The Student Room Group

Why do companies pay so low?

I mean seriously, when you expect me to do the same job as someone getting paid 4-5x the same amount.

It's completely un-liveable and restricts opportunities to people who still live with their parents.

I'm looking to move to London and 95%+ of vacancies take the piss with pay with salaries under 12k per year which completely blocks me from even applying.

Do they actually fill their spaces paying this low?
Original post by Fatcoin
I mean seriously, when you expect me to do the same job as someone getting paid 4-5x the same amount.

It's completely un-liveable and restricts opportunities to people who still live with their parents.

I'm looking to move to London and 95%+ of vacancies take the piss with pay with salaries under 12k per year which completely blocks me from even applying.

Do they actually fill their spaces paying this low?


Yeah they do fill those positions because when push comes to shove someone would rather take the minimal salary job then not have a job at all. Companies charge low salaries because they can... However if the job is high in demand with few qualified people then the salary will be much higher of course.
12K per year? That cannot be full time?

If someone is getting paid a lot more, I expect the nature of their work is much different to a new employee in a way that is not apparent on the job description.
Reply 3
Original post by Fatcoin
I mean seriously, when you expect me to do the same job as someone getting paid 4-5x the same amount.

It's completely un-liveable and restricts opportunities to people who still live with their parents.

I'm looking to move to London and 95%+ of vacancies take the piss with pay with salaries under 12k per year which completely blocks me from even applying.

Do they actually fill their spaces paying this low?


Well you don't get paid the same because you're not as qualified.

That offset in salary is what you should be spending on your training costs.
Reply 4
Original post by Tubbz
Well you don't get paid the same because you're not as qualified.

That offset in salary is what you should be spending on your training costs.


I fully understand that in some places taking a knock in salary is worth it, but there are loads which in my opinion shouldn't be allowed. Bar Staff, Warehouse etc paying £120 a week for 37.5 hours.
Original post by Fatcoin
I mean seriously, when you expect me to do the same job as someone getting paid 4-5x the same amount.

It's completely un-liveable and restricts opportunities to people who still live with their parents.

I'm looking to move to London and 95%+ of vacancies take the piss with pay with salaries under 12k per year which completely blocks me from even applying.

Do they actually fill their spaces paying this low?

Because apprenticeships are training. As Tubbz said, you aren't qualified to be working in that field yet and the apprenticeship is there to train you, so that you are qualified. For instance, I am currently doing a degree apprenticeship at 17k but in my third year it rises to 28k with 2k bonus. I was even offered a place on another degree apprenticeship where I would've been earning 20k in my first year.

Also, you may not be looking in the right places for apprenticeships, I was very lucky to find mine on indeed.
Just realised this was about Apprenticeships.

Yeah, you get paid very very poorly.

Original post by squirrology
Because apprenticeships are training. As Tubbz said, you aren't qualified to be working in that field yet and the apprenticeship is there to train you, so that you are qualified. For instance, I am currently doing a degree apprenticeship at 17k but in my third year it rises to 28k with 2k bonus. I was even offered a place on another degree apprenticeship where I would've been earning 20k in my first year.

Also, you may not be looking in the right places for apprenticeships, I was very lucky to find mine on indeed.


Pshhh You got yourself a golden ticket! Which company and what are you training for?
If you still live with your parents, an Apprenticeship is easier. Now if you were paying rent and bills, that is where the real impossible challenge comes in!!!
Reply 8
Original post by Fatcoin
I fully understand that in some places taking a knock in salary is worth it, but there are loads which in my opinion shouldn't be allowed. Bar Staff, Warehouse etc paying £120 a week for 37.5 hours.


No I agree with you, that's criminal, and the people overseeing the qualification should see it as that 37.5 hours a week includes your study time. So you can only do say 20 hours on the bar, and the remaining 17.5 have to be dedicated as study time.
Reply 9
Original post by Algorithmic
If you still live with your parents, an Apprenticeship is easier. Now if you were paying rent and bills, that is where the real impossible challenge comes in!!!


90% of the people on my apprenticeship didn't live with parents. I supported a family of 3 on my apprenticeship salary.

It's this negative connotation of apprenticeships that really only applies to service industry apprenticeships, that puts people off.

Engineering, IT, Finance, they all pay really well at entry level, to the point where you are more than able to support a family, or even that uni lifestyle, without the debt.
People in this country don't negotiate nearly enough and will beg for more hours rather than raise the issue or apply elsewhere and move around every so often.
Reply 11
Original post by Ganjaweed Rebel
People in this country don't negotiate nearly enough and will beg for more hours rather than raise the issue or apply elsewhere and move around every so often.


How do you beg for more hours/better salary with an apprenticeship that has a structured pay scheme?

Pray tell...
Original post by Tubbz
90% of the people on my apprenticeship didn't live with parents. I supported a family of 3 on my apprenticeship salary.

It's this negative connotation of apprenticeships that really only applies to service industry apprenticeships, that puts people off.

Engineering, IT, Finance, they all pay really well at entry level, to the point where you are more than able to support a family, or even that uni lifestyle, without the debt.


Daaaamn. wow that's bad.

Though I did get paid ~£130 in a software development apprenticeship per week. But I didn't have family to support.

Well, I did. But it wasn't that often that I had to lend money to my parents.
Reply 13
Original post by Algorithmic
Daaaamn. wow that's bad.

Though I did get paid ~£130 in a software development apprenticeship per week. But I didn't have family to support.

Well, I did. But it wasn't that often that I had to lend money to my parents.


My starting salary was ~£16k and climbed quickly.

I don't think I mentioned parents, I was referring to partner and child.
Original post by Tubbz
How do you beg for more hours/better salary with an apprenticeship that has a structured pay scheme?

Pray tell...


That's a part of the problem the fact your pay scheme is telegraphed to be kept artificially low is what's screwing you
Original post by Algorithmic

Pshhh You got yourself a golden ticket! Which company and what are you training for?

It's a global management consultancy firm in London and it's training to become a software engineer.

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