High Earners on MN?

[BitOfFun]

How? The actual leader of my county council doesn't earn more than £100K- where and what are all these super-maxed out occupations? I genuinely don't understand how mumsnetters (often relatively young) access these magic jobs I've never heard of.

YABU- they are there for the taking, you just made poor choices

YANBU- people here are very creative and there's an outside chance they may be lying exaggerating.

One really important point is not how much you earn but how you would cope if you couldn't. I'd advise anyone in a high pay environment to insure their income - I did and I needed to use the insurance.

Hoping I'm not outing myself here - private client lawyer, only female partner in the firm, earning six figures in the noughties. Two children - back to work asap (no maternity leave for the self employed) live in nanny to manage childcare emergencies etc etc. After my second child I had severe PND of the 6 months hospitalisation variety. Career over but I still get the income stream from the insurance company until I'm 60. In some ways I've been very very lucky as I've been able to spend time with my children as they grow up and still have the income stream. I've also been able to help out on various charitable projects over the years. But I still miss my career as it was a really interesting field and I had some really amazing clients. To have lost it and had financial worries would have been a nightmare.

I think that going "mummy track" greatly affects earnings long term. Maternity leaves, SAHMing for years, going part time will all reduce the likelihood of becoming a high earner. Being the one willing to work at midnight to deploy code to production is more likely to count in your favor.

Nepotism is when a friend (who you was your friend before you employed them) or family member is given a job or an opportunity.

And it still happens all the time. Despite what you want to think.

You May have got where you are with no additional help, and many others will too. But that doesn’t mean everyone has. It also doesn’t mean anyone can. For some people, their disadvantages are just too much to overcome. Them not being higher wage earners doesn’t mean they have made the wrong choices and you made the right ones. Life isn’t as simple as that.

mincingfuckdragon
Really not, not having a go, genuine question, I have worked f/t throughout my child-rearing... when did you see your kids, and was it worth not having family time?

@Londonmummy66 what an incredible story. I'm so glad you are well now and that your income was covered.

@Joeytribbianiz - thank you - I try to tell as many women as possible to think carefully about how they would cope practically as PND is common (maybe not that severe) and there all sorts of other lifechanging illnesses and injuries (a cousin is in a wheel chair from a virus) so insuring a decent income stream can be really important.

Many jobs pay good money if you are prepared to climb the ladder early on and work hard on the lower rungs to reach greater heights.

And again, it’s not just about what you are prepared to do.

My father worked incredibly hard, both in the army then when he came out, in his own business. He worked much harder than I ever have, and yet I out earn mid career, what he earned when he retired.

My sister took over his company and despite it being a successful business, she takes out of it less than I earn. It just isn’t in an industry that attracts particularly good fees.

He gave me what he never had. Opportunities which come from having a good education, something he encouraged and supported. I have absolutely no doubt if my father had the education I did, he would have been a higher wage earner. His mother forced him to leave school as soon as he could to support his family. After that, his choices were limited.

Finance, London, mid 30s, £100k + bonus and benefits. Gender pay gap In my firm is a rather disgusting 45%

I would earn maybe 70% of my salary if not in London

@MintyMabel

Many jobs pay good money if you are prepared to climb the ladder early on and work hard on the lower rungs to reach greater heights.

And again, it’s not just about what you are prepared to do.

My father worked incredibly hard, both in the army then when he came out, in his own business. He worked much harder than I ever have, and yet I out earn mid career, what he earned when he retired.

My sister took over his company and despite it being a successful business, she takes out of it less than I earn. It just isn’t in an industry that attracts particularly good fees.

He gave me what he never had. Opportunities which come from having a good education, something he encouraged and supported. I have absolutely no doubt if my father had the education I did, he would have been a higher wage earner. His mother forced him to leave school as soon as he could to support his family. After that, his choices were limited.

We’ll disagree. Your sister could have chosen a more financially rewarding path, the same as you assumably. Undoubtedly some have an easier path and more leg ups, but to suggest that it isn’t possible to arrive to this country with nothing and end up successful in terms of finances has been proven time and again to be untrue. Given sufficient working grey matter and determination, most people can achieve a reasonably high salary over time. There will be the odd situation that is limiting- sever disability like Huntingdon’s but there are few things that cannot be overcome to reach your goals. It’s not what everyone wants, of course, but that is a different issue.

Dh spent a few years out of the private sector - in the public sector - his salary was limited by not being able to earn more than the prime minister, which was rather frustrating when he was promoted but a salry increase was not possible - you're not going to hang around for long on that basis. We now run our own company and are well rewarded for our hard work. We're not young though.

I don't live in London and only know 2 people personally on 100k plus. Ones a consultant anaesthetist and the other a manager in a tech company.

I don't earn 100k, but could- if I worked ft and for myself. I earn about 75k per year. 55k comes from my own business working 2 days per week (term time only), the rest is from 2 days public sector job(nhs). There is tons of more private work available but I chose to stay part-time in public sector because I love my team and I like the CPD opportunities.
I'm lucky that I don't work crazy hours either and a lot from home, especially in Covid times. Works well for my family as I do school drop offs and pick ups and then work around it.

We’ll disagree. Your sister could have chosen a more financially rewarding path, the same as you assumably.

Nope. She had her own reasons for not doing well with her education. Another set of choices taken from her.

to suggest that it isn’t possible to arrive to this country with nothing and end up successful in terms of finances has been proven time and again to be untrue. Given sufficient working grey matter and determination, most people can achieve a reasonably high salary over time.

I never suggesting it isn’t ever possible, I’m stating it isn’t always possible. Anyone who doesn’t understand there are reasons for that that needs to check their privilege.

@Quandaries has it spot on.

I don’t think not being in this bracket means you’ve made poor life choices, it’s a mix of factors. I am not in the south and not in a ‘profession’ such as law, accountancy etc but have pretty quickly worked my way up in big corporate and now earn six figures at 34. However I have worked my ass off to get here, there was definitely also some luck involved plus the right moves at the right time, taking on extra development assignments etc. I think the figures people quote on MN also have a representative mix and are genuine. What’s in it for anyone to lie anonymously to strangers on the internet?!

I don't see how it's possible for most people to achieve high salaries because there are only so many high salaried jobs to go around.

On an individual basis, of course there are things that you can do to help yourself, and no one will fall into a highly paid job by accident (well, very few people anyway!), it doesn't just happen by magic. But in the vast majority of cases there are more people wanting those jobs than there are jobs to go around. And no matter how hard working and driven people are, they might not be sufficiently talented in the niche areas that earn big money. If you are talented in areas like data science or IT then the world is your oyster. If you're not, you might be able to force yourself to learn about them but it will probably be a struggle to work in that type of field if it doesn't come easily to you.

There are many many jobs where you can earn daft money sometimes. My basic is £45k but that can double with bonus and benefits. I’m from a WC background and do sales.
DP earns around £160k in one of those jobs where it’s hard to explain the actual job but it’s basically marketing of sorts. DP also WC background.
And through work: where we live I know people who earn 2,3x that or more.

to suggest that it isn’t possible to arrive to this country with nothing and end up successful in terms of finances That's ridiculous of course it's possible - you'll have a better chance if you are better, worker harder, white, male, middle/upper class, hetrosexual(usually) and be luckier than everyone else - but that is not impossible!
Given sufficient working grey matter and determination, most people can achieve a reasonably high salary over time. Nonsense - it doesn't work like that - you have to have more grey matter and more determination that your peers to make it - it's not about talent, it's about more talent, more luck etc - it's a pyramid - there's a limit in numbers - you don't believe this shit do you? Meritocracy is a fallacy.

One of my uni mates from wealthy background,private school who wanted for nothing is a high paid sex worker earning £2-4K a night. She’s too ‘lazy’ -her words to get a normal job.
Another one from a WC home - dad was a miner- did law and languages at uni and now gets paid £500k plus as a fancy tax adviser type in Singapore.
I started off in a shop after uni and accidentally fell into a well paid- ish profession in sales.
All sorted of backgrounds can land you where you don’t expect if you have a half decent education or some brains I reckon.

There hasn’t been much talk of job satisfaction on this thread and I wonder how many of these high earners really love their job? I earn a good salary in my field (a specific area in TV) but no where near 100k+. It is hard reading this thread not to feel a bit envious of people saying everyone they know is on mega salaries but then I remind myself that I love my job and it isn’t just a job to me, it is a passion. And if I had the chance to do something else less interesting (to me) for a higher salary, I would almost certainly decline as job satisfaction is more of a priority than money. Most of my friends are in Media in London and although we don’t discuss salaries, I really doubt many of them earn near the 100k mark. Possibly my Director, but no one at Manager level.

I feel like I could learn to do more or less anything if I had the time and money and opportunity to do so (within reason obviously. I'm not including things like being a surgeon in that!). The one exception to that is sales. I honestly don't think I could ever learn to do that. The thought of trying to sell something to someone makes me feel sick with fear. So that rules out one highly paid field of work

@ToryAldi

to suggest that it isn’t possible to arrive to this country with nothing and end up successful in terms of finances That's ridiculous of course it's possible - you'll have a better chance if you are better, worker harder, white, male, middle/upper class, hetrosexual(usually) and be luckier than everyone else - but that is not impossible! Given sufficient working grey matter and determination, most people can achieve a reasonably high salary over time. Nonsense - it doesn't work like that - you have to have more grey matter and more determination that your peers to make it - it's not about talent, it's about more talent, more luck etc - it's a pyramid - there's a limit in numbers - you don't believe this shit do you? Meritocracy is a fallacy.

I do believe ‘this shit’. I’d accept it’s not a meritocracy and many have a huge advantage but that doesn’t stop others who are prepared to go for it. Yes there are limited numbers in very high salaried posts but someone has to get those jobs. My experience suggests hard work, tenacity and determination are far more important than any innate ability. You don’t need more grey matter- many Oxbridge alumni are not high earners. I do believe academic success is hugely important it’s not everything. The choices we make start in childhood, but those who missed out first time around can catch up. It’s all too easy to dismiss achievement as ‘luck’ and privilege, so not something attainable. That is the fallacy and the disservice so many do themselves or their children. Damning with low expectations.

Many high paid industries and opportunities in London.

It’s all too easy to dismiss achievement as ‘luck’ and privilege, so not something attainable. That is the fallacy and the disservice so many do themselves or their children. Damning with low expectations. That is not the fallacy that is what you chose to believe because it has worked for you - it is not based on any analysis of the general population.

@Mummadeeze I’m afraid I really enjoy my job.

All things being equal (including pay) fees f I had to work I can’t think of anything I’d rather do: it’s interesting, intellectually challenging, I get a lot of respect and the end results are interesting.

@Mummadeeze I love my work. I think it’s helped by the lack of stress and flexibility, but I genuinely enjoy most of the tasks I undertake. I am extremely lucky. Part time very well paid, it’s the holy grail.