To ask what YOU think a high salary is?

[minimummies]

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.

I think it's relative to an individual's situation.

'Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness.

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery.'

--Charles Dickens

@MarthaWashingtonsFeralTomcat

£50,000 (higher rate tax payer territory) is high imo, especially if only in 20s or 30s.

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

Sorry, but there are lots of people on far more than 100k in east midlands, i would say there are fewer on £200k +, but you cannot generalise like that.

@FirewomanSam

shouldreallynamechangemore it’s grim. It’s amazing work to do but it really does take its toll.

well hats off to you! I appreciate what you do!

In 30's I would say under £25k is low, £25-50k is normal, £50k + is doing well

@minimummies

Average salary fte for all ages is only in £20's in much of the country. I have 2 degrees and my fte is £25k

£35k is low??!!! Such ignorance.

Anything over £25k after tax

I'm in the regions and I earn 53k but I do get a 21% employers pension contribution (public sector), which puts me on a par with my sister (private sector) who is on 60k plus an employers pension contribution of 5%. She also gets a bonus of up to 10%, I get more holidays and flexi time. It's not all about the money for me, I like holidays and flexi. We are both Uni educated with professional quals, in our early 40s.

@minimummies

Under 25k to me would be extremely low and I would expect it to be a part time role if I'm honest.

Good for you. For many this would be a good income. What exactly is the point of this thread as I can only see that it would make some people feel shitty.

@SignsofSpring

One problem is that people are deriding slightly lower salaries e.g. 35k as not high, but if you have two people earning this in a household, it makes a decent income.

25k to run an entire household on your own would be very low. Two people on 25k is 50k income which is edging towards high!

I'm a single parent and the only money coming into my household is one salary, mine, so that drastically affects how I rank my salary- I need it to be 50k just to be on a part with a household who has two workers on 25k (it's a little more complicated tax and benefit wise but the principle still holds).

You can't talk about high salaries without considering overall household income really, that's what determines your standard of living more than whether one individual person earns 25k or 50k.

Agree wholeheartedly with what you're saying. I consider my salary to be slightly-lower-than-average (26-27k, which includes doing regular overtime) but my household income is double that at 52k - as my husband is my colleague, who earns exactly the same - that is a high household income I think. Our outgoings are really low too (about 1k each month) so we manage to save 1-2k every month. Definitely don't feel like I need a higher salary.

@Dugee so true. I have a friend who is on a truly amazing salary and works every evening until at least 9pm and will get up early both weekend days to do a bit then too. She regularly pulls all nighters. It’s totally normal to her and her colleagues but I honestly can’t see the point. Good for her and all that but I’d rather lie in in a weekend and flex my hours in the week to fit in with a Pilates class!

Min wage full time is £18-19K. Many essential workers are only bringing home this to live on per year so anything under £20K is low and single people living on this likely struggle given the current cost of living.

Between £20-40K means you're likely to be getting more comfortable day to day assuming people aren't over reaching with their expenditure and the basics can met without a struggle.

I think hitting the £50K mark may drop you back a little due to increased tax but once you move away from that borderline stage anything over £50K to me is rich.

I have an issue with bonuses that are automatically paid.

My background is sales and marketing, and DH's is manufacturing. In our world bonuses only got paid if targets were met or exceeded, but jobs in the financial sector have a reputation for handing out bonuses regardless.

Yeah I'd think similar to you, but I'm in SE.

Under 25k is low. 25-40 is average and 40+ is high. 85+ very high.

I definitely agree that today's cost of living is based on two people bringing an income into the house.

Have only read the OP which declared my salary low. Great! A thread to casually crush self esteem under the guise of 'just wondering'. It reads more like you want people to know that they may think they are doing alright but in your 'high standard' book they would need to be on over 100k.

I was teaching a lesson on 'averages' to adult students recently

We were talking about average salaries and starting salaries.

Lots of them want to go into teaching or nursing and the vast majority thought starting wages were around 30k

One was on 11k as a part time support worker and was horrified that teachers are paid as much as 24k as a starting wage. One of the others pointed out that her income must be boosted by tax credits etc as no way was she surviving on 11k when she has 2 children.

Made for a really interesting discussion on salaries and expectations and my eyes were definitely opened

If you think that under £25k must be part time then you are either being goady or you're very ignorant, it doesn't take a genius to work out that a full timer earning minimum wage earns far less than that. My full time wage is £19,200.

What most people consider to be a high wage would be judged on their own earnings.

Interesting thread - I've been a teacher for 25 years both abroad and in the UK and the last 16 years have been in FE. Love my job but salaries are low.

Most of my team are highly educated language subject specialists and the average full time salary is about £26,000.

All under the national average I think.

This thread is a real eye opener to what others earn!

Anything over £35,000 is high to me.

This is such a subjective question which I know is the point and depends on what people consider essential to them.
This will depend on where they live, their up bringing, their friends and their housing status.

I'm in the South East where housing costs in my town are through the roof. We could moce somewhere cheaper but we don't want to.

Therefore a large chunk of salary is taken up with housing costs. This will skew what I think is a high salary as a large chunk of our is taken up using a basic necessity, and to be considered to on a high salary you need to have enough left over to really enjoy life

I would say over £75k is a high salary, anything under £25k is on the low side, especially as in your 30's people are likely to have a family as well to support.

@TheCanyon

Scotland 40-50 would be a dream

London. Same.

@minimummies

Under 25k to me would be extremely low and I would expect it to be a part time role if I'm honest.

but "what you would expect" and "to you" are your opinions, which do not marry up with the facts, i.e. that £31K is the median average full time wage, so roughly half the population working full time earn less than that, and much more than half in total (due to so many people working part time) earn significantly less, therefore how can it be 'low'?

www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2020

FYI starting min salary for a junior doctor is £24.5k in their first year
For a teacher £25,714
For a police officer £21,402 - depending on when they complete their exams even detectives constables often earn under £30k

Don't think anyone can't argue these are professional jobs with huge responsibility - so if they are 'low' paid according to you wtf do you think 'lower skilled' (but still bloody important and valuable) carers, shop assistants, teaching assistants, etc earn?!

I find these threads interesting. So much variation across the country. What you consider normal is definitely based on location and your social circle. Living costs vary a great deal and this is reflective of salaries. You can earn what is considered a good salary in some parts of the country and buy a house etc. Whereby the same salary is indeed considered low in other areas where you'd struggle to buy a studio flat let alone a house.