To wish i’d known when younger the importance of going into a career with money

[Watermelonlollies]

I don’t remember my parents stressing this to me.

I’m a teacher and used to have an okay lifestyle, got by happily and could have holidays and a few treats here and there.
Life isn’t like that now, as i’m sure it isn’t for many.

I’m not materialistic in any way, but as I’ve got older it’s really dawned on me the importance having money makes and I wish i’d gone down a different path

Does anyone feel the same and do/will any of you be expressing this to your kids?

I worked in teaching and was miserable on £35k a year. I retrained as a lawyer in a niche I had an aptitude for, and less than 10 years in I am on well over £100k, rarely working over 40h weeks, with no trips away from the family, and a friendly and supportive team who don't make me feel like s**t. I came from a family full of idealistic public servants and so it was very much not modeled to me that it is acceptable or even desirable to leverage your earning potential to maximise your return for your efforts.

something happens to teachers that they honestly seem to believe no one else works outside 9 to 5. It’s bizarre. And they become ‘holiday blind’

I think it’s because a lot of teachers haven’t experienced anything else. Life has gone school > university > back to school.

Given that teachers are ones educating and providing career advice it does feel like they should be more aware of different careers/expectations etc.

i do believe teachers work really hard and that it is a very valuable and difficult job but it’s crazy how so many teachers think they work so much harder and longer hours than everyone else.

If you are able to tell us what career you are in, that pays well, without long hours, and with a good work-life balance, that would be so helpful. It is so difficult to know how to advise my dc - the general feeling running across the majority of posts in this thread is that potential salary is so so important when making decisions.. but, in terms of going into finance or law (which seem to be the options with the big salaries), I am not sure it’s possible for a square peg to fit into a round hole… and I have been in the situation myself of having invested time and effort to get into a certain career, only to realise (early on, but with too many years already invested in study and training) that I found it unbearable, and incompatible with good mental health..

A teacher is not a bad salary, and a great pension, so all told OK.

Yes, this is why it matters. But that doesn't make it ok - we can't really have a functioning society if everyone's a banker or a software engineer!

Complete choice. We tend to start the buying process quite far in advance- we are about to start scoping out 2027 trends (I'm in homewares not Fashion)

The problem is that the jobs that provide those things today may not in 5-10-20 years time. As an example AI may be able to do a number of jobs in the legal profession, which will devalue these in terms of salaries (ie if there are mass redundancies and a resulting excess of solicitors , then employers will be able to pay less for these roles). It is quite hard to predict how the job market will evolve. I would say trades such as plumbers or electricians are lucrative nowadays, and likely to become even more so as AI replaces office jobs; however this wasn't apparent 20 years ago and these were not considered aspirational jobs by middle class parents

I do the same job as a much older relative who has now retired. Same salary structure - very comparable.

he owned a holiday home and a boat! Holidays were luxurious, cars were new and expensive.

while I do own a nice house and have a nice lifestyle, I am nowhere near his standard of living. He was three weeks to America every year plus a couple of European city breaks. I am a local holiday plus maybe one city break. No second home in Florida or boat in the local marina for me😂

and I drive a ten year old basic car. Which he looks at in horror!

I can resonate and I agree. Life is all about the money.
I grew up in absolute poverty on a council estate, not even a phone line. My mum didn't work and my dad had a minimum wage job. Life was just crap due to lack of money. I knew I wanted a different route. I thought going to uni and being a teacher would be good until I realised it is crap pay. Back then there was no careers advice, no Internet and I didn't even know what a business was.
After my degree, working in a few nurseries, crap pay. I set up a business and learnt along the way. I have 2 children and I am telling my eldest, get a job with a high salary, money is like oxygen. Since making money, life is good, I can buy things for my children, amazing holidays, not broke all the time. Money buys happiness and I never want to be in poverty like I was as a child. Rather be dead then go through that again.
I read investing and business books. Teacher salary is poverty in my area, I couldn't get a mortgage on 50k which is sad. Times are different and it all comes down to money. Most of my friends are getting handouts and inheritance giving them a big leg up in life.
Money is like dettol, it kills most of your problems. It gives you freedom. I make decisions based on money unfortunately not passion. I earn more delivering leaflets then a teacher. Working smart not harder. I never heard of investing when I was a child. I am using my degree in areas of my business.
Do not under estimate the importance of money, without money, life is not worth living.

You can get your salary to a decent level in a teaching career, you need to take on additional responsibilities though. I think this is the same in most careers.
Can you start to look at NPQ quals and start taking on more leadership ops?

What does your husband do?

I think at most, about 50% of teachers went straight into teaching and the rest had other careers first or were mature students.

I work in the commercial property industry and my degree was vocational. There’s a huge variety of types of jobs across the industry and obviously salaries. I started in consultancy, and then moved across to client side. My husband has always been consultancy and now owns his own business.
Would I recommend someone come into the industry now? I’m not sure in a post Covid world with the industry changing so much, but there will always be a need for property so I think there’s some longevity in the industry. I typically work 9-6, I can count on one hand the number of random weekends I’ve had to work in 14 years.

Well I did stress this to my children constantly, did they as teenagers take any notice of me? No of course not.
They both have average salary jobs but have taken the wise decision to live in relatively cheap parts of the country so they can afford housing on average salaries. Is that an option op; they need teachers all over the country.

The average teacher is working around 50-60 hours per week.
By this reckoning, many of us are not earning much above minimum wage when calculated as an hourly rate.

I think my parents would have seen teaching as a decent professional job. It isn't until recently that you need to be super big cheese Megabucks to buy a house, car, some holidays, have a decent retirement etc.

@Watermelonlolliescommunications for a global company. Great job, decent salary, much travel.

That's something must kids are just not aware of. Our 2 boys are both in the armed forces... but they've both completed Masters degrees in computer science area before enlisting. Our family have been in army/baby going back generations, and my DH too. We insisted on Uni prior to any of that.

I did teaching post PhD at Uni, but the salary, conditions, stability, etc, was a problem. Luckily I moved to industry. Lots more stress, lots more work, having to relocate a few times, but I was paid very well... and interesting work too.

You can advise younger kids and adults? But do they listen? Not in my case!

typo .. army/navy ..

I had the opposite experience with my parents. They were Indian immigrants in the 1970s, very little money or knowledge about careers etc but they worked all hours in a corner shop and their priority was making sure my sisters and I had a good education. I loved history at school and wanted to study it at university but i remember my Dad saying that the only job I’d be able to get was as a teacher! I was instead ‘encouraged’ to study law, which I found ok but didn’t love. Had a reasonably successful career as a city lawyer, which was stressful at times, but manageable. When I turned 40, I had long covid, kids wasn’t on the agenda and I realised I had built up enough savings and had a decent investment flow set up (all funded through my career), mortgage paid off etc so have decided to quit and go back to uni to study history! I’m so grateful though that my parents did emphasise the importance of financial stability, my life is far less stressful than it would have been otherwise.

Yes! My parents sent me to a crap school because it was the closest ones. I was told “university isn’t for you” and left school at 16. I had no idea what my options were and just fell into admin work, most of which I’ve hated.

I got an English degree in my late 30s/40s when my children were young and I worked PT. During COVID I decided to change and work in education now where I’m very happy. I feel like I’ve found my role and my ‘people’ with my lovely student and colleagues. However I’m nearly 50 and it’s taken me this long! I had NO careers guidance and am not materialistic. However I’ve had to learn how to manage money myself and it’s always been a struggle.

I’ll never own my own house or be able to give my children a legacy, We get by but I never knew how impossible it is to get by without a ‘proper’ career. My Dad worked the same job for 40 years and my mum did little jobs for ‘pin’ money. Neither of them ever talked to me about my future or gave me any support in any way.

Consequently yes I totally express this to my kids and am going through all the options they have before them. I’m still not remotely materialistic but I hope I’ve impressed on them that money and savings are important. My life would’ve been so much easier if I’d been given ANY information about having a career and working on my strengths. I’m nearly 50 and exhausted from having to do everything the hard way. I absolutely do not want this for my children!!

I think you’re being too hard on yourself.
the cost of living crisis is insane now meaning of course it feels like we have much less.
I would say, think of the other things you’ve gained. Ie time. Often those with much higher paying jobs, have less time and more stress. I’ve always worked in charity and although less well paid, I have much more time and no stress and fully enjoy my job

I've seen it from both sides, and I far prefer an interesting job and more time to myself. Most go getter careers involve far longer hours than being a teacher, so you might not have enjoyed a more ambitious path.
Attitude to money is important when choosing a career- but your parents aren't responsible for forming it, you form your own attitudes and make your own decisions.

No. I don't feel like this. I was in a job that was well paid. Monday to Friday 9-5. Bonus. Had good progression, benefits and I would likely be on at least by now 200,000 if I stayed and worked my way up. BUT I hated it. I used to sit all weekend dreading Monday. The anxiety was huge. I would cry regularly. I just couldn't stand being there.

I am now a midwife. Baseline salary is £45,000 as I'm in London amd will go up to £50,000 this year as I go up a pay point but in reality with working nights, weekends and overtime (I work on average 48-60 hours a week) I am on around £70,000 so not terrible but I work HARD for it. But I love it. I wouldn't want to do anything else. I get excited for work. It has been 6 years now and of course I have down days but I wouldn't sacrifice it for a higher paying job.

I want my kids to do something they are excited by. Of course I would love them to be paid well for it but for me I think job satisfaction baring in mind most of your waking life is spent there is so important.

I recently had lunch with a fellow retired nurse, and her life-long friend came up in conversation.

These two women came to the UK together around 50 years ago - my friend went into nursing and her friend went into accountancy. My friend has retired on her NHS pension and a couple of smaller private pensions from various earnings, after earning a modest salary all these decades.

Her friend worked for one of the Big Four on a huge salary and has now retired on a huge pension - I bet the difference in career choice wasn't so obvious 50 years ago!