to ask if you think this salary is reasonable or am I being greedy?

[bkyegres]

I qualified as a solicitor in 2016, so I’m around 7 years pqe. I’m paid 62k in Bham, commercial rather than private client work. I’ve only just paid off my student loan last year and honestly I feel like the firm are taking the piss… all the studying and expense feels ridiculous to be seven years on and barely over 50k. Obviously I know what some other firms pay and I can look into it further with recruiters but I am starting to wonder if you have to join a new company for any decent pay these days?! I could have skipped uni and worked my way up to this salary by now so it all seems a bit pointless.

Haven’t RTFT, but salaries aren’t just plucked out of thin air. solicitors generally get paid a third of what they bill. So if OP bills more than 200K or so she should consider asking for a raise or some sort of bonus. If she doesn’t she shouldn’t.

You can interpret and twist what I have said all you like, it’s no skin off my nose. All I have done is answer the OP, who explicitly asked if we think she is being greedy, and I said yes I do. I wouldn’t have said so if she hadn’t asked, and I’m sure she would like to get honest replies. If you don’t like my reply then that’s fine but I wasn’t really replying for your benefit!

That’s why I said research.

One needs to have some idea about salaries in the OP's actual profession and area in order to provide any useful input, sure.

And let's face it, even if she had put "please only answer if you are a lawyer or work in legal recruitment or in HR in a law firm", the thread would still be full of bloody teachers mouthing off about how little they get paid. But at least then we could make snarky comments about how teachers are supposed to be good at reading comprehension.

Are you greedy to want more? Everyone wants more -so no I don’t think you are. Should you be paid more - depends on your industry, company, the value you add, how hard it would be to replace you and I have no idea about that.

Doesn’t commercial pay less than client work - quite a lot less. Maybe you should move to a client based firm? The average pay for lawyers doesn’t mean much - their pay is hugely dependent on their sector.

The OP is not asking whether 62k is a decent salary, she is asking if it's decent for the field and qualifications.

Sorry off topic, but there is no such thing as an “unqualified accountant”. If you do not have a professional qualification you are not an accountant.

It does sound low for your experience. I just looked at salary guides and for 7PQE in Birmingham you should be looking in the region of £70k.

Have you tried getting opinions on Rollonfriday OP?
I can’t comment as I chose to go into residential property.

Only on MN where women are on 25k and no one should ever make any more, but all the DHs are high earners with mysterious big jobs.

Yes but she's a solicitor, I wouldn't expect a teacher to earn more than a lawyer (not saying it's right or wrong, but it's just fact). That seems low to me OP! I always thought lawyers earnt loads.

Depends what you mean by client work. If you mean private client, then that tends to be lower paid than commercial. Commercial lawyers still have clients.

I can’t add anything useful OP as my experience is in a different sector and area and about 20 years out of date, but it sounds as though you might be paid less than you could be and it’s worth pursuing.

I'm a solicitor. You're being underpaid and should consider moving. Unfortunately this is just how things work.

But how would anyone know - House counsel is paid less than lawyers in a firm. And is she any good - what seniority does she hold? Unless people are comparing like with like this us all a bit pointless

There's no point taking any of the posts that tell you you're being unreasonable because you earn more than a teacher seriously. On Mumsnet unless you're on the breadline you're going to get a lot of hate.

She said she is 7PQE. In law there is usually no concept of promotions apart from to council or partner. Your seniority is otherwise determined by however many years qualified you are and you get an automatic payrise each year.

IAA commercial L and you are underpaid.

I am a Solicitor 2years PQE mid-tier regional firm in a specialist area - 55k

@drinkeatsmile if you are referring to in-house counsel that’s not strictly true. I got a significant pay rise when I went in-house from a large regional law firm. Most of the commercial contract solicitors in my old form have left to go in-house for the same reason.

It really depends specifically what you do. You're currently paid exactly average: https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Salaries/city-of-london-solicitor-salary-SRCH_IL.0,14_IC3317926_KO15,24.htm#:~:text=The%20average%20salary%20for%20Solicitor,from%20%C2%A3980%20%2D%20%C2%A322%2C417. If you have specific niche skills on an area of corporate law that you've picked up over time, a few barristers who'll refer you, and are getting known for your particular skills - then negotiate or apply to shift elsewhere. If you are just doing work passed to you and 100 others have your skill set, then make sure you really do your research on typical salaries offered in the market before you get your hopes up too much.

Depends on your firm and your commercial area. Drop me a DM if you’d like advice. NQ salaries at the likes of DLA in Brum are £65k, so on that basis you’re on a low salary.

However you’ll get people at 5PQE on £70k International law firms. No point comparing to London. Happy to advise.

OP I also suggest you take a look at the external market to see what jobs are available at the salary and benefits package that you'd like. It's often a case that you can fall behind the longer you stay at a company - with newcomers coming in at a higher salary/benefits package than you earn. Go to a few interviews as well to check if it would be a good skills match as well as better earnings power. 🌹

Do all these teachers and nurses etc who are complaining about people earning more than them only shack up with people on the exact same salary? Otherwise their resentment must boil over.

Loyalty to a single employer is seldom rewarded IME. Employers start to see you as part of the furniture and don't view you as a flight risk. Pay and benefits don't rise to match the market.

I know this was the case with my last employer. I was there for 8 years. There was no appreciation of what I did. When I told my manager I was leaving they were genuinely shocked.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my salary went up from £55k to £80k. As important, benefits such as employer pension contributions have risen from 4% to 12%. This year's bonus was 21%, previous bonuses have always been under 10%.

Start looking around @bkyegres . Do pay attention to the other benefits.