What should someone with a degree, a masters and relevant work experience be paid?

[Indecisivelurcher]

Just wondering whether I'm justified in feeling a bit hard done by... Straw poll, what should someone at this level be paid?Degree, masters, 16 years relevant work experience, in a senior position in the team, not a line manage but work at that level to manage a team of 6, also lead on own projects. Interested how my sector compares.

Depends on the job. You can have all that and work in a call centre, or be a lawyer. You need to be more specific.

Not possible to state.

I was on £40k until two months ago when I job changed, I'm now on £31k.

I have friends the same age / education as me who vary from minimum wage to & 30k to CEO wages at £100k+.

I don't think there is a set value. It doesn't matter how much education and experience you have if the role you do has a ceiling wage. You have to find a job that pays better.

I'm in your position and I'm on 40k, but it's NHS so lower paid than private sector.

How longs a piece of string? There’s people with all those qualifications earning just enough to live, and others without any formal education who are on £000s. Depends entirely on the industry and whether the masters is vital to the role or if someone without it could still do the job.

I think in many ways your degree and masters is irrelevant these days. I have the same and they only serve to get you in the door really, it’s your experience that counts most and from there it depends what you do. Professional salaries go from about 30k up but some jobs hit a ceiling sooner than others.

Agree there is simply no way to answer this.

My daughters friend, with no experience, a degree and a masters has just started with an investment bank on 80 grand a year. Her first grad job.

A friend of mine has two degrees, worked all their life in the same company, managed a team, never earned more than 35.

Someone can start as a trainee lawyer at a high st firm on 20 grand and never earn more than fifty, someone else can start at magic circle and immediately earn 100k.

Unless you’re more specific no one can help you. Because there is no rule that says with x qualifications and x experience you need to earn x. Irrelevant of what you do or where you work.

I’m surprised you don’t know that.

It's nothing to do with your qualifications or experience and everything to do with the role your in.

That is a ridiculous question and I’m surprised that someone with those qualifications is even asking

Op, you’ve also not said if your education is vocational or not and if you work in the field of your degree, ie is it required for you job?

There is a huge difference between a vocational degree, lawyer, architect, accountant and working in that field. To having say a history degree and working in a team progressing insurance claims, where your actual degree and masters is irrelevant.

The fact you have them doesn’t entitle you to more money, nor does your experience, what you’re paid for is what you actually do. So the question is is your role paid similar to average to those in the same role in similar companies, or as per your colleagues doing the same job.

Depends on the sector (which I think is what you were saying, that you would like to see how different sectors compare?).

In my sector - Professional Services - it would get you £70k-£100k depending on your specialty.

Have you tried GlassDoor and the like for a comparison?

It depends on sector, I earn about 30k in sector relevant to my masters and line manage 5 people. But I knew my sector doesn't pay well before I took my masters, but it's lovely sector!!

I suppose I'm asking what someone with this level of qualification and experience might expect to be paid. So that I can compare my sector / OK my job and pay, to others. People don't talk about money much in real life and my social group are similar to me, so I don't have a very real comparison.

Massive depends on job and sector. For instance I work on the cultural sector which is very competitive and saught after. Wages are crap and people are over qualified. That's not a brag at all. But it just means with my ma and several years experience I'm earning a lot less than someone working in a different sector.

@Glendaruel that's similar to me.

I know it depends on sectors. I'm asking what other sectors would get in this scenario :)

Depends on so many variables including location, sector, job role. DH and I have all that you mention and we have earned anything from 80k each PA to zero k (I volunteered in a senior specialist role for a charity for a long time. I guess normally we would both expect to earn 50k

In construction a recruiter contacted me about a multi billion $ project in the U.K. for a senior lead in my dept with salary range of £75-85k. They’d probably lead a team of 6-10. Not for me, but If I knew someone . The manager of that person which would oversea 3 related departments would probably then expect up to £120k

@Indecisivelurcher

I suppose I'm asking what someone with this level of qualification and experience might expect to be paid. So that I can compare my sector / OK my job and pay, to others. People don't talk about money much in real life and my social group are similar to me, so I don't have a very real comparison.

Op, I’m not sure but do you maybe not understand the answers you’re getting? Is that why you asked again?

What people are trying to tell you is it depends on your role and your sector.

A commercial lawyer, for a large law firm, sixteen years post qualification will be on two or three hundred grand.

A conveyancing lawyer, sixteen years post qualification working for a small high street firm will likely earn about thirty.

A person with a masters in history, who works as a team leader in insurance processing claims, sixteen years after graduating, will probably bring in twenty odds.

A person with a masters in history, working as a senior historian for the British museum, sixteen years after graduating will likely earn six figures.

There is no such thing as an expectation. It depends on the role and the company and the sector.

There is no scale for you to refer to here. If you say what you do, what your degree is in, then people can help. But past that they cannot.

Do you understand now?

Again, it depends on the sector. A lawyer with 16 years experience would typically expect to be on about £70k+ right up to several million. But it depends on the type of law and the type of firm and crucially, how good they are at the job. Years of experience doesn't necessarily make you a great lawyer. A masters adds nothing really, undergrad and post grad qualifications (i.e. law school) are simply a prerequisite for getting a foot in the door.

My post re law crossed with Bluntness there.

I have a Ba, MA and 3 years exp and am on £28k so in another 13 years I'd expect minimum 40k

Oh OK so in my sector about 30 to 45 k which would be a senior manager position. Maybe director level would be 70 to 100k. All outside of London. Would also depend if you worked in a high profile role or institution.

Degree, masters, plus various professional qualifications appropriate to the job and 18 years experience here. Salary is £35k fte. Charity sector in London in middle management. I imagine in banking or IT with the same quals I would be on 2 to 3 times that. In local authority or civil service maybe £50k.

It is so dependant on sector and actual job though.

For example I’m a lawyer. In my sector with those sorts of qualifications you could be earning €500k.

DH is an architect. Senior architects (similarly qualified, although masters are rare) in his firm make about €150k.

But it’s easy to imagine their are many roles in third sector where you’d be lucky to achieve €40k.