How do some people earn so much?

[SchoolShenanigans]

I earn £31k. I have a degree and 10 years in the public sector. I am low-mid management. I'm grateful for my salary but the more I hear people talk about what they earn, the more I wonder if I'm missing something?! Most people I speak to around my age (mid 30s) seem to earn £50k+ minimum doing all sorts of roles. Today, someone told me in passing that they earn £90k and I'm thinking - where did I go wrong?!

I know I chose the underfunded public sector, so I don't expect £90k but I genuinely can't see how I've ended up earning so little compared to people around me.

So for those on big salaries, how did you make it happen? Training? Right place at right time? Was it a result of a long term career plan or a couple of fluke promotions? Is this a recent salary or have you been a high earner for a while?

I earn a reasonably high salary. Based in the south east. Degree in sociology so not particularly useful but landed a starter job in software company then hopped every 3 or 4 years. Pp are right. The only way to get big increases is to move companies and demand 10k or more more each time. Also ask about bands, grades, share options, car allowance, pension and bonus with every negotiation. Have no loyalty whatsoever to the company, they will drop you like a hot rock if they need to make cuts so think the same way.

I don't have aspirations to have an incredibly highly responsible job as I enjoy my downtime and family time.

From reading these posts (thank you for sharing your experiences!), I think my key issues are lack of professional qualifications, I haven't undertaken any training since before kids over 6 years ago, and confidence. I struggle to see my worth at work and often get imposter syndrome, even on a mediocre salary!

Don't get me wrong, I'm VERY grateful for my current salary, I don't define worth by salary and am grateful I can put food on the table. But I would like to get paid more in the future so this has been very helpful - thanks!

£80k right place, right time, a degree and lots of experience in the field, from the very bottom to the top. Utterly shit job, would walk away in a second but I’ll never get a similar salary elsewhere.
Debating another ten years to be on the safe side (DD, I could give her a good start on housing ladder) and then quitting. If not for her I’d walk now.

Generally the person who isn't stressing about how to pay the bills tbh

The people that DH and I know that earn really big salaries of 100k plus

Investment banker
Head of IT for guess what an investment bank
Plant Manager for a petrochemical company
Head of a division of research for big Pharma
Marketing for an international stock exchange
Way up food chain for Kraft, also the same for Pepsi CO, apologies for the pun
Corporate Lawyer
Patent Lawyer

People on approx 60 to 70k
Head of research at a world renowned scientific institute
Senior academics, Professors and heads of dept in academia

People on approx 50k
Academic Librarians with responsibility for entire sections e.g engineering and with teaching responsibilities in two top notch Universities.
Senior University Academic related administrators
Senior academic related IT staff

Basically all the top earners are DH friends and he met them when they were all reading for their PhD’s at Cambridge in a science subject. All the others are my friends met whilst working in two RG Universities. Youngest would be mid forties and oldest mid fifties. The investment banker and corporate lawyer are really very wealthy. They do need extra cash to polish their horns and forked tails as I joke to them.

This is very true, it's a great pension.

As other have said, the industry plays a huge part and lots of money in the right parts of the tech industry. I work in marketing for a fast growing software company and earn £120k. I moved around a bit at the start of my career but have actually been at this company a while now and had numerous promotions which have lead to them almost tripling my salary. I really pushed for those, and asked for pay rises. If you don't ask you don't get and luckily they have never said no! So I think being in the right industry, being good at your job and being pragmatic and proactive about making it happen for you.

I'm older than you but degree from red brick uni mid 90s, got a graduate job with a bank via the milk round, progressed.

I was on £60k plus bonus before I gave up working to be a SAHM in the late 2000s.

Boring job though

If you mean the public sector more broadly rather than 'government' that's simply not true. Most/many people at director level in local authorities and the NHS will be on more than £100k, similarly for senior roles in education, the police, the fire service etc.

It's simply not true you can't earn a very good salary in the public sector. There are thousands of roles across all the different sectors combined. You have to work hard, progress in your career to a senior role, take on significant responsibility, and accept you'd get more if you moved to the private sector, but it's perfectly possible.

That's certainly what I did.

We are late 30s and we both figured out early on that generally the best way to get pay increases is to change jobs every 2-3 years in the private sector, my husband stayed in one job for 6 years, had two promotions so that boosted his career. However I have never had big pay increases staying in the same place. I have just been made redundant, secured a good exit package so I have a buffer but basically looking for mostly remote and part time so it's not going to be easy. I am going for roles £10k more than I was on before as that's the market for my level and career.

I've definitely found the best way to increase your salary regularly is by moving roles. I'm aiming to spend 3-5 years in my current job, then move on to a new company who can offer me an improved package. I also regularly get headhunting messages on LinkedIn as I have a fairly niche skillset which is highly in demand and pretty futureproof - worth ensuring your profile there is really solid and enabling the option that shows you're open to opportunities to recruiters from outside your own company.

I'm also planning on studying for a part time MBA in the next couple of years.

Generally this. They will often have spent a few years on trainee/apprentice level salaries before their earnings took off too.

My first job in law (20+ years ago) I was on 14k. I then had some years on no salary while I did further training. My last job in a law firm I was on more than 200k.

@Missingmyusername

That's sad, why do you hate your job so much?

But also - are you sure you couldn't get something that could pay the bills somewhere else? Why would your employer pay £80k if no one else was willing to pay close to that?

For me, if my job was making me miserable, I would leave for another one, even if it paid less. I know it's cliche, but there really is more to life.

I think some people just have alot of confidence in themselves and go for it.

My brother in law has no formal qualifications but earns in the top 5% and he can talk a very good talk and was prepared to work sporadically overseas for a long time.

Now its a case of who he knows, he's changed jobs alot. He's an absolute twat though ha ha .

I'm the same as you, I dont equate money with happiness, I've had 3 bereavements in the last 3 years with 1 of them having hundreds of thousands in the bank but they aren't here to spend it.

I think if you have a high paying job, you enjoy it immensely plus you get to see your family you are amazingly lucky and good luck to them; I cant imagine there are alot of people like that.

I also think alot of people bullshit about wages 😁

You need to be driven. Perfectionist. Excellent health. As soon as you've gained one promotion, research what you need for the next. Never just mark time.

Always do extra training/qualifications, experience, write articles in professional journals to get publicity etc etc. Seek out opportunities to be mentored.

Acquaintance with no family background in field. Realised needed something to stand out. Took 2-3 years professional training post grad - up 5.30am to study before work, prizes, publicity. Always does deep research into roles/companies before applying. Volunteers for unpaid extra work - public speaking, running courses, interviewing, sitting on committees etc. to meet people who may be interviewing her/ giving her references / mentoring her etc in future.

£260k pa + on course for much more. Age 34. 1 child. Nursery/family help. London,

I think that's a good point.

I was looking at the Guardian jobs this week and most jobs advertised are in the £25-£35K bracket. That includes managerial roles in the South East.

I understand that people who work in the legal/financial/IT sectors make more but it seems to me that an awful lot of jobs advertised are really poorly paid but ask for an awful lot of skills/experience.

I work in the charity sector and I am planning to change sector this year as I have had enough. The jobs in the third sector are badly paid and workloads/expectations are ridiculous.

I qualified 13 years ago, with a diploma, on £21k and at 20 thought I was doing well. Since then I’ve not stopped studying except for a year or two and have completed a degree, specialist courses and I’m a dissertation away from completing a MSc. I’m now 33 and on £43k and will go up to £51k next year when I’ve completed the MSc. I work in the NHS.
By the way when I’ve completed my MSc I’ll be an Advanced Clinical Practitioner involved with patient assessments and decision making. Maybe one day the pay will reflect the responsibilities 🤔.

I have a masters but also a very niche specialist job and my current role takes 18 months to qualify but needed 5+ years of experience - I had 7 years before I applied.

I moved every few years to gain experience and broaden my skills but this also included working 70+ hours a week in busy periods and being away with work quite a bit.

Public sector may be your sticking point… that and perhaps not moving around enough in your field? Other half works in branded retail (head office role) has very good salary .. great for us financially but very
long hours/lots of travel. I work in public sector and my pay is rubbish but I only work my hours and can be default parent rest of time

A big thing is choosing the right industry to work in.
Eg education. Our school advertised for an experienced admin for 17.5k
My company would pay inexperienced admins 25k. Pharma company.

Its not just about skills and qualifications.

When I started in my industry, ì practically worked for free. Very few jobs. Lots of keen graduates. Fast forward 25 years and it's the opposite. I have a very specialised skill set with demand for those skills massively outstripping supply.

I increased my pay by changing company. Internal pay rise or promotion practically non-existent.

I could work for the public sector. I saw a great job advertised this week. Approx 20% less than my salary but a mind boggling 30% pension contribution. I just like the pace of the commercial sector.

Most people earning high salaries are able to demonstrate that they make money for their employer.

I am fortunate enough to earn over £250k in my mid-40s in a professional career that I first heard about in a careers lesson when I was 14. Getting to where I am has been a combination of good fortune (academic abilities, stable home life etc.) combined with maximising every opportunity I have had since my teenage years, often making decisions that others would not have made. For example, doing 4 A-levels just to see if I could, doing my professional exams quickly by doing more exams (and more study!) than recommended at each sitting, taking very short maternity leaves and returning full time. Unlike others I have risen up through on company but have always looked to find the next challenge and in particular have looked to take on difficult roles that others don’t want to do but I can see need doing. My professional qualification got me about half of my salary, the rest has come from what I have done with that for my employer

The answer is being in the right sector. I have a degree and two Masters yet only earn £26k due to me working in the charity sector.

I've just been offered a job as a civil servant on £31k and am so excited as it will be a 10x better pension than I've ever had plus opportunity to progress (unlike thr charity sector where I'm the head of my department).

@Cellotapedispenser My BIL did this, max. three years anywhere, willing to move around for the next opportunity. It wouldn’t work well with a family, but they chose not to have children and his wife was willing to follow. Now he’s in his 50’s, he’s more settled ( I think he’s been at the current company for about five years). I don’t know what he earns, but he ain’t poor!

For me, it was 50% luck (and 50% of that was down to being willing to take a risk and being lucky it worked out), and 50% hard slog.

When I was junior and mid-level, I put in the hours, just loads of additional qualifications under my belt (often at my own cost and time), took on additional work, and generally just kept my head down and ploughed through things. I built a solid reputation as someone who could take on complex tasks, work well with difficult stakeholders, and had expert knowledge of the legislation in my sector.

Now I’m senior, have more flexibility in terms of my own diary, and tend to stick to my 35 hour week but will still row in when needed. I still take on additional qualifications (approx ever 3 years) but those are to keep myself up-skilled because I plan to retire early and do some very part-time freelancing within the next 8 years.