To ask if you have a wage/income that would shock people?

[Newmumatlast]

Inspired by the tipping hairdresser thread, and a post on there about people having no idea what some people earn with an anecdote about a London cabbie earning twice what his nurse wife did.

I just wondered if anyone does a job where people would actually be shocked to know their true earnings based on stereotype- either way. For example cleaner earning loads or lawyer earning very little.

@Mudgarden just because I work for a vaguely decent wage in a community team doesn't mean I'm not working long hours and doesn't mean my wage reflects the amount of risk I hold and decisions I make.

The union's aren't conning you. The Tory's are.

I know quite a few of my friends and relatives salaries, no idea why they tell me. Maybe for the same reason people are interested here.
For comparison
All in their 50s, so lots of experience
Gp £85000
Consultant doctor £110000
Vet £65000 ( own practice )
Structural engineer £75000
Mechanical and Electrical engineer £70000
Site agent ( building ind ) £100000
Architect £85000 ( own practice ) - averaged o er several people.
Learning support assistant ( adults ) £22000 ( not full time )
Scrap metal businessman and commercial landlord £5million
Scrap metal businessman and commercial landlords kids ( 18 and 19 yrs ) students £500000

You are correct about the home and council tax, but not the cleaner. The problem is, clergy are put in very large houses for which we have to pay the utility bills. I’ve just paid 750 for two months usage.

Very similar to me, I'm a scientist who got my PhD over 10 years ago and am on £38k (also not academia so at least its a permanent job)

It is, sorry for some reason the quote failed.

Im a newly in post band 7. I wouldn't say I was senior, I only qualified in 2016. However I am passionate for my field and have moved up quickly. Id say most of my cohort are 6s and 7s now.

@Mudgarden most nurses earn far less than that, as I expect you already know.

48% of nurses are band 5, alot are band 5 for the entire career, at band 5 the maximum basic pay is £33k regardless of if the have 4 or 40 years experience. Some can earn higher, but there arent enough roles in those banding for every nurses to progress. They arent spinning you a tale, they ae telling you about the experience of basically 50% of nurses, and without those nurses, the NHS would crumble.

@SproutsAndBaubles

would you mind sending me a DM, too, please?

I work in McDonald's as a crew trainer and earn 25k. Not a princely sum but well paid for the sector and people are shocked. They think I earn much much less.

I work unsociable hours though (evenings, weekends, and the odd night shift) so my hourly wage is higher.

I’m a midwife, I earn £62k a year in a role I really enjoy. I realise I’m very lucky.

She must be a band 7 or above as per current nhs pay scales. There are plenty of NHS workers earning this however there also vast numbers on band 5 below who are stuck on those wages for many years and working a very hard graft - this is the problem with nhs pay! Particularly in nursing there are much fewer band 6 or above jobs in comparison to AHPs for example where there are many more b6 and 7 jobs available. There’s are nurses on the ward I work in who have been band 5s for 10 years plus whereas I am an AHP on band 6 after 2 years qualifying and likely potential for me to be a band 7 in next 3-5 years if I wanted to. Both my partner and I work for nhs in b6 and above roles and although we are not ‘high’ earners by any stretch we can live comfortably however there are so many nhs workers who are not in the same situation despite being as experienced or more experienced.

I'm a magazine editor on £45K. I think that's pretty standard for the work I do and my experience but it's a weird profession, the salaries vary enormously.

TBH I think £45K is a very average salary, especially with the cost of living what it is in the UK. It shocks me how many highly qualified people are earning between £20 and £40k. It's not a lot to live on, especially if you have a family (I am a single mum with two kids).

Sorry - I was part time 32 hours a week but yes that is what I earned as top band 7. Totally agree that band 5 on nights is hard work. Nursing is damn hard work and full time clinical work is not sustainable for many people. Days on ICU are a lot busier than nights.
I worked full time from 1985 to 2008 when I then dropped my hours to 32. So altogether I worked 35 years with no break to get the pension

Just to add to this, editors are generally regarded as very well paid with company credit cards and big expenses accounts, because TV shows and films give people this impression. Sadly magazine publishing has been declining since the 90s and that has not been the case for years. I have clients who think I can afford to take them to expensive places for drinks and dinner. If it's me paying, they'll be lucky with a Wetherspoons!

Quick Google shows median salary in 2022 was 33k. So 45k is above average and I certainly think it is. Not necessarily a high salary but definitely not average.

Surely it depends on where you live and your outgoings? In London yes 45k probably wouldn't go far. But we live in East Anglia, our COMBINED income is 50k and we manage just fine with two children. Not rich but nor do we struggle.

I'm a primary assistant head on 50k. I live in a cheap part of the country so live reasonably well.

I know it's above average, but that's because the average wage in this country is SHOCKING (thanks Tories for your 13 years of wage suppression). I'm in the South East so everything is expensive. I watch Location Location Location and feel sad when I see what the extortionate amount I paid for a very average three bed house would get me elsewhere in the country. Once my kids have left school, I will move somewhere my money stretches further.

AFC was the death knell for nurses. Basically meant that thousands of experienced nurses were downgraded in one fell swoop. E grade senior nurses were suddenly the same grade as a newly qualified one.
I also know (and have read on here of) nurses with 18 months experience becoming band 6s such is the dearth of nurses in certain areas. It's mind boggling tbh.

I’m getting the impression that the starting salary for many jobs is poor but it depends on industry whether there is potential for a high salary or not. So, marketing can be lucrative in the private sector but not comparable to small charity. Or maybe I’m wrong?

DH is a non emergency ambulance driver. Before the current pay rise, he's been top of his scale for many years that was £23kish.

Dh works in what would essentially be considered a traditional trade or craft. It's dirty manual work. I'm not actually sure what he makes as he's a company director so takes money out in dividends, but the company turns over well over £300K a year. We live in a very nice house (I happen to have a 'prestigious' career, think doctor, solicitor, but the work itself is not well paid until you are 10-20 years into your career). People are often shocked to see where we live and I think assume it's a family home or we rent because we couldn't afford a house like this. We often get asked who our landlords are (dh tells people, they're a very nice local couple 😂).

Won't disagree with you there! I see do many adverts for jobs that require degrees and yet only pay a smidge above minimum wage.

I was a university lecturer on £15 an hour. Preparation and marking were unpaid, so that doubled my hours, which meant I was getting paid £7.50 an hour. And it was term time only, no paid holidays, no sick pay etc.

I did it because I loved my subject and I was hoping the hourly paid work would give me a foot in the door to get a permanent job which would pay about 30k. But the universities weren’t keen to hire more permanent staff and pay them 30k - they preferred to hire more staff for £7.50 an hour. In fact they were making permanent staff redundant and replacing them with hourly paid staff because it was cheaper!

Eventually the hourly paid staff will give up trying and get jobs elsewhere, but there are always new recruits who still hope to get a permanent job. And this is how higher education is staffed. Young people are paying £9k a year to be taught by people who are being paid £7.50 an hour.

I'm a part-time writer and content creator. I'm the main earner in our family but everyone assumes it's DP and his FT tech job.

As a full-time writer/content creator, I would definitely assume that!