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.

It’s a shame the op has vanished. I’m more interested to know if she realises the dismissive ‘barely over £50k’ £12,000 can actually be a full salary for a lot of people? Made me feel uncomfortable anyway.

No it isn't, don't be daft.

Just like the bloody non teachers pile on teachers who are asking for more pay

Well, not me. And probably not the OP either.

The OP's taxes pay for teachers' salaries and pensions though, whereas the reverse is not true.

Your clealry not a recruitment consultant either 😂

OPs whole post about her work, years of experience.

all this nonsense people are spouting on this thread really does make me question basic intelligence.

OP was asking if she should earn more - a nurses salary isn’t at all relevant. She wasn’t asking everyone to debate whether we should live in a socialist/communist economy. She isn’t going to go into a salary negotiation where her boss says well you earn more than a nurse so count yourself lucky😂😂😂😂

The wages of public sector folks are limited by the underlying strength of the UK economy (national income) as they are paid directly from tax revenues.

Thats why teachers and nurses complaining about a solicitors salary (who is not in the public sector) is just so utterly pointless, and generally points to envy and bitterness.

The solicitor will be paid what the market can afford to pay him with a few caveats (ability to negotiate).

Public sector folks will always be limited by how strong the UK economy is in the long-run, as their wages are correlated to national income.

I’m glad it’s not you and hopefully not the OP, however a lot of the comments on here are that teachers are bitter etc by the same people who say teachers should be grateful for what they earn etc

I understand that, however when people are telling teachers to be grateful but actively support others who aren’t teachers in getting extra pay then to me it’s hypocritical.

You need to post this in legal if you want to know how it compares with other solicitors. Otherwise you're being pretty tone deaf to not understand it's a whopping great salary for most people.

I think there's a perception that teachers are bitter because they never ever stop moaning about the pay and conditions in the profession that they willingly chose.

If the fact that teaching is stressful and not particularly well paid (although, as you say, still better paid than many other jobs) has come as a surprise to you, you clearly didn't do much research.

Which specific posters do you believe are doing this?

Are you sure it's not just the same people on £25k telling teachers they should be grateful for their whopping great salaries and pensions and telling the OP she should be grateful to earn the dizzying heights of £62k, only now the teachers are joining the £25k people in sticking a boot in to the OP and doing exactly the same thing they find so irritating when they're on the receiving end of it?

Erm I did my research thanks love, and where did I say i was surprised at what it’s like? I didn’t fyi.

Well if you're so outraged that solicitors earn more than teachers, why didn't you become a solicitor?

OP made this comment about a world where her peers probably earn £80-100k. In that context her salary is close to £50k and clearly not what she expected to be earning.

£12k would be a part time salary - even at minimum wage.

this thread demonstrates why women don’t negotiate bigger salaries - they are shamed and made to think about people earning less. The relevance of salaries earning by people in completely different industries with completely difference qualifications, skill sets and experience is zero.

I’m not outraged actually. I’m more annoyed at the clear hypocrisy of people on mumsnet, oh your teacher you need to be god damn grateful, oh you aren’t a teacher oh darling of course you should earn more.

Again, can you be specific about who you think is doing this?

Not only would £12k be a part time salary at minimum wage, it wouldn't be taxed.

Unlike the OP's salary.

Isn't it funny how £12k suddenly looks like a much smaller amount when 49% of it is being deducted at source?

Yes, I know they do. Nurses do the grunt work and earn no where near.

No actually, I wouldn't.
I would just find a higher paid job if I thought I was being under paid.

Yes I agree, injustice does grate.

DS is 30. Has been working in IT for 4 years, spent 3 years not working after graduating ( maths) due to.. I don't know what, really. He got an an entry level job for 22k for a games company, got a rise to about 25k after a year, moved to a different company ( fintech) and doubled his salary, and got a rise to 65k after a year.
I agree, the slog of qualifying as a solicitor doesn't really seem to be be fairly recompensed. On an hourly basis, I earn almost as much in education as I did as a solicitor, if you take into account holidays. DS earns way more than me even though I have 20 years PQE as a solicitor and 12 years PQE in education.

Do you expect someone doing "grunt work" to get paid the same as someone performing, say, an emergency C-section?

With respect - that’s not relevant to the Op

Perhaps unfortunately we live in a capitalist society and so what op wants to know is whether her salary is market

op I qualified in London but 10 years ago and Nq salary was £60k. I think you are about £15-20k out of kilter because the wage differential between London and outside isn’t that large.

Obviously if you are at a large firm that had regional offices you can command even more given you are about senior associate standard

Pointless asking on here because 90 percent of folk are in a race to the bottom in their min wage jobs and aren't prepared to fight for their worth, or are simply too lazy to do any better. Jealousy is a cruel mistress.

If you believe you can earn more, find another role with another company that pays better. Ask for them to match the salary or leave. Win win.

Just because you earn more than average doesn't mean you aren't entitled to be paid fairly for what you do.

And yes nurses and teachers SHOULD be paid more

but in response to op, lawyers like her ARE paid more

To be fair, a huge amount of this thread is irrelevant to the Op's situation.

A recruitment consultant, familiar with your specialism and area, is the best person to answer your question. All this stuff about teacher / nurse salaries isn't really that helpful

In what job is £12k a full salary? The ridiculous replies from some people! You feel uncomfortable? Oh dear.