If you earn under 15k?

[yasmeani]

Posting here for traffic really...

Off the back of the current "how much do you earn thread?

Just that really...if you earn 15k or less?
What do you do?
Is it part time/full time?
Is it a stopping gap or a career path?
Do you think you are paid adequately?

20 hours a week, on around 13k. Youth worker. I'm also a p/t PhD student and get a bursary with that. I used to be f/t teacher but would never go back to the stress. It occasionally feels like a bit of a waste because I'm Oxbridge educated & professionally qualified, but I love my job and I love having time to spend with my own dc so I very very rarely have any regrets.

It suits me as it not only fits around studies but also is very flexible with hours so I can do school pick up and drop off and look after dc after school. Eventually when I finish studying and dc are older teens I'll be looking for f/t, but it's not a well-paid sector so I won't ever be on more than mid-20k unless I go out of front-line work and into office-based, which at the moment I don't really see happening.

@daisyjgrey I can sympathise with your DP, I work similar hours in FE and don't earn much more - and it's been a real struggle even to be paid what I am. Looking for something else to do with my qualifications and experience, but obviously the cirumstances aren't ideal. All the best to you and your DP

I earn minimum wage doing basic admin and work 28 hours a week. I'm a single parent so get topped up with tax credits, plus child maintenance from my ex.

Not a stop gap, I've got no education past secondary school and I don't want a stressful career with long hours. I can do my contracted hours, leave on time and forget about work the moment I step out the door.

I have full flexibility. I normally work 8.30-2.30 Monday to Thursday and 9-1 on a Friday which means I can pick up DS every day from school and only have to pay for breakfast club. I'm happy with the pay due to the easy nature of the job and the good work life balance.

I do however receive a lot in child maintenance and have a low mortgage so we do not struggle. If I was struggling I might not be so happy with low pay.

I'm in a part time in MH role, a lot of responsibility and some risks. I have a masters qualification and I professional one required for this role.

I don't feel I am paid adequately but it suits me for now with little DC and my DH has a well paid job.

I earn £10 an hour as a p/t receptionist. It's way better than my last job as a retail supervisor where I earned less money for more responsibility.
My mortgage is finished so my outgoings aren't that high.

I'm a Teaching Assistant in a primary school. I earn under £10k. Hours are part time (25 a week) and term time only.
Not a career path - I was a teacher until it broke me. Being a TA is just something I do. I have been offered the chance to be a HLTA but I like things the way they are - I do my job and come home.
I feel I am perfectly well paid for what I do and the hours I work.
DH is quite well paid so we are OK with me doing this.

Nursery practitioner, safeguarding lead, level 3 quals and earn £9 ph. Can only do this as dp in well paid job. Live in greater london. No pay rise for 4 years. No surprise feel a total mug and am leaving.

Around 10K for 15 hours a week. Went part time after having a child. Full time is around 24k.

Not a career as such, but a job I like and am happy in.

I'm a SEN TA full time (32 hours a week plus holiday club so not just term time)

It's a career path and fitted well whilst I was doing my masters. I don't think I'm paid adequately no, I was when I was a normal class TA but I'm still on the same wage and now get bitten, hit and kicked regularly and shouted at pretty much constantly. I'm not enjoying it very much at the minute.

I earned the same amount an hour as a barmaid, had the option of all the overtime I wanted and was far less stressed, plus I got tips and people say thank you occasionally, which I don't even hear from other staff or parents let alone the kids. I'm seriously considering going back to bar work at the minute.

I'm astounded at the low pay for TA's in the U.K.!!
I'm in Ireland and we don't have TA's as such but we do have SNA's (they are assigned to a specific child) their starting salary is 24,600 and goes up to 40,500!!!

Part time early years practitioner (child care) - just above minimum wage.

Hours suit me, DH is a high earner so I've been very lucky to not have to work full time at all since we've had children. I now work for the experience, spending time with other adults and the extra money is nice!

P.s forgot to add, I think child care is massively underpaid! It's not a job you do for the money.

40hr term time, although now my youngest is at secondary this may change to me doing more hours. In a nursery and no we don’t get paid enough In this industry for the responsibility as we have a lot of the tasks other agencies used to do now.
It isn’t just playing.

This has been a great single parent job as I’ve had holidays off with the children and they could go to the holiday club and after school clubs with me when I worked when they were young. I’ve trained up to L5 so would like to progress but considering roles outside of a nursery for more money.

Part time, nhs, min wage, don't think I'm paid adequately for what I have to deal with every day it's very draining and stressful but I do love the job and it's important, I used to long for a high up job in the nhs but now I'm not sure if that's what I want

@SqueakyDogToy not quite. My salary used to be £18k just up to a few month ago and my net was £1275 . I'm now on £19.5 and they definitely don't pay me enough

I'm a TA, I do 26 hours a week part class support part 1-1 support of an extremely violent little boy, I get about £12,000 a year which I think is over paid for the photo copying, in class support part of my role and underpaid for the 1-1 support where injuries (from being hit, kicked and things thrown at me) seem to be an occupational hazard. So I think it evens out to being paid ok for what I do.
You have to remember TAs are paid pro rata, because of the holidays as well as part time hours (in our authority the most a TA can work is 32.5 hours) my FTE is £19,444 which would be a good salary so can't complain.
I picked a job that meant I could always have the holidays with my children.
It's not a career, but I will do it forever I expect, but I've never been interested in a career. To me work is a necessity I want to be able to go in do my bit and forget about by the time I'm in the carpark.

@kittykat35
That is a teachers salary here, TAs work hard but we don't deserve the same pay as teachers we do a fraction of what they do, and have a fraction of the responsibilities.

I earn 9.75 an hour and do 25.5 hours a week as exams officer (admin basically ) at a small secondary. I think it's underpaid for the responsibility; I have to interview and train staff, I'm entirely self managed (eg no support from above), I manage my own team, I have a fair bit of responsibility.
However, I left teaching and wanted this move, I love the school, my job is varied and interesting, it's permanent and secure, I don't pay tax because I'm under the threshold, I have a decent pension, I can pick my kids up every day, I get school holidays. I leave at 1 every day, I don't bring work home.

My work/life balance is excellent right now and these things matter as much as pay I think.

@YellowishZebra teachers here start at 36k and goes up to 65k....and that's no extra responsibilities.

Admin in a school. Actually the FTE is ok - one role is 24k a year and the other 29k but there arent many FT roles in a school. Its pro rata for the holidays and then PT hours too. It suits me as i enjoy the job and i have a child with complex needs who cant access any holiday care.
I think the on paper salary is fine. I mean on paper i earn more than the teachers in their first couple of years of teaching (but theirs isnt pro rata so they actually take home more which is fair)

Full time here, struggle most of the time to get by. At 62 and single I have no hope of finding a better paying job, and believe me I am trying.

Disabled, had clawed my way of benefits into uni and on to full time self employed creative and community work.

Covid and the gov response has left me with almost nothing and being unable to finance a much needed masters.

Before that: adequately paid depends on if you value services to, and enhancing quality of life of the range of people I was working with.

If they brought in basic income or similar I'd cheerfully go out and do the work for free and train others in what I do, as I can see the huge benefits and difference it can make.
But when the 'client' is undervalued, so are those who provide services to them, and especially if they are seen as should belong in a 'client' group themselves.

bloodywhitecat As someone also subjected to the vagaries of 'care' I just want to say thank you for what you do and your pay rate is absolutely criminal.

Self employed. I work 10 hours a week and earn 13k a year... € though.
Outgoings not extravagant and I'd have 2 holidays average a year (pre covid ).
Can work double that if I wanted/needed to but have a great work/ life balance.

I only work 17 hours a week because I'm sort of semi-retired and I earn around £12k. I have a small pension, around £3k a year, and get my state pension next August (only 6 years later than expected ).

The f/t rate for my role is actually a bit less than I get pro rata, because they protected my grade when I was appointed (I was an internal applicant, my manager had been trying to get me on her team for years and they wanted to reduce the number of p/t staff in the role I had before, so I said I would only take the job if my current grade was protected).

I work in the 3rd sector. Someone doing the same role (financial inclusion/benefits advice) in local government would be on £28-32k outside London, I think the f/t salary for my team is about £22k. But it's probably got a much nicer workplace culture than the average council!

I work in Domestic Abuse.
I get just over £10 per hour, and I’m at the top of the scale. New workers start on just above minimum wage.
Lots of responsibility and stress, reports to court, have to have knowledge of lots of different legislation- housing, DV orders, child protection.
Run groups for women on top of caseload and drop ins.
Dealing with lots of really challenging situations with distressed women and children.
Frankly the wage is taking the absolute piss, but that’s what you get when you get tenders for services and orgs in a race for the bottom.
I really believe I’m making a difference, but I’m only able to do my role as my DH is a high earner.
I’m looking to retrain in something else atm.