To ask how you've reached a high salary? 50k+

[Redvelvetdreams1]

I'm on 29.5k which is the most I've ever earned in my life, and I'm 34. I have a degree and a PGCE but here we are.
I'm never going to be a millionaire, but I just don't feel like I'll ever know what it's like to be well off. I live alone too but fortunately only have myself to support.

I'm an EO in the Civil service, which i hate. I'm not trying to be rich, but I'd just love to have a comfortable salary and be able to save comfortably, go on proper holidays and not just a £19.99 ryanair flight (I know I'm lucky to even do that) afford to learn to drive, and just know what it's like to not have to check my bank account daily and count every penny.

However I know this is the reality for most people. Maybe I can go back to teaching and try to make it up to SLT, but school behaviour is horrendous these days which is why I left.

I'm just feeling a bit lost. I know I'm lucky to even have a job, but without sounding arrogant I considered myself as intelligent, I gained qualifications, can speak other languages and a lot of people my age are earning quite a bit more than me.
Just interested to hear anyone's stories and any advice on where to go from here.

50k is more than achievable as a teacher and behaviour isn't bad in all schools. Just be selective about where you apply and insist on knowing what the school behaviour policy is in advance (anywhere with a centralised detention system is generally relatively good).

We have a lot of teachers apply to join the civil service when we recruit. I’d be wary personally of teaching, lots of extra hours without pay.

@Redvelvetdreams1 No promotion prospects? I earned a lot more than that in relative terms when I left the Civil Service.

I'm also 34, I earn just over £32k, but for me this is absolutely fine. Okay I do have a DH who earns more than me, although only 15k more, but for me this kind of job role is fine. I'm not the most junior in my team. Nor am I the most senior. I have a degree and another qualification which got me into this field of work, but I'm not overly ambitious. I'm quite happy to have this semi-career type job.
Remember that a job is not just a salary, but what suits your life.

I work for a very large publicly funded organisation with lots of opportunities for progression. I started on £30k when I was 28, got a promotion 3 years later to £45k, then another promotion 4 years later to £64k (plus £6k car allowance). With yearly pay increases I am now on £76k plus £6k. There is an annual bonus (not guaranteed) - last year mine was £8k.

I worked hard in each role, put myself forward for any opportunities (even when I didn't think I was ready) and did alot of self learning both about subject areas and business/management

Changing industry and company! I found my diary from 2021 the other day and on the 1st Jan I was earning 30.5k having been at a professional services firm for around 5 years - I took a sideways move into another department then a promotion and was on 40k when I left in spring 2023. I moved to a legal firm for 65k, then recently moved to a better firm for £87k (after 18 months in a job). I just turned 31. I will stay put for a while now as the maternity package is excellent and I can see myself being happy here. I don’t want too much job hopping on my CV however if I hated it I would move. I really believe in selling yourself in the interview (you know way more than you think you do!) and usually leaving company gets your more money than long years of service! Find an excellent recruiter with links into places you’d like to work and they generally give you CV advice also - start on LinkedIn. My experiences are private sector.

If your in the ctu you are training at the moment and haven't actually started the role yet. They are taking on so many as they need the people in the roles not because people are leaving. If you do hate it then you can always look for another role but until you are out of training how are you going to know?

Who do you work for? Asking for a friend 👀

I started in the civil service as an admin officer. I retired 15 years ago at a salary of 50K+. Of the 39 years I worked there, I spent 14 of them at a local office, because I was a single parent and couldn't really travel.

After my child was old enough, I moved to a Regional Office and then to a Head Office.

You could, if you have fewer restrictions than I had, make that salary jump much quicker than I managed.

Earning £30k is a piece of cake and it's not difficult to earn £40 to £50k either. I'm a Housekeeper and there are loads of jobs paying £40k plus. You get some experience under your belt and then go and work in a big house or estate. The sky's the limit if you become a Manager or Head of for UHNW individuals. Likewise as a Nanny. You can often live in too, still with a £40k salary, which gives you plenty of disposable income. Same with all the trades too. Plumbers etc earn way more than £50k if they're willing to put the hours in and graft. You don't always have to be in professions or corporate roles to earn decent enough money.

HMRC is huge with plenty of vacancies. You don't need experience to progress in the civil service as such, more to be able to think and make sensible decisions.

What degree do you have? Do you qualify for any of the science professions (statistics, economics, operational research, data science)? The all start on HEO with progression to SEO in a few years.

Otherwise get on the tax professional program. It's hard work but will get you to G7 then after a few years you segue to a consultancy on mega bucks.

I'm on £49k as a teacher-top of the pay scale, not SLT and no TLR.

I bloody hate it though 😂

Job hopping is how you get ahead. Maybe it's different in schools but in the private sector it's normal and you often have to leave a company to move up.

Completing a masters degree.
Also, keeping an up to date portfolio detailing evidence of continuing professional development. I’ve found that this is viewed favourably when applying for promotion. Especially when other candidates simply expect years of experience to be enough.

Trained in a niche profession, set up my own consultancy, created my own way of delivering something a lot of people wanted at a fair price, worked 60-80 hours a week for 20 years....

Analyst here. No work out of hours. I'd have a look at Analyst jobs on LinkedIn. I have loads of teacher friends who earn far less than me and suffer a lot with stress. Unless you want to do teaching I would not recommend. My teacher friends said if they worked out all the hours they work in a week they are on less than minimum wage. They work evenings and weekends prepping and marking work.

Take a look at education positions in local authorities. There's a variety of different roles, usually with a good flexible working policy, too.

That’s what I told my kids, don’t go into teaching as all the unpaid hours means you’re earning less than the minimum wage

I chose to work in the highest paid area of recruitment for the highest paying industry.

NHS manager (agenda for change)
Currently at 8c (74k)

31, grade 7 CS. To be honest, it’s been a lot of luck, working for managers who have been willing to give me a lot of experience and responsibility, but I’ve also moved jobs every two years (both internally and to different organisations).

I think the key is moving jobs every couple of years, particularly if you’re CS. I think there’s good progression in CS as you can move to so many different areas. It doesn’t sound like you’re quite in the right role in terms of your manager not being able/willing to facilitate giving you the necessary skills and experience to progress. When you’re able, I’d look elsewhere (either within the CS or alternatively look at local councils -I got a lot of experience in local authority before being able to move to a higher level CS role based on the experience I’d gained in LA roles)

I did unpaid work experience alongside my studies for about 5 years, then about 5 years of traineeships / apprentice schemes, and after a bit of (badly paid) freelancing I got a position at around 60k. It’s the way it works in my particular industry within arts & entertainment - you put in about 10-15 years of barely-paid work, and about 10% of those people end up in a salaried job. (The rest continue freelancing for just a little over what bills and food cost…)

Having said that - I still go on £19.99 Ryanair holidays and stay with friends or family for free because having a “decent” salary doesn’t mean I can afford to spend it however I want… I’m not able to pay £2-3k for a week somewhere luxurious - I’d need at least double my salary for this to become possible.

Edit to add - I am also regularly having to work 50-60 hours a week, although that is still way less than I did as a freelancer, as I don’t have to travel quite as often anymore (1-2 times a month instead of 4-6…).

I agree putting yourself forward and acting doing a part of a job above your pay grade is the only way, that way when a position comes up you have the experience. Harder in some industries I suppose but in my experience that’s the best way to show capability.

I'm a childminder and earn around 50k

Thanks for all replies. I'm willing to work more hours a week to earn more but sadly no overtime in my job. I'll keep looking and try my best, thanks.