To ask for ‘normal average’ salaries?

[Mamacita191]

After seeing loads of posts recently about what people earn, I feel like it’s a completely different world to what I am living in. I live in the midlands and a good salary is 30-40k which is what most people comfortably sit at. I certain rarely see jobs advertised for £60k or more (even 6 figures which I’ve read is what some people make!). Even the jobs that people advise to go into such as lawyers and accountants in a good firm etc don’t make 3 figures as I’ve read on here.

Is it just me who thinks 30-40k is a normal salary that a lot of people sit comfortably at? Am I missing out on something?

I’m on £25.5k for 0.75 FTE. DH is around £40k.

I thought we were pretty average.

Isn't the national average around £24,000?

I think the average salary in the UK is £30k so you’re right.

I think you will find lawyers in a decent regional such as Mills & Reeve and big 4/6 accountants will be on 6 figures in Birmingham, Nottingham etc. It will depend whether you mean "average" overall or average for professions.

Judging by my parents, my siblings, my partner (postie) and my previous salary most people on here claim an average salary to be ridiculously high

Minimum wage for 40 hours a week is £1395 a month before tax

That's £16,742 a year before tax.

Most people are on minimum wage

My dad is slightly higher at 20,000 a year after tax, my partner is very lucky and earns around the same

Everyone else close to me earns minimum wage and manages just fine on it

DH earns 35k and I work part-time for about 8k! We have what I consider a nice comfortable lifestyle with 2 kids. I’m always a bit thrown by the threads where lots declare how tight it is to live on a 60k salary. I guess a lot of it is very subjective though..

I think it varies on what's normal depending on where you live in the UK. A normal salary in London is generally higher than outside. I'm on 45k and work remotely outside London. DH is on 35k. Sometime we feel like we're doing great and other times like we're the poorest people in the room!!

Yes I too think this is average. DP and I work in public sector so salaries on the budget end of normal but decent pensions etc.
I am on 31k and an experienced bottom feeder for want of a better phrase. DP is middle management and is on 45K.

We live relatively comfortably in an expensive area of the SE. I'd struggle to drop my hours though really unless either of us promoted again.

I think in London it's a bit higher, a "normal", average qualified professional job would probably pay £50-£60k here.

Of course it is a normal salary because the average full time salary is about £31k.

I'm on 22k, I'm 39 and a graduate. I don't think it's the best salary in the world but I also don't think it's the worst. I definitely don't feel rich though.

www.statista.com/statistics/416139/full-time-annual-salary-in-the-uk-by-region/
£41k in London, £28k in NE for those working full time.

30-40 might be average around degree educated people etc.

However it's quite a bit above minimum wage and there are an awful lot of people on less. I would imagine its above average in our area/many areas. Maybe seen as a good goal?

Many local council jobs Im looking at (with degrees and an ex teacher) are banded at 24-27. So library work doing summer reading challenge, family support workers etc.

Mainscale teachers wont get above 30s and will start in 20s.

So definitely aspirational rather than average here!

DH and I used to work in London but now WFH just outside. I am on £65k and he is on £45k. We are definitely on the lower end of the salary scale in our circle.

Thanks guys at least it’s just just me! I was feeling crap reading some of these threads. I’m not yet on 30k but would love to earn that much!

@SeasonFinale

I think you will find lawyers in a decent regional such as Mills & Reeve and big 4/6 accountants will be on 6 figures in Birmingham, Nottingham etc. It will depend whether you mean "average" overall or average for professions.

I did work for a national law firm in Nottingham, and the lawyers definitely didn’t make 6 figures. The departmental partners didn’t either!

That table will slightly overstate earnings pokkura. It uses the mean so the small number of VERY high earners will push the average up. Most analyses use the median to avoid this

It completely depends. I work in quite a specific industry - jobs are usually advertised in specialist trade magazine or through specialist recruitment agents. So unless you are in the field and looking for a job, you wouldn't tend to see these roles advertised. Average salary in my role is £50-60k. Partner works in education, on top pay scale and is on £50k. Know lots of people on less, lots of people on more.

Ah so I was right 30-40 would be considered the above average bracket, and if it was in the 40s considerably above average.

It looks like 29-31 is average, including a lot of high income earners and remembering incomes often increase so including older earners etc.

Well surely people are much more likely to post their salaries if they're earning more. Classic self selection bias.

www.statista.com/statistics/416102/average-annual-gross-pay-percentiles-united-kingdom/

40K is the 80th percentile, so way above average. This is for all of UK.

Of course, no matter who you are, your social circle will not be representative. So if you’re a lawyer and hanging out with lawyers only, you will have a very skewed perspective of what people earn.

That’s why posts starting with “judging by me and my family and friends” are completely meaningless.

And MN is notoriously bad at this - the only people answering posts like this are usually the ones in the top 20% and the bottom 20%.

I worked in audit EY when I graduated (EY is one of the lower paying Big 4).

Aged 21, starting salary: £27k
Aged 22, year 2: 30k
Aged 23, year 3: 35k
Aged 23/24 qualified: 50k.

The consulting firm I went to after this was more ridiculous
New grad: £44k + £4K signing bonus
After 6 months: £50k
After another year: £57k
After another year: £62k
After another year: £71.5k

That’s where I am and now I’m 27. It is London and finance. If I don’t have a project I don’t work, I do some CPD or I chill, but get paid. If on a project it can be 9-5, most don’t show up before 930am and most are gone by 6 latest. We also get 15% bonus.

However, this is london.

Should add for regions at EY the salary difference was only slight, so a qualified accountant (aged 24) was on £44k.

Associate partners (not proper partners) we’re on six figures everywhere
Actual partners in the LLP were on millions.

Not sure about lawyers but some senior managers in a big four outside of London would just about be making £100k including bonus. For most people that would be at least 4-6 years post qualified.

That makes a lot of sense actually. It therefore seems that there are a lot of considerably higher than average earners on mumsnet then from reading previous threads!

My OH is 27 and earns 31k and here that is a good salary for someone his age. I only earn 22k but have an interview for a role in civil service which is 27k and an internal role which is 24k so I am hoping to slowly progress 🤞🏼