To ask if you earn £50K+ what do you do?

[Poppi89]

I have seen a lot of posts on here where people say how much they earn and I am shocked how many people earn over £50K, so I was just wondering what it is that you do?

Also, do you think it is more important to have a high income or a job that you enjoy?

Can’t believe some people genuinely think women don’t face more barriers!

I’ve been asked in job interviews if I intend on having children as they don’t want women taking maternity leave.

Had a boss hit on me. Definitely been paid less than male colleagues in the same role. Sexism absolutely exists still sadly.

I think the book 'invisible women' should be compulsory reading.... particularly the chapter on work.
We live in a world designed by men therefore it works better for men. It's not always intentional bias or discrimination - I'm certainly not on the 'all men are bastards' camp but these issues still exist and create challenges.

Sexism most definitely exists!

I work in a heavily make dominated sector. I lead a team of 7 men and 3 women. The 3 women are admin. I regularly get propositioned by clients and could fill pages with the number of inappropriate comments I receive on building sites.

*male

I think it's very easy to say sexism doesn't exist if you have managed to break through it. But all reminds me of a woman I sued to work with who got incredibly annoyed at other women complaining about how awful their periods were. So I asked her did she get cramps - and her answer - no, never had any problem at all...problem with empathy though - she was genuinely surprised that other women felt so much pain - she didn't have many female friends or colleagues.

My favourite comment from my (at the time) CEO was in the email he sent me 2 weeks after I’d told him I was pregnant

‘we have appointed * to the post of UK GM from x date. Your priority is to become a mother, ours is to make the business a success’

I’d spoken to him about succession planning to cover a short maternity leave.

Ah yes the fair world of work.

Exactly moo. It's great that some women don't experience any sexism but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Even the choices women make are framed differently. One poster mentioned that she actively chose a flexible employer which allowed to get progress while having a family. How many men think like this? How many men request flexible working or part time hours once they start a family? The numbers are depressingly low and this contributes hugely to the inequalities in the labour market.

I'm a Digital Product Manager for a corporate company. I earn £108K before bonus.

I've always been very driven by income, but I currently am hating my work life balance (i.e. I have none - pre Corona i was never home, always on a plane, working all hours etc) and am really considering my next move if and once this all settles down. So to answer your question, income is very important, but you certainly need to consider the impact on your mental health at work.

@Falacy Where can I find your smutty books? I’m intrigued! I’d like to do that for a living - please tell us more.

Have you taken revenge on your sexist boss through your writing? He could appear as a character who suffers a grim, lingering death due to a freak accident with a child’s toy which he mistook for a marital aid.

It is certainly a useful thread for people's teenage daughters (and sons) to read to see how so many people can earn over £50k and part of the reason for that is choosing work that is higher paid than other work, formulating your life plan and then following whatever steps make that more likely than not.

Area manager for healthcare/retail

I’m saying it’s possible by making deliberate choices on who i choose to work for and targeting a line of work that makes it possible. It is because I’m in demand, my skills are sought after and I have 20 years on my cv working for the biggest brands in the world that those choices come more easily now than before. i ask two questions of recruiters who headhunt me ...can I have flexible working and work from home and is it six figures. if not, I tell them i have 3 other companies waiting to interview me. But I also acknowledge how incredibly difficult it is for the great majority of women who don’t have those choices and isn’t practical for their line of work.

I can only speak from experience in my world and in my line of work, there is a 40/60 balance of women to men in all functions except for Engineering and C-level but even at Eng level it’s changing. My company employs 40,000 globally and women are very well represented at all levels. It’s no accident that we are very profitable and that the power bank of our company comes from both sexes. So things are changing especially if you get to work for a newer company especially created in the last few years who were seeded with a more modern and practical mindset. We’re not there yet but things are improving at least in my sector and men in my workplace are more and more hands on at home. At the end of the day, companies who don’t modernise will lose out. they already do by not being able to hire the talent they need as talent will go elsewhere.

I earn circa. £140k as a Chief of Staff in a tech company.

Sure, there's been a fair bit of luck, but also a tonne of hard work. I spent my 20's and early 30's working 15 hour days, often the only woman in the room, and pushing myself to do better and achieve more than my counterparts.

Now in my early 40's, married, with a toddler. It's a different type of hard work. Fewer 15 hour working days, but a bunch of juggling to give my daughter the time and attention she deserves alongside maintaining a career I love.

Things are changing cookie buy we're still a way off being equal. The latest figures show that there are more women then men in professional roles - which is good and not unsurprising as girls out perform boys at school and are more likely to go to university. However, they are still likely to earn less and they are underrepresented in senior positions.
Women are more likely to choose flexibility over salary as they need their work to fit around childcare ( and often their husband's job)

Also the qualities that classed as desirable in senior positions are often viewed as 'male' traits - the sort of behaviour that boys/men are praised for throughout their lives and girls/women are criticised for. Fir example, confidence and assertiveness in men is called bossiness, ball breaking and bolshy in women.

Women are judged for their choices in a way men aren't. How many men have their working patterns commented upon when they have children? Yet when I returned to work full time I was told how awful it was that I had to return f/t....it was neither of those things. My DH never got that and we worked together at the time. I was told I'd last 6 months before requesting part time hours ( 5 years later i'm still f/t and I've progressed)

Inequality in the labour market exists and it's multi faceted and deeply ingrained in society. We need to start early early and consider how talk about jobs to children.....and I mean early. Children as young as 4 will demonstrate gendered ideas about jobs.

Also do aim high. One group of MBA graduates found every single man when offered a salary in a new job after the course asked for more pay and no woman did - the women just thought they were lucky to have a job.

Another example was a job advertised in Wales. a £50k hardly any women applied. at 335k for the same job lots did as some women did not think themselves good enough for £50k pay.Also keep changing jobs and moving. We moved hundreds of miles for my career to London and my husband sold his house in the North and found a teaching job down here. Men can follow women'[s careers as much as vice versa. Don't tolerate a sexist man at home for even a day and when you have babies in childcare do not just be the one to collect them every day - share out the mornings and evening collections as it is leaving early every day that can be more damaging than the time you arrive in the morning. Share that with the other half.

I'm a writer. I can choose how much I do, which means I can earn what I need to, but I've always kept below the VAT registering threshold.

I love it. Been doing it for about ten years since all my kids were at home. Flexible, able to choose own hours, take all school holidays off, meet fascinating people.

I agree with most of what you say Xenia but the moving around bit depends on the job and the sector...also your priorities.
We love where we live and wouldn't move for a job (unless absolutely necessary)
I've worked at my workplace for 12 years but in different roles and they've nurtured and supported my progression. There would be no real benefit in me moving.

My DH has been offered jobs all over the country but turned them all down because we don't want to move. He also turned down a job because it would have meant I couldn't have worked full time and it would have impacted on my career progression. all decisions relating to our careers are made jointly and just because he earns more doesn't mean his job takes priority.

I completely agree about equality at home though.

leaving early every day that can be more damaging than the time you arrive in the morning. Yes and as a PP said starting at 7am goes unnoticed.

Yes and as a PP said starting at 7am goes unnoticed.

I had this argument debate with my boss. He always gets pissed of that at 5pm theres a stampede for the door. That's the official finish time.

I cant see the issue. He thinks people cant all be upto date with their work.

I pointed out the directors and senior leadership team often work at night. Or at least are keeping an eye on email. We are all often in around 7. So damn right they are leaving at 5 or earlier.

Everyone else is employed 8-5pm, which is longer than alot of office work now. And lots of them cine in early. He couldnt answer why staying late was preferable to getting all your work done on time, in your hours or to coming in early.

Definitely do change jobs every 25 months at least a) it’s the only way to get a 20% pay rise either via the new job or counter offer, which you should never take but makes it easier for the person coming in behind you. And b) stops you getting stale and settled which puts new employers off

That doesn't work in every sector. Not everyone works in the private sector where that might work. I'm a senior lecturer and on a pay scale that doesn't vary hugely between universities. Switching every 25 months would be pointless and of no benefit.

Shitgetting, I agree. In fact I work best first thing. I set up my own solicitors firm from home in 1994 (as I was not made a partner) and now I can start as early as I like and finish when I like subject to clients' needs. I am not a night person. i have done years working for myself with working very late when I had to but it's not when I am at my best.

I agree it depends on the job whether changing jobs frequently gets higher pay, although my daughter who is an in house solicitor (where there can be pay ceilings in each job) has found pay rises come with moving (currently she is now Head of Legal which would not have happened had she not changed jobs regularly (although all within London).

It always depends what you want., My graduate son enjoys driving a van of groceries for a living (I am not joking). Lots of people find satisfaction in all kinds of ways in life although if you are supporting a family a bit of spare money is usually a good idea.

@SueEllenMishke agreed I think where there’s pay bands and you know you’ll naturally move through them it’s not as important but I’ve known people leap through them by making a move too

Recruitment

Chrissie that can happen but I wouldn't be giving it as universal careers advice. Staying somewhere for a long time doesn't necessarily put employers off either. In my husband's area of work it's common for people to stay somewhere for years ( with incremental pay increases) before making the next big move. These are the most successful and sought after people. Those that move frequently are viewed with suspicion and generally haven't had time to prove themselves as the results are viewed over a long period of time.