19 Seeking a reasonable wage

nikki2804

I work in a call centre and my yearly wage is £17330 albeit pro rata. My OH earns £17500 in the same role however it is one of the better paying employers in our area and unfortunately they have a recruitment freeze atm. I started at 18 and my starting wage was £14000.

I've taken on 2nd jobs, I currently work in a bar on NWM to top up my house deposit. If it came to it I would go to McD's for a job. They hours suit and it would probably put me off fast food for life which would help the waistline.

The bottom line is, in this day and age you are lucky to have a job. I'm sure that many of the unemployed would be happy to have your NMW job with an @rsy manager.

Life is what you make it, you work to live, not live to work and all that!

bengalknights

Ketchup21 wrote: »

I usually just read posts here but I've registered to reply to this thread.

I'm 19 and I'm earning above 16k so it can be done but I do feel like I've been very lucky. I started on an apprenticeship when I was 18, so I was able to get experience and honestly the pay wasn't that bad although obviously the pay will vary depending the company.

I really think that's the best way to get into things now, like you said work from the bottom up. If you get in with a company, even if the pay isn't that great, maybe someone will retire or leave and you'd be able to apply for their job.

The public sector (where I live at least) is really under represented with 16-24 year olds, so a lot of training opportunities seem to be popping up. If you want to earn above 11k try searching council websites for vacancies, as many still seem to be hiring despite all the redundancies. Or there's plenty of apprenticeship websites around, if you're happy sacrificing a year or two of not so great pay.

I agree with you totally i did an apprenticeship in finance and its got me to where i am today.The first 2 years of apprenticeships are always the learning curve with low salarys but once you got the experience and qualifications you quickly start earning more.

Coeus

Hi Fine.

End of the day you will only be paid as much as your employer thinks you are worth. Generally there are two drivers for levels of salary being (i) education and (ii) experience. From the information provided, you really have neither. Please do not take this as an insult, I am just trying to provide my opinion of a realistic view.

To generalise your current level of education (college) is average and as such would be unlikely to demand a salary above your current wage. This may however differ were you to pursue a career in direct relation to your computer programming degree and specialise.

Unless you can prove to an potential employer any significant skill set achieved in your roles at the supermarket/McDonalds your work experience to date would likely be considered poor by potential employers.

How many people do you believe could do your jobs to date? The fewer the number the greater your worth. As such you need to remedy (i) and (ii) mentioned above. Only then will you be in a position to warrant a higher salary amongst your current peers. How you go about achieving this is something you must decide.

cgk1

purcel wrote: »

Average wage £25k? Where abouts is that?

Me and my husband we are both over 30 and both in middle management positions and we are both earning way under £25k each!

Like others have said, consider yourself lucky to have a job, in the meanwhile just keep your eye for another one, more suitable for you. Good luck!

Truthfully it must be a small or badly run business if you are in middle management and earning less that the average wage. Any middle management position that pays less than £25,000 a year is either not a middle management position or your employers are taking you for a ride...

cgk1

Fine wrote: »

I left school and immediately got a job in a local supermarket at 16 earning about £6 an hour. This was only part-time as I was also studying at college. After I had finished my 2 year course I decided to change my workplace and go full time somewhere, unfortunately after weeks and weeks of applying my only option was McDonalds @ £4.90/hr!!

It was a temporary move to pay off my car insurance (£210/month) which I find highly ridiculous as I only drive a little fiesta I purchased for £600.

I now find myself 5 months in and struggling to find a way out. My wage pays a little rent for my mum, my car insurance, my petrol and a few bob for a night out or whatever.

My working conditions are awful, running around a hot kitchen all day being spoken too like dirt by someone with a white shirt on £1 more than me.. All im looking for is a reasonable wage, im on about £8,000 which I feel should at least be doubled?

Am I asking too much?

Sadly, without qualifications or anything particularly unique or useful to sell in the (labour) market you are going to struggle to earn more. There are more drones than drone level positions and that problem is going to get worse.

Jowo_2

Fine wrote: »

I have seen McDonalds take on the village idiot, how could I be lucky to have a job there I just dont understand, call me naive :S

You're not coming across as particularly mature - better paying jobs often have a management responsibility to them and leadership isn't about sneering at colleagues.

Have you any urges to become self-employed? are you entreprenerial? That's where the money is but that's also where the risks are. It takes oodles of inspiration, planning and hard-work to make money and it's easy to lose your shirt. If you think you would get better job satisfaction being your own boss, then look at the Princes Trust, Shell Livewire and Business Link websites.

Of course, then, if you still only turnover 8k, you'll have no-one to blame apart from yourself.

bristol_pilot

Being lucky can help. A friend of mine who is 22 with 4 GCSEs that don't include Maths/English and with virtually no experience (other than artificial jobs on government schemes for the unemployed) has just moved to London and started an admin job on £22k. He got it by asking around amongst friends and friends of friends.

Person_one

lippy1923 wrote: »

Thats C.rap! I went straight form college and started working in a bank as a cashier and I earnt around 19k. If you want to earn more get out there and keep looking.
Good luck

Were you born in 1923?

dmg24

Person_one wrote: »

Were you born in 1923?

Or maybe 2023 - I don't know of any retail banks that currently pay newbie cashiers anywhere near £19,000!

Hectors_House

Fine wrote: »

I have seen McDonalds take on the village idiot, how could I be lucky to have a job there I just dont understand, call me naive :S

:rotfl::rotfl:

well just remember that the village idiot will probably be there long after you've moved on to a better job.

You sound like a sensible lad and you have something very valuable on your side - youth.

I know you might think you're badly done too now but lots of us started at the bottom.

I was earning £5k at the age of 25 but I stuck at it and looked for other opportunities around me and moved up the pay scale - remember you've always got a better chance of getting a job if you are already employed.

You're doing well to have a job in this awful financial climate but things will get better and you'll better placed then many when the job market starts to recover.