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.

But surely with two children your benefits won’t be cut off as soon as you start working? I know people that work and still receive benefits (and especially disability benefits as it seems in your case). Have you thought about an engineering career. Maths and problem solving are key and you can get an apprenticeship and sometimes they will pay for you to do further education. Starting salaries would put you in the same ballpark with disability/benefit top ups.

OP I wouldn’t be looking at studying at your age I would be looking apprenticeship schemes aimed at returning mothers who are doing a career change/starting out.
there are some specific programs around this and I think it might be a better fit for you.
Do you have some work experience? In the nicest way, you seem very unrealistic about the working world. Have you considered getting more work experience around the fields that youd like?

Thank you gardendream, I’ve had a lot of great advice on this thread though so I’m not too concerned with the snipey few, it’s been well worth it!

You ou got an A star in Further Maths. But no mention of maths? You don't do FM without Maths. Do you?

Yes. One has to do maths to be able to take further maths. So the OPs claims are a bit odd

I would look into project management, a good PM can get remote work on 40k with a but of experience and a professional qualification.

If you have good admin skills and pick the right sector you could look at something like office manager / operations manager roles where you need to do some accounts/hr/project managing. I have earned 40k plus in that role and a friend earns 50k as a senior PA.

or maybe data analysis or logistics, or maybe an apprenticeship in something like quantity surveying or project management. Have a look at companies that want to get women into tech and stem

The equivalent of earning 40k so you bring home £2400 in benefits each month! Well that has just knocked me off my chair

Do it then! Nothing is stopping you. Hand in your resignation tomorrow then when you get home make a coffee and open up the universal credit website, make an application, sit back and watch the cash roll in!!!

Why on earth do you receive the equivalent of a 40k salary for doing nothing? I understand you are sick but from what you’ve said it’s not like you need expensive carers and their dad helps financially so why do you receive so much? That is beyond belief

Probably because child maintenance doesn't affect benefits at all, they are not reduced at all no matter how much the non resident parent pays. Top rates of disability benefits are over £600 alone every four weeks then there's help towards rent , council tax mostly paid for and money for the kids again even though the non resident parent pays.

You have mentioned finance. I am ICAEW qualified, with a relevant degree, but if I was advising someone now, I would suggest doing AAT first, then using that to access ICAEW qualification, which has already been suggested. I would not go down the degree route (although I did)

I earn far in excess of your desired salary, as a partner in a top 10 accountancy practice. I am based in Greater London, but firm is national.

I haven't read all the thread, but in case people haven't suggested it, I'd think of AI implications before choosing a career path. AI will negatively affect employment opportunities in many which are doing well now.

If you're good at maths and problem-solving, a career in AI sounds like a good fit....

I would look at sales, pharmaceuticals probably but also SAAS or iaas easily get £100k with a couple of years experience under your belt. You HAVE the right A levels already. Look for something with a basic of around £40k and uncapped commission. That's what I do, the harder you work the more you earn.

This thread is really interesting re. the sorts of salary you can earn. I work in a school, in operations/senior admin, but school jobs are really poorly paid. Term time helps however not essential. What kind of things could I transfer my skills to?

Oh.

A few people I worked with did law and worked in contracts formation and administration in the construction industry.

do you want to remain living where you are? I used to live in the NE and there were loads of engineering companies one of which I worked for. Have a look at vacancies in companies near you and see if anything looks interesting and what types of qualifications they need. Look up industry shortages for any roles you could train for. More likely to get some flexibility and higher salary for roles they’re short of people in. At engineering, construction firms there will be buyer in procurement dept, contract formation, project controls (cost, schedule and estimating), cad designers etc. All pay good salaries and most of these can be done WFH

Given your skills in maths, have you looked at computer programming?

There are lots of free online courses in Python that you can do to get a taster for it. then you can either do apprenticeship style training or do a degree in computer science.

work is often pretty flexible / online, and I know person who went from CS undergrad straight into a 60K job, and another who went from a online machine learning course (+ an out-of-date PhD) to a 1 year researcher job and was headhunted to a 100K job.

@Lowwages - They can be expensive but I would highly recommend doing ACCA exams for a finance career. Ideally you would do it with a job and they would pay but if you could get started on the exams it may make it easier to get a job (not sure if you could get any financial support for this on the basis of retraining). I would also recommend doing tax exams after ACCA if you can and that will increase your earning potential. ACCA will probably take you 3 years at night and CTA (tax exams) another 2 years. With the qualifications and 10 years experience you could easily be earning £100k in London so not sure they would equate in Yorkshire.

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 sometimes wonder why I bother going to work.

Hi for something with super high demand with short trading tims that’s well paid - speech therapy.

You don't actually need to do AAT (or university) before ICAEW these days. It's more about whether the OP feels she needs to warm up or jump straight in.

Straight to ICAEW gets her to her desired earning potential sooner... but TBH, you have a point about taking it more slowly. It's been a while since she studied, so starting with the ACA might be a shock to the system.

How could an ill, on benefits single mother contemplate many years of study? How would you afford to live whilst studying for a subject you don't even have the qualifications to undertake? This thread is so full of holes. What utter bollocks.