hour and works 50 hour weeks. £16500 pa before tax and NI. And he is also qualified, but it is his company who are the tight wads and refuse to pay their workers what they should do.

A very good friend of mine has a joint income of £32000 also, so to earn what you do alone, is definitely not low or average wage. I would give my left arm for a decent wage coming in, and we by far live in a cheap place. We are really struggling but there are no jobs in his line of work available so for now, we are just grateful to have any wage coming in.

If you aren't happy, then change jobs/careers if you have the opportunity to. Grab it with both hands if it's what you want as I can't see a nurses wage getting much better than what you are on within the NHS.

Agree with the public sector workers assuming that everyone else is on a better wage. I work in the public sector, as does DH. I earn £28k; he earns £26k. I'm on a pay scale that goes up to £32k, so can progress; he is at the top of his scale so can't. Of my closest friends (all aged 28), one is a teacher on about £30k. The others are all private sector and earn between £15k and £22k. In my experience, public sector is definitely better!

Plus we will be on career average pensions - in my case, my career average will be roughly £26k, as will DH's, and that's assuming that, at the ages of 28 and 32, we don't progress any further, which I hope is unlikely. My mother and stepfather are both solicitors who earn a lot of money - in Mum's last job she was earning more than £100k as a partner (she stopped work due to ill-health but is now starting to consider going back). However, neither of them has much of a pension. That's one big perk of the public sector, even though it doesn't make any difference to your current standard of living. I know my old age will be provided for, and at the moment I'm earning more than most of my friends.

Back, sorry guys

Ok I am not on agenda for change I work as a nurse prescriber (cheap dr) in a gp practice. So technically private practice.

I am a teacher on about 35k which is a good wage however I am quite certain that I could have earned more in the private sector. If I compare myself to my peers who went to the same university, similar degree and achieved the same class, I earn a fraction of what they do.

I don't care , if I did care about money I wouldn't have been a teacher . I also get to stay on their holiday homes and accept their hospitality

if thats thats alot, possibly a bit much for a nurse tbh, ithink 20-25k would be more than enough

captainhastings - there's much more to earning a fortune in the private sector than the qualifications you arrive with.

What's to say you would have performed as well in the work place as your peers?

If it was all down to the qualifications, there would be a lot of people earning a lot more money that do.

*'than they do', not 'that do'.

I agree you can't be certain and as I said I don't care .

However the fact stands the people that went to my university or an equivalent and achieved my class of degree or even a class lower ( that I am still in touch with) all earn considerably more than me .

That is not to say I am underpaid , that would be a ridiculous thing to say. I am not motivated by money in the slightest, I really do not care ( which is why I quoted my salary as in the region of as I do not know exactly) .

Maybe I would not become of the people on hundreds of thousands as money is not a personal motivator. However I am ambitious and fiercely competitive so I imagine that I would have been successful in most areas . I have also worked in other fields before going into teaching and when I tire of teaching I will do something else.

However I do think that there are people out there who could be motivated by money and yet they could make great teachers, nurses or social workers , we are losing out on potentially great people in the public sector . Not that I am saying that we should be paid more as the kitty is empty and we have a great pension .

GiddyPants I'm top of band 5 and earn £27,600-ish, where do you get £26k from? There is a gateway to pass through to access the last two pay bands in band 5 where you have to prove you're doing the job at that level, but it isn't insurmountable. Mind you I'm NHS IT support (fairly senior) so it's actually not that difficult to prove yourself - acquiring specialist skills on your own time (and your own dime and then using them to benefit the service will do it.

YABU, OP - £31k is very well paid.

And we should all beware of 'average' private sector wage figures - these have been dragged waaaaaay down by all the outsourced workers from the public sector, many of whom are now earning unacceptable low wages in the private sector.

Surely people going into nursing / teaching know that while they will make a descent living, their not going to be swanning around Prada with a black Amex card?

I chose my degree & industry at least in part because I wanted to be on 50k by age 30. Mercenary? For sure, but equally there are other things I could have done which would have made more, but for which I decided weren't for me (e.g. I had the right background for trading, investment banking etc.).

Some roles are horribly underpaid and others are probably overpaid, but for the vast majority of people in either sector their rare pros and cons and very often it evens out.

E.g. Much greater job security in many public sector roles, generally better pensions (albeit not for those coming in), less expectation of unpaid overtime. In private sector, probably more opportunities to progress and diversify, perhaps better basic and perks like cars and discretionary bonuses.

(That said, a low skilled job in either sector is what it is and is unlikely to be well remunerated).

Also, you have to want it. I'm getting a bit too comfortable, so I know I'm not aiming for board or one below and...I'm okay with that BUT to get the money in any sector you have to want it, go for it and keep trying until you get it. I guess what I'm saying is that even in a private sector role with no obvious ceiling, progression is not guaranteed - you can absolutely start on a 20k junior analyst level and stay there, no matter how good / bright / dedicated you arer if you don't also chase the money.

Yabu. Didn't you think to google it before starting the thread?

OP, you mind if I piss my pants laughing if you think thats a bad wage and below average.

You need a serious reality check if you are complaining.

YABVU and completely clueless.

PS How disgustingly low is your pension too?