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Original poster

To ask what your goal salary is?

601 replies

SmokeyApo · 14/04/2021 14:40

Hi all, just being nosey here Grin

I have been thinking a lot about career progression and asking for a raise lately, and that got me thinking about what my goal salary is. As in, the salary that I would like to earn at the peak of my career (let's say between age 40 and 50).

So I will ask: what would your goal salary be?

I won't share mine for now just because I don't want to influence the answers, but I will happily share it later on.

OP posts:
Icanflyhigh · 15/04/2021 00:24

My goal used to be over £50k with company car. I achieved that 8 years ago.
Did it make me happy?
Nope.
Did it save my failing marriage?
Nope.
So I jacked it.
I became a stay at home single mum on benefits until my youngest was at full time school.
I now work from home, earn approx 30k a year, drive a beat up old family car and am happy as a pig in shit! So are the DCs and my DP.

Mammyloveswine · 15/04/2021 00:28

These threads are always subjective and make people feel shit for not earning £100k a year!

Fr0thandBubble · 15/04/2021 00:38

£250K and would hope to be around £400K by the time I’m 50. It’s an awful job though - very long hours and stressful. I’d step back to something more enjoyable but have a disabled DC so want to be able to provide for him - goal is to be earning enough so that he’s got enough to live on for life, regardless of whether he is able to work. I won’t retire unless I’m made to and will keep going until I drop.

RobboCop · 15/04/2021 00:49

This reply has been deleted

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UrAWizHarry · 15/04/2021 01:12

@Mammyloveswine

These threads are always subjective and make people feel shit for not earning £100k a year!
Always populated by humble bragging wankers.
user1471549213 · 15/04/2021 01:24

Aim is for 90k by age 50, hoping that will increase to 100k by the time I plan to retire at 60 but who knows what will happen in the interim!

RobboCop · 15/04/2021 01:29

This reply has been deleted

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IncorrigibleTitmouse · 15/04/2021 01:35

My ultimate goal for the position I want to have by the time I’m in my mid-late 40s is about £120k. I make £55k in my current position, but I’m planning to complete my master’s by the end of next year and make a strategic move when I can.

I’m very ambitious though, and happy to work long hours, move cities and go the extra mile because I love what I do. I earn more than DH but he’s more than happy with that!

littlepieces · 15/04/2021 01:35

Used to aspire to six figures. Now I think I'd be lucky (and more realistic) to reach £50k max in my lifetime.

To be honest I've learned highly paid jobs aren't worth the stress. And I'm getting old and tired Grin

MerryDecembermas · 15/04/2021 05:41

The number of people saying they have flexible, low stress jobs on 100k+ is crazy here

StayingHere · 15/04/2021 05:49

I aspire to 55-65k. Currently just under 40k.

LoveIsAllThereIs · 15/04/2021 05:58

I hope this isn't indicative of reality! Maybe I need a new job...

WaitingForEgg · 15/04/2021 06:30

I’m currently 32 and earn 50k. I should be on about 100k in 3 years time and would be very happy with that

Lemonlemon88 · 15/04/2021 06:40

75k for me. I don't want the responsibility that comes with earning more then that in my profession.

fizbosshoes · 15/04/2021 06:41

@Mammyloveswine
@LoveIsAllThereIs
@MerryDecembermas
@UrAWizHarry
I earn a below average salary and live somewhere where everyone (or their DH if they are a SAHM) earns considerably more. I think these threads (with a few exceptions) attract people earning alleged very high salaries, with jobs that allow browsing of, and contributing on MN.
But in RL the average salary is between 30 and 38k, and only 3% of people earn 100k. When I did some calculations based on this thread, (a few pages back though) the average salary was coming out at 58k where people had posted what they currently earn and over 12% earned 100k +.

2018SoFarSoGreat · 15/04/2021 06:43

This thread really shows how often choice reflects salary. So many people saying they are not willing /don't want to have more stress or responsibility, so happy to limit their earning power. That's really healthy but surprised me.

I was always very ambitious, so set myself goals to beat every five years. I stopped setting the goals once I hit about 40, and had far outpaced my modest goals. I did not stop pushing myself though, and it took another 10 years of sacrificing almost everything before I called time. At that point I was earning more than I had time to think about spending. It almost broke me though, and my marriage. I quit, regrouped, and took a 33% pay cut for a job much less demanding. Still worked 60 hours a week, high stress, challenging C suite, but no more travel. It has taken 10 years but I've exceeded that previous salary and more. Now nearing retirement, I find I do want to hit that next magic number in my base salary, just for my satisfaction. Ending on a high note feels right. Somehow.

The salary is not the measure of a working life, but it is certainly one way to measure input versus output. The more women who actually have real choices, the better our world will be.

OverTheRubicon · 15/04/2021 07:15

I'm on over £100k and have been since my late twenties (with gaps for maternity and a redundancy), and while I have had to make some sacrifices including some years working full time with young children, have sometimes had to put in really long hours at busy times (coming home from work at 6 but then working past midnight for weeks), but can't in all honesty say I my work is harder to cope with on a stress level than my sister in nursing or friends on minimum wage in retail. I am in endless meetings, but also have a team who I can delegate work to and being more senior means that I'm not having to clock in and out, so never have to worry about making a daytime dentist appointment or come in late after the Nativity.

What people don't always see is that the headline number isn't always as high as you'd think once you get above average salary - I'm a single earner, so on £120k I'm taking home less than a dual income family both on £50k, and I have to pay for a nanny because my hours are less predictable so at peak times I can't leave at 5 to pick a baby up from nursery etc.

Re all the people saying others are lying, I would have felt the same once, but this site skews London-based and upper middle class so doesn't surprise me. There wouldn't be so many threads on private schooling and where to move in London, let alone the sheer volume of Boden being recommended, if most posters were on average incomes.

CommandoDog · 15/04/2021 07:27

@2018SoFarSoGreat

This thread really shows how often choice reflects salary. So many people saying they are not willing /don't want to have more stress or responsibility, so happy to limit their earning power. That's really healthy but surprised me.

I was always very ambitious, so set myself goals to beat every five years. I stopped setting the goals once I hit about 40, and had far outpaced my modest goals. I did not stop pushing myself though, and it took another 10 years of sacrificing almost everything before I called time. At that point I was earning more than I had time to think about spending. It almost broke me though, and my marriage. I quit, regrouped, and took a 33% pay cut for a job much less demanding. Still worked 60 hours a week, high stress, challenging C suite, but no more travel. It has taken 10 years but I've exceeded that previous salary and more. Now nearing retirement, I find I do want to hit that next magic number in my base salary, just for my satisfaction. Ending on a high note feels right. Somehow.

The salary is not the measure of a working life, but it is certainly one way to measure input versus output. The more women who actually have real choices, the better our world will be.

This thread has surprised me too for the same reasons, people choosing not to stretch themselves to the 6 figure salary positions - I wonder whether the tide is turning on the longs hours at any cost culture. We've has one of our senior managers leave us recently for a less stressful job - big pay cut too but it really suits them - they are not very money focused - for them it's about interesting challenging work, for now it's a better choice and work-life balance but we're still keeping their seat warm just in case they get bored!
CoffeandPancakes · 15/04/2021 07:31

@UrAWizHarry, so anyone who says on a thread about salary goals, that they're on a high salary or aiming to be, are all wankers? Nice 👌

marshyindigo · 15/04/2021 07:36

make people feel shit for not earning £100k a year!

It doesn't make me feel shit, I love hearing about women pulling those kinds of figures, I find it very motivating after mostly hearing about the sacrifices women make for families. I'd love to read a book about all these women and how they got to that point, decisions made etc.

mizu · 15/04/2021 07:45

Been a teacher for 26 years and now on £32,500. I run a department. Never thought about earning more than this, it is enough but reading this, my mind is blown. My DH earns less than me. We are comfortable as we live in a tiny place.

Frokkolini · 15/04/2021 07:53

For us in our household, if we could bring home 45k when the kids are both at school that would be great for us. We live very simply and don't have any financial ambition in our jobs. We also have no debts or loans except mortgage.

We do have a goal to start a business in the next few months so we would obviously aspire to greater financial, mental and emotional levels/ambitions if we can invest in something we really love doing.

Xenia · 15/04/2021 07:59

I think for women with husbands who earn a fair bit it has always been the case that they decide to do a bit less work and earn less for balance in their lives. I didn't but lots do which is one reason (amongst many) at some ages men earn more than women.

I don't think most people lie on threads like this. I picked commercial law in London because it pays well. I picked business law modules where I had a choice in my degree. I chose London firms - had o apply to 139 of them in 1981/1982 as 3m people were unemployed then worst for fifty years in the UK and I hd 25 interviews before getting that first job despite having the best A levels in the school and top at university with prizes and academic scholarships etc. As I said above I did not take maternity leaves, just 2 weeks of annual leave for a baby and I have worked for myself since 1994 as I was never made a partner. I have worked full time without a break since 1983 but I like it so it is not difficult. I gave 1700 courses too all over the place including Iran, Dubai, Nigeria but that was hard - all those flights and travel and stress so I gave that bit up about 2 years ago by choice as I only have 2 not 5 children to support now and also it is less well paid than advising a client by email.

No one is trying to make other women feel bad. These are all just different choices. I would not expect anyone else to feel thay have to do what I did including my own children - my son (a graduate) was a postman for 3 years on about £22k and has been for a same time now a food delivery driver - he is very happy indeed, I think our essential cultural family Catholicism means the core belief is about going good, that money is not a route to happiness etc etc so I hope no one feels pressured in the family to have to copy mummy (although the fact 4 of the 5 children are or about to be lawyers might mean I am wrong about that!). I had a doctor father and uncle and my sibling is a doctor so you certainly find people doing similar things to their parents at times which is understandable.

It is only money. The thing I value most is being happy and rarely being ill (seen my GP once in 15 years kind of never ill! luckiest person in the UK kind of not being ill..... long may it last which presumably it won't as i get my free travel in London pass later this year......and my parents died in their 70s so there may not be long to go for me).

Frokkolini · 15/04/2021 07:59

Just realised my post was unhelpful. My DH would aspire to earn roughly 30k although that's very doable with OT

I would aim to bring in 15k I guess? As I said in previous post I would rather earn more or less via a personal venture that makes me happy.

pigglepot · 15/04/2021 08:04

@Mammyloveswine @UrAWizHarry or populated by bitter people with a chip on their shoulder who can't be happy for others who earn more than them. Also fail to see how you can humble brag on an anonymous forum. And yes of course it's subjective- salaries are subjective. 😂