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.

@PeloFondo I agree.however I was suggesting based upon what you wrote. The jobs arr not high flying.... but perhaps could help your sister.

@Hoppinggreen thats an absolute piss take. How is that even possible.

@PeloFondo why do they why does somebody have to do the jobs that we all acknowledge benefit society for so little mini whilst the Who’s Who do nothing but destroy the systems that are built to support as all I say richly rewarded why can’t we flipped on its head and the bunkers in there nice cozy office he’s watching the screen analysing the data I get paid minimum wage, whilst Simi getting up at 5 am to go out and care for the elderly in the disabled gets paid 250 grand a year plus bonuses can you give me a logical reason document as to why that’s not the case ?

Apologies I’m using my dictator on my phone and it’s gone berserk

@Realityloom what like a kind of trickle-down economy 🙄

This must be in London with expensive childcare costs as I earn under 300 per month (yes per month) and get 1,300 per month in benefits.

Can you relocate to a cheaper area? have no mortgage or a far smaller mortgage and then find work in the new location.

It'd be changing everything all at once, house, location, job hunting, but you could relax a bit then.

How much is your house worth?

PT teacher & I've been on just over £20k since having children. DH on just over £30k as primary school teacher. Mortgage quite high at £1000.

Very old cars
Camping & caravan holidays
Rarely eat out
Don't go to gigs or concerts
Make packed lunches

People in private sector seem envious of pension - but obviously it's never going to be that high when the working salary is quite low 🤷🏻‍♀️

Just accept we won't have hotel holidays abroad or meals out. Also no savings & overdrawn everywhere.

PM skills are in demand and well paid in the public sector. Maybe find a public sector org where you believe in the cause, apply for a PM role and look for opportunities to develop skills in a more public facing/helping role there? Then you could do a sidewards move internally.

I have no problem with people knowing the system and what they are entitled to. The reason so many afford it is due to the top ups/tax credit they get. Same as how a lot of multibillion companies are able to avoid paying little to no tax. Do your research OP.

Wow, that is ridiculous, teachers assistants start on about 26k in Ireland, I know it's euro not stg, but 12 or 13k stg is a lot less still! They call them SNAs here and the idea is that they support the teacher and have knowledge dealing with a variety of needs, some children might need to have what the teacher just taught gone over 1 to 1. Because it's a public service job, the salary would go up a bit once a year plus inflation.

Jesus. Well if earning £18k actually means receiving £2500/month I can see how that’s pretty comfortable!

I earn £43k but my take home pay is £2200, I work about 60 hours a week too.

I used to work as a nursery nurse, couldn't afford to anymore so moved into tech. Really really miss it but I couldn't afford to do it

I need universal credit top up or I wouldn't survive. I earn a grand a month as a support worker. Love my job, loads of job satisfaction and is a much needed service but pay is really crap.

Apologies if this has been mentioned already but if you have a degree why are you looking at being a TA not a teacher? There is the possibility of progression to a much higher wage if you like it, not least because the drop out rate is so high that after 4-5 years you could have a management role because there are so few staff going for those jobs. Especially with a science degree. And science can be very vague - I've known people with accountancy degrees train for maths jobs, it does not have to be, say, a pure biology degree to teach biology.

Teaching is exhausting and can be really grim if you're in a tough school, it is all consuming and you'll be stressed. You will very rarely be bored though. No perks but an ok pension (they changed the pension arrangement about a decade ago). You could do it for 5-10 years and then go back to something in the pharma world. At least you'd have had a change and done something that you know is worthwhile.

The pay is not enormous at first or if you stay as a classroom teacher but it is much more than a TA. Teaching management jobs can be quite well paid, though again the stress can be enormous. (There was no money on the planet that would have induced me to do this).

www.nasuwt.org.uk/advice/pay-pensions/pay-scales/england-pay-scales.html#Leadership%20Group

www.nasuwt.org.uk/advice/pay-pensions/pay-scales/england-pay-scales.html#Ranges%20for%20Headteachers

Lots of school jobs are TTO and your pay is across 12 months so whilst you get less each month than someone who works all year round you get 3 months off a year

I'm public sector and I know once I've had my baby next year and done maternity leave I'll be desperately looking for a private sector role. An equivalent job to mine in private sector is minimum £7k a year more, I'll be going part time after mat leave and just can't afford to live on public sector wages. My husband has a well paying job so I won't get any benefits or help from the government.
I have a degree and six years experience and earn less than £25k, I've only stuck it out this long because of needing to work up mat leave and covid before that. There are no part time jobs in my organisation that pay more than the banding I'm on, I don't have the option of staying and I'm not a nurse or anything so no one's striking for my wages to go up

You need to find a way to make a change, OP. We spend too much of our lives at work to hate what we do.

I worked in an industry I initially enjoyed for over a decade, but by the end I was bored, got no fulfilment from my work and had become cynical about the job and the industry. I felt trapped in it by the money. I was made redundant which is was a blessing. I was able to retrain so that I was able to do more meaningful work and yup it’s less well paid. I’m lucky that I was able to use a mix of redundancy and savings and that my husband was earning just enough to support us through the change. For many years I had been the highest earner while he climbed the ladder and we then switched places. We had to change our lifestyle and cut back but it was so worth it. I want my child to see my do a job I care about, I didn’t care about my old work and was becoming more depressed and making more and more silly mistakes there as just focussing on it was difficult. I think a lot of it came from knowing myself better as I got older. I’m not the same person I was when I graduated and started working. I have to say I’m very glad we brought a place while I was on a decent salary, we aren’t able to move to a bigger place but it’s perfectly fine for our family. I also realised when we had less money how much money I used to waste. Where there is a will there’s a way, don’t look back and regret not making that change.

So the take away from this thread is that universal credit IS enough?

🤔 I'm so confused

£1730 for bills other than rent is definitely luxury! My £43k salary means I receive £2400/month after student loans etc (2 degrees) and yet a £21k salary actually results in only £200 less per month. That is ridiculous. Maybe I will go part-time / downgrade jobs cos what on earth is the point when life can be so comfy on so much less!

You must be paying a lot into a pension to have that low a take home pay but be earning that much.

Only if you are on housing benefit and getting childcare tax credits because you have an under five in full time care.

If you rent social housing and you’re a lone parent who works but doesn’t earn a lot then it’s very adequate- especially if ex pays decent maintenance.
if you’re a single with no children and in private rented it’s not.
if you have a mortgage and you’re ex has wiggled out of child maintenance payments and your 3 rd child was born after the 2017 cutoff you’re absolutely screwed .
the formulas they’ve used discriminate against certain situations so it’s really down to which group you’re in.