job at BMW or 6th form

My Dad earns £35k including pension, and my stepmum about £18k. We live in a semi-detached house in a fairly nice area, my Dad drives a 2 year old S-class, my stepmum a new Xsara. We feed 7 (Dad, stepmum, sister, stebrother x 2 and stepsister) near enough every night.

Even after all bills are paid, there is a lot of disposable income.

It really is, you're suggesting that the rich don't know the value of money yet you don't know the value of 30K in todays world.

^ Nope course people will not struggle however it isn't a lot of money. Imagine the days before students were given the full amount of uni fees by the LEA, and parents had to pay quite a bit still, having more than one child in full time university education at the same time would take a whole lot out of that 30K.

this is not the idea of success that some people here are talking about. this is regarded as fairly average to those of us with high ambitions, though, that's not to say that anyone with such ambitions looks down on people on under 100k (for example)... each to their own.. everyone lives their own life and we should let them.

the ambitions people have here is being able to not have to worry about money when spending - i doubt that's something you can do in your family with just £53k between 7 people. that's not to say anyone should look down on this, anyone successfully supporting a family of 7 deserves praise and respect. but everyone has their own ambitions and to some people this is fairly average, however, i dont think people should look down on those with lower ambitions. people like to be around others with similar ambitions, and they like to show off to those with lower ambitions/achievement.

My Dad earns £35k including pension, and my stepmum about £18k. We live in a semi-detached house in a fairly nice area, my Dad drives a 2 year old S-class, my stepmum a new Xsara. We feed 7 (Dad, stepmum, sister, stebrother x 2 and stepsister) near enough every night.

Even after all bills are paid, there is a lot of disposable income.

It is - people from wealth families (especially those who are still students) don't fully understand the value of money.

£30k is a lot of money. After tax/NI, you've got £1835 a month coming in. Even if you've got a £700 a month mortgage, after paying your bills you'd have ample disposable income.

Sorry, I don't agree. I come from what I suppose is a 'wealthy' family and I very much do understand the value of money. £30k is a lot of money, yes, but it seems that the OP considers that a good target when in actual fact he could make more if he put in the work. That was the point I believe.

sure, but uni arguably isnt the way to achieve it.

Yes well thats true. I guess it just depends on you academic talents. If you can go to a top 20-30 university, and you are prepared to put the work in then you have a great chance of earning good money. However if the alternative is to go to either an ill-respected university of start a job that has genuine prosects im not so sure which is better really.

I'm doing fine without a degree. Industry experience is king.

I'm not saying uni is a complete waste of time; I'm just saying only go if there are concrete goals at the end. It's not financially viable for most [including most at 'top' unis].

You are so out of touch with the real world. The majority of people don't earn £30k.

Yes I do kind of take your point actually. If a student thinks that they can go to a university, and even a top 10 one like Bristol Notts etc and just sit around and not really do any experience beleiving their degree will carry them to a good job their going to be in for a shock!

Personally speaking I am well aware of this and even before university I have got 8 months experience in finance and aim to work every summer as I know this is key.

You're not the norm, and if you believe you are then you're mistaken

Most grads/students go in because they think it'll magically give them significantly better job prospects after 3 years of study, and come out the end with a nasty shock. The number of useless jumped up grad applications from people who've mindlessly wandered through uni for the past few years that I've seen recently is shocking and horrific. They've basically wasted 3 years of what could have beenm valuable experience (in my view)

Obviously for people with a goal it's different...you're aiming to work in finance, and I daresay if you hit your checkpoints, you'll hit your goal (and reap the rewards!) Thats not just from your degree though; the degree is merely one element of the requirement for your finance job. Doctors/vets/teachers/lawyers etc will also realise their goals.

One of the reasons grads get paid so much more on average, is because of the average comparitive intelligence. Smart non-grads also do well. With so many grads, that 'intelligence gap' is gonna dissappear damned fast, and employers will look for other methods of testing...

The majority of the people I know earn many times that.
Even the fees at eton are £26k now. It is not unusual for families to have two or even three children studying at schools of that calibre.

You're not talking about a £30K salary there though are you? You're talking about a £53K salary (albeit a combined one), which isn't really comparable to £30K at all - you just like to think it is for the purposes of your argument.

Dark and Lovely - your point is irrelevant as a) far fewer people went to university and b) because of this, many of them were awarded grants that they didn't have to repay. The only ones who didn't were those with rich parents - parents on a salary of £30K probably wouldn't have had to pay any of it.