I earn a 6 figure salary...

[herehearher]

Just reading another thread and pretty much every post is going on about "6 figure salary" - as if this is some sort of meaningful marker.

But obviously there's a massive difference between someone on £100k and someone on £900k. So by "6 figure salary" are they just essentially saying they earn around £100k? If they earned £250k, how is it acceptable to describe that?

I know some people on high salaries who work ridiculously hard, others not at all.

So many assumptions here lol

My H came to the UK as an immigrant with nothing. He is not white. He came from a poor family from a fundamentalist regime which was bombed constantly whilst he was a child. He was constantly at risk of being killed there due to not bowing to the fanatical religion of that country.

He arrived in UK with £200. Nothing else- no place to live, no friends, nothing. He worked three jobs whilst sending money home to support his family and eventually started his own business. He is now wealthy. Your assumption that only the privileged can make it is bollocks.

It is a percentile thing.
6 figs -> in top 3-4% income wise.
> ~£200k means you're in top 1%.
I imagine top 0.5% is > £300k.
So yeah, you can divide top 0.5% or top 1% from next 3% at top (xx).

(xx) if you find that difference worth discussing at length, you're probably not like me <shrug> even though I'm well above the median income. Maybe you 6 figure people have considerations that make the distinction important to talk about in detail.

Why don't people understand that saying statistically background does make a difference doesn't equal no one from a wc background can do it?

Can't even write my own jokes. (stomps off in embarassment)

lol

and luck plays a huge part

If you earn so much simply sitting on MN all day awaiting tragic salary posts, I call bullshit.

I would hope I would have much better things to do with all my dosh if I earned £900K a year than sit on MN!

Isn't it a wee bit chavvy to discuss one's salary in the company of strangers?

Depends on what you do

On the NHS payscale, due to increased pension contributions, pension tax, loss of basic allowance etc, the effective take home on earnings from 100-125k is around 15%.

I was one of the people mentioning it this morning and the six figure salary was 120k. If I’d wanted to say 250k I’d have probably said that figure. So I think most people quoting six figures are saying they’ve tipped over into that threshold. And sadly no, we’re still not at all wealthy and living an extremely normal, average life. As are my friends on the same household income. Which shows the cost of living crisis is going to top average earners into crisis pretty quickly.

*tip

I agree that six figures is a very broad number!

I earn £125k. That works out at £6k take home a month which I'm not complaining about, of course.

£950k is also six figures and would be £45k a month - big difference!!

I actually think it’s extremely important for women in particular to talk about earnings, potential, barriers etc. rather than being vulgar. Viewing it as something to be hidden keeps people in their little boxes doesn’t it.

Yes, and I did all that but now work in a university so that people like you can get your PhD. Hoeever, in 2010 the government decided that to help the bankers, we would have a pay freeze for ten years so I do not earn the mythical 6 figure sum. I would if the Tories didn't decide to use 2009 as an opportunity to cut public sector and transfer massive amounts of cash into private hands by way of employing consultants. And now we have no teachers, doctors, university lecturers, nurses etc etc etc because all these people are smart and younger ones all left to get those lucrative jobs. Thats all fine individually but as a country we are screwed now that Brexit means we can't get cheap labour from EEurope. So many of those six figure jobs are on the back of "helping the state get the money out

yes ime, depends on what you do. Sometimes it is somewhat easier the higher up you go too. Although likely to need to bring in new business in some form which not everyone finds ok

It's an aside, I know, but it really rankles with me when people come on threads like this and say 'my husband earns'.

We are talking about ourselves.
And in the case of women, becoming a high earner is often even more note worthy due to challenges and barriers that most men don't face.

I don't want to know what your husband earns.

He often works 17 hour days, has a lot of responsibility and a lot of stress

So do a lot of carers whose reward is £10 an hour. Junior doctors work ridiculous hours with responsibility for people’s lives.

I’ve been in this field for years so probably not. Just going through a rough patch and will need to face into it and solve it!

The reality at the moment is that the UK will increasingly start depending in women not earning six figure salaries. The number of MN posts about OP working as a teacher i.e. low wage married to high earning man does mean that we will more and more rely on women doing socially important jobs for low wage because hubby earns the money. It's depressing but this is what we've come to. A head teacher in London primary earns 60k (or at least going by the job ad) that's just not enough in London and no one can tell me that this is not an important and responsible job. We have devalued all socially responsible jobs for the last ten years

Threads like these have really helped me plan my career. I’ll be retraining next year out of the ‘caring’ role I went into after uni to try to work in tech HR. When I started reading this site with my first pregnancy I couldn’t believe the salaries, I was on 12k and DH 25k, now most people I know earn 80k plus due to change in area and friendship group.
Its Mumsnet so many of the people here with high household incomes will be because of the husbands salary, not all but many, due to women taking time out or going part time. I could be on 40k more now if I’d not work part time for the last 8 years.

I can’t feel pity for you as a £2k mortgage must have bought you a very nice house 🙄
Alot of people don’t even earn £2k a month.

How fortunate that you were able to access affordable housing and benefits on the way up to support your hard work on the way to where you are now.

100% our daughter is going into stem. Good job she enjoys it but that’s where the money is. I would not advise anyone to become a teacher. I love my job, wouldn’t pay the bills though. It’s our pin money. That’s a whole career reduced to pin money. Tech is where it’s at.

Sadly my enthusiasm for being given a magical 100+k salary does not match my temperament ;) Knowlege and skills are probably suitable but I just can't really conceive of the concept as it might apply to me (work part-time, no management responsibilities, not keen on early starts or commuting).

Jo

I agree. I see so many posts on MN that start with 'My DH earns' and it makes me feel disappointed. There are high earners (well in excess of 100 k) on this forum who are real women living normal, everyday lives.