Does anyone here have an ‘average’ job with an average wage?

[gummybearrr]

A weird thread I know but, whenever I see posts on here about income, jobs, wages, I’m just in awe, people earning 100k+ (I don’t think I know anyone who earns that??) and there seems to be so many, all with really good jobs too, no debt, owns their own house, I mean - good for your you’ve worked hard for this, that’s my dream but unfortunately not yet..

so, is anyone here like me? Never really had ambition to do anything when I was younger. I work in retail on checkout (or I did, I’m on maternity) earning min wage, Dh is a manager in retail and earns just a little above NMW but not by much, we have UC top up and private rent, we’ve nearly paid ALL our debt (yay)!!! But sadly don’t think home owning is something we will ever do, I do plan on going to college when DC is older to try and get a good job, (I don’t know what, I’m one of those people who want to do something good but with no clue as to what) but yeah, I class myself as extremely average, to which I’ve never really come across anyone really on Mumsnet!

this is not me slating these people - I wish I was you 🤣

Below average wage, I should say.
But I still love my job.

We have slightly less household income than this and have managed fine over the years. Got four DC, eldest 18yo. You just get on with it. I have been a SAHM for 17 years now.

I'm on carers allowance (which is a pittance), I care for my mum who has advanced Alzheimer's. Before that I was a PA for disabled people earning £15 per hour.

In a much previous life I was training as a dispensing optician with a view to becoming a partner within a franchise but my chronic health issues put a firm lid on that.

Such is life.

NC for this. Thank you for this thread. Exactly why I didn’t post on the other thread as I didn’t want my genuine post to be mislabelled, so I thought, why bother!

have found reading this thread interesting. What has stood out was a chorus of ‘ I don’t know anyone on 100k’.

to bring balance, I don’t know anyone on less than 120k.’

Isn’t there some indication, in there?

i am sure mn has diverse people and it is interesting reading different perspectives. One can also choose to avoid some threads by just looking at the title.

What does “average” look like to you? I only ask that because £30k total family income with children be incredibly difficult in south east

But there’s no one who doesn’t know a single person earning £100k if they engage in every day things like going to the dentist, having a GP appointment, giving birth or any other medical need under consultant care, sending children to a school where there is a Headteacher. People just like to pretend that £100k pay is so incredibly rare that anyone on MN claiming to earn anywhere near that is a “fantasist”.

Come off it.

Receiving a (tax-payer funded) service from someone on £100k is nothing ike knowing that individual well enough to understand their insights on purchasing power, home ownership, cost of living, or what kinds of debts they have.

And going to the doctor, dentist, or giving birth are hardly 'every day things' for most people.

Minimum wage is £25k these days

I think people mean they don’t know these people personally. Not that they never come into contact with higher earners.

Everyone meets people of those extremes in daily life.

The NHS consultant buys a Costa.
The Costa worker meets her kids headteacher.
The Headteacher collects her child from nursery.
The Nursery worker has coffee with her uni friend who runs her own business.

Each of those has a £100k+ worker meeting a less than £30k worker.

I agree that an average lifestyle is very subjective. There’s no way my social circles average lifestyle could be funded on £30k family income.

I earn a low wage - just over minimum wage, but I love my job so I don’t care. I work with children, spend lots of my day laughing and don’t have to work long hours/school holidays. Money isn’t everything.

I work in comms at a university and am on 28k. Wish I could earn more but the wages are quite low in this sector.

You’re getting £1300 a month in benefits?

I studied at evening classes after my degree, (as it wasn't very useful!), to get myself about the average pay bracket.

Have had to keep studying ever since. Kind of worn out tbh.

@hungrypanda4
Yes I am why?

£25,350 is what I'm on, DH is on £22,795.

I’m so intrigued by this, particularly having 4 kids! What are your outgoings if you don’t mind my asking?

we have less kids than you, but we both work. I’d have loved to have been a SAHM but it was just never an option for us.

Housing is fairly expensive where we are, both to buy and rent. Are you in a cheaper part of the country?

Mortgage free, was paid off years ago which helps massively to allow me to have been a SAHM all these years.

It hasn't been easy though. Three have been awarded disability benefits. Two have autism. So where we don't have the same money worries we do have a lot of health issues within the family.

Me
I don't't monkeys about money because it was never on my radar.
I am better working than not. So have always worked. My job is fun, beneficial to sociey and I'm good at it.
I wanted a home of my own ( but not particularly bothered about investment). I've got a HA property with lifetime lease.

Average is fine !

Ha ha ha, fuck sake. Nooooo, I previously worked in admin and earned around £18k-that is average for an admin role 🙄

That's not even minimum wage so definitely not 'average'!

As others have said. You’re not ‘average’, OP, but you are in plentiful company, even if it doesn’t seem online.

4% of workers in the UK earn £100k +, 6.5% are on minimum wage, and a whopping 50-60 % of employees are earning under £30k

Interesting you class that as an average wage. It’s all subjective though, your peers must be very high earners indeed!

I said previously, didn't specify when...