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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder what a ‘good wage’ is?

580 replies

PaperdollCartoon · 12/01/2018 17:48

Not really an AIBU but something I’ve been pondering on, and posting here for traffic and opinions.

I often see people mentioning that someone earns ‘a good wage’ or indeed a high wage, but what that means in practice is clearly dependent on many factors, not least the area someone lives in but also their dependents.

I work in an industry where I talk to people on very high wages all the time about their jobs, which I think skews my view of what’s normal. I was involved in a discussion in another forum recently where it was mentioned the average salary at the moment is £27,000. Of course this is a mean average, skewed by a few very high salaries, and most people are below that. But many people were commenting that they didn’t know anyone who earned that much and had never earned anywhere near that themselves.

I’ve also been fascinated by this calculator from the Institute of Fiscal Studies that shows where households fall in the stratification of the country www.ifs.org.uk/wheredoyoufitin/
I think a lot of people would be surprised by it. When DP and I each earned the average salary (no kids) we were still in the top 25/30% ish of households which seems mad, and we live in an expensive area.

I’m wondering - what do you think a ‘good wage’ is, and at one point does something become a high wage?

OP posts:
TalkinPeace · 14/01/2018 17:42

Also don’t forget taxes are very high!!!
Bollocks.
They are historic lows compared with the 20th Century.
If taxes went back up to what they were under Mrs Thatcher, the NHS and schools would not be in crisis.

Gwenhwyfar · 14/01/2018 17:48

"When the government is unable to support every child independent schools fill the gap. If they weren’t around state schools would be even more stretched"

That's rubbish. Rich people taking their children out of state education doesn't help it at all.
Also remember the tax breaks private schools get by calling themselves charity and the taxpayer money going into the assisted places scheme.

midnightmooch · 14/01/2018 17:59

What actual working in a shop? Yes an actual shop on the high street, selling stuff and not Aldi and not in management - although he has now been promoted to management.

MrsKoala · 14/01/2018 18:02

My friend's son got a job in retail in London, he started on £34k/year plus bonus. Not bad for a first job

That must have been a graduate role?

I know a few people working in high street shops and they certainly don't earn that.

Talkin - I am one of those wives, but i do at least try to keep a fingernail grip on reality! Grin

midnightmooch · 14/01/2018 18:05

It was a graduate role but he says it is simply a retail sales job, no need for a degree.

NameChanger22 · 14/01/2018 18:05

Which shop was it? We all deserve to know.

midnightmooch · 14/01/2018 18:07

I can't share that info, sorry!

MrsKoala · 14/01/2018 18:09

Yes, but whether he thinks you need a degree to do the job and whether they specify it as a graduate role are 2 separate things. Lots of places advertise 'graduate roles' which don't really require the specialism of a degree - hence why you can have any degree. It's so they can fast track you to management - as it appears they have him.

My friends with just a handful of GCSEs would not be offered that role. They will be paid £8.50 an hour.

midnightmooch · 14/01/2018 18:12

It's what they pay all their shop floor staff, they can't all be fast tracked to management.

Rinoachicken · 14/01/2018 18:15

It's what they pay all their shop floor staff, they can't all be fast tracked to management.

Sorry but that has to be bollocks. I don’t believe for 1 second that there is a high street shop that is paying every single shelf stacker £34k.

What is this shop selling??

RJnomore1 · 14/01/2018 18:18

I've found over the years that a decent salary is usually what I'm currently on and a good salary is about 50% more

Because aspirations change as income rises.

According to the charts I'm around top ten percent of earners. Dh earns between national average and 75% more depending on lots of factors. We live in Scotland where life is relatively cheap.

When we got married the income we have now would have been beyond our wildest dreams but now I don't feel welloff because you get used to what you have.

I do however realise we ARE well off particularly from my work where I come into contact with a lot of people who are really struggling.

I do also wonder how so many people manage to drive very expensive cars though knowing about average local incomes and housing costs!

midnightmooch · 14/01/2018 18:22

*I don’t believe for 1 second that there is a high street shop that is paying every single shelf stacker £34k.

What is this shop selling??*

Believe it or not, who cares? They are sales staff, not shelf stackers.

SherlocksTripleLock · 14/01/2018 18:28

Sorry but that has to be bollocks. I don’t believe for 1 second that there is a high street shop that is paying every single shelf stacker £34k.

What is this shop selling??

Apple store?

LightastheBreeze · 14/01/2018 18:30

It sounds like the sort of retail which is a bit like car salesmen type thing, aren’t furniture shops like that, not stuff like Next or a supermarket

MrsKoala · 14/01/2018 18:34

I've just done a quick google of retail assistant jobs in Kent and i can't see anything like 34k.

I think that your friends son is extremely unusual.

Rinoachicken · 14/01/2018 18:38

They are sales staff, not shelf stackers.

You said earlier they paid ‘all their shop floor staff’ £34k.

midnightmooch · 14/01/2018 18:40

yes they work on the shop floor.

Rinoachicken · 14/01/2018 18:45

You are being deliberately obtuse.

You are trying to claim that your friends son walked into a normal everyday retail job on £34k and that this shop pays all its basic shop floor staff the same, and hat this was not unusual in any way.

You know full well that high street shops do NOT as a matter of course, pay people £34k to put clothes on rails, help people find the right TV, man the changing rooms, or operate tills. These are all ‘shop floor’ roles and would probable be called ‘sales assistants’ or whatever. They won’t be on £34k.

It is very very unusual and there will be some element to it that you are not telling us in order to try and make whatever point it is you are trying to make.

midnightmooch · 14/01/2018 18:56

Believe what you like Rino.
I agree it is unusual but I am hiding nothing, not making a point other that Harrods pay a little over NMW, when you'd expect given their merchandise that they'd pay more - but some companies do pay more, they want to keep their staff, they want to keep staff turnover to a minimum, they want knowledgable staff that know about their product, they want their staff to not feel able to move easily because they can't get paid better elsewhere....that's what I think their strategy is....I am just guessing though.

redannie118 · 14/01/2018 18:58

This reply has been withdrawn

The OP has privacy concerns, and so we've agreed to take this down now.

LightastheBreeze · 14/01/2018 19:01

Those are specialised sales jobs which are well paid not general retail jobs which are just above minimum wage. I’m guessing some of the jobs in places like Apple store as mentioned upthread are fairly well paid as they require some sort of expertise

RaininSummer · 14/01/2018 19:03

Re the working tax credit and single childless people above, I just checked and if you earn 13,100 a year you don't qualify apparently.

midnightmooch · 14/01/2018 19:06

Also don’t forget taxes are very high!!! Can agree with this and I don't know anyone in my "bubble" who would agree with this either.

midnightmooch · 14/01/2018 19:09

I meant I can't agree!

Parker231 · 14/01/2018 19:10

I know that DH and I earn significantly more than the norm but our salaries are the norm for our profession - me Director at one of the Big4 and DH senior partner in a local GP’s practice. We live in central London in a house we inherited so have always been incredibly lucky to have no mortgage costs. However we decided to educate DC’s privately so that they would have small class sizes. English is their third language as DH is French Canadian and I moved to the UK from another European country when I was 5. English isn’t spoken at home so wanted the best education we could get for them. It has paid off as they are now doing well at Uni. A large proportion of our salaries have gone on nursery costs, school fees and now university fees and DC’s livings costs.

As other posters have said, you get use to your level of salary and spend accordingly. We probably should have saved more but both have the attitude that life is for livings so we spend too much on holidays and cars. We appreciate that our careers and circumstances have enabled us to have these options available to us.