Young High Earners

MissTingle

Hi Leeds_Lad

I'm 24 and earn £38 500- i'm very proud of myself as i'm quite successful in my field however *sometimes* I feel like i'm in the wrong career and now trapped as I don't know if we would manage if I took a pay cut. I love being able to live comfortably but I don't know if it the money is worth the 'what if' feeling.

dave4545454

MissTingle wrote: »

Hi Leeds_Lad

I'm 24 and earn £38 500- i'm very proud of myself as i'm quite successful in my field however *sometimes* I feel like i'm in the wrong career and now trapped as I don't know if we would manage if I took a pay cut. I love being able to live comfortably but I don't know if it the money is worth the 'what if' feeling.

personally i don't think the money is worth that if you're missing out on doing something you really want to do, following your dreams. the personal reward far outweighs any monetary reward and you might end up regretting it in future life if you don't make that decision.

property.advert

leeds_lad wrote: »

I've heard that's where there's a lot of money - I'm guessing very high pressure and exceptional CV to get the job? Long hours in London too?

Not really. The hardest part was the very same reason I flunked an interview at Goldman Sachs. There is no industry with the same terminology or the same corporate structure. There is no course to teach you what you need to know to get inside. I was very young and asked about front, mid and back office. I hadn't a clue but had they expanded the terms I would have known. I flunked that but learned and moved on.

I had no colleagues or friends in the industry and it took a route via insurance to a custodian bank to break into investment banking and then not in the right area. But once inside, you are well rewarded but then again, a small family house in London costs over £1,000,000 so you cannot afford to buy somewhere to live if you earn a UK average salary. Pretty much you need 75k to buy a one bed place and 150k or some capital to get onto the decent flat come crap house list. The UK average salary (25k) is school fees (for one).

The thing you have to stop yourself doing is continually increasing your expenditure, even at the same percentage of your income.

I lost millions and had some hidden but have debts and maybe I'll get another 5 or so year bite an the cherry to pick up my last chance at another million. I sure won't be spending it this time or getting married again !

Is it difficult ? Yes and no. It is too much for some people as their brains cannot work that well or that fast but if yours can, then it can be taxing at times and relaxing otherwise. You are around the crème de la crème though but there are enough thickos around to make even the average shine in some areas.

Hermia

Chinkle wrote: »

I fail to see the relevance of the post. The only way the OP can realistically compare himself is with contemporaries in the same industry as him

It's even hard comparing yourself with people in the same industry. In my profession salary can vary widely depending on what sector you are in. A friend who was on the same postgraduate course as me earns £12k more than me for exactly the same job. But I chose to work for a charity and he chose to work for a multinational.

Pete111

property.advert wrote: »

Not really. The hardest part was the very same reason I flunked an interview at Goldman Sachs. There is no industry with the same terminology or the same corporate structure. There is no course to teach you what you need to know to get inside. I was very young and asked about front, mid and back office. I hadn't a clue but had they expanded the terms I would have known. I flunked that but learned and moved on.

I had no colleagues or friends in the industry and it took a route via insurance to a custodian bank to break into investment banking and then not in the right area. But once inside, you are well rewarded but then again, a small family house in London costs over £1,000,000 so you cannot afford to buy somewhere to live if you earn a UK average salary. Pretty much you need 75k to buy a one bed place and 150k or some capital to get onto the decent flat come crap house list. The UK average salary (25k) is school fees (for one).

The thing you have to stop yourself doing is continually increasing your expenditure, even at the same percentage of your income.

I lost millions and had some hidden but have debts and maybe I'll get another 5 or so year bite an the cherry to pick up my last chance at another million. I sure won't be spending it this time or getting married again !

Is it difficult ? Yes and no. It is too much for some people as their brains cannot work that well or that fast but if yours can, then it can be taxing at times and relaxing otherwise. You are around the crème de la crème though but there are enough thickos around to make even the average shine in some areas.

A lot of the above represents sage advice but I would dispute the highlighted house price info ...

You will need probably need 600k+ for fair sized place in a decent area but unless you only want to live in Kensington you are over egging things a touch here property.advert!

poshpet

Hi LeedsLad I do not know why there were so many negative comments made towards you I do not see a problem with what you asked and that you are proud of your achievements so far! Maybe there are many people that wish they had taken a different career path and are bitter that they didn't so they are venting there frustration on you!
I am 24 and very pleased with my self and proud of the way my career has gone so far, I left school at 16 and started an apprenticeship in electrical engineering, started on only around 8k + overtime then yearly increments after a 4 year apprenticeship I was on 21k + overtime which was around 26k not bad for a 20 year old. After my apprenticeship I moved to a new job 23k + overtime (total around 35k) + company car + pension etc 1st year earnings were down as I was training so overtime payments were paid at time and not time and a half. now 4 years after taking this "new" job basic 26K + overtime + overseas allowance (total around 47k) + company car + pension 7.5% etc

jackieb

My son is 25 and he earns £42k. He's about to get a pay rise to £48k, and he still has one more to go before he's fully qualified.

He left school at 16, with good GCSE results and went on to college to do marine engineering. Got a job and hated it. Went back to college to do an HNC in mechanical engineering. He worked in a fish factory and as a gravedigger while he was waiting for a place in an apprenticeship scheme to come up. He got in. He finished his apprenticeship and is now a trainee instrument technician (which there are a shortage of). He works for 2 weeks (12 hours a day for 14 days) and then gets 3 weeks off. His employers have asked him if he wants to do a degree (in his own time, they pay for it) and he's going to go for it.

smartpicture

I'm not young, but I do earn a lot of money in finance / IT, and I would say there are two secrets to earning lots of money.

1. Be lucky, by being in the right place at the right time. I should add that this is the viewpoint of friends and family who don't earn lots of money. The inside view is that if you work hard, work long hours, keep educating yourself, be willing to make changes and try new career steps even when they scare you and are way outside your comfort zone, then when a "lucky" opportunity presents itself, you are in the right position and with the right skills, experience and attitude to take advantage of it. Take your pick which version you believe.

2. Work for yourself. Once you've got a good grounding, the best way to make serious money is to work for yourself rather than for the benefit of the organisation that employs you. Of course, you also have to willing to lose everything (financially) when you choose this path, which may be why it's not so popular as the 'be lucky' theory.

Tarry

I guess I'm a low earner, but hey I'm happy, I watch my spending, and I can get overtime in busy periods, and have a nice long summer to put those hours in. I count my blessings as I am lucky to have a job, and although I'm far from successful, I am a worker.

leeds_lad_3

sulkisu wrote: »

leeds_lad

On the 'up your income' forum, there is a thread entitled 'list your job and wage (sorry, I don't know how to post a link to it). It has been running since May 2009. Some people have included their age, so this might prove useful to you.

Many thanks - not sure why that person just got a loads of replies in response to their question and I got a load of complaints, but I'll take my interest there.