To wonder how people afford to live with these jobs

[Dreamer14]

I have worked in the private sector for nearly 20 years. In a high paying industry too. However… I’m bored. So very bored.

My Monday dread starts on Friday nights. I’ve changed company and the feeling is the same. I feel isolated because I work at home all the time. I don’t feel like I’m being the best version of myself. I’m grumpy as I’m unhappy etc.

I’ve thought for years, I’d love to go do something completely different. Each time I try… I give up because I simply can’t afford to work 37 hours (with all the childcare I’d need) for £20k.

I would love a job helping others. I look at NHS and school jobs, council jobs, charity jobs etc. but the pay simply isn’t enough. Am I doing something wrong? Have I missed something?

We would like to move in next few years but if I went to bank and said I earn 20k they wouldn’t lend me nearly enough. I don’t have a rich husband! I’m the main earner.

I'm working 37 hours a week and hate every moment. My dream situation would be slightly less hours so I can pick my kids up one day a week and something I love that involves a bit more human interaction.

Well, people do afford to live on that wage.

Also, the grass isn’t always greener. I work in one of those jobs and hate it. I dream of a higher paid work from home role!

How much do you earn and what sort of role do you do? Maybe someone can point you in the direction of a less steep drop.

People on low wages generally rely on top-ups via Universal Credit or Tax Credits, particularly if they have childcare costs.

Does your company offer flexible working? Could you make an application to condense your contracted hours into less days to give you that additional day off? For example, five over four?

I am sure some have rich husband, but a lot would just not be moving.

Others would be minimising childcare costs by juggling with a partner. I work in the evenings when DH is home for instance. My friend does a mix of nights and days.

I feel your pain. I also find my job tedious but it's well paid and I need the money - especially with things the way they are at the moment. I have hybrid working but I find on my days WFH I moan that I'm bored and lonely and my days in the office it's too busy and I can't get anything done.

Uc top ups / help with childcare. I earn about 18k a year. However my income is about £2500 a month including child benefit but not maintenance. Which is the equivalent to about £39k a year. Single parent. I work for the council.

How is that possible?

Yet in another thread I just read, people are saying benefits are too low.

what a joke.

I currently work in pharma in a project manager type role (not for a pharma company directly). I have a degree in life sciences. WAH is ok I guess and allows me to look for jobs anywhere. Currently earn over £60k plus all the perks (pension, med insurance, bonus etc)

I have no line management experience.

but my god I’m bored! I’m not happy.

I would love a job helping others. I look at NHS and school jobs, council jobs, charity jobs etc. but the pay simply isn’t enough. Am I doing something wrong? Have I missed something?

This is exactly what the people doing these jobs are complaining about! 20k is a normal wage for public sector jobs outside London. If you are lucky you can work up to 30- 35k, mostly if your face fits rather than if you do the work well. Have you seen the recent threads on here canvassing support for NHS strikes?

Such jobs also require qualifications too, so carry the burden of student loan debt. Generally long hours are required too. The public sector is a little tired of having the mick taken out of hard working staff while the real cost of living, including housing, grows daily. How come you are apparently newly aware of such things?

Surely PMs are sought after across industries. You might not need to drop your salary to get a better environment/culture. Firstly you often get treated worse in a consultancy type role, rather than working directly for the company that needs the work done. Also pharma companies treat staff badly.

What about transfer to financial services and working your way up? Or a software company? Or engineering?

Or is it the project management role that you don't like

I'm the main earner in my house hold, a whopping 15k as a freelance musician. Last year H cobbled together around 13k part time caretaker job. We have a son and have a n ex council house we bought for 127k 8 years ago so our mortgage is pretty low! We own our old banger cars outright and have solar panels so our energy bills are currently (not to brag) 38 quid! But we've always been a bit skint, we've never earned more than 30k between us so we've always cut our cloth accordingly. No top ups from any kind of universal credit or other. I have 2 degrees as well, so I'm not under qualified and stuck in a low paid role, but I enjoy my life as a session musician/teacher/orchestral conductor/theatre musical director. H works very long hours though, he's out of the house 6am to 7pm weekdays so we're both pretty tired. But we're happy as we are, holidays a few nights in a travelodge here and there. done! If you've always lived a certain way then you can afford to keep doing so. My friends who are much higher flyrs than us would struggle immensely to suddenly have our income, because of their mortgages etc. Anyway, that's is I guess! That's how we afford to live on pittance bless us. Although, we have never had any childcare costs as both of us could manage to work around ds one way or another! So that's a big bill. We're immensely lucky in lots of ways. Live in the North too, so no london price insanity!

Because you get a childcare element to universal credit. Once you stop using it that goes. And you only get housing benefit if you're in rented. It's not really a lot of money for a family to live on.

And then if you live with another adult it gets withdrawn, and once your children are adults it goes too. It's not really a life of luxury or a long term plan. It's just a stop gap really.

@RosaGallica i wouldn’t say I’m newly aware. I’m not sure what I can do about it though? The wages have priced me out sadly. I’ve always thought teaching assistants, nurses, carers etc should be getting waaaaay more than they do but I guess the cost of living has made it even worse!

20k is less than my first job I had around 20 years ago!

People in these jobs cant afford to live, dont you watch the news?

Many people earning very low salaries receive significant top up benefits (especially in London for housing costs). Others have a partner who may not be a high earner, but between them they earn enough - especially if their children are past the age of needing childcare.

Very high rent (you won't find something cheaper in London than £1200+ for 1bed flat in zone 3/4) paid by UC and childcare costs covered by UC.

@FayeGovan people obviously apply for these jobs and lots of them too because they always go quickly. Some TA jobs I have seen are £12-13k So even less.

Have you tried looking for fullfilment outside of work. I know it sounds trite, but i also didnt enjoy my best paid job with perks. So i volunteered somewhere to do something more fullfilling for two hours a week (which actually led to my more interesting low paid job)
When i was earning, i would also and remembered all the things my boredom paid for. Like if we a thestre trip i would think this is a direct result of wednesdays boring day.

@AntlerRose this is an excellent idea. I did have a volunteer role before covid. A few hours a week with a local kids group.

I will look again!

Seriously?
I usually support Benefits on here but if this is true it’s taking the piss

Some may even have rich wives and girlfriends.

I work in the NHS FOR 24k a year( 15 years service!) Survive fine on that wage but we have a small NW house, cheap holidays, shop in aldi etc. We are comfortable but COL is decreasing our disposable and savings. My sister is a TA and her wage is shocking for what she does ( behaviour/SEN 1:1)

The grass is not greener. The places/public sector you mention is not great. It’s hard work, some reward in helping people but little financial reward than you are used to and everything is run into the ground with no budgets. I’d rather be bored than burnt out and knackered with one break at the end of a 12/13 hour day. It’s getting old now….

The simple answer to your question is state benefits. We have one income of 23k and get UC on top. I’ve been a SAHM for years because of my Childress needs, I’m now trying to get back into work but I’ll only be earning a max of 18k so we’ll be in the same financial position as what we are currently in and we will still be struggling.

I've been in this situation too. It also means income tax is low or negligible. So two people earning £32k is a much better situation than one person earning £32k and the large tax burden that brings

TA jobs are known for being very low paid and the TAs at my school are very young, still live at home and will eventually move on or much older and are semi retired.

My best friend is a TA and she’s in her 30s.
She saves a lot of money in childcare but her partner is the the main earner do she can afford it.

You could go into teaching as you get most of the holidays off but it’s long hours which aren’t family friendly and you’re starting off on less than £30K.

NHS jobs are often lots of work for not much pay but they are very rewarding.

I would be looking at what you’d like to do eg work with children, elderly people etc and then look for what sort of roles pay the most.