If you attended private/grammar school, what is your job role and salary?

[Z3lda]

Extremely nosey I know and obviously no one is obliged to share. But I'm just intrigued as it seems many are quite desperate to get their children into the best private or grammar school, but I just wondered what kind of jobs and salaries students from these schools go on to actually have? I know that education provides children with far more than just a path to a specific job and salary, but I do think many send their children to these schools for this reason.

I went to private school and am very well paid, my sister went and is very low paid at minimum wage, my mate went state and he has his own business earning mega bucks.

My kids are in private but for the smaller class sizes, more focus abs in this area more diversity as they are mixed race.

I don’t think it always links to a better paid job.

I’m 36, work in marketing on £75k per year.

I would say that a lot of girls from my private school haven’t gone down the route of high flying careers.

I went to a prestigious private school, I’m now 33 and earn just shy of £70k plus package in a management level role I adore.

Band 6 NHS so not a fortune, but comfortable. My husband went to a "rough" comprehensive (his words) and has a fantastic career, earning double what I earn.

Senior marketing manager £35k.
Could probably earn more if I step up to a head of or director role, but I think I’m too old now. Motherhood and unsupportive husband put paid to that.

Both late 40s. Me private school GCSE and A levels highest qualifications. DH comp school and no qualifications at all. I run a company and on £55k. DH high up in chosen career and on £70k. An education doesn't define your future.

33 private school, self employed in a new business only approx 20k pa right now, degree in a design field, two children right out of university and always been a sahm until now.

Sister 34 private school runs illustration business and doing well not sure of income exactly

Sister 28 grammar school online fitness business and has approx £50k pa income

None of us have gone into academic fields

I’m 26. Grammar School. Vet, £42k
My partner is 25. Secondary school but then private (military) sixth form. He’s an engineer, also on £42k.

I’m mid 40’s, went to a very good state Grammar and a Russell Group University. I was on £45k but thanks to Covid, got made redundant. Am about to start a part time NHS role on £27k that offers a better work life balance for our young children.

My husband left school at 16 with no qualifications and earns £100k.

Went to girls' private school in the 70s/80s. Did reasonably well, went on to university, got a degree but then worked for the NHS on very poor pay as a lab scientist.
Stayed in that field for 10 years, advancing up the payscale to something approaching reasonable (with on call payments), which at least allowed me to buy a house.
Then changed direction to work for myself. Have never earnt more than ~£26k pa.
Now in Australia and SAHM who does voluntary work instead and know I am lucky that DH's job allows me to do that (he left school at 15, went into a trade, then went to university in late 20s to do a business degree).

Not sure if this helps at all but in my DH family, their 3 DCs went to independent schools but the eldest didn't attend for long (much older than the other two) He now earns a modest salary. DH and his DSis both stayed the course and one is in finance and one in senior management. Both earn significantly north of 100k. I went to a state grammar and earn a modest salary on 3 days a week, but that is by choice after DH and I decided when first DC was very small to put his career first, as we couldn't prioritise both careers and DCs.

State school that went from outstanding to requires improvement while I was there. Mid thirties, I’m on £25k for 10 hours a week.

DH went to state school, got a degree he doesn’t use and is on £65k. He could easily get more but current company offers great work/life balance while we have young children.

Headteacher, late 30s/early 40s age bracket. 67K.

As reference, my partner was home schooled, has no traditional qualifications, 30, works a senior job in corporate side of leisure industry and is on 60k

I went to private school for primary and up to year 9 and then grammar from year 9 until college.
I honestly have jumped from minimum wage job to minimum wage job, married my husband and now I'm a stay at home mum.
I honestly don't think my education was anything special and I have ADHD which I really struggled with in school but no one thought to get my diagnosed or give me help 🤷‍♀️

Husband is early 40s, went to a very good private school from age 13 to end of GCSEs. We now know he is dyslexic but at the time this was not picked up on and he was made to feel stupid. His time at school has given him lasting confidence issues which has discouraged him trying for promotions etc. He earns 40k.

I went to a state school. Like my husband I changed schools after year 7 (badly bullied). My second school was an all-girls school with a great reputation but not a grammar or anything. I earn 90k.

I went to a proper council estate comp in the North East. My colleague went to a proper Private in Newcastle. We are both baristas on NMW.
I went to uni, joined the NHS, burned out and needed a job where I could leave all stress at the door.
She went to uni, dropped out, and bounced from NMW to NMW jobs, too much pressure to perform at Oxbridge. We love our jobs. But just goes to show any outcome is possible.

Went to private school. I earn around £33,000 in a media role. All my friends from school are dentists, lawyers, accountants, business owners etc

Honestly, only on Mumsnet does someone say 'I am relatively poorly paid and earn £50k'

I think the clue is in the word 'relatively'....
50K is relatively a lot less than the much higher salaries that have been quoted on this thread.
The poster who said it wasn't saying it was a meagre sum to live on per se, so I don't understand why so many are making it into an issue.

51, WC (or was!), went to a rough Northern comprehensive (fights at lunchtime in the park with a rival school made regional news headlines), followed by tertiary college (shared with the prison service) and then a decent uni (who were the best for my course). Now earning 6 figures in the City.

Parents considered sending me to private school (I even sat the practice exams) but just didn't have the money. No idea if there were scholarships or bursaries. I suspect they didn't either. It was a world we knew nothing about.

Was exposed to some blatant discrimination re my background when I first started work in London as a grad. A particularly unpleasant woman (a few years ahead of me at work) said "What on earth is someone like you, from a Northern comprehensive, doing in a place like this?" To this day, I remember her face, what she wearing, everything. I came across quite a few idiots like this in those early career days (and at uni).

Private school, single sex (GDST, or GPDST as it was back then), late 40s

I earn £140k plus bonus and pension as a technology business analyst in the city. (A tech person who works out the functionality of new systems, not an analyst who researches technology businesses).

I took a creative degree then retrained and switched in my early thirties.

In terms of what difference school made, if any, I am sure the switch was easier for me than someone with a state education because I had the solid academic achievement my school enabled (top grades in maths, English and sciences at GCSE and A level) plus the public school confidence to tell my career switch story in a way that made it an asset not a liability.

I also over-achieve tasks because of the high standards school would expect from us. It’s not a good thing personally because I undoubtedly work more hours than I strictly need to, but it has a cumulative positive effect on my professional achievement and therefore my salary and employability. (Also I get more satisfaction spending 10 hours on something I feel is complete than 7 hours on something I feel doesn’t quite deliver).

Age 54. Academic. £67000. When I stop being Head of Dept it will be £62000

Without asking non-grammar/private people their salaries I don’t see what you gain from answers to your question. So you know the average salary of people who didn’t attend grammar/private? There were kids from my local comprehensive at my university doing the same course as me. I was at grammar. My salary before having kids was £42k. I took a long career break to raise my kids. I recently went back to work on slightly higher FTE but part-time. I’m mid 40s. I have friends from Uni who went to grammar or computer and started careers in banking (doing IT) straight after Uni but earning more than my current salary. They swiftly progressed to 6-figure salaries. I think it depends more on career choice than school background, though I think there is more of an academic focus and push at grammar and private, but ultimately if you have the ability and self-motivation it makes little difference.

*comprehensive not computer!

On the flip side my DH went to one of the worst schools in the country, many kids carried knives back then, he truly hated high school. He did his degree at one of the old polytechnics, he now earns nearly 200k, top finance job, retiring next year at 54.

My brother went to a top grammar school, ending up working in a factory.

It really doesn't matter were you went to school, it's how you apply yourself when you get a job, how much effort you put in and a little bit of luck as well.