Is it difficult to earn more than £40k?

[Lowwages]

I’m currently on benefits due to a long period of sickness and I’ve been trying to prepare for work for whenever I get better. I’ve been running the numbers though and the benefits I receive for being sick with 2 young children is equivalent to a £40k salary. I’m quite shocked but now also worried that life will always be a struggle as a single parent unless I can exceed that £40k salary.

I’m currently 32 and looking at getting qualified in finance or going to med school but the average salaries on glass door and payscale seem really low considering that these are supposed to be some of the best paying jobs in the UK.

Just how difficult would it be for somebody newly qualified at 35+ to surpass £40k? I’m aware that I could never recover or that I could meet a partner to share finances with but I think that it’s better to prepare.

I would have thought finance would be a better route to earning a high salary quickly than med school where it’s really a long game.

I agree with @BerryGrumble. I would go down the finance route. Salaries can be good even when you’re newly qualified. Which finance route are you thinking of going down? Med school would be very tough especially with kids and will be expensive.

I think it depends on where you live if you’re in the uk. Probably doable down south.

@BerryGrumble do you know where I can find more accurate figures? All the results that I’ve found so far seem to suggest that finance graduates earn £28k on average and only reach around £40k with experience. It doesn’t seem right but all the results suggest the same thing.

It's very easy to earn over £40k but your two chosen routes sound a bit unrealistic for someone with a long term health condition.

@Whenisitsummer I’m in Yorkshire, my main goal is to be able to afford a mortgage on a good sized house with a large garden which would hopefully be doable round here with a decent salary.

@Morganchristie yes I do worry about the difficulty of med school. I think it’s the career I’d be happier in but I feel that I’ve probably left it too late now.

No idea sorry, I don’t work in the areas you’ve mentioned.

I think you’re being very unrealistic if you think you can walk into a 40k job without needing to be on a lower salary for some time first.

Op are you in your late 20s?

Have you considered law? NQ salaries are pretty good even outside of London (big firms, not high street generally).

www.thelawyer.com/trainee-newly-qualified-salaries-uk-law-firms/

Not that it should be a race to the bottom but it’s rather galling that someone on benefits gets notably more than a teacher/nurse/police officer.

I’m aware that I’ll only be able to achieve my goals if I make a full recovery but I think it’s better to prepare as there’s a decent chance that I will. Are there options more suitable to somebody in poor health?

It certainly is.

You mention qualifying in 'finance' as if that's one direct career path with one job at the end.

What exactly are you intending doing? Accountancy? Trading? Compliance in a financial environment? There are 100 others 🤔

Finance would be the better route; Med School is extremely competitive and the shifts are very disruptive.

Or how about something in IT?

Whichever you choose you'll have to work yourself up to a decent salary.

I don’t think it’s hard to earn over £40, both myself and DH having crossed that a while ago and most of my circle too. However it does take work and some years building up experience, you can’t really expect to walk in to a £40k+ job without working to get the experience first. I spent my twenties getting qualifications and having jobs on lower salaries building up work experience and now in my thirties have a decent salary.

I normally hate moaning about people on benefits but I've slogged my guts out for years as a teacher and my kids go without ALL THE TIME.
Should have just claimed benefits.

@BerryGrumble I don’t expect a £40k starting salary, I just hope to be able to reach beyond that within a decade or two of entering the sector.

@Motnight I’m 32

@sittingonacornflake I worked towards law back in College but realised that I’m far too soft for it unfortunately

To earn a decent salary in finance you will need to start at the bottom and work your way up, so the salary won't be £40k for a few years

You will also likely need to do some exams

Finance in industry pays a lot better than working in an accountancy practice

To be blunt, blindly looking at 'finance' vs law vs medical and considering ultimate salaries on qualifying is usually the territory of 17 year olds.

You're 32 op - what are you good at? What have you done before? What qualifications do you have as a starting point?

Yes

Try something that doesn't involve shift work, night shift work, regular all night sessions, working 16 hour days, that kind of thing. Maybe something that doesn't involve 6 years of training might be quicker as well, I dunno, what do you think?

They don't really, I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's only when there's some ridiculous rent for a property in central London or something that those kind of figures really happen.

Do you have a degree? This is often key for the higher salaries. If not, a degree apprenticeship might be the way to get in to whichever field you choose (med school is - kindly - delusional for someone with less than perfect health and children with no partner to share child care with).

You need to temper your expectations, you need to start at the bottom. If your income is low you can still use UC to top up your income, it’s not a cliff edge.

Honestly, you don’t have to go to uni. Look at industry sectors. I work in financial services in product development. Some of my junior guys earn above 40k with no degree. I’m on 6 figures (no related degree). You need to think outside of the box a bit more.

Compliance, marketing, project management - these are other areas that have good earning potential.

Absolutely, I’m very much behind in life career-wise due to a series of unfortunate circumstances and I’m worried that I’ll never catch up.

I’m excellent at maths and problem solving and have high grade GCSE’s and a few A-levels, plus completed level 3 business studies in college. I’ve mostly just worked in admin though as the plan was always to go to university before deciding on a career.

You sound ideal for the civil service. Good pay and up to six months sick leave on full salary. Almost impossible to get fired.