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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what YOU think a high salary is?

625 replies

minimummies · 06/02/2021 21:49

Going off the back of the salary thread and the savings threads. A lot of people are aghast at the wages and say that ppl are lying!

What do you think is a high wage for say a woman in their 30's?!
Would you say differently for a man?

I think anything over 100k is a high wage for either. 25-35k would be low imo and anything in the middle would be a good salary.

OP posts:
Maverickess · 07/02/2021 08:38

To the poster who thinks anything under £25000 is a low wage really isn't living in the real world. Many, many people on minimum wage don't get anywhere near this working full time.

Yes min wage carer, work 40 hrs a week, just over £18k. Done a lot of overtime 48-60 some weeks covering self isolating and ill colleagues. Might hit £20k this year.
£25k would be a high salary to me.
How the other half live eh? Not that I begrudge people who do earn more, I'm just a bit Confused about people not realising the jobs society relies on and likes to forget about earn so little and expect more than the full time wage I earn to be a part time wage. I'm actually ok with that until I get judged.

xHeartinacagex · 07/02/2021 08:44

When I worked full time I was on 30k and have always considered that mid range. I know loads of people who earn less than me!

Updatemate · 07/02/2021 08:45

I'm just a bit confused about people not realising the jobs society relies on and likes to forget about earn so little

Thinking below 25k is low does not mean I don't realise that many jobs society relies on earn under that! What it means is that I believe we do not properly value people who do incredibly hard and important jobs simply because they require few qualifications, and we forget that require much skill- particularly in the case of carers.

funinthesun19 · 07/02/2021 08:48

Anything 30k and above is high to me.

FTMF30 · 07/02/2021 08:49

Why do people start threads to talk about money just for the sake of it? There's no advice being sought here. It's just tacky.

Rupertbeartrousers · 07/02/2021 08:55

@Abcdeisarealname

I am in the midlands and £100,000 for a single earner would be almost unheard of

All your full time GPs, most hospital consultants and dentists will be on over £100k

Are you sure about this, not the gps and dentists I know
RagzReturnsRebooted · 07/02/2021 08:56

It would take a nurse 6 years on Agenda for Change to reach £30k.
I love my job, but sometimes feel like I must be an idiot to have chosen such a low paying job! Yet when I was 20 £30k seemed like a fortune.

lockeddownandcrazy · 07/02/2021 08:56

25 low
40k good salary
100k plus high

Updatemate · 07/02/2021 08:57

Are you sure about this, not the gps and dentists I know

I know lots of GPs and most are on around £60k. The ones on £100k are partners in their practice.

C152 · 07/02/2021 08:57

£100k or over is a high wage for anyone in their 30s, I think, especially early 30s.

20 years ago I would have said (working in central London) that it was unusual for someone in their 30s to be working full-time on a low salary like £25k...However, looking at the job market now, this seems to be standard. :-(

FavPh0t0 · 07/02/2021 08:57

High - anyone who pays higher rate tax or above 40%+

lockeddownandcrazy · 07/02/2021 08:58

@FTMF30

Why do people start threads to talk about money just for the sake of it? There's no advice being sought here. It's just tacky.
Why is it tacky to talk about a topic that is important to everyone? Its a very outdated concept that talking about money is cheap/tacky and what you earn is a state secret.
CakeRequired · 07/02/2021 08:58

Where I live, anything over 25k is good, because there aren't really many opportunities here. If you have a job that pays more than that, you are either public sector, work away from home a lot, or own your own business. There's nothing else here.

RagzReturnsRebooted · 07/02/2021 08:59

Oh and qualified nurses (after 3 years of a degree, so not no qualifications) start on under £25k. I believe teachers and other degree level Public service roles are similar. Enough to live on if you're single, but not enough to support a family or get a mortgage in most areas.

Updatemate · 07/02/2021 09:00

And you have to think about household wage split as well.

Our household income is £110k+, my friends is £120k+ however we have more take home than them as DH and mines salaries are more evenly split than theirs, so between us pay less tax.

CottonSock · 07/02/2021 09:01

In 30s I'd consider 30k to be a decent salary.

FTMF30 · 07/02/2021 09:04

@lockeddownandcrazy It's tacky because you inevitably have people answer in such a way that makes seemingly low earners feel bad about themselves. Some of the comments are quite ignorant. E.g. 25k is really low, I'd expect that to be PT.

It's not about not talking about money. Its3the context of the conversation about money.

Trinacham · 07/02/2021 09:10

@User7458

Low is under £20k Average is £30k - £35k High over 50k

East Midlands area

I agree with these sort of figures.

i'm in East anglia

CorianderBee · 07/02/2021 09:14

I'd say £70k+

I do live in London, I think anything under £22k is very low and under £30k is low (I'm on £28k).

Elai1978 · 07/02/2021 09:14

I am in the midlands and £100,000 for a single earner would be almost unheard of.

I’m also in the midlands and have at least 10 friends/family members who earn over £100k, some significantly.

FirewomanSam · 07/02/2021 09:14

I’m in my 30s and I’m on 22k, living in London, in a full time, extremely competitive job that requires a Masters and ideally a PhD. This thread is so depressing!

jennymac31 · 07/02/2021 09:17

Our household income is £75k. We're in South West and we're comfortable so some of the comments on this thread are interesting.

BarbaraofSeville · 07/02/2021 09:18

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

Just to ask is it just housing that’s expensive in London? Or is our food and services deemed more expensive too? I live a decent life in London on no where near 100k
Many things in London are the same or cheaper than elsewhere. Public transport is cheap, and actually sufficiently frequent to be useful. Council tax is cheaper, there seems to be a lot of cheap takeaways and grocers.

People probably spend less on utilities than colder parts of the country, especially those without mains gas. Supermarkets and other retailers will be the same.

Services like childcare, construction, cleaning more expensive plus bars and restaurants.

Trinacham · 07/02/2021 09:22

@FirewomanSam

I’m in my 30s and I’m on 22k, living in London, in a full time, extremely competitive job that requires a Masters and ideally a PhD. This thread is so depressing!
That's crazy! I'm 30 and in a job that requires no skills or qualifications - all on the job learning - outside of London and I earn approx. 27k (I say approx. as it does include overtime which differs, but this is the figure I earned last year)
RedPandaMama · 07/02/2021 09:25

Live in a cheap part of North West. I'm on £26k at 24, DP is on £32k at 34. I consider us above average earners and we can live quite frivolously on what we're on. Before meeting DP and splitting some costs I was on £19k and needed UC top up.
I disagree with you when you say £25k is extremely low. Look up the average UK family income, look up minimum wage. People have to manage.

I work for the council and realistically don't expect to ever be on over £32k, which is fine for me.

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