Average salary (£30,000) in the UK?

[DreamChaser23]

www.telegraph.co.uk/money/special-reports/average-uk-salary-profession-check-earn-less-colleagues/

To think that average is misleading and that a lot of people are earning much less than this?

Like any figure it does depend on where you live and what kind of job you choose: there are areas of the UK, where if you want to be highly local, you have to settle for £10k per year. This is an average figure across the whole of the UK (a UK that includes London and Edinburgh and Aberdeen) so it will be higher than some locations.

I think it’s only misleading if you understand it to mean that the majority of people are earning that much per annum.

Lots of people earn a lot more. Lots of people earn a lot less.

It's the median salary.

Of course a lot of people are earning less but there are also plenty of people who are earning many times more.

Is it average or median?

To think that average is misleading and that a lot of people are earning much less than this?

But that's a given. No matter what measurement of 'average' they use there will always be plenty of people who are below average, it's impossible for it to be otherwise.

They've given the median not the mean so the average should be less skewed by those earning millions at the top.

I think! Please correct me I'm wrong. I had to resit my last statistics unit at uni

I can't believe half of people earn less than average!!

A national scandal

They should quote mean, median and modal values on these things.

Yes, lots of people earn less than this. 50% of people in fact. Meanwhile, 50% earn more than that. That’s how the median works.

It's a bit confusing, as the average and the median of a set of numbers are not the same thing

It would be best if they would give an average salary in different areas of the country. A receptionist in London may earn £30,000, a receptionist in Liverpool may earn £17,000.

The median is a type of average. When people say ‘average‘, they usually mean ‘mean’.

Median is arguably the best one to use here, as super high salaries (eg footballers on tens of thousands a week) don’t drag the figure up any more than eg a lawyer or doctor earning £40k. The mean salary would, I imagine, be far far higher.

Certainly not in Cornwall it isn't...

It says clearly in the article that £30k is the median figure. This is the figure in the middle, so 50% will be earning £30k or less and 50% will be earning £30k or more. I don't see how it's misleading when it's simply a fact.

don’t drag the figure up any more than eg a lawyer or doctor earning £40k.

I think you missed a “1” off the beginning of that 40.

Is everyone else able to read the article? Are you all subscribers? It says I can't read it without subscribing

@modgepodge

The median is a type of average

No it's not. The Median is the number in the exact middle of a set of values. The Average (or Mean) is calculated by adding up all the values and dividing that score by the number of values. Completely different measures...

1 5 6 9 34 - Median is 6
1 5 6 9 34 - Average (or Mean) is 11

@Schmiththecat

1 5 6 9 34 - Median is 6
1 5 6 9 34 - Average (or Mean) is 11

Median is 6 and 9

@Smith

my mistake, it's 34 not 3, 4

You were right, Schmithy

@Asimovsfutureishere2020

No its not. I listed 5 values. 6 is in the centre. 9 isnt.

@Asimovsfutureishere2020 cross post 😁

@Shmithecat2

Yes, my mistake

I’m 55, I’ve never earned over 23.5K in some quite senior admin jobs (I guess admin is key here). I know very few people on over 28K and I’m in the very SE of the UK.

@schmithhecat

I just googled it and all the sites I looked at come up saying there are 3 types of average - mean, mode and median. I am aware of what the median is and how to work it out (I teach maths). Willing to be corrected as I’m not a statistician 🤷‍♀️