The Student Room Group

Which graduates are most likely to make 50k+ in their careers?

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Original post by TurboCretin
But that doesn't mean that a given IR grad is likely to make that amount because of the degree they did.


It's not rocket science, but as far as I can see, IR grads are doing quite well. There's a lot of competition, but I guess that's normal for most careers. The thing is that we don't have a "grad scheme" like other careers, so sometimes it looks uncertain from the outside.
surprised not see engineering more often.. chartered engineers avg salary is above 50k
Original post by Wisefire
So, apart from making it apparent you really are highly enthusiastic about being successful/having a successful (and I suppose somewhat lucrative) job, and leading a successful team, what can someone do, in terms of work experience, to show they possess 'leadership skills' at an early age (i.e now, as a 17 year old like I am)? What can I do now to bolster my experiences/competencies/'qualifications' in leadership (as I'm fully aware you need to clearly show evidence of what you say you are in your CV)? Any suggestions, anyone?

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One of the best things I did at uni was to found a popular (both among students and employers) activity, and to place myself in the leadership role of it in doing so. Founding something made attaining that role much easier than running for one of the existing positions, and demonstrated a whole host of other things like business-mindedness, initiative and drive.
Original post by TurboCretin
One of the best things I did at uni was to found a popular (both among students and employers) activity, and to place myself in the leadership role of it in doing so. Founding something made attaining that role much easier than running for one of the existing positions, and demonstrated a whole host of other things like business-mindedness, initiative and drive.


OK. I'm probably going to do this, but out of interest (obviously not at this stage yet), how exactly do you go about this process? So would you ask/inform the university administrative people or professors, and then? Could you sort of briefly outline what exactly you did to set it up? It's the setting up part of life in general that confuses me (how exactly you set up a business always has, for example lol).
Honestly I don't understand why people on this act like £50k is not a good salary :laugh:. My Mother managed to raise my 3 siblings and I (single-handedly) successfully on a salary less than half of that. I admit, it wasn't really comfortable but it was enough imo.

I do realise that many people who post things like this get slated on here for having "no ambition" and are considered failures etc, but I currently hold an offer for Mech Eng at a top 5 uni (hopefully I get in) and I reckon I have a fair shot of achieving a salary above £50k. To me, that's a lot of money for a 30 year old. The national average salary is around about £26k...

Basically what I'm saying is, it all depends on your experience/outlook on life. If you're like me then yeah £50k is satisfactory (although I hope to make more), however if you've been brought up with money etc, you will have less appreciation, so of course, £50k will be "just average".
(edited 9 years ago)
Only talented and gifted people earn that kind of money or doctors and dentists. Alas, for the rest of us, it's enough of a blessing not to be tied to benefit handouts.:sigh:

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Original post by LakAnne
Only talented and gifted people earn that kind of money or doctors and dentists. Alas, for the rest of us, it's enough of a blessing not to be tied to benefit handouts.:sigh:

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Don't think like that, or you'll never make it. Im a dentist myself but plenty of my friends who didn't get amazing a level grades or go to top unis/study good degrees are doing well now, much better than some of those who went to those unis.
Nowadays, especially in the UK, you can make money doing anything.
Original post by alevelzzz
Thats why I adressed this in the post apart from medicine and dentistry, all other degrees' worth is based on the university its from.
I think a lot of people dont realise how much 50k really is on TSR too. Outside of London, 50k is a SERIOUSLY good salary.


It's both higher than the mean and the median. A lot higher...
Original post by M1011
£60-70k for first year IB? More like £45k? Still very high, but think your numbers are a bit high for a first year!

£45k is the usual 1st year base salary, now add on bonus and you will get the figures I mentioned.
Original post by LeBron96
Honestly I don't understand why people on this act like £50k is not a good salary :laugh:. My Mother managed to raise my 3 siblings and I (single-handedly) successfully on a salary less than half of that. I admit, it wasn't really comfortable but it was enough imo.
1) When your mother was young, houses cost around 3-4x the average UK salary. In the modern day, the average house in the UK costs 10x the average full time UK salary, and inside London this increases to 21x the average full time salary. In your mothers day, someone with a lower middle class salary could easily afford to buy a 3 bed house in a decent area and send their kids to a good school, but this is absolutely not the case today. If you earn £50k in London today then you wont even be able to rent a 1 bed flat in a decent area, let alone buy anything.

2) Was your mother getting government benefits? Did she live in a heavily subsidised council house?

3) Did your mother live in a high cost of living area?

£50k is a poverty salary in the South East when you have children. Obviously people do manage to live on £20-30k year, however they either a) bought their house before the late 1990s boom and so dont need to worry about accommodation costs, b) get substantial amount of government benefits (the typical London family who earns £20-30k year gets around £15k in tax-free benefits from the government for free), and c) are happy sending their kids to crappy state schools where they will get a bad education.

Outside the south-east your salary will obviously stretch further, but good luck finding a job that pays £50k anywhere north of Cambridge.
(edited 9 years ago)
I don't live in London, just outside it though and we rent our house. Yes you're right about the benefits thing, she does receive them, but not as much because she also works full-time. Also, I evidently didn't receive poor education :laugh:.
Original post by poohat
1) When your mother was young, houses cost around 3x the average UK salary. In the modern day, they now cost around 5x the average salary outside London, and around 10x the average salary inside London.

2) Was your mother getting government benefits? Did she live in a heavily subsidised council house?

3) Did your mother live in a high cost of living area?

£50k is a poverty salary in the South East when you have children. Obviously people do manage to live on £20-30k year, however they either a) bought their house before the late 1990s boom and so dont need to worry about accomodation costs, b) getting substantial amount of government benefits (the typical London family who earns £20-30k year gets around £15k in tax-free benefits from the government for free), or c) are fine sending their kids to crappy state schools where they will get a bad education.


This. Things are changing rapidly. Don't think people realise it yet.

You cannot go on the argument 'My family managed on 30k a year here so I can as well' things are fundamentally changing. You need to get yourself ahead of the curve.

My mum brought me up on hardly anything (only child) on about 10-12k plus benefits, if that. We live in London Zone 6 and worked out to do that today as a first time buyer you'd need a joint income of around 60-70k due to excessive housing costs. And that's to live very modestly indeed. I mean, we're talking two bedrooms. So for an actual family with more than one kid, it'd be more like 100k+.

The government have made it clear they are going to do **** all about this issue so you will have to find a way to manage this yourself.

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Original post by poohat
1) When your mother was young, houses cost around 3x the average UK salary. In the modern day, the average house in the UK costs 10x the average full time UK salary, and inside London this increases to 21x the average full time salary. In your mothers day, someone with a lower middle class salary could easily afford to buy a 3 bed house in a decent area and send their kids to a good school, but this is absolutely not the case today. If you earn £50k in London today then you wont even be able to rent a 1 bed flat in a decent area, let alone buy anything.

2) Was your mother getting government benefits? Did she live in a heavily subsidised council house?

3) Did your mother live in a high cost of living area?

£50k is a poverty salary in the South East when you have children. Obviously people do manage to live on £20-30k year, however they either a) bought their house before the late 1990s boom and so dont need to worry about accommodation costs, b) get substantial amount of government benefits (the typical London family who earns £20-30k year gets around £15k in tax-free benefits from the government for free), and c) are happy sending their kids to crappy state schools where they will get a bad education.

Outside the south-east your salary will obviously stretch further, but good luck finding a job that pays £50k anywhere north of Cambridge.


Good answer. Exactly. So, with your thinking, what would you say is a good enough salary to be able to do everything you just suggested, and be able to save on top of that. Just an individual's salary; don't consider total household income. Set aside tax of course. £50k means £35k actual cash. That's ****. What actual amount of money, after tax, would you say is enough to do everything you said then?

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This is why I will never live in London. Not worth it unless you're in big firms.
Original post by LeBron96

I do realise that many people who post things like this get slated on here for having "no ambition" and are considered failures etc, but I currently hold an offer for Mech Eng at a top 5 uni (hopefully I get in) and I reckon I have a fair shot of achieving a salary above £50k. To me, that's a lot of money for a 30 year old. The national average salary is around about £26k...
.
After tax and student loans, £50k a year is a take home salary of £33k (it will take around 15-20 years to clear your student loans on a £50k salary, so you can consider it a lifelong tax for all intents and purposes).

Lets say you have someone living in London working a low paid job where they only earn £20k a year. This works out as £16k after tax. Assuming that they have 2 children (which most people do in their 30s), they will be entitled to £14300 of government benefits every year, which roughly breaks down as £7k housing benefit, £5k child benefit, £2k tax credit (you can check the numbers here: http://www.entitledto.co.uk/ if you dont believe the numbers are so high). This means that their net earnings is £30,300.

So in practice, your £50k job means that you have £2700 a year more than someone who is working a near-minimum wage £20k job. Enjoy your 'high salary'.
Original post by Wisefire
Good answer. Exactly. So, with your thinking, what would you say is a good enough salary to be able to do everything you just suggested, and be able to save on top of that. Just an individual's salary; don't consider total household income. Set aside tax of course. £50k means £35k actual cash. That's ****. What actual amount of money, after tax, would you say is enough to do everything you said then?

Realistically its unlikely that most people will ever be able to buy a house in a decent part of London unless someone in their family gives them a substantial sum of money or they are earning over £100k. Most people these days buy in their 30s and have gifts of tens of thousands of pounds from their parents to make it possible, and even then they have to buy in fairly bad areas.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by poohat
After tax and student loans, £50k a year is a take home salary of £33k (it will take around 15-20 years to clear your student loans on a £50k salary, so you can consider it a lifelong tax for all intents and purposes).

Lets say you have someone living in London working a low paid job where they only earn £20k a year. This works out as £16k after tax. Assuming that they have 2 children (which most people do in their 30s), they will be entitled to £14300 of government benefits every year, which roughly breaks down as £7k housing benefit, £5k child benefit, £2k tax credit (you can check the numbers here: http://www.entitledto.co.uk/ if you dont believe the numbers are so high). This means that their net earnings is £30,300.

So in practice, your £50k job means that you have £2700 a year more than someone who is working a near-minimum wage £20k job. Enjoy your 'high salary'.


^ And that explains the government deficit in one paragraph.

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Original post by poohat
After tax and student loans, £50k a year is a take home salary of £33k (it will take around 15-20 years to clear your student loans on a £50k salary, so you can consider it a lifelong tax for all intents and purposes).

Lets say you have someone living in London working a low paid job where they only earn £20k a year. This works out as £16k after tax. Assuming that they have 2 children (which most people do in their 30s), they will be entitled to £14300 of government benefits every year, which roughly breaks down as £7k housing benefit, £5k child benefit, £2k tax credit (you can check the numbers here: http://www.entitledto.co.uk/ if you dont believe the numbers are so high). This means that their net earnings is £30,300.

So in practice, your £50k job means that you have £2700 a year more than someone who is working a near-minimum wage £20k job. Enjoy your 'high salary'.


50K is a lot of money outside of the south east, so yes, it is a high salary.
Original post by noshahmad
Going into law can assure you earn 50K+ by the time you're 30,
That's only if you work in the UK top law firms,
I know a guy working at where I done my work exp, he's 26 and he earns 59K so if you can learn yourself a training contract and they keep you on then when you're an associate you can earn quite a bit,
Not to mention the partners who are like 35 and earn 100K+ with bonuses

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Original post by Wisefire
Wow. That's actually pretty damn good (those particular prospects).

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The sky's the limit with the top law firms really. I know a 25 year old who's working at an American law firm who's earning in excess of 100K. I think that's about the norm for the top US firms in London.

And at Slaughter and May once you join the partnership after about 10 years your salary jumps to 700K.

No wonder it's so competitive.
Original post by alevelzzz
50K is a lot of money outside of the south east, so yes, it is a high salary.

£50k is good money outside the south east, however it is incredibly difficult to find jobs that pay that much if you arent in London.

Also while £50k is a good salary up north, you will still struggle to afford things which would have been considered the basics of middle class life a few decades ago, and were available to people who made the equivalent of that salary (eg sending your kids to independent school, 2 cars, etc). So no, you arent going to be poor, but you will be less well-off than a similar professional 20 years ago.

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