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 sounds like an extraordinarily high income to me.

Come and work for the NHS for a bit and 60k will feel like luxury.
I have undergraduate, a masters and a doctorate, 17 yrs experience, and my current ceiling pay £57k. Obvs we’ve been frozen for 10+yrs, pay 20% lower than should be adjusted for inflation, and workload increased 50+% due to cuts and recruitment crisis… I’m in the wrong profession for pay aren’t I?

I’m not familiar with your field, this is just my opinion, but if you’ve been doing it for 7 years, sounds like you must be around 30. I would expect you have a lot of pressure piled on you, and I guess you work long hours, with tight deadlines and a lot of responsibilities. I’d expect someone in your field at your age to be hitting 6 figures. That said, a lot of companies don’t reward loyalty, so maybe you might have to move on if the big money is that important. But who wants to be a newbie.

For those who think OP’s salary is too high, please bare in mind her employer probably charges around £200 per hour, and they aren’t even paying her a quarter of that, yet you get charged £60 per hour when you take your car to the garage and the guy repairing it gets around a quarter of that.

What level are you at and what is your annual target?

SW here and that sounds average at Associate level with a target of circa £150k.

Ignore the posters trying to compare apples with elephants

OP I was earning £60k at a similar level of qualification seven years ago - I’m a commercial contracts lawyer. I’m currently earning 90k (plus 10 per cent bonus) in house. Fully remote.

I earn more in HR/projects than three of my friends who are solicitors in cities in South West & North West in regional firms. None are on anymore than 65k and all qualified between 2012-2014.

One is male so not affected by the motherhood penalty either. They regularly talk about the misconception that solicitors earn loads, 60-65k seemed to be the average for them and their colleagues which surprised me.

Loads. Sales or finance for example.

This literally could not be less relevant to the OP, who is in a completely different profession to the ones you have listed.

🙄

Sounds like a really healthy salary to me bit I don’t have a clue what salaries are like in your industry and you know what you could get paid elsewhere.

The days of lawyers automatically commanding a high salary are gone OP. I’m any event you are on a decent one. I am a lawyer and not on as much as that but then I binned off legal practice for consultancy because I value things other than money now from my working life.

I am 10pqe, work in Manchester in insurance litigation (not personal injury) and my salary at your pqe was around £53.5k. If you’re doing commercial non-insurance work I’d expect your salary to be higher than mine, but I still think you’re being paid well.

Ignore all those who simply do not know the market. Birmingham is similar to Cambridge where if you are a decent sized regional you would be on £80k or slightly more for 7 years qualified. Definitely look at comparable locally and move to a better regional if you feel it may be to do with the size and nature of the firm.

This. You seem a bit delusional OP.

As a recruiter you ARE underpaid in the current market. People negatively commenting when they operate in a different sector or role.. not your problem.
You'll likely get a 15% raise if you choose to move while the markets this candidate led.
Don't let the negatives get you down

OP, contact three or four recruiters and tell them you're potentially interested in moving and want to benchmark your current salary.

They'll probably overinflate it a bit to pique your interest, but it should give you an idea of whether you're being seriously underpaid.

If you are, go to your line manager and say you want to renegotiate your salary. But be prepared to move on if they tell you to get stuffed.

That mentality is what wages in the UK has stagnated for a long time now, the crab mentality of well teachers don’t earn xx so how dare you expect more?

@bkyegres if you feel underpaid reach out to recruiters and see what else is out there and decide, it really sure what you expect from this thread.

YABU.

In any industry the best way to get ahead is to jump ship.

Go and apply for a job elsewhere.

Yes my oldest DS was on double that at 25 doing IT recruitment

Yes, change companies for a higher wage. Have you been with the same company since you qualified? Making strategic company changes to boost your salary is pretty standard practice these days.

All these posters comparing your wages to other lower paid professions is completely irrelevant.

I'm 37 and was earning £18k a year (starting salary) in a non graduate role at the age of 18. There were plenty of good opportunities for progression in that field so I'm pretty sure I'd have been on £60k plus if I'd stayed there and worked my way up.

Well, I qualified as a teacher and earn £41K so 🤷🏻‍♀️

also, you do not earn barely over £50k. You earn £62k

If that’s not enough then look to move and look for jobs that pay more.

Qualified as a teacher 16 years ago that was meant to say…

If you're happy where you are, a job offer is often enough to negotiate a raise. Otherwise, be prepared to move.

Yes you are being underpaid. Speak to a recruiter.

How is £62k barely over £50k?