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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what jobs you do that earn 40k/50k plus

242 replies

TheresAlwaysAnAskHole · 21/08/2018 00:53

As DD heads to FT school, I'm reconsidering my career. My existing career as a teacher has a salary of around £24,000 - £28,000. I am unemployed right now.

I'm wondering how quickly I can study and what jobs I can quickly move into that will bring big money.

OP posts:
Brownsocksinabox · 21/08/2018 08:00

This! Digital marketing is an industry that shows no signs of slowing down. You don't even need a degree to get your foot in the door.

I started as an apprentice on minimum wage. Now, 5 years later (aged 27) I'm the head of my own marketing agency, predicted to earn just shy of £100k/yr this tax year. I also have a small team, so revenue is considerably more than that - but we're always hiring.

SenoritaViva · 21/08/2018 08:02

Headteacher.

Modt of the jobs people mention are 9-5, including school holidays so although your DD will be at FT school you will have that to consider.

As someone said, you must be relatively inexperienced on that salary as a teacher, would you find progressing in your chosen career more beneficial?

Fefifoefum · 21/08/2018 08:02

I’m really shocked at these teachers salaries. They are amazing for public sector! almost 40k for no leadership role?!
I earn 10 grand less than that for a significant leadership role in nursing, with shifts.

ZanyMobster · 21/08/2018 08:04

Accountancy? Not particularly quick to qualify and hard of course but you can be earning a salary as good as a teachers within 3 years if you go down the AAT route then double that in another 3 if you're ambitious.

SleepyMcEdie · 21/08/2018 08:08

Teacher, £47k. Shortage subject in an academy desperate for staff. You won’t be on less than £30k in teaching for long.

Sturmundcalm · 21/08/2018 08:08

in scotland once you've been teaching for 6 years the salary is £36.5k without any promotion. around 50% of teachers are on that salary - and i'm assuming england is similar. promoted teachers can earn up to about £85k (although that's only for the HTs of the largest schools). why are you working on the basis of it paying so little?

GeorgeTheHippo · 21/08/2018 08:10

Remember to add in your pension before you start comparing. In my experience teachers don't understand their package and therefore ignore if.

Also factor in the time you can spend with kids in the holidays and the childcare you will need to pay for if you don't work term time only. Remember term time only is called flexible working outside teaching. There's a reason for that.

HollySwift · 21/08/2018 08:11

Sales, if you’re good at it, have low morals and are willing to bet on commission each month.

Centreparcsooheer · 21/08/2018 08:12

In most schools to get that salary you have to do a lot of additional duties. I don't know of a class teacher on that where I am with no additional responsibility.

Doobydoo · 21/08/2018 08:15

Nursing/Care Home Manager....helpful to have at least NVQ5 in Leadership and Management.

shoesoff1 · 21/08/2018 08:16

Very hard to know what career to advise ds1 to go for.

Particularly with all the talk of robots taking jobs!

CaptainCucumber · 21/08/2018 08:16

Medicine - earn well over 50k (if you can handle the stress!)

DH is a teacher and earns 45k

Teachers who earn 24k are in their NQT year. Did you do one year and quit?

Thesearepearls · 21/08/2018 08:24

Well it’s not that instant, is the problem. You can’t just retrain in something and then magically get a salary that’s twice the average

I’m a chartered accountant and earn well above the figures you mention. But it took 3 years to qualify plus another 10 years or so working my way up the ranks before I got to be a partner.

Good luck!

MingeUterusMingeMingeYoni · 21/08/2018 08:28

Typical starting salary in Investment Banking is about £40k, likewise in corporate law.

Corporate law would be at least another year of study, and that's if OP has a law degree which she very likely doesn't. If not, she would need to convert it so that's another year. So tbh that pretty much backs up that jobs of that ilk usually require a lot of training/study before you can hope to earn that much! I'd also agree with others that the odds are against nearly everyone for one of these positions anyway. OPs chances of earning 40 or 50k are likely much higher if she stays in teaching.

There is also the point that she has a young child. Trainee hours in corporate law firms mean she's not going to see much of her at all. Not something I'd advise any parent to get into unless they're ok with that.

GuestWW · 21/08/2018 08:29

I work in a big corporate heading up a marketing team and there are opportunities in marketing. Our mid-level marketeers are earning c£40k, however they all have marketing degrees and many have post-grad qualifications. Each year we offer an internship (one single place) and we have over 150 applicants for that role. There are well paid jobs but I don't agree that you can walk straight into them or that you wouldn't need some retraining.

Given how much you have invested in teaching already it might be a better option to continue there, especially as others on this thread indicate there is money to earn.

grumiosmum · 21/08/2018 08:30

OP, maybe you should start by telling us what you are good at?

Then it would be easier to advise you!

restingbemusedface · 21/08/2018 08:32

Marketing in corporate company - £45k

LittleLionMansMummy · 21/08/2018 08:32

A national Comms Manager, public/ private.

Mayhemmumma · 21/08/2018 08:35

I'm a social worker and am unlikely to earn more than 40k currently at 30k...am looking to train as a counsellor to earn significantly more.

Goandplay · 21/08/2018 08:36

With the finance suggestions what qualifications have you got?

Aozora13 · 21/08/2018 08:38

DH and I both earn in that bracket. I work in international development but I’m quite senior and it’s taken almost 15 years and a lot of investment in my career (including living overseas) to get here - so not a quick win and much easier pre-kids.

DH works in IT which might have a quicker route to £££ but depends on your aptitude and would require pretty intensive (and potentially expensive) training.

OP what do you like doing? What are your skills and strengths you could build on? And do you have savings you could invest in training/qualifications?

LucheroTena · 21/08/2018 08:38

Most of these jobs require skills and several years of training / experience / qualifications. As others have said, you can progress to the pay level you are after in teaching, is there a reason you don’t want to do that? You get the school holidays off and most teachers I know can work near to where they live.

LannieDuck · 21/08/2018 08:43

What's your maths like?

A masters in health economics and a year or two's experience, and you'd easily be on £30-40k in a pharma or consultancy. After that salaries can go up to £100k if you're good. They're desperate for experienced health economists.

BigBlueBubble · 21/08/2018 08:46

Most careers can pay that much eventually but not to start. And in all cases it depends on luck - in all careers you’ll find people on poor wages or who are qualified but can’t get jobs. My SIL teaches but due to budget cuts has been put on a term time only contract with no pay for marking or prep, so she doesn’t even earn the equivalent of full time min wage, and she can’t get out because of a lack of other opportunities.

The tricky thing is that as a teacher you already have a degree so won’t be able to get another student loan to start over. So professions such as solicitor etc are ruled out. Your best bet is either sales or computing, but my DF works in computing and he says it’s mind numbing just sitting in front of a screen writing lines of code for hours every day. Plus you have to live in a location with lots of big IT companies and probably be a man to get hired

Could you start your own business perhaps? The sky is the limit if you’re successful.

Seriousquestion09 · 21/08/2018 08:49

Eye surgeon
Training you earn up to 44307 (based on a 7 year program) plus 50% of that so around 66K. As it’s a niche specialty in medicine with reasonable day time hours it attracts women hence lots of people on mat leave/fleck hours so we have lots of locums which pay at 45-75 per hour depending on where you work. Usual length of locum is 16 hours overnight weekday and 24 hours at weekend.

As it is a craft based surgical specialty lots of opportunity to do extra lists like theatre, minor ops, injections and clinics which pay 3-4 times basic rate per hour which depends on your grade.

This is all training grade opportunity and of course at Consultant level there is the added bonus of private practice.

There is the small issue that it is very long (6yrs med school, 2yrs foundation doctor, 7-8 yrs run through training in ophth, 1-2 years fellow) l and highly skilled training so not for everyone. It’s guarantees work though if you meet all your competencies and pass exams.