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What's a good salary?
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Original post by Tateco
It's a personal opinion, so yes. Just because it's an opinion it doesn't mean it needs to be what you think it should be. What you see as good may be skewed by what the national average is but that's personal isn't it.
Everything is a personal opinion.
But saying 67 is a good IQ is surely wrong...?
Original post by Quady
Everything is a personal opinion.
But saying 67 is a good IQ is surely wrong...?
But saying 67 is a good IQ is surely wrong...?
You've just contradicted yourself.
Original post by iSMark
I disagree, you earn about 45-50k in a new grad role in an IB, if you worked 16 hour days that's still more than minimum wage. They are also going to get a pay rise after the first year, so come on now, lets not feel sorry for any IB grads.
Pedantry. My point was validly illustrated. But thank you for correcting my negligent factual error.
Original post by Tateco
You've just contradicted yourself.
Awesome.
Now I can put 'Good IQ' on my CV...
Original post by dpb23
Pedantry. My point was validly illustrated. But thank you for correcting my negligent factual error.
I thought it was a poor attempt.
Original post by iSMark
I thought it was a poor attempt.
Duly noted. In future, I'll be certain to provide you with a preliminary version of any contribution I chose to make to TSR so other users can rest assured that iSMark's seal of approval is on every opinion on this forum. Please accept my apologies for not consulting with you prior to my post - It shall not happen again. It was reckless and inconsiderate to offer my genuine advice.
On a similar note, throw yourself under a train.
Original post by dpb23
Duly noted. In future, I'll be certain to provide you with a preliminary version of any contribution I chose to make to TSR so other users can rest assured that iSMark's seal of approval is on every opinion on this forum. Please accept my apologies for not consulting with you prior to my post - It shall not happen again. It was reckless and inconsiderate to offer my genuine advice.
On a similar note, throw yourself under a train.
On a similar note, throw yourself under a train.
Being a troll is so fun sometimes.
I think that location plays a significant role because from the people i know, you have a greater proportion of your earnings to spend in Leeds and Manchester than in London despite a much higher salary.
Being very simplistic, i would say that a good salary is one in which i am beating my age from age 30-60.
Looking at the facts we see the following...
Average starting graduate salary - £19k
Average UK salary - £26k
Average full-time UK salary - £31k
On the basis of that information if we generalise to exempt location and assume that you are a graduate who is in full time employment with 3 years of experience then my opinion is the following (outside London)...
£0-19k - Poor
£19-31k - Average
£31k+ - Good
£60k+ - Excellent
Being very simplistic, i would say that a good salary is one in which i am beating my age from age 30-60.
Looking at the facts we see the following...
Average starting graduate salary - £19k
Average UK salary - £26k
Average full-time UK salary - £31k
On the basis of that information if we generalise to exempt location and assume that you are a graduate who is in full time employment with 3 years of experience then my opinion is the following (outside London)...
£0-19k - Poor
£19-31k - Average
£31k+ - Good
£60k+ - Excellent
I'm 35 and live up north. I'm basing my opinion on the experiences of myself and my friends by the midpoint of our careers - a pool of a several hundred people.
On the whole, most of the people I know went to university and the many are in professional employment. Clearly, there's a noticeable difference between the salaries in London/South and the rates up North. That said, I feel it is easier to have a higher standard of living in the North and I'm not convinced the London rates are actually better in many cases. Indeed, by this point in our lives, many of my City friends have expressed their desire to live/work somewhere else.
As it stands, I know 2-5 people who may have broken the 100k mark; one in hr, another in corporate management, IB and others would be entrepreneurs. Almost all of these people work in London. This is much less than 1% of the people I know well enough to take stab at their salary.
Focussing on my northern peers and more realistic employment opportunities. I am fortunate to be surrounded by intelligent, educated and talented people. I would guess that, as a cross spectrum, this group would probably sit above average in term of their career success. Given that we left university in a much better climate, I would be surprised if current graduates would find it easy to match their career trajectories. For example, most have kept jobs through recession and most went straight into their careers as soon as they left university (without treading water in non-professional employment or unemployment).
Many, who have secured a profession and work for larger employers, are enjoying salaries around the 30-40k mark. This translates to a pretty good standard of living; especially for couples (who will also be able to get on the property ladder at this level). However, I believe these are the lucky ones as it seems extremely difficult to get a break at a good company (and there is still the threat of redundancy if you do).
I've experienced this on a personal level, as I stayed on for a phd after my engineering masters. Ultimately, this ate into my twenties and didn't provide me with any immediate benefit when I tried to join the workforce. Indeed, it's only in the last 6 months that I have secured employment at an engineering firm and I'm happy to say that my career prospects are looking much better than they were.
In my opinion, a salary that is higher than your age puts you in the "good" category (with the exception of London/SE). I've met very few people who've managed to significantly better this and even less achieved this straight from university.
There is another potentially worrying observation for those with wild expectations or feelings of entitlement. The really high earners aren't the individuals we might have initially picked from our uni/school peers. For example, the head boys/girls, captains of sports teams or those at the top of their class. I'm not saying these people didn't succeed, but there was a lower correlation than you might expect. I wonder whether our teachers would have felt the same or maybe they would have been more insightful into our future prospects? Certainly, as young people, we seem to be largely ignorant to our flaws and can be arrogant in our self worth.
I put this down to the randomising effect that other peoples decisions have on our employment prospects - particularly when securing your first career job. The impact of this is fundamental in terms of who you work for, your boss and nature of the work. My impression is that you can only influence this to a rough degree and then there is an element of chance. I'll concede that the arrogant prick factor does quickly progress a few to the start of the management queue - I'm also glad to say these people dont normally end up as my friends. However, it can also quite easily rub older/wiser employers up the wrong way.
All the best to anyone who is starting their career/looking for work. Ultimately, your salary is just a number and doesn't directly determine how happy you are in life. Although, having experienced both sides, I feel it is easier to enjoy life when you don't have to worry about money. Indeed, in the current climate, anyone holding onto their job should feel relieved. My previous employer is about to lay off 60-80% of my former colleagues, this is just 18 months after the last set of redundancies.
Jim
On the whole, most of the people I know went to university and the many are in professional employment. Clearly, there's a noticeable difference between the salaries in London/South and the rates up North. That said, I feel it is easier to have a higher standard of living in the North and I'm not convinced the London rates are actually better in many cases. Indeed, by this point in our lives, many of my City friends have expressed their desire to live/work somewhere else.
As it stands, I know 2-5 people who may have broken the 100k mark; one in hr, another in corporate management, IB and others would be entrepreneurs. Almost all of these people work in London. This is much less than 1% of the people I know well enough to take stab at their salary.
Focussing on my northern peers and more realistic employment opportunities. I am fortunate to be surrounded by intelligent, educated and talented people. I would guess that, as a cross spectrum, this group would probably sit above average in term of their career success. Given that we left university in a much better climate, I would be surprised if current graduates would find it easy to match their career trajectories. For example, most have kept jobs through recession and most went straight into their careers as soon as they left university (without treading water in non-professional employment or unemployment).
Many, who have secured a profession and work for larger employers, are enjoying salaries around the 30-40k mark. This translates to a pretty good standard of living; especially for couples (who will also be able to get on the property ladder at this level). However, I believe these are the lucky ones as it seems extremely difficult to get a break at a good company (and there is still the threat of redundancy if you do).
I've experienced this on a personal level, as I stayed on for a phd after my engineering masters. Ultimately, this ate into my twenties and didn't provide me with any immediate benefit when I tried to join the workforce. Indeed, it's only in the last 6 months that I have secured employment at an engineering firm and I'm happy to say that my career prospects are looking much better than they were.
In my opinion, a salary that is higher than your age puts you in the "good" category (with the exception of London/SE). I've met very few people who've managed to significantly better this and even less achieved this straight from university.
There is another potentially worrying observation for those with wild expectations or feelings of entitlement. The really high earners aren't the individuals we might have initially picked from our uni/school peers. For example, the head boys/girls, captains of sports teams or those at the top of their class. I'm not saying these people didn't succeed, but there was a lower correlation than you might expect. I wonder whether our teachers would have felt the same or maybe they would have been more insightful into our future prospects? Certainly, as young people, we seem to be largely ignorant to our flaws and can be arrogant in our self worth.
I put this down to the randomising effect that other peoples decisions have on our employment prospects - particularly when securing your first career job. The impact of this is fundamental in terms of who you work for, your boss and nature of the work. My impression is that you can only influence this to a rough degree and then there is an element of chance. I'll concede that the arrogant prick factor does quickly progress a few to the start of the management queue - I'm also glad to say these people dont normally end up as my friends. However, it can also quite easily rub older/wiser employers up the wrong way.
All the best to anyone who is starting their career/looking for work. Ultimately, your salary is just a number and doesn't directly determine how happy you are in life. Although, having experienced both sides, I feel it is easier to enjoy life when you don't have to worry about money. Indeed, in the current climate, anyone holding onto their job should feel relieved. My previous employer is about to lay off 60-80% of my former colleagues, this is just 18 months after the last set of redundancies.
Jim
(edited 11 years ago)
£99999999999999 and one penny
Original post by StevenKnott
I know this is a hard maybe even impossible question because it depends on a lot of variables.
However, realistically what's a good/average/bad salary?
The reason I ask is that a friend of mine said his mum was on a salary of roughly £19,000 and said that's an excellent salary. Yet, I know someone who's on a salary of roughly £35,000 and they say it's average.
Personally, I'd say;
£5k-£15k is not enough, 16k-30k is average, 30k-60k is good 60k-90k is excellent and 90K plus is the bees knees!
But, I just want to see what other peoples opinions are of what a good/bad etc salary is
Thanks, Steve
However, realistically what's a good/average/bad salary?
The reason I ask is that a friend of mine said his mum was on a salary of roughly £19,000 and said that's an excellent salary. Yet, I know someone who's on a salary of roughly £35,000 and they say it's average.
Personally, I'd say;
£5k-£15k is not enough, 16k-30k is average, 30k-60k is good 60k-90k is excellent and 90K plus is the bees knees!
But, I just want to see what other peoples opinions are of what a good/bad etc salary is
Thanks, Steve
A "good salary" is entirely subjective. I have been brought up with both perspectives. My blood parents are middle class, and my Mum earns around £25000 a year and my Dad earned around the same, I don't know what he earns now though. I used to think that was good, until I moved in with my adoptive parents who both earn six-figure salaries. As I say, what one personally thinks of as a good salary is entirely dependent upon their circumstances
(edited 11 years ago)
Here is what I would consider:
£40,000 = Not Bad
£50,000 = Good
£70,000 = Great
£100,000 = Excellent
But it also depends on the job too. Do you want to take on all the stresses of a particular job just for that paper? I value job satisfaction more. If you enjoy what you are doing, that is far superior than gaining 'a little extra money'.
What is a good salary is entirely dependent on where you live, how many kids you have, how much you spend, and what debts or mortgages you have.
IF you are completely debt free, single, and living at home, I'd consider £20,000 a good salary.
£40,000 = Not Bad
£50,000 = Good
£70,000 = Great
£100,000 = Excellent
But it also depends on the job too. Do you want to take on all the stresses of a particular job just for that paper? I value job satisfaction more. If you enjoy what you are doing, that is far superior than gaining 'a little extra money'.
What is a good salary is entirely dependent on where you live, how many kids you have, how much you spend, and what debts or mortgages you have.
IF you are completely debt free, single, and living at home, I'd consider £20,000 a good salary.
(edited 11 years ago)
A good salary is, if you earn so much money that you can pay a desert island far away from the mankind. A desert island which has all kinds of resources to survive. An island which is just for you. An island which may not be accessed by anyone, except by you. I know its an utopian dream.
Original post by Iron Lady
Once again, it is relative and the idea of what is a 'good' salary is SUBJECTIVE. I suggest that you calm down a little and return to this debate with an open mind; otherwise I shall alert the moderators. Thank you.
imho once you take into account the higher tax bracket ..
<50k - Retire poor
50-100k - you won't be retiring period
100-250k - can retire at 60 if you put away £1000 pcm into the pension and manage to pay off the mortgage
250+ rich for life!
I'm with IronLady on this one. To be honest anyone that thinks 45k is a good salary needs a reality check -- when they discover how much you need to put away into a pension to retire at 60-65 comfortably.
Then theres the other stuff, like how much buying a place to live now costs .. how much each year rent inflation sucks away at your salary, huge rises in energy, utility, and taxes in recent years have bitten away at what could be thought of as a good salary..hell it costs £78 to fill a car with diesel! for some people thats not even a trip to work for the week,...
Dont forget too our elders had the opportunity to buy cheap assets and ride a nonstop 20year wave of consistent asset price rises ..
That 45k - 60k doesnt look so hot when half your money is gone on a basic 2bed flat each month .. and you need to put away at least £1000 a month into pension to retire comfortably at todays prices..by the time your 60, that wont be worth jack either..
So lik i said, Iron lady is right. you need to aim much higher, 250k = win
)I am 29, and pulling in just shy of 60 (and have no degree) so obviously for me, i think theres some way to go yet! xox (plz dont flame me but if you went to see an IFA on 40k a year he'd tell you .. that you were all doomed)
I'd be happy with 30-40 thousand pounds per year.
Original post by Wijjk
imho once you take into account the higher tax bracket ..
<50k - Retire poor
50-100k - you won't be retiring period
100-250k - can retire at 60 if you put away £1000 pcm into the pension and manage to pay off the mortgage
250+ rich for life!
I'm with IronLady on this one. To be honest anyone that thinks 45k is a good salary needs a reality check -- when they discover how much you need to put away into a pension to retire at 60-65 comfortably.
Then theres the other stuff, like how much buying a place to live now costs .. how much each year rent inflation sucks away at your salary, huge rises in energy, utility, and taxes in recent years have bitten away at what could be thought of as a good salary..hell it costs £78 to fill a car with diesel! for some people thats not even a trip to work for the week,...
Dont forget too our elders had the opportunity to buy cheap assets and ride a nonstop 20year wave of consistent asset price rises ..
That 45k - 60k doesnt look so hot when half your money is gone on a basic 2bed flat each month .. and you need to put away at least £1000 a month into pension to retire comfortably at todays prices..by the time your 60, that wont be worth jack either..
So lik i said, Iron lady is right. you need to aim much higher, 250k = win)
I am 29, and pulling in just shy of 60 (and have no degree) so obviously for me, i think theres some way to go yet! xox (plz dont flame me but if you went to see an IFA on 40k a year he'd tell you .. that you were all doomed)
<50k - Retire poor
50-100k - you won't be retiring period
100-250k - can retire at 60 if you put away £1000 pcm into the pension and manage to pay off the mortgage
250+ rich for life!
I'm with IronLady on this one. To be honest anyone that thinks 45k is a good salary needs a reality check -- when they discover how much you need to put away into a pension to retire at 60-65 comfortably.
Then theres the other stuff, like how much buying a place to live now costs .. how much each year rent inflation sucks away at your salary, huge rises in energy, utility, and taxes in recent years have bitten away at what could be thought of as a good salary..hell it costs £78 to fill a car with diesel! for some people thats not even a trip to work for the week,...
Dont forget too our elders had the opportunity to buy cheap assets and ride a nonstop 20year wave of consistent asset price rises ..
That 45k - 60k doesnt look so hot when half your money is gone on a basic 2bed flat each month .. and you need to put away at least £1000 a month into pension to retire comfortably at todays prices..by the time your 60, that wont be worth jack either..
So lik i said, Iron lady is right. you need to aim much higher, 250k = win
)I am 29, and pulling in just shy of 60 (and have no degree) so obviously for me, i think theres some way to go yet! xox (plz dont flame me but if you went to see an IFA on 40k a year he'd tell you .. that you were all doomed)
Exactly.
Original post by Wijjk
and you need to put away at least £1000 a month into pension to retire comfortably at todays prices..by the time your 60, that wont be worth jack either..
45k is still a very comfortable existence. It's well abovethe average gross pay of £25k for a full time worker. You could rent a nice 1-bedroom flat in central London for about 18k a year, which still leaves plenty for a pension and plenty of disposable income.
If its well managed there really shouldn't be a problem.
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