To ask what your high-paying jobs are?

[patienceandprudence]

My DD is in uni doing History. We’re working class through and through, and while she we were chatting about jobs she said that more than anything she’d like to earn a good amount. I’ve no idea what to suggest and DD only came up with a role in the Civil Service.

I always see people on here with high-paying jobs. What could she do with a History degree?

@CosmicUnicorn

PS. My 13 year old daughter wants to do law!

If she wants to earn well, tell her to stay away from the publicly funded work like crime and public family or do it alongside a higher paying area where possible.

50% of City lawyers study a different subject first and then do the law conversion course after. That is the case for my lawyer daughters and my two sons who did the conversion course last year. A law degree is find too but not essential. However during her history degree she does need to do law related things and also apply as early as year 2 for vacation schemes from which may lawyers are recruited years ahead. Her timing is the key thing. Do not wait until you graduate.

From history there's no specific high earning career path but it's a degree and she can get onto graduate schemes who don't specify what degree they require like civil service (though most civil servants don't earn much!). Academia is a possibility if she's passionate about history but she needs to be prepared to earn little at first, once she gets a permanent position and rises to professor they earn a decent salary

@CecilieRose

I'm surprised people are saying about software devs being in demand from bootcamps. I did one several years back and didn't really get anywhere with it. Perhaps it was bad timing but it felt like the market was getting really saturated at the time. I was decent at React, also had some back end skills and could build apps on my own but was made to feel at interviews like it wasn't enough and I wasn't good enough.

That's a real shame -London? Mine was outside London so probably less saturated, and it was very popular to hire bootcamp grads 3-4 years ago. It's becoming harder now, though. We only had one bootcamp in the city, so less saturation.

Like I say I think London's a bit saturated now and less keen to take bootcampers, but the North and Scotland still do well.

React is still king, though. Could still polish up the CV and go for front end roles.

I have no personal knowledge of Law, but I do know there are hundreds of posts from Lawyers saying don't go into it NOW. Things have changed.

To all those saying Law be aware it's not an easy process. DD has just got a TC and the competition is fierce. A lot of her contemporaries with good degrees from RG, many with a Masters are struggling to get vacation schemes and Contracts.
A couple have paid for the GLD and LPC themselves and are still no nearer.

Is it just me or do some of these salaries seem unrealistic. Where I live 30-40k is a good salary. 40-60k is a really good salary.

Mama if you mean people are lying I don't think they are. I am a lawyer in London as are my daughters as we know the salaries. In fact they are rising and there is a lawyer shortage of very good people with experience - see today's FT interesting article - on.ft.com/3FcbFVg which I think has a share token so you can access without paying. However as Autumn says above law is not easy which is why pay is high. Most people cannot pass the exams for it and do not get training so it is very very competitive for London commercial law law jobs. An hour ago my son had very sad news - one of the best people in his seminar group on the Legal Practice Course (LPC) has had to leave because he has failed his resit of one of the exams no this law conversion course. I think this boy's training contract will still go ahead as he has a kind firm but many firms if you fail and have to resit immediately withdraw the training contract).

A few partners in London law firms and top QCs will earn £2m a year. Many people earn much less and those who do criminal legal aid work often earn less than teachers so it is certainly a very mixed picture.

@Mamacita191

It depends where you live, surely

When I am, £40-60k is what a fairly mid-level PA would earn, it’s not considered a remarkable salary at all
I know grads expecting a starting salary of £50k+ and a local charity I volunteer for has had to up the salary on a job for a marketing assistant to over £30k because they weren’t getting any decent applicants under that - all very standard for London

Equally, there are a dozen people in my office who earned over a million quid last year
You wouldn’t know it to look at any of them, and I’m sure most of their neighbours, other parents at their kids schools etc wouldn’t know it

Talent acquisition in tech or financial services pays decently in London and you don't need a relevant degree.

@TeachesOfPeaches

Talent acquisition in tech or financial services pays decently in London and you don't need a relevant degree.

That's baffling because none of them seem very good at it. I constantly get spammed by emails about jobs i'm not qualified for, and nothing for those I am.

Having a great salary is fantastic, but doing something you love is even better. Tell your daughter to pursue what she really wants to do, and not the be distracted by higher salaries in other areas.

@caravanman nothing wrong with trying to do both. It's very sensible to look at salary first, I wish someone had said the same to me when I was at uni. Salary is not a dirty word.

She'll have a better standard of living on £35k in bit of the north/ Scotland/Wales than on £100k in / near London.

So think of area first then career.