What would you class as a decent salary?

[Pink Flowers]

I am 24 and OH is 25. He is getting another pay rise in june next year so our earnings will be up to £45k between us.

 

[RileysMummy]

.

 

[Broody85]

£120k I wish

 

[LPF]

£120k I wish

The thing is, it's not as inconceivable as people think.

My dh started teaching 8 yrs ago and his starting salary (at 24) was around 20k. He has worked hard and changed jobs regularly to move up the ladder and is now a faculty head earning 45k. He could be a head teacher in 10-15 yrs earning 100-120k and that's what he wants to do.

 

[Redhead84]

Yep, if you're prepared to pit the hours in the rewards are there.

I started as a trainee solicitor on £40k, this Rose to 70k on qualification - and I'm now on more as I said above - my days often start at 6am and end at gone 9, probably once a week I'll be at the office gone midnight and weekend working is pretty common.

Having a family will temper the hours, but it does not necessarily have to ruin my ambition. My OH is prepared to be a stay at home dad for a time if that's what we deem the right thing at any time, ad we will make our family and work lives balance with a view to a future of absolute financial security.

 

[kmbabycrazy]

Before OH was made redundant our collective income was around £17k a year and that was plenty for us. We have a lovely, good sized 3 bedroom house, we could afford all our bills and food and still had some to spare for luxuries. However, neither of us drive so we don't have insurance, road tax, petrol to pay for. I really want us to start driving soon so we're looking for better income on his next job and mine too as I won't be returning to my last job when I finish maternity leave as they did not renew my contract x

 

[Tasha]

I agree it depends on where you live. Our rent is £18k a year, so 20k just isnt possible.

 

[rhdr9193..x]

Some of these incomes! Wow! I wouldn't know what to do with that much money. OH supports our family on approx 15k a year,(self employed so varies a lot), and when I'm qualified starting wage will be about 12k. My income will be disposable income which I can't really get my head around! Talking 3 years down the line though x

 

[baby_mama87]

It depends on where you live and what you do... And what is a good salary for your job.

I'' a corporate lawyer and won't take anything less than £120k as a salary, and expect it to get a lot bigger in the next 5 years. I certainy wouldn't go do long hours in a high street law firm for 30k, it may sound snobby but I worked hard to get where I am and now would consider under 6 figures derisible.

My OH is in sales and brings home around £50-60k - we'd very much struggle if that was our total take home.

Shoulda went to law school your combined salary would be like winning the lotto to me! good for you though! Do you mind me asking what area of uk you live in is it down south?

Xx

 

[Soccergurl3]

I live in Canada and It must be a lot differnt here. My husband works in the oilfield and make $110k a year and I make $45k a year. It is a lot of money to some but when your expenses are $6500 a month ($3000 mortgage, $900 for Daycare and so on) It doesn't seem like that much is left over

 

[mummy3]

Depends where you live for sure! We used to live in Lancashire and could easily make 20k work but now we live in San Diego and earn 6x that but still not living it up, with me as SAHM and hubby 9-5 as an engineering manager.

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

All this thread has done is made me sad i didn't go to law school lmao.

 

[blondey]

Yep, if you're prepared to pit the hours in the rewards are there.

I started as a trainee solicitor on £40k, this Rose to 70k on qualification - and I'm now on more as I said above - my days often start at 6am and end at gone 9, probably once a week I'll be at the office gone midnight and weekend working is pretty common.

Having a family will temper the hours, but it does not necessarily have to ruin my ambition. My OH is prepared to be a stay at home dad for a time if that's what we deem the right thing at any time, ad we will make our family and work lives balance with a view to a future of absolute financial security.

When did you qualify? To be honest things are pretty different out there at the moment and it's not just about putting in the hours, it more to do with being able to get your foot in the door, which I had trouble with, despite having a first!

Well done to you though. Having spoken to a couple of solicitors who were training to be a special with me, the hours are long but I guess that's what you come to expect with that sort of salary!

It depends on where you live and what you do... And what is a good salary for your job.

I'' a corporate lawyer and won't take anything less than £120k as a salary, and expect it to get a lot bigger in the next 5 years. I certainy wouldn't go do long hours in a high street law firm for 30k, it may sound snobby but I worked hard to get where I am and now would consider under 6 figures derisible.

My OH is in sales and brings home around £50-60k - we'd very much struggle if that was our total take home.

Shoulda went to law school your combined salary would be like winning the lotto to me! good for you though! Do you mind me asking what area of uk you live in is it down south?

Xx

I decided not to go to law school too. I couldn't justify spending 13k + doing it and being out of work and then no guarantee of a training contract at the end of it! Plus some of the paralegal jobs I was looking at wanted the LPC and only paid about 12k! After forking out all that!!

I might go back to it in a few years, but at the moment I am hopefully becoming a police officer instead.

xx

I think when people who have said they earn the higher incomes and they would struggle on 50/60k I would assume they mean they would struggle on this AFTER being on 100k. I mean, they would have a mortgage, cars, outgoings all based on 100k. Obviously someone who was used to 20k who went up to 50k wouldn't struggle, but if they got used to it and amended their style of living accordingly then of course they'll struggle to if their income went back down.

xx

 

[Poppeteer]

Yep, if you're prepared to pit the hours in the rewards are there.

I started as a trainee solicitor on £40k, this Rose to 70k on qualification - and I'm now on more as I said above - my days often start at 6am and end at gone 9, probably once a week I'll be at the office gone midnight and weekend working is pretty common.

Having a family will temper the hours, but it does not necessarily have to ruin my ambition. My OH is prepared to be a stay at home dad for a time if that's what we deem the right thing at any time, ad we will make our family and work lives balance with a view to a future of absolute financial security.

Good for you!!!

Hubby and I too worked hard at our education, and we are both medical professionals and collectively we earn over region of £130,000. I'm currently only part-time too, but will increase my hours once our lo is older.

But we are by no means loaded. We live comfortably, eat what we want, live in a nice 3 bed semi in a nice part of south east. Drive nice-ish cars. Don't smoke or drink, buy most clothes from primark, next, phase 8 occasionally, hubby obviously needs decent suits too.... But that's it.

We certainly don't buy anything outrageous or 'feel' loaded... It just a normal lifestyle... I think a lot is to do with where you live.... A 25k salary here wouldn't be enough to get you a 1 bed flat... Or even studio flat.

 

[indy and lara]

Yep, if you're prepared to pit the hours in the rewards are there.

I started as a trainee solicitor on £40k, this Rose to 70k on qualification - and I'm now on more as I said above - my days often start at 6am and end at gone 9, probably once a week I'll be at the office gone midnight and weekend working is pretty common.

Having a family will temper the hours, but it does not necessarily have to ruin my ambition. My OH is prepared to be a stay at home dad for a time if that's what we deem the right thing at any time, ad we will make our family and work lives balance with a view to a future of absolute financial security.

When did you qualify? To be honest things are pretty different out there at the moment and it's not just about putting in the hours, it more to do with being able to get your foot in the door, which I had trouble with, despite having a first!

Well done to you though. Having spoken to a couple of solicitors who were training to be a special with me, the hours are long but I guess that's what you come to expect with that sort of salary!

It depends on where you live and what you do... And what is a good salary for your job.

I'' a corporate lawyer and won't take anything less than £120k as a salary, and expect it to get a lot bigger in the next 5 years. I certainy wouldn't go do long hours in a high street law firm for 30k, it may sound snobby but I worked hard to get where I am and now would consider under 6 figures derisible.

My OH is in sales and brings home around £50-60k - we'd very much struggle if that was our total take home.

Shoulda went to law school your combined salary would be like winning the lotto to me! good for you though! Do you mind me asking what area of uk you live in is it down south?

Xx

I think this is very true. My cousin has a first from Edinburgh, extensive post grad qualifications but cannot get a training contract for love or money. They really are like hens' teeth up here just now yet had she qualified 18 months before she did, it would have been very different.

 

[Redhead84]

To answer the question of when I qualified, 2008... I graduated from Magdalen, Oxford in 2005 and completed by LPC, starting work in Sept 06 with Allen and Overy. I was lucky, I got my LPC paid for by the firm but I do know it's getting harder and harder, especially with the Law Society bailing on it's young trainees by refusing to put a realistic minimum wage in place.

I'm in Leeds at the moment, having managed to find myself a plum job in my sector... Mergers and the regulatory aspects of financial law along with some equity and banking (not at all the fun stuff) as it's in demand in the current climate.

We will go back to London, I've had offers from a couple of firms.. My old one, and Clifford Chance to return so it'd be silly not to.

If anyone wants any advice on trainig contracts or where to go career wise in law, just drop me a line

 

[Abigailly]

It's hard for me to pick numbers as my partner is self employed. But when he got his new contract he should have been on £400+VAT a day, and was offered a bit less than that, and for some un be known reason, that irritated us?! That was more than I made a month when I worked part time!! I love the frrdom having the money brings but at the same time I know when I was a single mum on £12k I would of loved to be earning 16k. It all depends on your expectations and situations.

 

[Abigailly]

To answer the question of when I qualified, 2008... I graduated from Magdalen, Oxford in 2005 and completed by LPC, starting work in Sept 06 with Allen and Overy. I was lucky, I got my LPC paid for by the firm but I do know it's getting harder and harder, especially with the Law Society bailing on it's young trainees by refusing to put a realistic minimum wage in place.

I'm in Leeds at the moment, having managed to find myself a plum job in my sector... Mergers and the regulatory aspects of financial law along with some equity and banking (not at all the fun stuff) as it's in demand in the current climate.

We will go back to London, I've had offers from a couple of firms.. My old one, and Clifford Chance to return so it'd be silly not to.

If anyone wants any advice on trainig contracts or where to go career wise in law, just drop me a line

Possibly one of the most stunning buildings I've ever been in!

 

[Louise-H'08]

Well that's depressing. My OH and I are earning jointly about £26k but i didn't think we were that far behind the good earners.

We manage to pay all our bills, live in a decent sized 3 bed terrace and still have enough for a take-out once a month. I think we're doing ok for now.

We don't get any benefits or anything.

 

[sue_88]

I have just got a new job and salary is £30k. I have a degree & very clear career progression. I deem this an OK salary for the job I do, I ideally should be on £35k or more, but the location was more important. 2 years ago I started my career earning £17k and it was a struggle to live how I liked.

My OH earns about 4 times what I earn, plus very good overtime.

We are going to be moving to Chester in 4 weeks, live a very comfortable lifestyle & consider ourselves truly blessed to earn what we do, but we do work very hard.