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.

Grammar school.
Law/politics.
6 figures since I was 28.
Extremely lucky financially.
Other aspects of life definitely not so perfect.
But extremely grateful for the independence this gives me.

State grammar, Oxbridge, part-time term-time freelancing 80–100k pa.

Every successful and wealthy person I know went to state secondary. Think it made us competitive and hungry to prove people wrong
I have no figures to prove this, but given that only 7% of the population are privately educated I’d estimate that there is a far higher % of high income state educated earners than privately educated. Funny how no schools publish anything beyond which universities their alumni get into

State Grammar

Now Headteacher of medium size comp, late 40s

Salary £95k

Both DH and I are civil service. I earn about£65k DH earns about£35k. I went to a State comprehensive in a mixed area and then durham uni . He went to a state comprehensive in a working class area and then Strathclyde uni.

The pp I know who are privately educated are:
Teacher 36k
Architect undisclosed salary
Postman 25k
Struggling artist NMW at a cafe
Travel agent 30k

State Grammar in the 1970s, loads of experience in Dustmen Roles, when I got round to proving that Dustmen could be Doctors (academic) too, I was stymied by caring responsibilities.

Never mind, could happen to anyone - my salary is lower than the lowest seein as you're asking but I have a very open mind and a propensity to researching facts as well as enough self-respect to carry me and my dependents through the hardest of times.

I thank my Grammar School education for that.

Privately educated since reception.. left school at 15, went back independently and Did 5 gcses, 4 A* 1A.
Work in Estate agency and I've earned between 40 and 100k every year since I was 17 (now mid 30s)

I went to grammar school and went on to do my degree in French and Spanish. I work as a mental health support worker for £10 an hour. I wish I earned more but the truth is that I genuinely love my job and I know a lot of people are in jobs that they hate so I'm lucky to work in a role I'm passionate about.

State grammar, early 50s. Less than £20k. Mental health issues caused by severe bullying at aforementioned grammar meant I had a series of jobs and low self esteem, stress and depression screwed up the career I had in which I’d probably earn £30k ish

Boarded for sixth form. Rest of education state.
Early 40s.
Doctor. Around 90K.

Ha… I’m ex private school and on a six figure salary…

But I know a huge number of similarly well educated contemporaries who have given up work entirely to bring up kids.

Plus may doing better lower paid (if not far more worthwhile) careers.

Me - private girls school, working as a Probation Officer £37k p.a
DH - private boys school, joint third owner in a business. Salary 100k p.a & selling the company next year for an estimated £10million.
For me the difference financially between myself & DH was that I chose a public sector job, him private sector. My job is always going to have a salary boundary, his doesn't.
We were both the "poor" kids at our private schools
& it was a hideous experience. Our parents thought they were doing the best for us, but we'd have achieved no different at our local comp.
Although we could afford it, we consciously chose not to send our children to private schools. IMO it only gives you an advantageous position if you're already in a position of advantage.

Private school, and I'm currently unemployed; I've been employed on and off and usually earn about 28-32k doing research and/or teaching at university. Fingers crossed I get another job.

Both my brothers went to private school too - one is a professor earning somewhere in the 60s/70s (I've never asked), and the other is a gardener who isn't currently working as he's had a back injury.

I kept in touch with a few people from school and have been to the odd reunion, and I realised that my school was a funny mix of people who never expected to work (and who got pass-the-time jobs until they married investment bankers), and people who were absolutely driven to get good, stable jobs and who were pushed into medicine or law no matter what they might have wanted. As a result there was no real careers advice - how do you negotiate between those two positions?!

State grammar. Used to earn c£70k as a lawyer until change of career in mid 30s Now early 40s and earn £46k in public sector. I think what I value most from my education is having the confidence to change direction - both in my first degree and then in my career. Also very good A-levels which helped in both cases. My school was a very high performing one but with poor sports and other facilities, and whilst not right for everyone it was great for me.

Private school. I’m a lawyer and earn about £140k pro rats.

NC. I was sent to a private school, dropped out pre-GSCE, now on £60k. DP went state (and not a good one at that), worked his way through university and is now on £600k. Undecided as to which route we'll take with DC. In our experience it depends enormously on the temperament of the child (DP is very studious, I am not).

@SisforSoppy

Every successful and wealthy person I know went to state secondary. Think it made us competitive and hungry to prove people wrong I have no figures to prove this, but given that only 7% of the population are privately educated I’d estimate that there is a far higher % of high income state educated earners than privately educated. Funny how no schools publish anything beyond which universities their alumni get into

There. Is a huge body of research to prove that privately educated people on average earn more. It unfortunately gives a huge advantage.

There will be lots of people who individually have different experiences but at population level it makes a huge difference.

DH 40 - privately educated. Now a teacher on 41k.

Me - late 30's barely scraped through state school. 35k and at the bottom of my pay scale (public sector).

Privately educated - top 1% of female earners in the UK. All of my close friends from school earn similar salaries.

Private school and Oxbridge. I'm a lawyer on about 60k for 4 days a week.

DH went to private school but didn't go to university. He's on 25k also for 4 days a week and is doing some training/studying alongside his work in a specialist area of business.

We live outside London and have one DC and another on the way. We're not on the kind of megabucks that some in this thread are, but we feel very comfortable financially.

DH had a shit experience at school - he was on a scholarship and always made to feel second best. It was a very academic environment but they didn't support him with the extra academic help he needed when he had significant problems at home. There was a lot of casual bullying - racist, homophobic and classist - staff didn't want to know.

My school was good for me because I was highly academic and they had the resources to support that. They probably turned a blind eye to a lot of my bad behaviour as a teenager because I was getting good grades. There was a fair amount of skipping lessons, smoking, drinking and smoking weed and even playing around with harder drugs, in my friendship group.

So I wouldn't want either of those particular schools for my own DC, but I guess everywhere is different. Sending one child to my old school under current fees would cost us the equivalent of our mortgage again, so maybe unattainable anyway!

There. Is a huge body of research to prove that privately educated people on average earn more. It unfortunately gives a huge advantage.

The advantage doesn't come from being privately educated per se. It comes from the schools concerned being (highly) selective. That is why studies such as Sullivan & Heath have shown relatively little difference between the attainment of pupils from most* private schools and those from state grammar schools, while the attainment of those from non-selective private schools is similar to that of pupils from most comprehensive schools.

• The really top independent schools, such as St Pauls and Westminster excepted - just as, of course, there are some really top state schools, such as Henrietta Barnett and Tiffin, that buck the trend.

I actually think it comes from the parents.

I went to a state grammar, passed the 12+ as was the age intake in that area. Actually, it was a very religious school and I tried to fail as i was against going there - not so spectacularly that it would be obvious, but I messed that up and go in by one point.

Anyway, I went to that school, just because my parents wanted religion rammed down me. I had no other input. No help, support, encouragement. I was bullied terribly all the way though so left as a soon as I could - and there was no parental support for further education. Therefore my highest ever salary was min wage in shit jobs.

Most parents who either pay for private school or have children in selective grammars support them in their education and strive for the best for them (of course, there will always be some exceptions, but you wouldn’t pay tens of thousands for private school if you didn’t give a shit).

Not me, but DH.

Late 30s, currently on 80k in an engineering management role.

He was previously earning 150k but that was freelance contracts, so this feels more stable.