In thinking that this salary really isn’t anything to brag about

[WinterAx]

A good friend’s 23yo DD has just accepted a new job where she’ll be earning 31k. Since that time, I haven’t heard the last of it with regards to what a ‘high earner’ she will be now and how much more she’ll be earning than any of her peers. I’m being told she’ll no doubt be jetting off on lots of exotic holidays and buying a Range Rover and such like. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a good friend of mine and of course she’s a proud mother but... 31k... really? Is this really considered ‘high earner’ status these days?!

Admittedly we don’t live in a city so living costs aren’t high and I know she owns property already with her boyfriend who also earns a similar amount... but I’m just genuinely interested what sort of salary outside of the city is considered to be good these days? If you can genuinely be comfortable on that sort of wage I’m thinking of semi retiring!!!

I work very hard to earn a lot more than that

There are lots and lots of people who work very, very hard and earn a lot less than that.

I'm on 50k yet I'm still skint 😂 definitely not a high earner!

If she was my mum I would be annoyed that she was discussing my income.

It's a decent wage for a 23 year old but the whole thing of talking about it in the way she is, is just embarrassing.

I was 🙀🙀🙀 when my daughter got her first grown up job at £36 or £37k a year, it seemed absurdly high considering how drawn she is to the poorest paid specialisms.

It's a good starting salary, by comparison at that age I started on 27K over ten years ago in a big multinational.

I'm 23 and that's a very high earner as far as I'm concerned! I'm on half of that (emergency services worker).

£31k is good for 23. I earned £28k a that age and it was still far more than my friends.

I wouldn't say it's a high salary in general but for her age it definitely is.

That is a good salary for 23 and that she owns a house! I think friend should be proud but maybe not discuss her daughters wage. Everyone’s circumstances are different. My OH was on more at 21, he had a career change and earns half of what he did at 21, and he’s 30 now. Circumstances change and priorities change. It’s all relative

I was on 8k when I was 23. Don't do an english literature degree folks Ha! Yes, I was on 9.5k at 23, working as a newspaper reporter after doing an English degree and qualifying as a journalist. At age 38 with a Masters and PhD under my belt I've never earned close to 31k, so would have been thrilled to earn that at 23!

My husband earns 31k as a teacher but for that he's in school from 7am to 6pm every day and then does several hours marking and planning each evening and every Sunday so it certainly doesn't feel like a lot for the amount of work he does.

I had a job in publishing. I think the pay is still very shit.

Yes that's a very good salary for her age and I'm not surprised her family are happy!

I was a full time contractor at age 22, working in local government and earned £22 per hour which was crazy money. I used to bring home about £700 per week, which given my age, was a serious amount of money!

My DD1 is 25 and earns £32k plus bonuses. She thinks she is minted!

My income is roughly the same as the daughter and I'm 24 and I own my own home.

However, I also have two children and my DP earns 19k a year so we are financially worse off than the daughter and her partner.

I'd certainly feel like I was a good earner if both myself and DP were earning over 60k between us, with no dependants. We'd have about £200 per month saved through clubs and nappies etc plus have lower bills, probably a smaller mortgage as we wouldn't need as big a house etc. That would definitely afford a nice car on finance and an exotic holiday per year.

Salary aside, I'm amazed at the number of "no wonder her mother is proud" / "I can understand why her family are happy" comments. As if being proud is justification for boasting about it. So incredibly uncouth. I can't imagine any of my friends discussing such a thing

My guess is that the boasty (proud) mother may not be a high earner herself and is immensely proud of what her daughter has achieved particularly as she isn't a graduate, has got a bit excited and shared her pleasure with the situation with someone she thought would be pleased for daughter too.

No its not me although I have a graduate son who is doing well for himself tooif anyone cares to listen!

Bue I agree. I'd be mortified if my parents discussed my financial status with anyone, never mind boasted about it.

KityGlitr I speak from a lot of experience both in recruiting said graduates and in having seen my own children’s experiences. Like I said my figures are based on cities rather than country wide so I would not include a graduate in social media from a former polytechnic who goes back to their home village to work in a cafe in my numbers.

Poppy - so, inaccurate, selective, uninformed figures, then? Of course your experiences are of that kind of figure if you purposefully exclude anyone who might contradict it...

If you ask your children they might have the same experience as you, or more likely, they'll know that huge numbers of their cohort would see that as a great salary.

Like I said - my cohort includes people who graduated with a first from a red brick university who were on £14.5k, only now on £18k, to people who went straight in at £40k.

It depends where you live. I was earning that at that age in London, where of course the cost of living is higher. It is strange to boast about it though.

My manager is 26 and earns in excess of £37k but she has a degree and worked amazingly hard to be in the position she is in. Salary isn't anything to brag about but I would be proud to be in her position. I'm 30 and on £22k.

Being braggy about most things is unappealing imo.

I don't think I've ever seen a post complaining about a boast so that they can have their own boast!
Good on the young lady and good on you for earning even more, and good on the mum for being proud. Everyone's a winner.

And only here can you not be proud or happy about anything in your life or your children's life without being accused of boasting/stealth boasting.

For all we know OP asked how much she was earning and the friend could have said "she will be earning £31k and can buy a Range Rover and go on holiday" because we don't know this friend, we've no idea what constitutes a large salary to her and her daughter may love Range Rovers.

OP, if you think it's a shit wage, did you say that to her face? Or do you think you are being a better friend by humouring her and then raising it on a public forum where it will get shared to the Facebook page, commented on by even more people and then probably picked up by the Fail?

There's a huge difference between being proud and bragging but coming to say my friend is proud of her daughter's wage doesn't awaken the bitches like the word bragging does it?

Only on MN

Sometimes I think I must live on a different planet.

I’m assuming that your friend and her partner if she has one have never earned much and so are easily impressed by 31K.

A bit like parents that boast about their children being ‘clever’; you know it’s just because the parents are thick and are impressed because their child can read a few words.