To ask how people get these jobs.

[Ecriture]

I'm over 30, I come from a working class background.

I grew up with a mum on benefits single parent, 3 kids.

I tried though.

I went to iffy poly uni and got a crap degree (2:2) because I worked three jobs just to stay on the course.

It's not been easy but I've been willing to work as hard as it takes to make a life for myself unlike my childhood.

However, in the past 7 years I'm working I've barely scratched the surface and I am only on 25 grand and still at the bottom of the pile.

Today I had to attend a meeting where 60% of people present were some type of chief officer, cfo or head of major departments.

They all seem to have very distinguished careers and have attractive salaries way beyond my own.

My question is this how did they get there?

A lot of women on this site also seem to be high earners with lots of responsibility.

Does one have to be born into a wealthy family, know the right people or go to the best university. I have none of this.

Can hard work actually get you anywhere in life?

Am I destined to spend the rest of my life doing a low paid work despite my ambitions?

Am I being unreasonable do you think that someone from my background could ever rise higher?

Can anyone give me any advice about what I can do or how they progress in the phone their own career?

This book is good and explains how you can get ahead by being visibly excellent. It's a bit old now, but I remember it being incredibly inspiring and eye-opening.

I lent it to a colleague at work in my 20s and she never gave it back; she's hopefully going to return it to me one day, on a private jet from her island...

amazon.co.uk/Good-Girls-Dont-Ahead-Gutsy/dp/0446518271/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_g8682124849?_encoding=UTF8&%2AVersion%2A=1&%2Aentries%2A=0&ie=UTF8]]

OP. Career is a vague concept. There a lot of people, who earn vast sums, who are lazy, entitled and egotistic.

Every LA in the country is run by the above.

To get ahead you have to be focused on it. Prepared to change jobs every two years, move house, commute, put your job before most other things. It's a lonely place, constantly starting over with new people, new surroundings, new rules.

You have to be sure that you get enough validation from your position and salary to make it all worth it.

I came from a terrible background, and in my early 20s was a flippin pole dancer .

I got out by saving every penny for a good seven years. I lived on toast and coffee and bought clothes from charity shops. I used the money I saved to pay for a commercial pilots licence. I dont fly anymore but still work in the industry.

Decide what you want and go for it.

egotistical

I always looked for promotions and if I didn't get them moved companies. It's not ideal but the only person who will push you is yourself. I'll admit I've got a good degree and very middle class parents which helped me see what can be achieved (my dad did the same) but I worked with plenty of directors from working class backgrounds with no real qualifications, they just worked their way up from the bottom. Early in my career I'd move jobs every 12-24 months, sometimes just to get experience rather than a pay rise, in later years then every 2-3 yrs.

I'll add as per the post above my other one, I did move for work a couple of times but once we ended up in MK then moving jobs was easy as plenty of good jobs within relatively easy commute. If we'd stayed where we were originally it would have been a lot harder. So moving to where there is more opportunities (location and company) helps.

I think you’re making excuses. You got a 2:2 because you worked three jobs whilst doing the degree? I got a first whilst working PT and raising three under three’s so 🤷🏻‍♀️.

You need to find a new job and have a lot more confidence in yourself. If you remain stagnant and complacent in the current job you’ll never get anywhere.

@MollysLips

I still have that book! It’s was completely eye opening to me and some of the things in it are still very relevant. I still live by the mantra of ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get’ which I took from it. Best advice ever. It’s amazing how often the answer is ‘ok’.

It’s worked for me.

Move jobs or company every 2 years at the start.

Work out the motive and priorities of your managers and try and align your work to them, or at least don't contradict them - ie be an asset.

Openly ask people for advice, mentorship - "your job sounds so interesting, can you tell me your career path" - people love talking about themselves.

I think you’re making excuses. You got a 2:2 because you worked three jobs whilst doing the degree? I got a first whilst working PT and raising three under three’s so

Cool, you win.

I will definitely check that book out.

If you want that job go and get it! Find out what you need and work hard to get there. You ONLY 30! You make it sound like your already done for!

Similar background to you - albeit both parents, but in a rural location. I also got a 2:2, also worked throughout (not 3 jobs, 2 jobs, but that was 20 hours/week term time, and more in the holidays).

I'm now C-level, at about 40.

I got there like others by moving locations and jobs a lot - I've slept in a car, I've moved country with nothing but a suitcase - I basically chased jobs every couple of years. DP the same, but without a degree and just 2.5 a-levels (one of which is art history). It's only now that we're even able to think about staying in a job a bit longer (which is lucky because the kids are getting a bit sick of starting over every couple of years)

Russell , my dh is the same. His really clever and worked hard for the same company for 40 years nearly but refused to do any ' brown nosing' at all. The ones that did got on : types like him had a few promotions then stalled. He likes his job but that push to become higher up would mean sucking up to the ones he secretly doesn't like that much , so he didn't. He had a humble home life and did his degree whilst working full time and a three year old. That put pressure on us all!
You need a killer instinct to get on at some places. I've seen people like this and they don't care who they trample over.

Wow, so similar to Lwmommy started off as a nursery nurse, got a job 'in an office' and did call centre work, then complaints manager, then head of customer experience and currently doing an MBA - hoping to become a Customer Services Director.

I just did what everyone else did but worked slightly harder, was slightly better, took on new interesting things I wasn't sure I could do, and did them. I feel very lucky.

There some great advice on this thread.

I am no where near £100k but in a well paying job. Didn't go to Uni, hated school with a passion but have done well for myself. These are the things I do:

1. Confidence and gravitas are important. I have a core of self belief that often wobbles but it is there and I pull on it if I am feeling out of my depth. Body language is important so you look confident even if you don't feel it. People who look to bumble along, are seen as bumblers. Dressing for your job is important too. It doesn't matter if people shouldn't judge others by what they wear, many do.

1. I work hard and do everything well, however small the task, never complete something half heartedly.

1. Practice continuous improvement. I always take on board what I can from others. If someone I work with dealt with a tough situation successfully for example, I look at how they did it to see what I could learn for the time I face a tough situation. I like working with good people as they can make you raise the bar on your own work or show you a level of work you'd not seen before that you can emulate.

1. I treat everyone with respect. I may not like some people personally but they'd never know it. I don't bitch or whine in work and if I moan, I am very careful who I say what to.

1. Always go in with solutions not problems. If you go in to a situation and expect an answer, your manager / leaders will not be impressed. Go in with at least some suggestions on what action can be taken to resolve the situation.

1. I am always helpful but never a doormat. People know I will help them if I can and I have a good reputation because of it but they also know not to take the piss. It also gives me a chance to ask them for a favour back when I need it.

1. Get involved in other things at work. I have volunteered for various extra things at work such as being a rep for my area for a change project or organising the business conference. It is a good way of gaining new skills and contacts and gives you examples for your annual appraisal.

1. Learn to ask for feedback (if you don't already.) It can be incredibly hard to hear but 360 degree feedback can be very valuable and show you where you weaknesses are and your strengths.

1. A positive attitude is important. Sometimes the façade is hard to maintain but no one likes a jobsworth who has no reasonable flexibility.

I think I buck the trend. I come from working class roots and a single parent upbringing. I was privately educated but as a consequence our home life had very little money.
I did not go to Uni but straight into a clerks job at 17 with no a levels.

After a few job moves, I then joined a large company and soon to celebrate 30 years with them, senior level with a 6 figure package. So no degree and didn’t move every few years.

But I am, and always have been, helpful, positive and willing to get the job done so I have many people within the large organsation who both like me as a person and respect my knowledge.

I'm from a working class background and one of 6 children. I am the only person in my family with a degree.

As a child I was very bright and I was pushed by a wonderful teacher to apply for a scholarship to a private school. I won a full academic scholarship.

Age 18 I moved 200 miles away to a city to begin working full time to enable me to fund my degree which I studied part time in the evenings and weekends. I lived in a squalid basement flat in a horrid part of London with strangers as flat mates. I owned one suit which I wore and washed daily on rotation for work.

I have given up my entire young adult life to working incredibly hard to succeed in a male dominated career and spent years away from friends and family chasing promotions internationally. It was isolating and incredibly lonely at times.

I'm 26 now and an EMEA Director for a huge American company. I work from home in the UK. I earn well and own property.

For as long as I can remember since childhood I have had no work-life balance - just work, work, work, academic or professional.

I made huge sacrifices to chase a career... my advice if you want to do the same would be to chase the role - don't wait for the role to come to you. Maybe your salary is reflective of your industry or location.

I think everyone's measures of hard work are circumstantial/personal.

I would certainly not advise my future child do as I did.. instead i'd tell them to go and live their life and work will come eventually. After all, it's only a job.

Just like @JenniferJareau, there is good stuff in that post.

I was similar, not at exec level but 70k.
All I did was jump about a lot for the next promo/pay rise. I haven’t stayed anywhere longer than 2years - I know this depends on what industry you are in, but loyalty really doesn’t pay.

For as long as I can remember since childhood I have had no work-life balance - just work, work, work, academic or professional.

I made huge sacrifices to chase a career... my advice if you want to do the same would be to chase the role - don't wait for the role to come to you. Maybe your salary is reflective of your industry or location.

This is DP and I. We've just worked our arses off, moved where the work was, for the last 20 years, and now are in a position to completely retire in the next couple of years. The kids have sacrificed too though - it's not for everyone, our payoff is going to be the early retirement while the kids are still young enough to enjoy having us around.

From a poor background of single mum with 5 kids. Didn't go to uni as needed to get a full time job to contribute to household ... just sort of fell into accountancy by accident in my second job - got my prof quals which has been what has made the difference. Not earning mega bucks or anything but have a deputy director of finance job earning £75k which I'm really happy with (although involves ridiculous amounts of stress). Not sure what age you are OP (how far over 30) but you've got loads of time to up your earning potential

How did everyone afford their professional qualifications? I'm in my 40s and am only starting them now. I would have liked to do them 20 years ago but couldn't the fees, and until now I have never had an employer who would help with the costs or allow the time off to sit the exams. I'm grabbed the opportunity with both hands, it's going to be life changing but I so desperately wish I had had the opportunity when I was younger.

Isabelle - I was lucky in that my employer paid for them (mostly)

That post was a mess! I meant I couldn't afford the fees when I was younger. I never worked in the type of place where you could volunteer to do things to expand your CV either. The culture in a lot of organisations is 'how dare you have ideas above your station' sadly. Now that I work for a great employer I can't quite believe the difference in culture.

I do think some of it (not all) is down to straightforward ability. Let's face it, plenty of people just don't have the intellect or soft skills to do an exec-level job, and that's ok.

I'd have loved to be a doctor, but I hate the idea of people dying and can't cope in life-or-death situations so am not a good candidate. I'm ok with that.

This won't help but I left school with 5 gcses and didn't carry on education.

I am approaching 35 and in September will be on 29k

I just tried different jobs then moved up where I am.

If I had know what I wanted to do at 16 I would had stayed in education. Just so happens that about 10 years ago I started to discover what I enjoy but have not had the opportunity or money to study in that area and get a career... I feel it may pass me by but I like what I do and it pays well