To not understand how low income people become high earners?

[KissesAX]

Okay so hear me out, I'm not bashing anyone who earns a lot of money. Nor am I saying you didn't get there through hard work. But here's my story:

Was severely depressed in sixth form causing me to drop out and do an apprenticeship instead of A levels. Years on, I'm 21 and I'm unemployed. The only jobs I can apply for are entry level jobs but even these such as retail jobs all prefer people with retail experience, same with waiting and cleaning jobs. Plus they're all £7.50 ph minimum wage.

I can't go to uni as I wouldn't be able to afford it. My parents don't fund me and I have too many bills to pay that are behind from being unemployed as it is.

So here's my question. How on earth do people who are poor like myself ever get to a high paying job because I can't even seem to get an entry level job. I feel so defeated at so young but I can not find work.

I think your options are likely to live at home or get a room in a shared flat for cheap and get more training/another apprenticeship (possibly in a different field if you aren't getting any interest in your CV in the field you are applying in).

Apply for uni with student loans, probably with a foundation year course to get you started without your A levels. My husband didn't do 6th form. He did a foundation year before he started uni and took out student loans to cover his fees and living expenses.

Or start your own business and make your own money. My husband did go to uni, but he came out and wasn't happy with the kinds of jobs he could get with his degree. He started his own business instead using the skills he already had and his hobby. You could do this while living with family or if you are on JSA (however you are surviving financially now). He went from about 18K to over 40K per year in 4 years. So it is possibly. You just have to be innovative and it helps if you have someone who can support you in some way for now (a family member you can live with, are able to be in benefits, have a partner who is working, etc.). In our case, I was the working partner while my husband got the business of the ground that first year.

And also, it does just take time once you get in at a low wage. I'm 37. I've been working since I was 18 and it's really only this past year that I've reached a salary I would consider high earning.

My husband left school at 16 with a handful of GCSEs. He taught himself a skill and used his gift of the gab to get a large company that normally only employed people with degrees to give him a job, and worked his way up. He now earn 6 figures.

I really hope things work out for you - don't give up.

I think the key to this is through education not work for you.

I think you do need top access higher education. Universities often do offer access courses for people without A Levels with fairly low entry requirements, especially if you are from a background where people haven't been to uni. Funding can be available to make it possible. If you can do an access course,bayou can then do a degree and then you can access better work - it is the longer term solution because you won't get a better paid job for several years, but it is probably the better way and there is no quick fix and route to higher pay anyway.

You need to get beyond the funding issue. It is possible that due to your circumstances, you would qualify for more financial help and grants. If not, you might need to take a loan. Don't let this put you off as it is paid back over many years and only if you earn a certain amount. Your parents will not need to pay, but goi g to uni is still possible.

I would look at some careers advice websites and see what kind of courses might appeal to you. I would also see a careers advisor and explain you want to get onto a course which will lead to a specific career which pays well. Yes I know everyone wants this, but you don't want to be steered towards the wrong kind of course. Ask for advice about what routes you can take to get onto a well regarded course. Accept there might be several stages along the way because you might not qualify yet. Ask about funding and be clear about your circumstances.

If you are determined, you can break out of the cycle of poverty. It isn't easy and will require lots of hard work, but if you are prepared to do it and reasonably bright, it will be possible if you get the right advice. You may find that as you study you still work part time in those minimum wage jobs. That's fine while you are studying. However, you need to be going beyond just doing those jobs so they aren't a paremanant thing for you. 80% of minimum wage workers are still on minimum wage in 5 years - you need to break out of that.

Best of luck in finding a route that can work for you. Keep focused on the end result and the hard work will be worth it.

The hard truth is that very few people do go from being on a low wage to being very high earners. That's unusual.

I find it interesting that you've asked the question in that way because it indicates quite black and white/ all or nothing type thinking. Which is not necessarily helpful to you. Especially as you have a history of depression.

I think what you really need to concentrate on it getting a good first job. A foot in the door, doing something you don't mind too much and that has the scope for progression.

My first job like that-after years in your position- was an advice worker for the CAB. Before that I was getting by on casual warehouse and kitchen work through agencies, which was very easy to get in those days. The CAB was my first secure, salaried role with prospects.

I got the CAB job on the back of volunteering for them and qualifying in their internal "advice worker" course. I had no other qualifications at that point, although I did an open university degree some time later.

Im sorry you had such a rough start to adulthood OP, but it's not over yet. I think you need a good sit down chat with a careers advisor about the kind of work you would like and what you need to do to get there.
If your interested in higher education, I would seek out info on the funding availible. If it's not a possibility now, you may find that more money is availible if you wait a little and apply as a mature student. This would also mean that you could do a one year acess course rather than going through A levels again.

Getting that first step in the door is key here. You need to make sure your CV is as smart as it can be and that your interview skills are good. Voluntary work would be good to improve your CV and convince employers you really want to work and are prepared to work hard.

My story: I started in a bank with just GCSEs at the lowest level. I worked hard, performed well, got good appraisals and moved around within the bank to get more experience. They sponsored me to study banking and then accountancy exams. I am now pretty senior and earn very well.

Do you think this sort of route would be an option for you?

You'd be able to go to college to do an access course and have the fees paid for you. There are also apprenticeships available to you.

Open University is free to people on a low income or in receipt of unemployment benefits.

There are trade course in most FE colleges you could have funded for you. You don't need a degree to earn a decent living, plumbers, carpenters, hairdressers, electricians etc all do well for themselves if they are talented enough. The direction you take will depend on what you want to do in the future.

Pop down to your local college and ask to speak to an adviser.

You can definitely go to university. I qualified for the highest amount of loans, as I assume you would too, and all of my living expenses were covered - living, food, social life, etc. You just have to budget.

Universities also have internal bursaries that they give away to students with low-income parents. At my university I received over £3,000 yearly that I did not have to pay back.

We'll I wouldn't really consider myself a high earner on £31K, but considering I left home at 16 due to abuse and spent several years on benefits or low paid temp work I think I've done quite well.

My tips would be:

Do any work at all, even voluntary work, to get experience and to make sure there are no gaps on your CV. Employers don't like gaps.

Hard work and perseverance. I worked two jobs and studied evening classes and had no social life for several years.

Luck. Being in the right place at the right time (and that is never going to be at home in front of the telly)

At 21 I was working 40+ hours per week in a factory for £2.50ph and studying in the evening's 3 times a week.

I got three jobs and paid my own way through university and post grad.

I think the main way is to be proactive and work very hard. Sitting around saying "I'll never be able to do it" will get you nowhere.

Get low paid entry-level job. Then get promoted to higher position or get higher position job at other company. Rinse and repeat.

I'm not saying it's easy. I'm not saying it works out for everyone. I'm not saying making effort guarantees results. Some people have all the privilege and others have none, some have an easy ride and others get the world shitting on them. But that's pretty much how any high earner got there - well, those that didn't get the high paid job straight out of school.

Finding a job when you're unemployed is hard, finding a job when you've been long-term unemployed can seem impossible, finding a better job when you're employed is easier.

I had a few crap jobs after leaving school with 3 O'evels Then a lucky break along in something I was really interested in doing, so I begged for the job and after a few years I was able to move up to the next stage and then again a few years later.
DH joined the bottom of a big company and took every promotion offered. He's now at the level he wants to stay at. He says that the next promotion usually ends up with people going a bit nutty off with stress.

I'm currently looking for a new job. I've spent 15 years at the same place where there is never going to be a hope of any kind of promotion or pay rise (for anyone), I earn a bit over minimum wage. Plus I've been bullied for a quite a few years. I should never have stayed this long.

I have lots of qualifications and a degree, none of this has ever helped me. I've only ever had bad career advice.

I think it might be best for me to become self-employed. I think most people who get rich go down this path. You can easily waste your life working really hard for someone else and never get anywhere.

Sign up with an agency. Ds went from A levels to an agency who put him into a local government department. Within three months they had taken him on and they funded a degree and a Masters and other professional qualifications and he is in a management role now ten years later and tipped to be chief executive in time.

If you have children, your options are much fewer as you are restricted to office hours or whenever you can get childcare.

Ha ha, funny you should say that fleshmarket. I work for an agency in a government department. Totally opposite experience.

I agree that education is key, and it has to be the right qualifications, so do your research well.

I left school with 4 GCSEs and didn't go to college. I worked in takeaways and factories, and did voluntary work to find out what I wanted to do as a career and to get experience. Once I had found the career I thought I would enjoy and made sure that jobs did exist and the qualifications I would need. I then did night classes in GCSEs and A levels while working in the day, then an access course in the day and two jobs in the evenings and weekends. Then went to uni (using student loans that I am still paying off) leaving everyone I knew to live in a far way city.

I planned my escape from poverty and worked hard to achieve it, it didn't just happen. I was also exceptionally lucky on occasion, and fell on my feet a couple of times with employers who helped me move up or get further qualifications.

It is possible, just not easy.

Well they save up as much as they can, start business in their spare time to make extra, resit a levels, apply to university, get various student loans, maintenance loans, scholarships and part time jobs, work hard, get a good degree, get a high paying job. Lots of people do it. It's not like you have any dependants, you really have no excuse.

I did a law degree when I was 30 by studying part time in the evening - working FT to pay for law school as well as living etc. It was a hard slog, but I got a 2.1 and no debt.

I agree getting educated, or specialised in whatever sphere is the key to better paid work.

MissEiliya - I'm sure you're not ;)

OP - I'm currently looking for a job after years of studying and child rearing. I'm applying for some entry level ones, as well, to maximise my chances. I've got many degrees and years of experience, but in different, quite scattered, temp things. I'm finding it hard to get seriously considered for anything, as I usually lack the specific experience in that particular role (there will always be someone applying with the exact experience, so easy for the employees - no/minimal training needed).

Have you looked into care/support work? That is usually readily available for any decent, hard working person (usually no experience or specific qualifications needed - or they can be gained in the job if necessary) in all areas through companies and charities. That will be my port of call again, if I can't move into another work sector by the end of this month, as now seriously in need of money. From support worker you can work your way up to a supervisor and co-ordinator, etc. (but will likely need to take formal courses for that, too).

Good luck! It's soul destroying. I'm firing off 10-20 applications a week and had 4 interviews so far. Had one today (probably won't get it ) and the next one is on Monday.

See I really didn't set out to 'get rich'.

I just wanted to have a roof over my head and food in my belly. I am often amazed by how well things worked out for me considering my crap beginnings, and feel very fortunate.

Route taken by a friend of mine who had very poor A levels and dropped out of uni after 2 terms. He joined an accountancy firm in an admin role. Convinced them to let him take basic accountancy exams and on passing them to take the ACA qualification to become a chartered accountant. 7 years on he has just accepted a job this week paying £60k in a London investment bank. Its doable but it can take a lot of effort.

Long term planning, OP. Think of things that you enjoy doing or have a passion for, look into related fields to find out whether it's possible to earn well doing something you'll genuinely enjoy. If it isn't and being a high earner is more important to you than doing something you enjoy, there's nothing wrong with that. Examine your current skill set. You might be particularly good with numbers, you might have a gift for clarity of thought and logic. You almost certainly have natural abilities which you can develop and apply to your career.

Don't restrict yourself to the idea working for someone else. Starting a business or becoming self-employed doesn't necessarily need much money if you innovate and find creative ways to overcome any obstacles. It's not easy and it takes a lot of hard work but if you come up with the right idea and apply yourself it can be done. You don't have to aspire to creating a multi-national empire, start small and then you might find that the only real limitation on your earning potential is the amount of time you're willing to put into it.

Most importantly, don't allow your current circumstances to define you and shape your entire life. At 21 my prospects looked pretty bleak overall and I had begun to wallow in self pity, resigned to my fate. It looks very different now. My biggest regret is the amount of time I spent waiting for something to happen. Most of that time was spent hoping that the government would step in and change everything somehow, the rest was spent waiting for an opportunity to appear from nowhere and force me to achieve something. Neither of those things are ever going to happen - you have to decide what you want and then pursue it with all of the vigour and determination you can muster.

I haven't read all the replies so this may already have been said, but I'm sure there's a way you can go to uni if you want to!

I didn't start uni until I was 21 either, and couldn't afford to give up my job or move away. I enrolled in a course which was relevant to my job, and only had to physically attend the (very local) uni one evening a week. I completed my BA in 3 years which is the same as if I'd gone full time to uni and lived in. The course was all paid for via student loan, I didn't qualify for much maintenance loan but I did get a little which helped in purchasing a laptop etc to do the work. I'm not a high earner by any means, but the degree got me into a job where more training is available and I should hopefully be able to begin earning more.

It's incredibly tough and from my experience it just took time. I dropped out of uni after falling into depression and self harm in my 2nd year. I worked in retail before finding work at a locally run business in their office. It was minimum wage but I did live at home very cheaply.

I was 23 when I started there. Over the years I have worked my way up with promotions and now I'm on 30k with a company car. Not an amazing wage but I live in the north of England and it does me fine here. Dh has done similar and in 12 years we have both doubled our salaries and been able to buy a house and live comfortably.