Feeling disgusted by friend’s DD’s salary

[DisgustedParent]

Best friend’s DD is the same age as mine (26) and we’ve known each other since both DD’s were born. My DD went off to uni but struggled to find a job after her degree and has ended up working in a call centre (financial services) where she is paid very poorly, has to work unsociable hours and is not treated well by management at all. It’s awful to watch her struggling to get by after rent and bills, knowing that despite working long hours, she may never own a property of her own or be able to afford to do all of the things she wants to do in life. My friend knows all about DD’s struggles and my worries for her as we are very close.

Her DD went straight in to an apprenticeship after school at 16 and landed herself in a role in Data Protection. Over the years she’s completed all sorts of professional certifications in the field and worked her way up, but never did a degree. I hear today from my friend that she has just accepted a senior management data protection role at the same large financial firm where my DD works. Friend has gleefully told me that her DD will be earning an eye watering £70,000 per year along with all sorts of benefits such as home working, health insurance, allocated parking... all of which of course aren’t available to my DD despite working for the same employer.

AIBU in feeling absolutely furious about this on DD’s behalf and thinking that there is something so very wrong about a company which pays its front line workers the absolute minimum, with no benefits whatsoever, whereas those with more ‘fancy’ job roles who probably don’t do an awful lot at all (and friend’s DD at 26 is still barely old enough to be out of school!) get to swan in to the company earning an astronomical amount, with lots of benefits on top too. Friend’s DD has already bought a house, has a brand new car, is always on holiday and draped in designer clothes. Meanwhile my DD and the rest of her call centre colleagues are threatened with redundancy regularly and are frequently told that salaries will not be increased as cuts have to be made.....How can this be justified?!

I'm 26, work in Civil Service, no degree, doing an apprenticeship, working in Data, work from home every day and earning way more than a friend who went to Oxford.

I would usually NEVER give advice out like this because we all know it's not that easy but suggest your DD get another job. If she's struggling this much AND is capable (that's important!) of something more challenging, then she needs to sort it out

And also, friends DD has been in the workforce for TEN YEARS. Your DD has been in maybe 4 if she left uni at 22? utterly confused at your jealousy

I sometimes help people write their CVs and Iv'e done a few for people who started out in roles like your DD and have advanced beyond that and are now looking for better jobs. Usually, when I ask them about their time in the call centre or in the branch or whatever, they are able to tell me about things they did that increased their value and opened the door to different opportunities. eg if it was a sales role, they were a top sales person. Or perhaps they scored highly in customer surveys for service. Or perhaps they initiated a system that allowed increased efficiency. Or they took on mentoring/training roles for new people. It's consistently true that there's always something.

The reality is that in our capitalist society and market, if you want to advance you have to do more. And yes, those entry level jobs are often crap and involve terrible bosses and terrible environments but that, unfortunately, is the way of it. I'd guess your friend's DD had the same problem but she was 16 and unqualified so perhaps was just less stressed about it and determined to improve her lot. If nothing else, if your DD has worked in one call centre and it's miserable she could look for another call centre job. If she has the skills and experience. And might see significant improvements as a result.

A RELEVANT graduate degree of at least 2:1 or higher is equivalent to 5 years of work experience.

30years who, maybe. Not now.

Not read the full thread, did we find out what the degree was in?

A friend left school and trained to be an electrician. He didn't like that job so he was taken on by a quantity surveyor company.and learned the ropes. After switching companies a few times after headhunting, and working bloody hard, he's on around £100K and is a company director. He has no degree but plenty of qualifications and has good standing in the industry.

Degrees only get you so far. You need to be able to shine more than your competitor. You need to put in the graft. You need to make yourself valuable and needed. You need expertise that others desire. Something went wrong when OPs dd left uni, she should have got good advice and made a plan. It hasn't worked out for her, but there is still time and with the right support she can turn things around.

You are not comparing like for like.

Advise daughter to start looking for a new job after Christmas- one with potential/a graduate job instead of the unskilled min wage job she has settled for.

What a wonderful story about your friend’s dd. Good for her! I’ll be encouraging my dds to think outside the box when they are 18. University, unless a vocation, is often a waste of money these days.

Jealousy looks very ugly on a person.

If your daughter is being poorly treated by her management then she needs to either move on or decide if she wants to challenge that behaviour.

However you can't expect a junior member of front line staff to get the same benefits as a more senior person with more sought after skills and qualifications and to suggest that your friend's daughter doesn't work hard is just rude. You sound bitter and jealous OP, unfortunately a degree isn't a golden ticket to a good job and hasn't been for a while (I'm mid 30s and it wasn't for us) and for some people they'd have probably done better to not bother.

Maybe your daughter can be spurred on to a job that she'll enjoy and may give better benefits.

Did we find out what her degree is in?

No...

I think the OP has only posted twice

Not seen posters go 🔥 like this on a thread for a while..

There are companies that restrict pay between highest & lowest paid, Canada and Spain both have a couple.

There are parts of Canada where, because of rent prices, population issues etc. they cannot find young, lower paid people. Supply and demand. There's plenty of 50 year olds with degrees so a wage gap is less pronounced.

Once the UK becomes horribly unattractive to EU workers, it will also have an issue with lower paid positions. I mean they'll be no money for anyone at that point but at least the wage gap might reduce. Except Boris and his chums will do everything they can to make sure the UK keeps a massive wage gap. I wonder if less well paid, young and/or Northern Tory voters will notice that eventually.

Of course you're unreasonable and slightly mad.

having a degree is only a part of access to career & much depends on what level you got, the type of degree & most of all the way you come across at interview at what else you can show to your prospective employer as a background. There is a lot of competition to get entry into an paid internship, entry level graduate job etc - if your daughter wants to get on she has to have a radical rethink of how she can go forward - getting a degree is not a guarantee of getting a good job you have to show, get experience or volunteer to get on & open opportunities.

It's true though. The time of companies employing a market trader who become an insanely successful and ridiculously paid investment banker or trader are long gone - even the simple idea of them.

Most jobs requirements and career progression insist on a degree, rightly or wrongly.

BUT you will still be in competition with hundreds with the same degree, you need more.

It just means your CV is less likely to go in the bin first, not that you will waltz in a senior position on day 1. If you merely send 300 cvs within 48hours of getting your degree you won't have a chance in hell.

This has to be a joke right? Your friends DD will be in a specialised/technical role earning that sort of money. It will require specific experience or skills that are currently in demand.

Your DD may have a degree but that has no intrinsic value unless it's in a vocational area such as a medicine where the degree & the actual job training overlap. A degree simply enables her to apply for a better on job training program or entry level role. She then needs to get relevant qualifications or experience to progress.

A call centre is a poor place for your DD to start her career as it's low skilled but also may not be the best environment to upskill.

If she wants to earn more, she needs to set to it, identify a well paid industry shes suited to & interested in, and research what skills, experience or qualifications or training are typically needed to progress.

Also not all degrees are equal. A degree is usually used by an employee as a blunt tool to sift those who would usually have a greater level of academic aptitude. A job applicant with sub-par academic ability (e.g. poor school exam grades) and a degree from a poorly regarded institution with low entry requirements may be considered no differently to a job applicant with no degree.

If this is really all about the management treating your daughter badly and the other girl with more respect then why didn't you just say that?

Rather than the long post which yes, reeks of jealousy and bitterness.

Anyway in answer your question, I'm afraid to say that those on the bottom rung are probably thought of as disposable and not treated with as much respect as senior staff.

Not ideal, but that is the fault of the company so your daughter should look for another job that has more stability/prospects.

I bet the degree is some sort of social science.

You do not need a degree to earn top dollar.

Here’s some 🍋 🍋 to suck on.

I bet the degree is some sort of social science

Indeed.

What’s the point in starting a conversation on here op if you’re not gonna bother replying??? Very boring post.

PS you’re jealous.

The end.

I can't help but think that you are in fact the 'daughter' but writing as the mother maybe to loosen it a little? Anyway people on here are always going to be borderline nasty/just plain nasty in their replies as they're sat behind a screen. I can totally understand you feeling disappointed as things can turn out shit sometimes and you don't end up where you think you will. I do agree degrees are pretty much a waste of time unless your going into a specific field e.g nursing, medical, teaching etc. I know a lot of people who have done degrees in a specific subject and ended up struggling to get even a minimum paid job doing something that doesn't require any skills. It's relevant experience/skills and qualifications employers look for. I think the friend probably got lucky in the apprenticeship she done which opened up a lot of doors. That isn't always the case. Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

The degree is irrelevant OP. It can sometimes open doors, but mostly in today’s world it doesn’t.

Those who do well quickly like this are capable, but more importantly, tuned in, politically astute, good at spotting opportunities and equipping themselves for them. Sounds like your friends DD is excellent at this stuff. Fair play to her.

Your own DD can have the same success. But she needs to sharpen up her act quickly.

Barely out of school.......😂

"at 26 is still barely old enough to be out of school"

She left school 10 years ago! That's like saying a 13 year old is barely old enough to be out of nappies!

Fair play to her - she's earning what DP and I earnt combined at 26 and we were both pretty successful compared to many others we knew!