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.

Chartered accountant. Qualified as chartered at 25, 3 years later on over £50k in a lower paid regional part of the UK. On pathway to partner so will be over £250k hoping by time I’m 35.

What do you teach?
Certain subjects (Maths, English and Science) it's easier to gain a TLR and move up to UPS due to the nature of the subjects.
If in primary, I wouldn't bother. You'll struggle to get a post in SLT or with a TLR after being out for a while.

I work in corporate sales training, in a SaaS org. The pay is higher than equivalent roles in other departments, because there's a certain element of risk in sales, especially in volatile fast paced industries. I've lost a job with no notice, but then ended up in a new job with higher pay. So there's always at least a small undercurrent of stress involved, but usually I can direct that to keeping me energised and enthusiastic at work. I quite enjoy what I do, and I'm very good at it, so the stress levels are manageable for me.

Bloody hell that's brilliant!

Good for you @Mummer123

Could you do private tutoring as a sideline alongside your full time job?

Yes I did this each time- stepped in for my boss whenever there was opportunity and generally got myself 'seen' by the senior management. Always made sure I was well prepped for meetings and tried to make sure I was adding value, not just sitting there

Happy where I am for now and not interested in my bosses position so am enjoying just doing my job for once (well apart from studying part time for an MBA 😀)

Find a way to move into compliance/governance or similar

Have done it before but found it unreliable sadly, people quitting lessons etc

I'm at HMRC. If you want support with development and some advice about progression then feel free to PM me. There are tons of opportunities to progress in the civil service!

I'm in languages, but have also done SEN teaching 🙂

NHS manager, c. 80k at 33.

degree entirely unrelated, then 1 year gap year and 1 year random basic admin role before joining nhs 10 years ago as band 3 I think on 17k ish. Progressed every 18m to 2 years up the scales. 2 maternity leaves and Covid in that too.

Can you move to London? Get your foot in the door of a large financial organisation. Even some basic admin / PA roles pay 50k.
Once you’re in, you can move around and try and better your job or salary.

Moving companies is a real hassle, but the people I know who reach the highest salaries in their field move companies/jobs every 2 years. Sell your skills and move for a pay rise each time and you'll double your salary in no time

I earn £52K plus unsocial enhancemens of around £4K. I'm a nurse and have been for 14 years. I've just worked up the agenda for change bands and have just reached the top of band 7.

I am 26 years in the civil service, did a degree before I joined and other studies since (including a Masters), and have worked hard to go up through the ranks - sat at AP for 16 years in the middle which was frustrating. But the work has been varied and interesting, I've had times doing EU work (including Brussels travel) and times focussed on domestic matters (so no travel then).

I am in senior management now (although don't have "Secretary" in my title) and earn what I think is a very good salary. But have gone through the years of the "beans and rice" type diet on the way there.

I’m a similar age to you and have a decent salary. I’m a psychologist. This took 8 years of study and many years working very low paid jobs so I wouldn’t recommend it as a route to make money!

The job market is tough in general and most jobs are underpaid. I wish you the best OP.

I’m 35 (so similar to you) and earn £52,500 as a UPS3 teacher with a TLR for leading English (primary).
Still can’t afford to buy a house though!

I have always had partners that earned loads more than me. The difference is that I have always worked in the public sector, they have always worked in the private sector. If I had my time over again I would do law/finance, I'm too old to change now. My salary is £60k which when I was young would have seemed huge. It's a lot of money true but everything is soooo expensive now.

This has definitely been my experience. I went from 30k to 52k in 3 years that way.

I'm 37 and joined the Civil Service when I was 23 as an EO on about 19k. I've moved roles regularly, sometimes via sideways moves, to gain more experience and skills and I've just moved into a G6 role at 68k with lots of room now for pay progression. I work at home full time, have flexi hours, good leave entitlements (including mat leave) and a brilliant pension.

I've hated every single job role I've done after two months so I'd ordinarily say I'd be looking to stick it out for a few months more just to get a proper feel for the role... But that said, I've only heard negative things about HMRC 🙈. I'd start looking at internal Civil Service moves as it really can be a great place to work with loads of interesting work and potential for progression.

I'm almost at 50k 😂

I work in insurance

It's very boring, but well paid

The benefits are great too (pension, great insurance, obv 😉, decent hols, WFH)

SEN/SEMH teaching. Behaviour is highly challenging but there’s more support/infrastructure for it. Smaller classes, very little planning, next no marking. Plus SEN additional allowance.

At 34 I earned around 22k in a local government job, at 44 I earn 700 a day as an IT consultant. My biggest regret was staying too long in that position with no opportunity for advancement. Loyalty is rarely rewarded, moving and working away for good opportunities is how I've progressed.

You have to aggressively hunt for roles higher up the scale. You've only been in the current role for a couple of months but give it another 6 and then start applying for higher grade roles. That's what I have done anyway.
I did an art degree as a mature student. Prior to that I was earning decent money working as a freelance massage therapist but I needed a career break and didn't have excuse of children. So went to uni. After I finished my degree, I toyed with the idea of becoming an arts teacher but I had one experience day (which, luckily, was a prerequisite to applying for PGCE) and hated everything about it. So I used my skills and experience to apply to clinical masters. Started as band 5, moved up to band 6 at 9 months mark when an opportunity came up. I then wanted to move to a different city and to make it work I needed a band 7 role. So I ended up moving three grades up in my first 18 months. These opportunities didn't land on my lap. I had to seek them out. I've now been band 7 for three years and I got incremental salary increase. By the end of year 5 I will be at the top of the pay scale and can then make a decision about my next steps. I also run a small creative business to supplement my income so my combined salary + business profit were around 56k last year. Not amazing money but comfortable.

Maybe research companies in the Educational Tech sector or a software company that services the public sector