High Earners not in "bullshit jobs"?

[VirginWestCoast]

Inspired by a couple of recent threads, the"bullshit jobs" one and the one asking how posters became well off.
Mumsnet seems to have people on generally higher incomes than the UK as a whole, with people quite nonchalantly saying that they and/or their DH are on 150k+ and a lot of people were saying on the Bullshit jobs thread that they were very well paid.
In the other thread, lots of people out their success down to sheer hard work, which I don't doubt, but lots of people work hard in worthwhile (ones which are pretty much universally recognised as worthwhile) jobs but are never going to be on 150k+ like nurses, teachers, cleaners, care workers. I know there are others and these are the ones most often trotted out but bare with me:
So it cannot just be working hard, it has to be working hard in the right areas (finance etc, I'd assume) to be well off if you aren't born into it or inheriting it.
And yet, while you may have, for example, doctors on 70k or so, the 150k+ group don't seem to include the typical "worthwhile" jobs (though I know this may well be down to me not being very familiar with the jobs in finance, senior management etc)

So my question is this:
If you are a high earner, do you feel that your job is socially useful? "Bullshit job"? Something else entirely? Do you think that what you're paid is fair?
Also, with regards to hard work, what did you have to do to qualify for your job role/ how long did it take?

This is just for personal curiosity so any answers are greatly appreciated.

(Sorry if that reads quite convoluted)

I’m senior actuary (chief risk officer).

So it’s kind of in both camps, it is a bit bullshitty, but insurance is also vital.

I think my wage is fair for the level of responsibility I have, if I cock up things would go majorly wrong for my employer. But it isn’t a difficult job to carry out.

I studied maths at Cambridge as I wanted to be an actuary, but at the time they didn’t do a specific actuarial science course. I worked my arse off to qualify, I had to do my professional qualifications while working (like many do), the qualification process is really hard work. I qualified when I was 23, I’m 32 now and I managed to get my current role just over a year ago. I probably won’t climb any higher as I don’t want the additional responsibility.

Management level working in affordable housing, so feels like a non bullshit one.

oops cut off too soon. worked in industry for 11 years and getting to this level was hrd work mixed with being willing to move away from home, chase the good jobs and always push above my comfort zones. I feel I am on a big salary really but I do make decision that can make a lot of money / difference and I'm good at it so only getting paid what everyone else at my level is too.

I am a high earner and definitely in a bullshit job- I don’t think what I earn is in any way fair when compared to for eg a doctor. I wouldn’t say I got here by hard work to be honest- I’m actually quite lazy but (being brutally honest/without false modesty) I am pretty bright so I can pick things up easily enough and have a pretty good network of people who recommend me for work whenever I’m looking. I don’t actually have any formal qualifications beyond my degree (which is in a bullshit subject 😀), I’ve just been fortunate enough to make a good impression in various organisations and get pushed into higher paying roles from there. I hate every minute of it though and want to get out even if it means taking a significant pay cut.

I work in financial services doing quite a specialised role. Over the years I've worked for a number of large companies in this sector in senior roles and they do pay high salaries. I work very hard, with long days and until this year I had a long commute on top of that. I have a law degree and an MBA and too many other industry-related qualifications to list. I think I do a socially useful job in an industry that provides essential services and supports the economy of this country.

Should have said sorry- I work in IT

Thank you, this is all really interesting.
I think that we generally get two main, diametrically opposed depictions of high earners. Either:
Anyone above 50k is money grabbing scum, single handedly responsible for everything wrong in the UK."
Or:
"Everyone could earn 500k if they just worked a little bit harder. You're just lazy and jealous of those with a better work ethic, because that's the only reason they're rich."
It's not really conducive to healthy discussion...

Senior PR. Some days v bullshitty and others doing vital work getting charity's messaging out there. I am bright, worked very very hard at the right times (a levels, uni), a good leader, engage well with SET team and clients. Win business. Left last role on £100k. Looking for new at above that.

Well there’s a major difference between revenue generating jobs (private sector) and public sector ones that don’t.

We can’t have teachers and nurses unless someone goes and generates the money to pay for them.

Given that we live under a capitalist system, I don’t see any revenue generating jobs as ‘bullshit’. They’re vital.

You can then have an entirely different conversation about whether taxation levels are appropriate.

But its not particularly helpful to directly compare salary levels in public/private sector for similar jobs. Public sector jobs have significant benefits in terms of security and pension provision.

Just watch now the private sector embark on mass layoffs. It’s going to be brutal.

I expect most people would deem my job as bullshit. I work in consultancy - however we service the public sector just as much as the private. If we don’t sell projects we don’t get paid, so it’s very much up to the individual to perform well.

What are you classing as high earners? I'm certainly not on 6 figures but I'm a senior web software engineer. It's not socially useful per se... but online banking, online shopping, social media, and web-based software are all pretty vital in people's lives so we serve a purpose in a way.

No formal training required. I have an MSci in Genetics but always coded on the side as a hobby. Once I graduated in 2013 I knew I didn't want to be a researcher so I ended up applying for a junior web developer role. I was 23 and started at £20k. To give a bit of context I've always been employed in mid/northern England and choose not to work more than a 30minute commute to my job. In 7 years I've more than tripled my income without any professional qualifications. However, I have of course done tonnes of additional training since then in soft skills as well as new languages, frameworks, software architecture, software design, and how to run software projects successfully.

Overall I don't know how much I 'deserve' the money. But it's just what good companies pay for software engineers.

I work in IT as well. I thought it was a bullshit job, but now it appears I'm classed as a key worker. Go figure.

Mine is total bullshit but very niche.

Key workers include people working in finance, IT, pharmaceuticals, journalism, broadcasting, engineering. There are plenty well paid jobs that are important and useful.

I do a total bullshit job for a lot of money. I do marketing for big businesses. It's not worthwhile at all.

To counteract this I donate a lot of my time to help small businesses. I do lots of charity and volunteering when I can.

I find it obscene what you can earn in my industry compared to nurses, social workers etc (I have some of these professions in the family)

I don’t even think there are bullshit jobs.
I can’t think of a job which doesn’t somehow contribute to improving people’s existence in some way.

Even if that way could be deemed extremely superficial - I don’t know let’s say CEO of a designer dog accessory company - they still employ people, they still pay Corp and income tax, they use suppliers, they contribute and finally they make products people want to buy - not essential no but people enjoy what they enjoy.

@LaurieMarlow says exactly what I was thinking tbh

I do think some of the more worthy jobs need to be better paid yes - but the taxation of a high bullshit job contributes a hell of a lot more financially and we can’t run a country on worthiness

Dh and I both work in regulation/quality in the same sector. Not a bullshit job, very needed and currentlyou essential. I am in a private company and earn the bottom end of high earners and Dh is public earning mid high earning.
Both of us have the same primary qualification but lots of extra professional and masters level qualifications, tbh we are always studying something, fortunately usually paid for and during work hours as it's a requirement.

Quantitative data analyst here, I usually work with financial firms on the risk of their money etc but have been made furloughed and so I am not earning at the moment. I wouldn’t class myself as a key worker by all means and don’t think it’s a bullshit job, it’s very very hard and takes years to specialise as one. If I was working right now I would have actually been working with the government about their job retention scheme to minimise risks so it’s ironic that I got furloughed!

but the taxation of a high bullshit job contributes a hell of a lot more financially and we can’t run a country on worthiness

Exactly. I suspect there are a lot of people who think there’s a giant money pot to pay nurses and so forth, without realising this money has to be generated somehow.

For me, my bullshit job yardstick measurement is whether I could possibly care about anything the company does/makes. I work in the arts, but if my abilities had sent me in a different direction I think I would have also been happy in journalism or frontline overseas charity work.

I couldn't do anything corporate. I'm with Chandler, I can't get worked up about the WENUS. I earn about £40K, and I'm very happy with that.

If you are a high earner, do you feel that your job is socially useful? "Bullshit job"?

I think mine kinda depends on opinion 😂 I write throwaway genre fiction books. No one is really going to be highly effected if I stopped working tomorrow. Except maybe my fans might be upset but they'd quickly move on.

Do you think that what you're paid is fair?

Well... I have a pretty high hourly rate. Higher than doctors probably, so in that sense no? I don't think what I do is more important to society than a doctor. But by that same standard not everyone could do what I do as well as I've done it (many try and fail).:. and I sell products so I don't really decide what I get paid.

Also, with regards to hard work, what did you have to do to qualify for your job role/ how long did it take?

I started making money in month 1 and by month 2 I was making more than my day job (a senior engineer on £37kish). Since then I've invested quite a lot in myself (courses and books). But not years slogging away at a degree or anything. I only started in March last year and made just over 6 figures. I work 7 days a week, sometimes 12 - 14 hour days. But that's normal with any new business and I do plan to slow down hours worked while increasing advertising.

Love that the first response was an actuary, glad there's a few of us on here! I'm not in the 150k+ bracket yet but whilst some people would class it as bullshitty (cos it's financial sector) I produce economic projections which are pretty essential for insurers making sure they have enough reserves to actually pay clients even in very bad times.

My sister is on 200k + and its most definitely not a bullshit job. Massive responsibility and not just managing people. Actual hands on work which has been crucial during this pandemic. IT work involving rapid movement of a gazillion staff to home working (I can't be any more technical than that otherwise I might be earning mega bucks too )
Another friend has a job which she felt might be BS but the pandemic has suddenly made her industry very popular. She's working harder than ever (and delighted to be).

I'm involved in running clinical trials - not BS but not 150K either