To think salary is very low for this job ad

[Jobseeker0]

FTC job ad I just came across has a salary of £25,063 based in Kings Cross

I get that it’s a junior role but is it just me who thinks 25k is very low for this London based role? It’s really getting me down as I have a degree and a few years experience including placement year but most jobs I see pay very little and are still extremely competitive to land. I’m fighting for jobs that will barely cover my essential bills, and will require me to get a second job.

“We’re seeking a coordinator to support the successful delivery of multidisciplinary projects at the (x), working closely with project, delivery, finance, and discipline leads in a fast-paced, agile, and collaborative environment. Ideal for an early-career professional or graduate eager to develop new skills, this role focuses on overseeing project-level requirements, aligning processes, managing delivery tools, and coordinating resourcing and financial aspects of successful project delivery.

Key responsibilities

Manage and coordinate project delivery with cross-functional teams across various disciplines.
Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and meet established goals.
Working with the project team to ensure focus on the quality of outputs and how the work we do best reflects the values of the (x).
Actively engage in continuous improvement initiatives, including retrospectives and delivery team meetings.
Coordinate meetings and manage project resources.
Develop and maintain collaborative and positive relationships with internal and external stakeholders through effective communication and engagement.
Provide clear monitoring and reporting to clients when required, covering project-level deliverables and key performance indicators.
Monitor effectiveness across project work-streams and provide administrative support as needed.
Perform financial tracking, budgeting, and reforecasting activities.
Encourage agile ways of working and efficiencies across the (x).
Other ad hoc duties as required.
Provide backup support for Business Support when they are on leave, such as handling receptionist duties.”

Seems to be quite a long list of responsibilities too…
(I’m a struggling job seeker so appreciate I’m no expert)

Very true!

@SalmonOnFinnCrisp
Yes the relationship between pay and other costs haa meant real stagnation in living standards in the last 30 years. And no wages have not kept up.
But politely te statement that People in their 50s were earning this as a grad salary 30 YEARS ago is just not true.
I know this because I am that cohort I earnt £12600 (with a master's and very niche/specialist training in a ludicrously competitive industry). Husband earnt 10k. The only people I new earning more went into grad schemes in investment banking or trainee management consultants in McKinsey etc. Maybe the civil service fast stream was a bit more generous?
If you want decent starting salaries and fast earning progression those big consultancies and investment banks are still the way to go. Word of warning though... I've watched people being eaten up by those companies, burn out, breakdowns, relationships fucked, trapped in an attendant lifestyle that costs a fortune with very little intrinsic job satisfaction.
There's a middle ground... Choose a career that doesn't have too low an earning ceiling that can be done outside of London. Make best effort to progress as quickly as possible whilst in London then move....
Op, what kind of field do you want to work in?

It is low for London but I also think it’s being made to sound more important/senior that it is- it’s essentially an admin role and 25k is about standard for that.

More and more jobs, especially charity jobs, are advertising shit salaries for jobs that paid more even 5 years ago. I've even seen jobs that would normally be well paid being advertised as full time volunteer roles. Its a piss take.
I blame Rachel Reeves.

Everyone says that minimum wage is "low" - and I get that it is not "high" but worth realising where it started from.

When it started in the late nineties, it was (IIRC) £4.00 per hour - and broadly equated to the wages that, for example, cleaners would have been earning before it came in - so a total of £8,000 per year.

Average full time earnings at the time were about £20k, so NMW was 40% of the average.

Now - average earnings are 38k.
NMW is just over £24k FTE - so 63% of average earnings.

That is a big proportional increase.

What it also means is that a huge proportion of jobs pay the NMW, and also there is flattening of pay progression.

My 1993 graduate salary in 1993 was £8k per year, which is about £17k now.

I would be tempted to go for an interview and give it your best shot. If they offer it to you - tell them you would really love the job but you need 35k.
If you impressed the right people enough they may go to HR and say this is the right person, we need this person - but we can't hook them in on 25k. Nothing ventured, nothing gained ?

I would be interested in what you consider too demanding. Two graduate trainees who look similar on paper can be worlds apart attitudinally and in terms of the quality and volume of their work. Unsurprisingly, those are the people you think of first in terms of opportunities to progress.

@Jobseeker0
AHH I think from your update project management? So...top tip. Everyone forgets that the NHS needs businesses analysts, project coordinators, IT roles etc (and admin staff of course). Go to NHS jobs, type a location and outter travel limit and maybe 'project' in the search term. You can then set up a search and it'll email you when things come up. The NHS is transparent with pay and the recruitment process is very regimented (loads information online about this). Most trusts make heavy use of the apprenticeship levy so once your in you can work your way up. Also (see my previous post), if you need to move the NHS is nationwide.....

Unfortunately we are heading towards a modern day serfism where you toil for the privilege of a roof over your head and some cheap food and clothing. All the while the 1% get richer.

Bottom line is that it’s an admin role. Only you can decide if it’s worth it to get the experience so you can move on to something more. It’s not your final salary. Agree it’s not good. My eldest has started on £30k as a grad in London. Not great but it’s getting the experience to move on: his expectation is he’ll be on about £80 within 5 years so the fairly low salary is worth it longer term

Reading between the waffle, the job description suggests they are looking for an admin assistant with little or no experience. Which is why the pay is low.

Where I work (also in London) they are not replacing people who leave and if they have to replace someone they are trying to get someone cheaper. They are trying to keep the Salary bill down as much as possible in order avoid more redundancies and keep the business going. We are a global company that is doing very well in other countries but they won't keep us open if we aren't profitable in the UK.

I’m currently advertising for a similar job but based in the north. It’s the same salary so yes, for London that’s very low.

I was on £34k in 2000, a few years after graduating. I bought a flat that year in south London (West Dulwich) for £96k. The sums all added up. Imagine that now…

Oh I absolutely am outraged by the low salarys now.
This was entry level salary in the year 2000. 26 yeara ago. I started on this salary in 2000 with a 15k bonus on top and a company credit card, subsidised canteen and a bunch of perks.
Everything has gone up so much 24k is now like earning 12k back then.

Yes, that’s a ridiculously low salary and it’s crazy that starter London jobs aren’t paying much more than 20 plus years ago.

I’m really interested in the reasons behind this and wondering whether it will continue, change for the better or worsen? I think it’s largely because these days, many young people/graduates continue to live at home for longer, so can take jobs which wouldn’t cover their independent living costs, so employers get to hire decent candidates on low wages because of fierce job competition.

I remember looking for a grad scheme when I graduated in 1999, despite having no internship or presidency of some student society I landed one easily with a well known financial services provider( household name) on 17k with my professional post grad masters fully funded as part of the scheme. I applied to around 50 schemes, interviewed for maybe 8 and got an offer 2 months after I started looking.
We used to put on parties in clubs and I used that for my star examples!

Seems almost the bigger the establishment, the crappier the wages….
I'm looking to retire soon, maybe go semi for a while so about a year ago was looking at the part time jobs etc just for an insight.
i read a role for a part time/ rota all in job for a prestigious university near me. Sounded interesting. - was as a “housekeeper” role, but more on the admin, management & finance side. As I read it you also needed to be a student mentor, first aider, emergency contact (requiring you to be on call, possibly 24/7) team organiser and basically do everything involved with the running/hands on for the student accommodation. Then I read it was paying only a knats c*ck above min wage…….disgusting, but I suppose it’s assumed to be a mainly female role, so there it is.
im happy to do a min wage, part time jobs etc for a while….maybe in a supermarket or similar ..but that pay was insulting for those responsibilities!

Agree that's taking the piss. Someone will probably apply maybe thinking that it will be a stepping stone to better things.

As pp said at least the salary is advertised. I hate it when this isn't the case.

Have also seen jobs where the location is not disclosed. Why those employers think that's acceptable is beyond me.

A few years ago I was trying to recruit into a similar job but way out of London where wages are much lower.... but for 25k. No one wanted the job (perhaps due to location too) because it seemed like a huge role for little pay. My employer was certain that people would be biting their arm off for such a job - despite the recruiter telling them they would need to bump it up by at least 5k if they wanted someone decent.

The job market is ridiculous. I'm early 40's and trying to return to work after a gap to have children/self-employment and I'm having to look at an apprenticeship paying £16k just to get back into employment.

I earned more when I was 16 and could walk into any job I applied for.

I suspect that job spec has been written to sound like a more impressive role than it is. Note the reference to covering receptionist duties? I suspect they want an administrator but are also being greedy and want a graduate and know they won't get many apply. "Project management" seems to be the latest catch all phrase for a bit of an admin dogsbody.

Just don't apply for it. Also don't apply for roles that didn't require a degree 20 years ago, as they won't generally pay grad salaries now, they simply ask for grads to reflect the higher number of people flushing out of low ranked unis in their thousands.

Look for something where you train for a proper profession like accounting

Some of these jobs will end up breaking the law due to minimum wage legislation if the person ends up doing any unpaid overtime.

I do agree it’s better to think of long term prospects. Bit cheesy but one of those LinkedIn posts (sometimes bs engagement farming but this post stuck in my head lol) mentioned ideally you should be earning and learning in a job, but not to worry if you're not earning as much, just prioritise learning new things in a job.

I’m not learning much in current role which embarrassingly I’ve been at for 3 years now, no progression opportunities and hiring freeze in this area of company. 🫠 I get paid more than this ad but because I’m not learning anything new or progressing in 3 years I’m willing to take a pay cut if it opens up more opportunities for later on (I think my limit would be 28/9k)

In this case don’t think I’d gain enough meaningful experience to make up for salary

Relative started on 30k at small SaaS company and 2 years later earns 60k at same place. Didn’t have to interview for promotion either, simply meeting targets was enough (I’ve exceeded mine in all my jobs)

Also going from 30k to 80k in 5 years would be amazing, best of luck to your DC. May I ask what industry/role this is

What is an EA please? Guess PA is personal assistant ?

They might be looking for different things though. A junior role like this they are looking for someone with enough experience in exactly the same role to be able to walk in and do the job right off. For a graduate scheme they should be looking for someone with potential to learn, grow and eventually run the company. A more mature graduate who took the initiative to do a degree by choice rather just because they had reached 18 might be just what they are looking for. Tell them that!