Please help settle a debate - earning £35k

[Johnnyfinland]

Two people are having a discussion. Person A is insisting £35k is a decent wage for someone at junior management level or just below. Person B says it's a bad wage, and you can't do things like save, go on holiday, treat yourself etc on that salary.

Person A pointed out plenty of people in the UK are on less, but person B thinks it's only just entry level for many industries, and that most people in "professional jobs" would think it's low.

What do you think? I am one of the people but I won't reveal which yet.

It depends where you live and what your other expenses are but 35k is a reasonable salary so I'd probably agree more with A

I think it's a decent wage for most people, particularly junior management. It depends on other living costs whether someone could save and have a holiday but yes it should be do-able.

Depends on location but outside of London I'd be very happy on 35k.
Can't go on holiday on that salary?! Seriously?! What a load of bollocks

Depends on the industry/sector, in some it would be a good salary for junior management in others it really wouldn't.

Then business doent owe anybody a holiday. They pay market value for the role. If 35 k is market value then it is fair.

I think in certain fields it would be viewed as low. I'm not sure what Person B views as "professional" but I can kind of see where they're coming from.

It's a fairly reasonable wage though for many jobs. I think both have a point but I'd say that I agree with Person A overall but in specific jobs, Person B.

Good salary. Can certainly go on holiday unless substantial financial commitments.

They are 2 separate arguments. £25k a year would be a great salary for a cleaner but still not great in terms of available money for holidays etc.

For junior management I'd expect to see £40k+ apart from in retail which seems to pay poorly

its all about circumstances though isn't it... is that a single household income, are there kids in the mix, is it london, what's the costs of living in the area, what does one consider luxuries, mortgage-free or not, private company/public body etc.....

it's totally arbitrary without knowing the answers to these (not an exhaustive list)

sorry for non-answer

Depends on where you live. Here in the east Midlands I manage around 3 holidays a year on an income of £20k.

DH is on a couple of thousand more and supports a family of 4 with a mortgage easily. We're in Essex with good rail links to london. We don't go on loads of foreign holidays but we don't go without luxuries.

Obviously depends on housing costs, whether single or part of a couple, and whether there are 1 or 2 earners and how many DCs a person has, but that doesn't change the fact that it's more than about 70% of the country earns.

Person B is delusional and if they think you can't save, treat yourself or go on holiday on that income, they probably have a skewed idea of what is a treat and what is a basic essential.

I earn around that amount and go on plenty of holidays - I don't live in London, but in a fairly expensive town nonetheless.

Fair point, I'll elaborate a bit. We are specifically talking about a particular, London-based industry. Person A says £35k is decent for someone with a few years experience and coming up to junior management.

We also debated £27k. Person A said this is decent for someone with 1-2 years experience in a non-managerial role. Person B disagrees and says it's low.

Neither are homeowners and there are no children involved

totally dependent on both area you're living in and type of work.

27 is low for London
If someone's only been in the industry for a couple of years though then there's potential to earn more in future

'they think you can't save, treat yourself or go on holiday on that income, they probably have a skewed idea of what is a treat and what is a basic essential'
Could not have put it better myself

You're clearly A, else you wouldn't have put B's "professional jobs" in quotes.

@ThePants999
I picked up on that too

It depends on:
1 Your housing costs inc bills
2 Your travel costs
3 Costs in employment ie clothes, lunches etc.
4 Student debt
5 Dependents
6 Personal spending
7 Saving for a deposit on a home
8 Your qualifications and opportunities to progress in your career
9 How much you pay towards your pension

That's an average post doctoral salary at the University I work at. Someone who has a Masters degree and a PhD, so perhaps equivalent to junior management in the private sector, but years of work and qualifications are needed to get you to that level. I wouldn't say it was easy but I managed as a single parent to bring up two children, pay a mortgage and bills and go on the odd holiday abroad, (with the help of tax credit) on less than that while I did my PhD. All savings went on holidays and nice days out though, nothing aside for a rainy day. To answer your question, I agree with person A for the area I live in (North) but more person B regarding the South East.

Also think you are A.

I'd say it was a decent wage but may not be in London due to the increased cost of living - does that include London weighting?

My DD1 (age 25 been in the job 3 years) is on around that. Works in London and has a fairly high rent. Lives with boyfriend but no DC. They manage very well and go on lots of holidays. But she is looking for another job as she feels she isn't on a very good salary.

It's not a great wage but if there were room to increase it fairly quickly in that particular job/sector then it's OK as a starting salary.

It's more than most people earn. It is therefore a decent salary. Fact. Whether or not someone wants to work for that amount or thinks they are worth more or thinks any salary you can't live a luxurious lifestyle on is shit is more of a personal opinion.