Do you think I am underpaid? PhD from Cambridge

[Ramphamosa]

I’m 29. I’ve got a PhD from Cambridge in a STEM subject. 1st class undergraduate from Oxford.

I work for one of the big four. I earn about £58k a year in London. I work 9am-8pm most days. Get very little bonus.

I know it sounds like a decent salary, but I honestly thought I’d earn a lot more than I do. Big 4 was my fall back choice.

Because of your level of work, or because of your University attended?

How long have you been professionally qualified and in what area?

Why do you assume your qualifications means you get more than this?

If big 4 was fall back, could you not do first choice for more money?

PhD doesn't attract a salary kick. There's market research a Google away if you want to know for yourself.

PHDs do not guarantee a salary increase, work experience in the relevant field usually does.

Doesn’t how much you are paid depending the level of your role rather than your qualifications? What is the market rate for an equivalent role? How much experience do you have? What do you think you should be earning? Is that just based on your qualifications?

PhDs generally offer diminishing returns sadly. Do you enjoy the job? If not have a look for something you would enjoy more. You have 40-50yrs working ahead of you so definitely pick something you enjoy!

Your phD probably doesn't add value to the big 4 so i guess that puts you 3 years behind.?

Agree that PhDs don’t add much outside a field where they are relevant.

Sounds like you are 5/6 years into your career post-PhD? My own experience of Big Four is that the salary for lots of areas isn’t massive corporate law/finance level in those first few years. It’s an investment in getting to Director and above where things are better. Not that the salaries are low as an absolute but possibly lower than people might think.

Are you being paid market rate for your role and level of seniority? That’s all that matters when you’re in the world of work. As far as I know, few Big 4 jobs actually require a PhD, so you won’t be paid more for being qualified above the minimum needed to allow you to be recruited. Work is about doing the job. Once you’ve been offered a role, your qualifications count for nothing if you don’t perform. And performance rarely relies on your university qualifications. Concentrate on shining in your role by doing what’s expected of you really, really well. This is the time you earn your reputation, and what went before is, literally, academic.

Qualifications get you the interview. Your experience and work get you the job and promotions, etc. It's not a great salary for London to me, but you're starting out and could probably earn much more fairly soon.

What do you actually do?

A PhD doesn’t add money in terms of salary expectation it just opens doors into certain roles. Also the university is not relevant really.

If you are a PhD Computer Scientist and do project management work or development for instance then yes you are very much underpaid (we pay our juniors with a BSc more than that). What do you do?

No it’s the right salary for big four at your age (taking into consideration when you will have graduated). Being ‘overqualified’ for a job doesn’t mean it will pay more. Companies have bandings for different levels so you are at the right level. Sounds unfortunately like most grads in their 20’s who think they should be paid more for whatever reason or promoted because they are doing such a good job. These things take time and after you are hired frankly no one cares about your education anymore - it’s your performance on the job.

It's difficult for us to know, but if you want to find your true financial worth see if you can find another job and what that offers.

Academic success does not readily equate into financial recompense. In work it may get you in the door, but there's a lot of emotional intelligence required to get you up the ladder.

Being highly educated doesn't necessarily mean you'll make loads of money. Having a highly paid job means you'll make loads of money! It obviously means you'll be more likely to get those highly paid jobs.
However, I know some highly academic people who have zero communication skills so never went far in their careers. And I know some people who got poor degrees from average universities who are multi millionaires.
You need to figure out the following:

• does your current job have a good ladder you can climb
• do you actually want to prioritise making loads of money? Sometimes you need to balance happiness and other things
• are you in the right industry?

Having a degree from a fancy university doesn't mean you're good at your job. In fact, you may be coming across as a bit entitled and presumptuous: "I've got a PhD in chemistry (or whatever) so I should be a great accountant".

If you stick with the job, you will earn more. There's great salary progression in the Big 4, but it depends how much work you are prepared to put in: if your heart's not in it, you won't get far. As an Oxbridge ex-big-4 employee, it really heartened me at a recent work reunion to see those people with less prestigious qualifications and backgrounds (but huge drive and ambition) had achieved so much of what they wanted. If you think it's beneath you, then it's not the place for you.

I work in FS but not consulting and my understanding is that a PhD isn't vital for the majority of their work and it is as others say: academic prowess gets your foot in the door but it's a much broader skillset - as well as building up experience - that leads to career success and progression. The salary quantum then comes from what field you are in.

Yes clearly you are

for the hours in a high powered company let alone the qualifications

But you won’t get many sensible replies here so don’t take this as the truth. People on here hate anyone calling their worth especially if they vote Oxbridge etc.

talk to a careers advisor in your profession. Get a sense check on what else might be available to you and make your call.

Obviously sometimes lower salaries reflect the fact there will be significant hikes in relatively short time. But I still think that seems a low starting salary for London

That’s just rude and smacks of petty jealousy

An Oxbridge degree and PHD shows a very significant level of work and academic capability. Of course that may not translate to salary depending on context but it’s not unreasonable for someone to consider the university they went to as relevant in this situation. It might be there is a mismatch in the role she has taken and whether Oxbridge confers any advantage.

but mocking her just makes you sound petty

well, you didn't do your research, tbh.

Having a PhD - especially at your age which looks as though you went from Bachelor to Master to PhD without any proper work experience is probably not a good move outside professions that really require that (and then they pay "appropriately")

But. If you're at the Big 4 you need to see these "low paid" years as an investment in your future. Do all the training, learning, courses and whatever you can. And yes, you do need to put in hours, they do value presenteeism. What they don't value is being seen as a fall-back option, especially if they are picking up that vibe from you.

After a while you'll be out earning most people.

Have to agree with the above that your qualifications get you the job but then you have to prove yourself on the job

in my big 4 intake we had one Oxbridge grad have to leave because they just weren’t up to it. Get your head down and focus on your career path. If you want to be doing something else then plot that route.

Not really but thanks for lumping us together. Close family has a PhD from Russell group and works on the big four so I might know a little about this. I don’t hate I’m just being realistic. Starting at a big four in London is about £40k and after you are hired it’s about your performance not your education or degree. Most big companies pay a fraction of that. I work for a very large multinational and our starting no matter what your education is 28k. Companies have pay bandings and levels depending on title so the only way to be paid more is to find another job that pays more. Unfortunately you aren’t special because of your education. It probably got you in the door but after that it’s performance and ability.

Yeah agree with pp. Your PhD is great for bragging rights, but unless you stay in academia or fields closely related mostly meaningless from an earnings pov.

I have an undergraduate masters Oxford degree, was considering a PhD, but saw that for the area I wanted to work in, a PhD added zero to my earning potential. My Oxford degree meant I stood out enough without one for the companies I wantes to work for and I've never regretted my choice.

In your twenties, you just end up "three years behind" your peers (although that all evens out after 10yrs or so at work when progression becomes more spread). Also, I just didn't love my degree subject or the academic lifestyle enough to step off the earning treadmill.