How realistic is it to get a job with a very good wage?

Brie

a "good wage" is all so very relative! 

We're comfortable on my modest wage, own our own house with a small mortgage still to pay off, normally would be having a couple of weeks in Europe to holiday at least once a year and maybe a couple of small hols in the UK. (pre pandemic of course!)  All that and we're not particularly frugal.

A few years back I was working in a company that's main business was very high end clients with SIPPs and took a cranky call from someone who hadn't got a response to a letter with minutes of posting it to us.  I'll never forget his comment of "you are ignoring me because I only earn £600,000 a year!"  As I recall I actually laughed out loud at that.  I would have been over the moon to earn even 5%!  And 20 years later I'd still be thrilled with 5%!

El_Rey

kimwp said:

Look into software related jobs.

Are there any specific roles that are relatively easy to get into in that field? 

Getting_greyer

You can learn coding/digital skills on YouTube.  Design something and show that at an interview. Get in the industry and you can pretty much get a job wfh with decent pay.  Digital skills are lacking in this country.

Put "software" or "coding" "cyber" etc into a jobsearch. See what comes up.  Then search those roles in https://www.prospects.ac.uk/.  This will give you paths of entry to these roles.

kimwp

El_Rey said:

kimwp said:

Look into software related jobs.

Are there any specific roles that are relatively easy to get into in that field? 

I'm not in the field, but I mentioned because the roles are often very well paid. Whether it's easy would depend on your aptitude for the role, but as a relatively new and very skill based area, there are fewer social entry barriers to hurdle. It's also an area that might suit a person similar to how the OP self-describes. 

Marcon

El_Rey said:

kimwp said:

Look into software related jobs.

Are there any specific roles that are relatively easy to get into in that field? 

No - and certainly not well paid ones, or they'd already have been snapped up.

Kathy535

I’m fortunate to earn what is seen as a good wage and it’s been helped by doing two Masters; the first while a single parent to a primary school age child. It’s been hard work and has taken time but I think that I moved from close to minimum wage to about £42k within 5 yrs.  I’m counting from when I got rid of my ex who constantly told me I would never amount to anything and did his best to destroy my confidence.  I did this in the public sector which might be somewhere you could look at because:

• The public sector is a really good place to be if you have family responsibilities - there are family friendly policies and remote working etc.  I was able to work compressed hours - 10 days over 9 - so that I had a day a fortnight to do all the hygiene stuff meaning weekends were free to spend with my child. 

• i know that there are a lot of things wrong with the public sector and it won’t suit everyone but for me it allowed me to take job ‘risks’ fairly safely - I was able to move 200 miles and still work for the same employer, I could move government departments and still have that continuity of service.  Likewise with secondments.  This meant I was able to build up my skill set and apply for promotion quickly.

• you get skills development - in addition to funding university degrees (which aren’t all that common), there is training in accountancy, project managment, leadership, hr etc etc

• There are development programmes at different levels for new and existing employees.

I currently work in the NHS and I would say that it’s similar for NHS in the central bodies (rather than hospitals etc) - there is personal development and opportunity.

I would say that I suffered from a lack of confidence and I found that separating out my job performance from my personal performance helped.  I seek feedback on what I’ve done well/could do differently, identify areas for development and work on those and I keep a log so that I can look back and see how far I’ve come.  And, I note successes down, think about what I learned from (I do this with failures too btw) and this also gives a set of examples to talk about at interviews.

It is doable but it’s hard work.  Good luck!

robatwork

In the IT industry I've met many people with the charisma of a pumice stone. 

If you think your affinity to science could land you a technical role, then look at something like programming or database administration. 

Company directors don't care if their programmers and DBAs are a bit weird/OCD/anxious/borderline autistic. As long as the code they produce is sound and the databases stay online.

kimwp

Chiyo said:

So how realistic is it? I’m intelligent enough and excel in all core subjects, but I have social anxiety and low self esteem so I’m not charismatic and definitely can’t sell myself to employers. Is the poverty cycle breakable for somebody like me, and is it ‘easy’ to do so long as I’m happy to put in all the hard work?

Just a note on this - anxiety and low self esteem do not equate to not being charismatic and unable to sell yourself. I have friends with social anxiety and they are funny, fun and very charming. Until recently, I had very low self-esteem, but I've always done well (albeit I'd probably have done better with higher self-esteem). A tip is when you go for an interview, talk about what you have done and what you would do if given a certain task, rather than who you feel yourself to be or how you value yourself. Instead of "I'm amazing at solving problems", say "if faced with a problem, I think about what I know and don't know and what evidence there is that could help me and seek help where there is a gap" (like you did here). Talking about what you like about a company or a person, asking questions and smiling go a long way as well. 

Ath_Wat

robatwork said:

In the IT industry I've met many people with the charisma of a pumice stone. 

If you think your affinity to science could land you a technical role, then look at something like programming or database administration. 

Company directors don't care if their programmers and DBAs are a bit weird/OCD/anxious/borderline autistic. As long as the code they produce is sound and the databases stay online.

It requires a particular aptitude though, which we can have no idea whether the OP has.  They still have not clarified what  their "affinity to science" or maths actually means.  If it means they have decent A levels in those subjects it's something to go on, if it means they got Cs at GCSE then it's pointless suggesting that that could be the basis to build a career.

The fact that at some point they personally felt they could easily understand something that may or may not have been extremely simple is no help to anyone and I honestly can't understand why so many people are using it to make recommendations.

Chiyo

Ath_Wat said:

robatwork said:

In the IT industry I've met many people with the charisma of a pumice stone. 

If you think your affinity to science could land you a technical role, then look at something like programming or database administration. 

Company directors don't care if their programmers and DBAs are a bit weird/OCD/anxious/borderline autistic. As long as the code they produce is sound and the databases stay online.

It requires a particular aptitude though, which we can have no idea whether the OP has.  They still have not clarified what  their "affinity to science" or maths actually means.  If it means they have decent A levels in those subjects it's something to go on, if it means they got Cs at GCSE then it's pointless suggesting that that could be the basis to build a career.

The fact that at some point they personally felt they could easily understand something that may or may not have been extremely simple is no help to anyone and I honestly can't understand why so many people are using it to make recommendations.

I got A* in Higher tier mathematics, English language, English literature, Triple award science, a Distinction in Physical Education and a B in Geography. I’ve completed AAT level 2 and business studies level 2 (I wanted to be a lawyer then changed my mind). My psychologist scored me 139 on an IQ test. I’ve attempted A-level courses a couple of times but had to drop out because the environment was terrible for my anxiety, so never sat the tests.