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.

Where do you live OP? And what's your family situation?

...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.

Totally agree, which is why it's absurd for anyone to think that because they have the same degree as someone else, they would automatically earn as much as them.

It's just totally unrealistic.

On a slightly different note, someone I manage has a good BSc(Hons) from a very good university. he also has an MBA which he funded himself at huge expense. Despite his colleagues in similar roles generally having lesser degrees and no masters he will struggle to progress into a more senior role with us. Quite simply, his real world management skills are not up to taking the next step. He knows all the management theory and is undoubtedly very intelligent but I couldn't promote him to a more strategic role.

I work in the private sector, am always shocked by what public sector workers think is 'normal'.
Consider ...
20 days paid holiday (plus the standard public hols). Did someone up there ^ mention 28?
10 days sick pa - only paid after 2 full years employment. Again ^ 6 months full pay, 6 months half pay? Really?
By implication that you can still return to work after a year off sick - chances are in the private sector you would face dismissal long before then.
Salary levels much lower, for effectively doing the same work (e.g. office/reception/payroll)
Lack of job security
Pension..
I could go on....

I didn't google the question and don't have a pension either, need the money more at the moment.

I didn't say it was a bad wage either.

Why do people choose to work in the private sector if it is so awful ?

OP - So technically you aren't public sector & don't work for the NHS; because you are paid by a private GP practice...

Your wage is very good; i did think it was too high for a nurse on an AFC wage. An ex-colleague moved to work in Plastic Surgery in a Nuffield Hospital recently - she enjoys the job; conditions & pay are very good apparently - so i would think that's the way to go if you're looking for higher pay.
Or some nurses become Medical Reps; not an ideal job for a parent though.

But you can't complain about £31K; i definitely never complained about the £26K i used to get! Even if i'd had children - i'd still have said i was earning a good wage.

Now my situation is different but that's life; illness can happen to anyone.

Some people are glad of a job in this climate to be fair. The public sector is not exactly recruiting right now is it?

Why do people choose to work in the private sector if it is so awful ?

There's good and bad in both sectors. No one is saying private is generally awful, I don't think; it's just not realistic to think that the private sector is all bonuses and company cars.

Captain - when I first started looking for work I just wanted a job. It wasn't so much a choice as a need to be paid. I would guess that applies to lots of workers out there.
I am happy with my choices. I just feel though that there is an ethos of entitlement and a lack of understanding of real world in the public sector which makes my teeth itch.

CaptainHastings - because the bulk of jobs in this country are in the private sector, put bluntly, someone has to earn the money to pay for the public sector (yes, public sector pay tax, but in reality, that's just giving back a percentage of what the treasury has given you in the first place, so it would be just the same if everyone working in the public sector was given a pay cut and then didn't have to pay tax).

Another thing that I have realised given the OP's age - this is the stage when 'high flyers' start taking off in their careers and the differences start getting large - a lot of people who in their early 30s start earning £80k+ spent their 20's earning £20-30k - even up to £40k doesn't feel that much richer than £28k, a friend earning that has a slightly bigger car and a slightly bigger flat, so someone in the public sector might not feel that different in wages/standard of living to friends who are destined for great things - perhaps looking at the stupid long hours the high flyers have to put in during their 20s and thinking "oh, I wouldn't work those hours for an extra £10k", or even thinking "god, I earn more than them but get to be home a couple of hours earlier", but then suddenly the payoff for that work happens for some around the early 30s and those people aren't earning £10k extra, they are earning £50k extra, and they aren't 'a little bit better off' they are 'minted'.

If the OP is surounded by people like this, then it would warp your view of what's normal to earn as a graduate in your early 30s, and she would stop seeing her friends as 'rich' but herself as 'poor'.

I used to work in the private sector before i did nurse training; that's why i appreciate things like decent annual leave & paid sick leave.

Everyone has a choice & i choose to work for the NHS they are generally good employers.
Also because i believe in the right to Healthcare for all free at the point of delivery (a right which some in the government are trying hard to get rid of).
But mainly i chose the NHS because i prefer to work with the general public rather than the few who can afford private healthcare.

No-one forces anyone to work in either the Private or Public Sectors - so stop moaning - anyone who has a job is lucky in this recession.

The government love it when Private & Public Sector workers turn against each other because it takes attention away from the government's actions.

I applied for a job in 2008. Because of the recruitment embargo, it was only given the go ahead this year. I was to start in a brand new camhs unit tomorrow but 2 weeks ago got the news that my post has now been cancelled due to over spending in other areas of the health service. I had been waiting for 4 years, and while it suited me to take time for my family etc I did not anticipate it would take so long to honour my contract only to have it withdrawn. There is no other option at the moment but to work privately.

I'm a doctor in the NHS, qualified 5 years, aged 36 work a hell of a lot more hours than your 37.5 per week, rarely get a break, never leave on time, trained for 5 years. I earn £30k.
YABU

CaptainHastings I can't answer for others, but when I decided not to major in my university specialism I knew there was more opportunity in the private sector. (Majoring in my specialism meant further qualifications then academia or London. I didn't have the curiosity for the former and I still swither about the latter, but we're good).

I also suspect it depends where you live and what it available (not everyone can move. I can't readily despite no DC and DP earning less). Good public & private sector jobs are very location dependant. There are obviously responsible jobs, but whilst you can be a GPin small town, not so sure about managing a £2m project.

Here it's very very hard to get into public sector work. It generally is in areas were private sector jobs are poorly paid. So it's not as easy as telling people if they don't like it work for the public sector in all instances.

In my home town if you can get a job in the council my mum thinks you have made it big!

I'm curious as to how the public sector contributes nothing to wealth generation. How long would the private sector last with no road maintenance, rubbish from uncollected bins all over, no educated workforce up and coming, no doctors to treat sick employees etc? Would they honestly get the same service for the same cost from other private companies? I think not as most people can't afford private school and healthcare for starters. Surely a clean, functioning environment and a healthy, educated population does wonders for business! As to the original point, our combined income is £32k and though money has got tighter, we're not poor.

I'm curious as to how the public sector contributes nothing to wealth generation.

Common misconception DrCoconut. I work in the public sector and our organisation has commercial interests that bring in a few hundred million pounds a year.

Yes, because the public sector of course does not purchase supplies and materials from the private sector (we have NHS Manufacturing for that, dontchaknow - oh, wait... )

Oh, and for the poster who suggested we in the public sector don't count as tax payers - have this and fuck off back to the Daily Mail site.

Median UK Wage for 2009/10 (the most recent year for which there is a full data set) was £17,500
ie half of the population earned UNDER that amount, and half earned over

NB - the "average" wage of £26,000 is more than 62% of the population earns - it is distorted by the extreme top end salaries (like Bob Diamond, Wayne Rooney and Bernie Ecclestone)

if OP is on a salary of £31,500 she is earning more than 70% of the adults in the country
not much sympathy from here bearing in mind I do not get holiday pay, sick pay, pension or any other benefits

I have worked in the public and private sectors. Things that were 'normal' in the private sector for me (multinational media company) in a number of relatively ordinary jobs included variously:

BUPA International
Free tea, coffee, snacks, biscuits
Heavily subsidised lunch in staff canteen surrounded by Henry Moore statues
6 weeks' holiday when any holiday at all was a bonus
Loads of sick pay
Car parking space in central London
Free books and magazines
Free tickets to glamorous events
Free clothes (sometimes)
Free computer
Massive discounts on music and films
Flight upgrades
Champagne brunches
Contributions to private pension
Share options
Taxis home after 8pm
Free dinner if I was working after 8pm

I could go on.

In the public sector:

Free tea and coffee at professional development events
6 weeks' holiday
Generous sick pay
Occupational pension

er

that's it.

boffinmum in my experience private sector employees will also be treated to a lavish christmas party and corporate jollies team building weekends by their employer, whereas public sector workers will get a Christmas lunch without alcohol that they pay for themselves as an alternative

Well that's not the norm ladies! All the jobs I've worked in give you £25 towards a Christmas meal.

A friend who worked for the council in a call centre was sent on regular customer service awards with free dinners and comedians..

I'm a commercial director covering EMEA region and working for a multi-national. I'll go through Boffin's list and tell you what I get now and what I've ever got in my 20 years in the private sector working for various companies mostly in senior roles:

BUPA International BUPA for me only, in UK
Free tea, coffee, snacks, biscuits No
Heavily subsidised lunch in staff canteen surrounded by Henry Moore statues No; all have been more expensive than eating elsewhere
6 weeks' holiday when any holiday at all was a bonus 5 weeks max.
Loads of sick pay 6 months full, 6 months half (after 5 years service)
Car parking space in central London N/A
Free books and magazines No
Free tickets to glamorous events No
Free clothes (sometimes) No
Free computer Only so that I can work most evenings and every weekend, at home
Massive discounts on music and films No
Flight upgrades No
Champagne brunches No
Contributions to private pension Yes, defined contribution
Share options No
Taxis home after 8pm No
Free dinner if I was working after 8pm No

I could go on. Please do, I'd be interested shocked to hear what else you've been given

Ooh i get free clothes; well, uniform tunics - nice colour actually too....