MSE News: Confusion reigns as student fees fear takes hold

Oldernotwiser

lynzpower wrote: »

Id have thought 178k is pretty ambitious salary!

Over a 30 year period my salary went up from less than £1,000 pa (!) to over £20,000, with a couple of career breaks and several career changes. Multiplying your salary x 20 doesn't see unreasonable over a 30 year period; it surely depends on inflation as well as your career?

lynzpower

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Over a 30 year period my salary went up from less than £1,000 pa (!) to over £20,000, with a couple of career breaks and several career changes. Multiplying your salary x 20 doesn't see unreasonable over a 30 year period; it surely depends on inflation as well as your career?

Well quite.

I graduated in 99 and earned low money temping for a while ( 6.00 an hour type stuff) and then about 18 months of that to earning the same figure as roughly what I did when I quit to go to Uni, give or take a few hundred.

There is not an upward trajectory career in the UK that works like this that I know of.. do they exist?

If so please let me know where!

Where would the money come from paying these mega salaries?

gadgetmind

lynzpower wrote: »

Where would the money come from paying these mega salaries?

From creating products and/or supplying services that people and/or companies want to buy and find it hard or (ideally) impossible to get elsewhere at a better combination of price and quality.

Depending on your scalability, total available (worldwide!) market, and market share, the sky really is the limit.

2sides2everystory

jrawle wrote: »

... it says I'd be paying back just over £120,000 in total. That sounds like a huge amount, but the interesting bit is the box alongside that points out this is equivalent to around £45,000 in today's money - less than the amount borrowed - and that my salary would be £178,000 in 30 years' time!

I think that really puts the "total repayment" figure in perspective.

Are we sure? £120,000 in 20 years time may be equivalent to around £45,000 in today's money, but how much is the first £30,000 paid back worth in today's money and then the first £30,000 etc. worth in today's money? Is a simple comparison like £120,000 in 30 years equates to £45,000 now a valid one?

poppy10_2

2sides2everystory wrote: »

Are we sure? £120,000 in 20 years time may be equivalent to around £45,000 in today's money, but how much is the first £30,000 paid back worth in today's money and then the first £30,000 etc. worth in today's money?

The repayments are linked to RPI+3%, so the £30,000 to be paid back will balloon if no repayments have been made within the 20 years. Assuming a constant RPI of 3.5%, the amount to be paid back will be £105,000, or £54,000 in today's money.

lynzpower

gadgetmind wrote: »

From creating products and/or supplying services that people and/or companies want to buy and find it hard or (ideally) impossible to get elsewhere at a better combination of price and quality.

Depending on your scalability, total available (worldwide!) market, and market share, the sky really is the limit.

Entrepreneur type people are the only people I could imagine creating that sort of opportunity.

You dont need to go to uni to be an entrepreneur as of course we know.

The interest rate on it is 5.3 is it not for this year?

Oldernotwiser

lynzpower wrote: »

Well quite.

I graduated in 99 and earned low money temping for a while ( 6.00 an hour type stuff) and then about 18 months of that to earning the same figure as roughly what I did when I quit to go to Uni, give or take a few hundred.

There is not an upward trajectory career in the UK that works like this that I know of.. do they exist?

If so please let me know where!

Where would the money come from paying these mega salaries?

I don't think that you're allowing for the effect of 30 years' inflation. A salary of £178K in today's terms would certainly be a ridiculous expectation.

gadgetmind

lynzpower wrote: »

Entrepreneur type people are the only people I could imagine creating that sort of opportunity.

Maybe, but they can take a whole load of others along with them for the ride.

You dont need to go to uni to be an entrepreneur as of course we know.

No way could I have done what I've done without the fundamental grounding in the subject that my degree gave me. Of course, it might be different for other people in other fields.

lynzpower

lynzpower wrote: »

Entrepreneur type people are the only people I could imagine creating that sort of opportunity.

You dont need to go to uni to be an entrepreneur as of course we know.

The interest rate on it is 5.3 is it not for this year?

like you my salary hasnt risen for 15 years. Has been bobbing around the same level.

And now there is a downward pressure of course on salaries ( people taking pay cuts, re-advertised jobs being advertised for less than they paid the previous person and so forth

As we have seen recently, widespread price inflation does not equal salary rises for all.

Onyourcase

jrawle wrote: »

I know some people have prepared spreadsheets and done their own calculations, but I suggest everyone has a play with the site's own calculator at:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-finance-calculator

I tried it with details for a 4-year course, assuming high inflation, moderate salary and progression, and low rise in average earnings (i.e. fairly disadvantagous options when it comes to calculating the amout that would be repaid, as the £21,000 threshold rises with earnings, while interest is linked to RPI).

With those parameters, it says I'd be paying back just over £120,000 in total. That sounds like a huge amount, but the interesting bit is the box alongside that points out this is equivalent to around £45,000 in today's money - less than the amount borrowed - and that my salary would be £178,000 in 30 years' time!

I think that really puts the "total repayment" figure in perspective.

Thanks, That's perhaps the most fightening spreadsheet I've seen:eek: The amount the student has to pay back plus the amount that the taxpayer then has to payback ie amount outstanding after 30 years. Why is Martin backing this? Because he's not a student?
If this is such a good scheme, let's have it for mortgages as well! You don't have to pay if you can't afford it and it's wiped off after 30 years. Brilliant!