To be pissed off that the only financially viable profession nowadays appeares to be banking?

[malificent7]

As a disinterested teen, my dad arranged for me to do work in a bank...i found it exceptionally dull and I really hated Maths at the time. Turns out I should have pursued it as it one of the only professions that allows people to afford a decent quality of life nowadays.
I love my job in the nhs but may have to leave health care as I need to afford to live.
I will encourage dd to go into finance but it shouldn't be like this should it?

Yanbu-other professions should pay properly.
Yabu- banking is the best paid career choice...more fool you for not pursuing it!

They used to but that is no longer the case. FSIs are now playing distinctly second fiddle to the tech industry (which admittedly includes fintech) in the market for the top graduates in physics, maths, CS and EE.

When I worked in a bank, it did NOT pay well. Maybe because I was the lowest of the low, working in a branch. Obviously, those that work hard and make their way up through the ranks, then it does pay well. But the same applies to other jobs. Accountancy, Insurance, etc also have the same kind of remuneration.
I have 1 DS in finance, and 1 DS in IT. Guess which pays the most?

@malificent7 why can’t you pursue a well aid job in the nhs

I work in the public sector, not NHS. There are people who are paid less than me. There are people paid more. Whatever "financially viable" means, I am happy with what I get paid and I have an immensely satisfying job. I certainly get paid more than the three people I know in banking.

There is no reason to assume you would have "made it" in banking.

Define “financially viable.” If you mean massive house in naice area of the SE, kids at private schools, private healthcare, holidays abroad 3x a year and a top of the range car then yes the number of professions that offer that are going to be slim. However you can have a financially viable career without all of this in many other professions, many mentioned here. There’s a large middle ground between NHS and investment banker…

Also have you ever thought about why bankers get paid so much? I’m some rare cases it can be because the individual has a very unique skill but in most it’s because it’s an absolutely shitty job, working with borderline psychopaths and zero job satisfaction for 11 hours a day!

My partner is a bank manager at a large branch of one of the big banks and is on 35,000. The teller staff are on just above minimum wage. They are not high paid careers.

I've worked in investment banking for 20+ years, I met DH who was an FX trader at work, on the trading floor. It does pay well, but you need to make sure you have at least two years worth of living costs saved up at all times as the job security is dreadful. DH and I have had 3 redundancies between us in 10yrs, it took me 10 months to find a job after my last one and DH was out of work for 2 yrs before he accepted a job on about 1/3 of what he was earning. It's also dull, soul destroying work and the general public hate you. I've told my DC to do anything other than banking.

I worked in banking for 40 years starting when I left school and left late last year. Starting from the bottom I worked my way up took advantage of great career break options when I started a family, made good use of all the benefits there was a final salary pension that was a scheme you did not even have to pay anything in to, cheap share purchase schemes that you could sign up for each year that generally matured a month or so before Christmas and taking full advantage of the fantastic training schemes that were offered to move me up the career ladder. I was then fortunate enough to be made redundant just as I was thinking of retiring and then due to the great contacts I made whilst working I was offered a fab project role on a PT basis even though I was not really seeking a new role.

I can see what you’re trying to say actually. It’s the students at university who study a subject like maths who then go on to get graduate jobs (£50k+) in finance, and the humanities grads who go on to work in the public sector get close to minimum wage unless they work out how to climb the greasy pole to the top of the hierarchy, which is difficult if you’re not an arrogant bellend sometimes.

For all the comments re "tech pays well". I'm in tech, it does pay well, but I wish it paid better. Companies are driving down wages: High inflation, no pay rise, lots of layoffs, few open roles/opportunities to switch companies.

I'm living a normal life, in a normal house, normal car not on finance, no subscriptions, no phone contracts, shopping at Aldi. I'm getting by but not living the high life. Wondering how I'll afford the mortgage + fun when my mortgage fix ends.

Wish I went into investment banking, hedge funds or quant research instead... YANBU

It's concerning that only top professionals and managers can afford housing. Bringing in immigrants who are happy to live in cramped accommodation for a few years won't help the housing crisis.

Finance is in decline due to brexit so not the best sector to go into unless you have dual nationality

High paid job in the NHS?! I'd have to go back to med school and train for 10 years. I could be a manager which will require huge amounts of arse -licking and gladiatorial combat!

I worked in banking in the City and it wasn't that highly paid at most levels. Only at very senior.

YABU.

Sales jobs require no qualifications, and you can earn top money in that.

Loads of career paths actually.

But to earn big bucks in banking its the same arse licking and gladorial combat. All high earning jobs require either alot of education and or battling through the internal politics of whatever role you are in.

@malificent7 but even in the private sector you don’t just walk into highly paid managerial jobs, or in banking - they require ‘arse licking and gladiatorial combat’ to some extent…that’s just the way of the world if you want to earn a lot of money 🤷‍♀️

My husband works in the recruitment industry and is paid very, very well. I do think those high earning careers are incredibly tough though; he works much longer hours than I do (I’m public sector) and has worked his way up over years to where he is with careful planning.

Internal politics is what I suck at most but I am getting better! I've learned to suss people out a bit more.

Retail banking doesn't pay well. Investment banking does, but I can't imagine many people's careers progress from working in a branch to that. I did a stint in a retail bank many years ago and the progression tended to be counter clerk -> savings advisor -> mortgage advisor -> branch manager -> area manager, none of which were exceptionally well paid given the level of responsibility and risk of robbery.

So you just don’t want to?

Why are you assuming getting to a high paying role in ‘banking’ is easier.

This isn’t true at all. I’m in law which pays fine- very highly if you choose a particular type of firm and make it to partner. Accountancy is similar. Exh works for a US tech company and is staggeringly well paid considering the flexibility etc. Like anything though the real rewards tend to come later in your career and not everyone will necessarily reach the top of these careers.

Your "Who's with me, the hallowed NHS angel in my quest to bash bankers" has backfired a bit here. A bit of old fashioned "banker-bashing" to make us all feel virtuous.

Banking is a huge industry with a vast range of different career paths. I know its not popular to say, but the highest paid jobs in that industry are the ones that generate high income for the bank, i.e. the top traders. Maybe it is a bit inflated, but a private organisation can pay their staff what they want according to how they value them.

But other professions pay well to. Train drivers in London have a relatively good salary for the level of entry qualifications needed. Headteachers are paid well. Vice chancellors of universities seem to do more than ok. Premier League footballers have a good deal. Just a few examples that don't involve "The Bankers"

This is such a weird opinion. Of course there are other professions that pay good and/or high salaries.

I sometimes think people listened once to their teachers in school about what careers are available and then just shut their eyes to possibilities. In other words there are a lot more options available than the typical “what I want to be when I grow up” assignments that you did when you were 7 years old.

My biggest piece of advice to teenagers and university students is to stop listening to teachers and professors as it relates to career advice. By nature of their own careers they don’t really have good exposure to options. Ask every adult you come into contact with what they do, what they like about it, and if it pays well.

That is going to be where you learn about the career choices that are really out there.

YABU - there are many professions that pay well at the upper end (law, accountancy, business consulting and medicine, to name a few).

Investment banking has the potential to pay highly for those who are reliable revenue generators, but the vast majority of people working in finance aren't making huge salaries. There are a huge number of people who work in middle and back office roles that make salaries comparable to many other industries.

Try law
DH earns about 350k a year. Not mega wealth but we have a lovely life. And he went to crappy comp etc so no need for family wealth or connections to do well.