To ask your salary, profession, location and years of experience

[Nosey77]

I know I am being really nosey and it's not very British to talk money. I was inspired by another thread where people are asking questions to all sorts of careers.

I was just wondering if people could take part and say what they do, how much they earn and where they are. Also, could you also provide advice on how to enter the profession and whether you recommend it. Thought this might be more u self than just go ogling as I get real life opinions and have found the other thread really insightful

Please let's not make anyone feel bad for what they are. I'll start

Retail assistant, 3 year, Leeds, £6.50ph. Whilst I actually enjoy it, I'm looking to leave. No advice needed - just hand in tour CVs

Currently a SAHM, but was an Architectural technologist for 6years ft.
Wouldn't recommend anyone going into architecture especially a woman. Think I was on considerably less than male counterparts. Also the recession hit hard from 2008 and only just recovering. No recognition of role and passed over for jobs I procured were given to less experienced men. Humph. Hence taking a break and reassessing. Oh Yeh, salary was £23.5k, which they kindly put up to £26k after I announced pregnancy. I'm not bitter.

sparechange Thankyou for your help

I'm finding this thread really helpful too. I also want to go into finance so stealing some of the advice

Thank you UptheChimney for the - sending them back to you as you have done an amazing job too.

My route into accountancy (ACA), which has encompassed corporate finance, management consultancy and then investment banking, involved a related degree and then TAC (test of accounting competence) and PE1 (nine weeks' intensive course) and PE2 (six weeks' intensive course) at one of the Big Four in London. Intensive courses meant that if you failed an exam, you were out of a job overnight - but as I qualified in 1993, times may have changed. My DB is ACCA qualified and earns a lot more than I do - he went straight from A levels to a large multi-national company and qualified there.

More recent qualifiers will probably give more pertinent advice ....

Deputy Head of primary school
Degree + postgrad + senior leadership qualification
£56k
7 years teaching experience

22k to write learning/teaching software for corporate clients. If you work for a bank or airline and have had to do an online training course, well I may have written it.

I enjoy the job because I learn about all kinds of interesting stuff to do with that industry, some of it very technical. I have to learn it before I can teach it/write it, often from poor training materials provided. It's a bit like cramming for and sitting an exam for a living.

I have a degree and three years' experience but anyone with good punctuation, spelling and grammar, an eye for detail and a knack for learning things quickly can do this job. If you noticed the double space before grammar, then you have the eye for detail I'm talking about.

If I hadn't taken maternity leave I'd be on about 2-4k more. A salary of 22k is on the low end for what I do full time. I live in an expensive part of the country (not London but not much cheaper) but I enjoy it. Overtime past 8pm is rare.

nosey
PM if you want to discuss it more. I am involved in the diversity and inclusion committee for our industry trade association, and we've looked at career paths as part of the analysis on whether the route for recruiting is contributing to the lack of diversity in the industry, so I know a little bit about how firms are recruiting...

I've worked with quite a few contemporaries in corporate finance and private equity who started out in accounting - they did start out at one of the big 4 but we're talking people in their early 30s, don't think I knew anyone who entered the market having done an MBA first, that was usually something picked up along the way.

nosey don't be put off by the comments of sparechange - that's really rather an extreme viewpoint. Do do your research but I'm confident that you will find routes open to you.

That said, in general, Corporate financiers, private equity investors and investment bankers are the most arrogant wankers on the face of the earth. I mean like really intolerable awful people (I worked for them every day for over 10 years) and the industry is renown for its sexism. It makes corporate law in a city firm look positively pleasant and hub of equality . You will need to be 1) incredibly bright and astute 2) incredibly hard working and willing to sacrifice much personal life for work 3) tough and pragmatic with a thick skin. But it's possible. It just isn't easy.

Social Worker - NQSW

£29,000

The PA to private individual sounds fascinating.
On corporate finance/private equity - yes I agree with what is said above. You have to work very hard. We have people in the family in or working with that sector as do I to some extent as a lawyer.

There is also the "posh test" we have all been hearing about for some careers so get working on those elocution lessons (I am joking... well partly).....

Regulatory affairs specialist in the medical device industry. £39k p/a, Home Counties.

I fell into it in a very odd way but most people in this field will have a degree in the life sciences and often an MSc in Regulatory Affairs. The pharmaceutical industry pays more than medical devices but the work/life balance is better on this side. The average starting salary for my role is around £21k, rising to a maximum of £55k at senior management level. After that you're looking at director/board level, which would require a broad range of experience within the discipline and in Quality areas too. I'd recommend it for people who enjoy writing and problem-solving and have a calm temperament!

document/information management, 33k (in pounds), 5 years exp.

i have an unrelated degree and an IT qualification. mostly learnt on the job though.

other perks: regular time off, decent vacay, benefits, training, etc.

oh, and it's very niche - once you have enough experience you can basically write your own ticket

Environmental health officer specialising in food safety.
South Wales.
31k up to 34k but varies with other employers.
Entry into this profession requires a BSc or Masters in Environmental Health.
The job varies quite a bit and you are not tied to a desk which is nice :)

As I posted my last post, I wondered if the reason this one had so many responses was that it tacitly allowed a stealth boast. including mine.

I'm an assistant editor for a very popular website. I make £22k a year and I mostly love my job. I consider myself very lucky to be in this field. I've done it for three years and prior to that I did a degree and a lot of interning.

i think it's bs that really important people like nurses, teachers and journalists are not making 6 figures

Wow! Fascinating and very timely thread for me!

I'm another lawyer but I'm a Legal Executive (for the non-lawyers this is a different and, in some lawyers' opinions, an inferior qualification). I qualified through a vocational route. I started as a YTS (apprentice) office junior, and studied at evening college and then on day release with a very supportive employer. I've been qualified for over 10 years but have over 20 years experience in my particular discipline. I have a strong client following and, I think, am well respected in my field in my locality.

I work in the West Mids and earn £40K pa. I'm full time. Like InHouse, I've experimented with many part time patterns but, in my opinion, lawyers (certainly ones that specialise in corporate and litigation disciplines) will struggle to fit it all into part time hours.

I'm currently an Associate and hope to make it to Director and Head of Department within the next 2 years.

I have a dilemma in that I have the opportunity to go and work in Birmingham earning £60K+ and I've been completely torn about what to do. At the moment I have a 10 min commute to work. I can drop my DSs off at school and still get to work by 9. I have the occasional long day but, on the whole, I'm back home by 6. Working in the city will add another 2 hours to my working day. Plus it's highly unlikely I'll ever progress beyond Senior Associate.

DH earns about £10K pa more than me. His working hours are no longer than mine. Our cost of living isn't high and we have a nice standard of living. We have lots of family support and don't need to pay for childcare.

I'd be interested to hear other lawyers' opinions. Do I make the move and go for the big bucks or stay local, with a lower salary but better career prospects?!

Sorry that this isn't exactly the purpose of the thread (but I've tried to give all the info requested without outing myself!) but there are so many lawyers on here, I couldn't resist asking for opinions!!

Another lawyer here. Corporate partner, high six figures. 15 years experience. 1 DS and pregnant with 2nd.

Posting mainly to echo comments above that my flexibility is great. The work is entirely international so no-one expects or cares if I am in an office at certain times of day or at all. Often work from home (currently sitting next to sleeping DSs bed emailing). Great nanny, great lady who does, supportive husband. Outsource all drudgery so my time at home is 100% focused on family and friends. I love it. I'm glad I didn't trade it for shorter but more rigid hours eg in house.

footballmum what you have now sounds perfect. As you progress, you'll earn more. I wouldn't give up what you have now for a quick buck.

Thanks Thomas, that's what I think. But then I see lawyers with the same or less PQE than me earning six figure salaries and I wonder if I'm selling myself short!

:) What other people have doesn't take anything away from you. I have to remember that a lot. The story of the Mexican fisherman is a good anchor for that thought.

Very profound, Thomas, but very true. I may print it out and stick it on the wall in my non-city office