to ask what the "stereotypical 6 figure MN mum" does?

[TigerJoy]

And how can the rest of us get a job like that?!

I’m not saying they don’t earn over £100k but you don’t know what their overheads are etc.

When I worked for a consultancy my charge out rate was £245 an hour but I earned £49.5k.

Someone I know who earns about £120k a year at 34 only has GCSE’s (and average ones at that) and no further academic qualifications, they never went to college or university. Came from a single
parent working class family, state school etc. They started work in a call centre at 16, worked in various ‘data analysis’ style roles for a few years then met a colleague who was a day rate contractor making big money in a niche part of cyber security but doing a role that didn’t require specific qualifications at the time, just good excel skills and being a quick learner! They decided to give it a go themselves; never been out of work or struggled to get a contract since as they’re now very experienced in this specific area. Sometimes it’s seeing and going for the right opportunities at the right time.

So "hard slog" is necessary but not sufficient.

That can't be news to you, surely?

Haha. We wish. Starting salary for an analyst is mid to high 30’s in Big 4.

All the pay is concentrated at the partner level

Mix of state and privately educated.

Cambridge degree.
Russell Group Masters.

Worked since I was 16.

Age 41.

Earned 28k last year (1 p/t job 2 days at 45k pro rata plus p/t lecturing at post-92 uni), plus c.11k self-employment profit.

Three cheers for the arts!!!! 🤪

Interesting thread.

Nothing to add except some of the jobs referenced are definitely closer to 7 figures (MC partner, CFO of a large company, Investment banking if senior).

There does seem to be an ignorance amongst some MNetters as to how much some people can earn (especially London-based professionals aligned to Law & Finance).

It ramps up pretty quickly. A manager in advisory at the Big 4 will hit £100k with bonus. They would be mid-late 20s if they joined straight from uni.

From that they have to deduct an enormous amount:

non billable work

Weeks not earning

bill write offs if clients don't pay

substantial overheads - staff costs, building costs, big insurance costs, practising fees, marketing

I'd hazard a guess they are earning more like £50k (might be wrong, it's a long time since I was in private practice), certainly well south of 100k

I know Senior Managers on less than 100. I’d like to meet Managers on more than it

I should clarify that is in strategy advisory

City lawyer - f*cking hard work. Now three children, two with significant medical needs to make it all way more complicated. Still infuriates me that I have to pay our nanny twice what the incredible nurses that care for my children earn.

Senior software architect for a huge tech company. Focusing on automation and AI/ML.

State school, CompSci degree, PhD, startup, got acquired, got acquired, got acquired again. So made out like a bandit on the RSUs on each acquisition in addition to the salary.

Would love to say it was all down to my own hard work but it was mostly dumb luck and being in the right place at the right time and hitting the sweet spot on the latest hot technology.

Is it procurement? That is my field and I love it but working up the ladder, want to know the way to more $$$

Did a shite leaving cert -mother actually cried - did a post leaving cert course to actually get a place in college 🤣 then ended up enjoying it way to much. eneded up finishing college slap bang into irelands biggest recession ever 🤣 manged to get a job in my field then made redundant surfed a bit fir a few years temping and short term contracts but still in different areas of what is studied so gained loads of experience..it required very long hours aswell as long comutes for shite money. missed some family events and nights out. worked 6 days a week in one job I remember. but all this helped me.build up expertise and resilience. now not earning 6 figures but getting close to it. Will be there in about 3 years I say. I also have a very flexible working week and a supportive husband. you need that drive and support. some people don't wnat to do that that's fine but for me and for my friends who are in same bracket it requires sacrifices perseverance and sheer hard work at the early end.

I do this, somewhat, and do really well from it whilst also having a lot of time flexibility which is beneficial as a single parent. I sometimes feel like I haven't lived up to my academic potential but those feelings pass quickly.

What do we think the high earning jobs will be in future? Will accountants and bankers be robots? Will robots be making the banker bots? DC are keen on law which feels like something a human should do?

Great to hear from the successful women of MN here 😊

Advisory, London.
Base of £75-90k, car allowance of £5-6k, 15-20% bonus (varies across the Big4).

I don’t know when you last discussed your SMs’ pay, but Big4 salaries stepped up during/just after Covid.

I agree that grads are on a pittance though. First year grads in London are on ~£34k. Compare that to lawyers and bankers and you can see why it’s so hard to attract decent talent at that level!

It's not easy! I work in data for a tech company, no kids of my own but my DH has kids. I worked like a dog for 20 years between around 25 when I found my niche and a couple of years ago when I'd settled into hopefully a very contributory role in the company I'm in.

But remember.... no kids of my own so I happily managed to work 50-70 hour weeks for most of the years when my friends were at soft play and finishing on time. I also took extra training and qualifications.

No regrets and I love my job but I definitely had to "work like a man" to get to where I was and that's in a very female friendly industry (now, not 15 years ago TBH)

Self employed Business Coach. Spotted a niche and learned to solve problems for people in the financial position to pay me well. Worked many 80 hour weeks though.

What within banking?

im in banking and finance and am middle/ snr and I earn about 60k mid 30s been. Am I in the wrong field?

im prop dev

Careers in finance,law,tech,corporate,some health. Well paid with bonus
With wrap round childcare, flexibility and willingness to put in the big hours with no interruptions
post grad with ongoing CPD and professional qualifications, willingness to move jobs and travel for role
usually have the accentless accent, kids at private school and will spend way out of ant eventuality

Not quite 6 figures but close.

Qualified as an accountant after a mediocre degree. My career has stagnated at various points but at the same time I kept accumulating experience and knowledge. By chance I stumbled into the systems wing of Finance. All that knowledge and experience counted for something as I am now a rare beast who understands double entry bookkeeping! AI has been replacing finance roles for decades but you do still need someone to tell the computer where to put all the debits and credits.

I’m a lawyer. Just hit £100k (outside of London so took longer than some).

I don’t work as hard as some lawyers because I chose my firm and practice area carefully in this regard. I’m sure my job is easier than being a nurse or teacher in many ways.

I think what can be difficult once you hit a certain level of seniority is that you are responsible for delivering a piece of work and it doesn’t really matter if it doesn’t fit into work hours or you’re busy etc. It’s very hard to just hand something over because you’re ill or your child’s ill or you have a day off. If my child’s ill I will tend to make up the time by working through the night. Hours targets aren’t adjusted for those sort of absences so you need to make up the time somewhere. You also have to be willing to ramp up to work very long hours if clients need that and that can be completely unpredictable.

And regardless of how busy you are or what’s going on at home you obviously have to maintain a professional standard. It is usual to be dealing with complex issues where getting something wrong could cost the client millions. This is of course most of the reason we’re highly paid - that paying a lawyer £500 an hour isn’t all that expensive if they can save you £50m.

Hard work is subjective. In my 20s I often worked through the night. In a bad week I might get 10 hours sleep Monday to Friday. I would crawl into bed alongside my (now) husband at 3am and wake up and leave the house before he woke up. I rarely work through the night anymore, but I still work very hard. On holidays, birthdays, anniversaries - I’ll never be far away from my phone. It’s not just long hours, it’s also sharp career focus and ambition (how can I make better connections, how can I make sure this client gives me their next piece of work, how can I progress to the next level).

In my 20s my friends thought I was mad. Frankly, I lost some friends over it. I have better friends now. I don’t know or care what any of them earn but I definitely earn far more. But bloody hell I’ve worked hard for it and anyone who questions that doesn’t understand what a high earning profession is like.

OP what age group are you looking at, as reference to your question?