29.5k earnings who are you and how?!

[AtSea1979]

BBC reports today say the average salary in the UK is £29,500.

I earn 12k but i’m part time (otherwise 18k). I live in the north. I can only dream about earning nearly 30k. I’ve thought about retraining but I wouldn’t know where to start as the job market seems so difficult.

AIBU to think the majority of people earn much less and it’s just the minority fat cats pulled that figure up?

1 footballer earning £300K a week, 1040 people earning £14500. so 1041 people and their average salary is £29500. But 99.9% of them are earning below the average.

That is the mean, not the median. I think 29k is the median which is the mid salary if you line them up do is less distorted.

Overall OP I think yabu as 29k isn't that much I don't think. A lot of people earn more and some areas of the country the wages are higher than others, so in your area it may be lower.

@Ilikethisone I agree. The juniors in my work all discuss our wages, why wouldn't we - it's good to know what you should be on/aiming for.

The employers especially didn't like it when people discovered others on the exact band as them were on 5k+ more (usually men who had been bold and asked for raises). They all got the extra to reduce the GPG

@EvaHarknessRose it depends what you do in the NHS.

Unless you work in finance/HR or are a band 6 and above (ward sister level) NO ONE in the NHS at ground level is on 30k a year.

Similarly, unless you are a head of year/head of department no teachers are on 30k unless they are in the private sector.

Why do people still think NHS/Police/teachers are on a good wage? The pay is awful, their pensions plundered and the shift work is hideous.

Wake up people. Move with the times.

10 years ago, pre children, I earned £35k as a Hod in civil service started age, 27. Worked my way up from photo copying igor £10k n 6 years. Did have a degree though
DH earns £60k as a civil engineer, office based. Could double that if he'd travel. He's got an MS and 15 years experience.

No one we hang out with is on under £35k,but they've all had 15 plus years in their career. Head teachers, teachers, GPs, lawyers etc.
My brother is on min wage at 32 though. But then, he does keep being sacked for being an arsehole

I'm a primary school teacher in the North East I've been in the proffesion for 10+ years but went part time after having the kids. My FTE is 34k but I work part time so in reality about 20k Husband is in a technical role for a large multinational and earns high 40s but when we first met was on about 29k

Until recently I was a teacher in London £38k
DH has a wholesale food business, in excess of 100k

Thinking about our friends - poorest paid (and damn they work hard) are the teaching assistants.
Highest salaried friends are all in TV media.
My DH is probably the highest earner of our group, he’s also the least educated in terms of academic evidence, I think unless you’re highly trained in a well paid profession in medicine or law etc - the only way to make big money is to work for yourself.

Teateaandmoretea

Not just fat cats. I don't know anyone who earns less than £60k pro rata. South east, mid forties

Do you have children? Their school staff will be 98% under 60k.
Do you have a cleaner? A window cleaner? An ironing person? They will be in less than 60k unless you are extraordinarily generous!

It would be interesting to know what everyone had after rent/mortgage, council tax, w.rates and gas/elect i.e essential utility bills but nothing else no tv packages, food , social money etc so disposable income but the bar minimum taken off.

If you take off my TV package, my bills come to £900. That's mortgage, council tax, house insurance, life insurance, a small loan, gas and electric, water, child care (ds is older so just breakfast and after school club) car tax and insurance on our second car (my car is a business vehicle and has personal petrol paid for too). Cant think if anything else that's an essential bill,though there might be something else.

I have about £1600 spare per month. But then That includes what dp transfers to me to cover his half of the Bill's. He doesnt pay the mortgage as it's my house. He would like to split all costs down the middle, but I dont want him paying towards the mortgage. Ds isnt his but he insists on paying half his childcare as well. He earns less so would pay less proportionally.

He has around 1k disposable income. We both have seperate accounts for savings etc. I am saving for work done on my house, so he out more in for our holiday. Again so he isnt seen to be paying towards my house costs.

We then go halves on a big shop. I work next to a supermarket so tend to do and pay for the midweek top up shops.

I earned that as a Charge Nurse, but it's more than a Staff Nurse earns. I agree that a minority of very highly paid individuals skews the average.

Salaries in the north are far far lower than around London for example. There is a much greater job market down there with a load of opportunities that just don’t exist up north. I have worked in different countries and cities including the south and from my own experience, I would say that up north someone might earn £17k but the same person down south may be able to command £60k. Just another depressing side effect of living north for some of us...

I earn more and so does my husband. Not mega bucks but more than average so I suppose our household income is well above average. We do recognise that and we are fortunate to live in an area that is very cheap.

I’m in London and a lot of people earn that or more. In fact, people would be struggling on that salary.

Similarly, unless you are a head of year/head of department no teachers are on 30k unless they are in the private sector.

That’s not correct. Teachers can get above £30k with incremental progression on the main scale.

@FelicisNox teachers can expect £30k once they’ve been working 5 years. Doesn’t have to be head of department or anything like that. The starting salary is £22-23k out side of London. That’s for local authority schools, not private. Private actually often pay less, as do academies sometimes as they can make their own pay scales. But schools following teachers pay and conditions should be paying teachers the £30k after 5 years. Unfortunately a lot of teacher who earn less do so as they take time out for raising children and go back part time. (Like me). Or get stuck on supply for a few years meaning no progress up the pay scale and a lot of jobs paid well below pay and conditions via agencies.

I agree with a PP though, teaching assistants are very much under paid. I’ve friends who have talent TA work and then given it up as they can’t afford it as they hadn’t realised the salary was pro rata’d for term time only so often less than advertised. I earn as a teacher 2 days around the same as my full time TA colleagues. They work damn hard for that too.

Graduates at our place start on £28k

I earn 3 times that and earnt 30k within a year of graduating. Rent is 2k a month and I can’t afford to buy. It’s all relative!!

I don't think I know anyone who earns less than that, mid 30s maybe, but DH, siblings and I all earn over £40k (in Scotland).

Am I the only one who has no idea what my friends earn?

How is this coming up in conversation?

No, I have no idea what my friends earn either. I could have a rough guess at some that do jobs like care assistant (not very much), fire fighter and police officer (maybe somewhere between £25 and 30K each?) but I have absolutely no idea how much the finance managers, accountants, service engineers, self employed electricians, fencing contractors or bankers earn.

10 years ago, before DC, I was on quite a bit more than that (manager in hospitality). Long hours, loads of pressure and zero flexibility (I basically always had to be there) were not exactly compatible with having a young family. I got a job in the financial sector, I started in customer service on £16k (which, by the way, is shocking). 5 years in, I earn 2.5 times my starting salary, have gained some professional qualifications and I am thinking of moving to a different company. DP is an ex-navy engineer, he earns more than twice what I’m on but he has 30 years of experience in his field and it seems to me that technically minded ex-military people are always in demand.

Pretty much everyone I know earns that or more, both in the SE where I am based now and in the Northern city where I grew up. Teachers, police, social workers, midwives, plumbers, electricians....I am a lawyer. More than 10 years PQE. My full time salary is £65k. I work in the SE outside London. I would earn the same if I worked in an equivalent firm (top 100) up North. I am from a working class family as are most of my friends. If you earn less, set your sights higher. Get some more qualifications. Short term pain can mean long term gain.

If you earn less, set your sights higher. Get some more qualifications. Short term pain can mean long term gain.

That's a bit patronising. Why would you assume that people who earn less don't have qualifications? Less than £30k is standard where I live for many jobs where the minimum requirements are for professional qualifications or postgraduate qualifications and several years experience. People have qualifications coming out of their ears but it doesn't make employers pay more.

I live in London, I'm on 12k part-time but ex h was on about 30k and was just a guy going around fixing office equipment. I think London and south east skews the UK average. It should really be done regionally rather than a national average. London and south east and skew a lot of stats when taken with the rest of the country.