To ask how much work you actually and honestly do if you’re highly paid? I am worrying!

[workworkbaby]

I’m on 58k. I know it’s not huuuge money, but it’s decent. Honestly, I do very little. I worry all the time about job security and have mentioned to managers I have capacity to do more etc. Sometimes more will land and other times not. As I work largely from home I often find myself just hanging around. I wonder if this is common? I have a toddler in nursery so I can collect them early sometimes which I love so I’m not complaining but I do worry… anyone else?

😂

perhaps….

but most of us worked like dogs for decades to get to this point … also experience means you do something in 5 mins where juniors do it in 5 hours

@workworkbaby someone mentioned training… I would absolutely 10000% do this. Look what training your company has available and take it all.

Yes 100% this. The corporate world has definitely had their pound of flesh from me!

tiredmama23 · Today 08:26

Just to add - my first job in my field back in 2005 paid a £16k a salary year!! When I was promoted in 2009 it rose to £21k. Circa 2013-16 I was on around £30k... 2016-20 circa £43k. And eventually rising to where I am now at £58k.

So... I've been there on low pay grafting my arse off. It just so happened that I chose a profession that has a clear pathway of progression however, meaning I didn't stay there once I'd completed various qualifications and gained more experience.

I similarly started in my current field in 2012 on 17K. My hardest role was in many ways my second in the field, on 25K.

Everything everyone says is spot on, I 'd add that even starting in the right field, not everyone is able to progress to a senior management role.
Software is a sector with solid salaries and does not require impressive academic credentials, just a set of natural skills + hard work.
However, the same principles apply as with everything. Not everyone can become a stonemason or a ballet dancer - it's not quite as simple as choosing the right path. Some of us are just fortunate that our natural abilities line up with generously compensated sectors. I have seen a lot of people try to transition to software and not make it.
I could never be a teacher but I am paid more than they are. I realise that is incredibly fortunate.

£85k, and I probably work at around 60% capacity. When I earned £16k-£40k, I was at 100%+.

The way I've always thought of it is...when you're at the lower end of the pay scale, you're being paid for your time; the further you go past that, the more it becomes about what you know and the things you can (almost) uniquely do.

For example, a desktop support engineer is only worth it if they're fixing lots of computers, whereas a CEO can make one single decision that justifies their entire annual salary, and I just interpolate all the stages between them.

Not sure you have understood my post. You have exactly broken out of poverty and that is a huge achievement because statistically it is very rare.

I am happy for you. In my work I see the poorest in our society and most of them have been born into poverty or have been afflicted by extreme health problems.

As a society we do not support our most vulnerable. We legislate to keep them vulnerable because it makes others feel powerful. It's incredibly stupid because if we all had what we needed, our world would be so brilliant.

There's a big difference between earning well and being rich. I was referring to people born into wealth.

The great swathes of the well fed, watered and educated in the "middle" have a very good opportunities and an become immensely wealthy if that is their desire.

@PepperIsHere
Yes I realised I'd mistyped that last sentence and so posted a second time to amend it. I meant I wasn't born into money. I'm not sure if my situation is rare, I don't know the statistics, but if so then maybe I am a rags to riches anomaly.

That's exactly it. How can you know how to pursue a career or a lifestyle that you don't know exists? I mean, you and your husband are obviously managing well but as you say, you don't have easy access to the more fruitful opportunities, it's not part of your dna.

For the people I work with, it's normal to go hungry, sleep on the floor, have never experienced a holiday or even a trip to the other side of the city, never have had new clothes, noone to help with schoolwork or even to help them get there.any of them have never had the experience of living in a home where someone goes to work. Routine is a foreign concept.

For this cohort, life is about survival with v little support.

Oh wow! That’s a lot less than I imagined! In this case, I’d also worry about a restructure and redundancy tbh, having seen two in just a few years and seeing people who do stuff that bring a lot of value being made redundant. I’d have to talk to my manager about wanting more structure to my role and responsibilities, routine and strategic stuff which will actually develop you and your CV.

Not everyone can become a stonemason or a ballet dancer - it's not quite as simple as choosing the right path. Some of us are just fortunate that our natural abilities line up with generously compensated sectors. I have seen a lot of people try to transition to software and not make it.

Totally agree with this. I've equally seen (and supervised personally) a few junior staff in my field who don't fit the profession personality wise and so they don't make it. There is a huge element of the person you are fitting the mould isn't there. My profession is the perfect fit for my personality. But I absolutely couldn't be for example an accountant or a have a physical graft job - it's just not for me. We play to our strengths dont we.

I think a lot of posters are missing the point. At high levels, work is about responsibility, not "busyness". I used to earn around £120k before retirement and my job was about making things happen, not doing them. That meant steering and supporting large numbers of people to move the business forward while also trying to ensure they were personally successful, and also negotiating priorities with other parts of the business. It took 20 years of experience, high level skills and a willingness to absorb a lot of stress.

A lot of it was about modelling resilience and positivity when I didn't always feel it. Leaders cast long shadows, so a bad day is very visible.

I get that people in jobs which pay less are also stressed, skilled and experienced. It's the big picture which matters here - primarily taking responsibility for redesigning the service, not delivering it.

Of course there are also niche skills which pay high. That's paying for scarcity and competitive advantage.

DH on £100k and does very little. Basically just sits at his desk and waits for a crisis which never happens.

I'm so jealous I'm on a little more pre match leave and am totally overloaded I dreamt about work and never finished anything it was so stressful ( public sector professional work

But if she has a mortgage and kids and is a single mum she will see less of that money than a single mum on 12k who is renting has per month to spend because of how our tax and benefits system works

Op I would get income protection insurance right now if you're worried about security

@tishtishboom

You've hit the nail on the head there. At my level I'm paid for a bit of both - my hands on niche skillset in the field, but also for guiding and supporting teams, modelling good practice, and containing stress and anxiety of the team, etc. And also, importantly: for making decisions and giving advice that ultimately my name will be cited against if anyone questions someone with, "why are you doing that / who told you to do that?" etc. Therefore I'm professionally accountable for the advice I give and I have to have the confidence to own those decisions if I'm ever challenged (which is thankfully rarely!)
Yet, as I've said, I've also been the hands on running around at a million miles per hour person, with a "me" above me giving me the same guidance I now give to others, and that point it was very much about my output and productivity. I've been on both sides over the past two decades and all in between!

No-one walks into a £200k job having done nothing in the years beforehand.

I started working professionally straight after uni in 2002, so this is my 22nd year of working. Both my maternity leaves were 7 months, and I've always worked full-time.

The hardest I've worked was probably the first 10 years, learning the profession, training and going into industry. In the early days the hours were long, and I was often away from home. Didn't have DC until after 35, due to meeting DP late, but also wanted to get to the C-Suite before stepping away for breaks, as it's easier to get back on at the same level if I'd needed extended time off.

Now, I'm not paid for time worked, I'm paid for the value add and delivery of objectives. Some days that means I work really hard for 4 hours a day, some days I work really hard for 12 hours, logging back in after DC have gone to bed. I manage my own time and generally work my time around DC needs, so I attend all school events, whereas I wouldn't have had that flexibility in the early days of my career.

I wouldn't say I'm any more or less deserving of a high salary than others in different sectors, I just happen to work in an industry (finance) that pays very very well, increasing as you get more senior.

I think this is all well and good and I agree but I don’t think the OP has mentioned about this kind of strategic oversight.

A very good point made by a PP that most of us on high salaries spent years getting the experience that means we're paid well now. I have been doing what I do for 30+ years and so my experience is what I'm paid for.

Firstly I think it's worth pointing out that front line public sector work is not adequately funded and so care workers, social workers, nurses, doctors and teachers have unrealistic expectations put on them which means they have too much work to do and so end up working crazy hours. If there was more staff they'd be able to have a better work life balance. Nobody should be look at the hours a junior doctor works and think that should be the norm. We should all be able to have a good work life balance (whatever that means to us).

Secondly, there's a big element to higher paid jobs of being able to handle uncertainty and pressure. I'm sure all of us know people who are hard workers and good at their job but who struggle to cope when things go wrong and either fall apart with stress or take it out on others. Or who are really good at the details but take forever to make a decision. A higher salary is often about being able to cope in situations that others can't. It's difficult to generalise though because in some jobs a £60K salary is for managing delivery but in others it's strategic and those are different skill sets.

£70k + and maybe I'm super busy 4 hours a day BUT if something comes up in the evening / past 6pm I tend to go and do it

YANBU.
I work in science on 27k and am always busy. Rushing round like a headless chicken sometimes.
My partner owns his own IT company. He has a few calls in the morning and some stuff to do in the afternoon but he often has a 3 hour lunch break and his day seems very relaxed.
He says you get to a level where you get paid for what you know rather than the hours you work.
It seems quite lucky to me but I don't think it's usual in WFH.

Nurse. Work in intensive care, worked in A&E before. Work full time, don’t sit down on my shifts, lucky to get a couple of breaks in (usually miss out on one). Earn 28k a year before tax. Mentally and physically exhausted.

@NewPririt if you don’t mind I’ve PMed you to ask you a quick career related question 🙏

Are you in the civil service OP?