salary question...

[ohtobe4]

AIBU to think a salary of £70k in the South East (Berkshire) is a good wage?
A friend of mine has a new job and reckons the salary is "average".
I live in the Midlands, so I consider it to be a pretty huge wage!
I know it's rather crass to ask, but people in the SE….Where does a £70k wage fit ?
Voting….
AIBU = £70k is average
AINBU = £70k is a big wage

Sorry, meant to finish my post with...

We are North West. I'm aware we have a higher than average income despite being average amongst the group.

Average.

I'm 50ish west midlands, two masters degrees and earn over 70k. I would say it is industry and role dependent. Average salary where we live is about 15k so around here they would be a very high earner but the majority are minimum wages (care homes etc) so it's not a useful comparison. I earn possibly double what some of my university course friends earn as it depends which industry you went into. I became a consultant so I could work more flexibly rather than grappling my way up the corporate ladder so others will earn more.

People generally feel rich or poor depending on how they compare to those around them. That's how 70k might seem average to some.

I live in London and consider that a huge salary!

I agree with @Carboholic it really puzzles me that people can see the statistics which are quite clear and dismiss them because the people they know are all high earners so therefore its average to them.

My husband salary is 70k and we live in cambridge. Its an okay salary. We have small mortgage. We Good lifestyle but not too grand. Personally i think its an above average salary but no where near rich or posh

Well in west Yorkshire you can still pick up fairly average 1 bed terraced houses for £60k., Id say £70K is a very high wage for this area.

Of course it isn’t average. Statistically it would put you in the top 15% of earners. The fact that some people only move in circles where everyone earns 70k or more does not make it average or common.

Threads like these always bring out the worse in people as they start berating others for talking salaries. Why shouldn’t people discuss this very important subject. Equally, why shouldn’t they value their worth by questioning if they should be getting more. We have a low pay culture in this country, largely thanks to welfare subsidized low wages at the bottom end. The market was rigged against market rate pay through tax credits in the late 90s. This has suppressed growth for PAYE in the middle and, dare I say it, at the top end end too.
Why is this bad? It contributes to a brain drain. If you are qualified to and if you are so inclined, you can move elsewhere in world and earn far more. Wishing everyone a else to earn less to make yourself more equal is never a good thing. We should be questioning why wages are lower in this country than many other developed countries.

Even though you can obviously look at statistics to see what the average is, I think it’s still good to have the occasional thread like this as it does help people to see alternative viewpoints and serves as a good reminder that we can live in our own little bubbles.

I have found it useful when female friends have shared that they’re on six figure salaries because it gives me a good kick up the bum and has made me more ambitious than if I’d been in the dark not realising I am earning so much less.

Equally, it’s good to hear from intelligent, happy people that they’re earning much less and consider themselves to have a good lifestyle and are content.

It’s all anecdotal obviously but it’s good to understand different experiences.

And I would say it’s also good for the women of MN to maybe learn about high salary industries and professions, if that was something that they didn’t know about before.

Most people I know earn 20-50 k with 20 on low side and 50 being high.