AIBU to think many Mumsnet posters seem to be high earners?

[Jane143]

AIBU to think that the majority of people on MN seem to be high earners? As a guide, income over £60k? Most people I know in real life earn closer to average wage which I think is around £35k

I think much of the disconnect comes from some people believing that high earners are a different species. In reality there really isn’t that much difference between someone earning 50k and someone earning 250k. I’ve earned below the lower limit and above the upper limit of that range but was still the same person throughout. I’d argue my lifestyle didn’t even change that much either.

Im not sure this can be entirely true, for example on 50k (unless you had a high earning partner) would be nigh on impossible to send kids to private school. A 5k holiday would be 10% of your gross income, Paying 1k for a mortgage would be more than a third of your take home pay etc

Someone on 250k would likely either live in a more expensive house/area or have a lot more disposable income for extras such as holidays, hobbies, eating out etc
And i think (in some cases) its comments like that, which people can be bemused by. Even taking into account the higher tax brackets and losing personal allowance someone on 250k is likely to take home 3-4x as much as someone on 50k....and thus have more choices for just about anything.

That isn’t true. If a huge company decides to open a head office in London and brings in some American execs who all earn big salaries then they pay tax and pay for cleaners, taxis, restaurants and create jobs for people below them. That’s why countries what foreign investment. You have clearly never lived in a country like South Africa where of a foreign company leaves thousands of people are very badly affected.

The idea that having a hierarchy where senior management earn more than those below them is bad for those below them is ridiculous. I know people who have worked as PAs for bankers in London earning upwards of £60k and they only had to go into the office twice a week and were only working for about 5 hours some days. When the MD they covered was on work trips abroad there was literally nothing to do.

No hostility intended

Wow!!! I had no idea

All of us, including the low paid

What I have noticed since joining fairly recently, after seen a few threads regarding incomes of posters, is the odious belief that they put in extra effort at school or whatever, unlike the lower earners, who it is inferred, did not apply themselves.
Tell that to my friend, who earns a little over minimum wage, caring for young adults with disabilities. Blood, sweat and tears is certainly ‘effort’. Just one example. I despise arrogance.

I see this a lot on here too. If you are a low earner, it is because you must have fucked about in school.
Without the people in the low earning jobs, the country would grind to a halt.

Nursing, teaching, caring, volunteering etc etc is all worthwhile

Even if you read this thread, you'd think 100k jobs were ten a penny and achievable, or even available for everyone! (And thats its basically the average salary for London)

If you read any threads about people earning 6 figure (and then some) salaries its all because they worked hard, took risks, had drive, took opportunities.....but i think in many cases (not all!) there is an element of natural aptitude for something, potentially a private education, networking or chance/good fortune as well as being hard working and driven, but that is often left out.

The more you earn the more flexibility, generally, because you're paid for holding risk more than just your time. Plenty of people will use that flexibility to fanny about on Mumsnet.

I wouldn't class £60k as a high income, as a single mother living in the south east! My mortgage payments are huge and I get no maintenance from my child's father. My friends in couples are much better off but as a single person, I'm not rich. I do find it amazing the number of posters who can afford £10k on a summer holiday 🤯

Top surgeon isn’t where the money is. My friend in finance I’m sure earns triple a senior doctor at least - and she’s not at a top/high pressure company but has been there over 15 yess

there is also a bit of a weird attitude to school and uni as if it’s all that dictates your future.

ive seen weirdly often “my husband is 52, a first from Oxford and 30 years experience and can’t get a job” what sort of 52 year old thinks an employer cares about their degree?!?

or I have 3 degrees and a PhD and only earn £32k - er, yeah well clearly you aren’t in a high paying role or discipline. Why would you earn any more than that?!

You asked if people in finance earning £400k did anything worth while.

a nurse works as a nurse. A finance person works as a finance person. Why should the latter do “worthy” things in their spare time?!

TBH OP YABU for posting this when it's been done many times

DH and I each earn about £70K but I don't consider us high earners. To me over £100K is a high earner but I appreciate we are comfortable and earn more than average.

Most people we know earn the same or more than us as we work in certain professions.

So is working in the financial sector, and doing your job well enough to earn a £200k bonus.

People on higher salaries probably have more freedom than people on minimum wage I would guess.

I'm at the senior end of a long career in my field, supposedly at the top of my game, leading a team and earning £48k. My role is frequently and sentimentally described as a 'vocation', the presumption being that I'm somehow doing my job for the love of it and for the societal good it represents. I do a lot of good, and my work supports some of the most vulnerable people in society, but the 'rewarding' aspect of my work is hardly rewarding. For the last week, I've averaged 4 hours sleep per night, bookended by work.
On MN, I often feel like a huge under-achiever, wondering whether my energy would have been better spent in a different, more generously remunerated sector.

I see a lot of posts saying they’d be better off giving up their job and going on benefits. So there must be a whole benefit structure I’ve not heard of where you can get £200k a year!!

It’s a site with a high standard of written English, and (usually) comprehension so I don’t think it’s a surprise that attracts people who are more likely to be educated, and higher earners.

i know not every high earner is educated, and vice versa, but on average there is a strong correlation

Then in another breath complain they can't get benefits if they have more than £16k in savings. They did "the right thing" by saving, and are now "punished" for it.

I’ve never earned over £25k but I do work 30 hours and get the same job done as my colleagues that work 37 hours., I’m an efficient fool.

Well said. It upsets me that some people really believe someone on 350K compared to my 35K is doing ten times the work or ten times smarter.

I do tough work in the wildlife conservation sector that is highly competitive to get into, but simply not a well-funded area as it doesn't make big companies money to protect the environment. In hindsight I should have done something better paying, but someone has to do this job either way.

That’s one example. And wow that’s a very boring way to earn £60k and my mind boggles at such waste in an organisation. Anyway I didn’t say the senior executives shouldn’t be paid more. But the gap between top earners and median salary workers has increased. And There are plenty of employers paying wages that cannot be lived on so the state tops them up.

Really admire you, especially as the fruits of your efforts must sometimes take years to make an impact 🌎, but imagine there is immense job satisfaction along with it.