How much do you earn?

[Grillyguy]

So my last time was in luxury travel doing marketing and I was on 20k (since being made redundant I’ve been told a lot I was underpaid and they expected me to be on 27k at least with what I was doing). I do find that there’s often a divide between sales and marketing, and I often got annoyed with sales guys who expected commission just for doing their job? I mean I’m sure I would be loving life if I was in their position.

Also, often the sales I.e people picking up the phone came from things myself and the team were doing such as social media posts, email newsletters, offers in our brochure etc. Yet we didn’t receive commission, bonuses or the chance to travel unlike the sales guys. When I brought up that the whole company deserve bonuses for all the hard work we do, one of the other managers said that the sales guys were the ones who made the money and deserved it. Thoughts?

 

[JOHN1967]

So my last time was in luxury travel doing marketing and I was on 20k (since being made redundant I’ve been told a lot I was underpaid and they expected me to be on 27k at least with what I was doing). I do find that there’s often a divide between sales and marketing, and I often got annoyed with sales guys who expected commission just for doing their job? I mean I’m sure I would be loving life if I was in their position.

Also, often the sales I.e people picking up the phone came from things myself and the team were doing such as social media posts, email newsletters, offers in our brochure etc. Yet we didn’t receive commission, bonuses or the chance to travel unlike the sales guys. When I brought up that the whole company deserve bonuses for all the hard work we do, one of the other managers said that the sales guys were the ones who made the money and deserved it. Thoughts?

I don't think anyone should get bonuses for doing their job. You don't get doctors or nurses saying I cured you, I want a bonus.

Nor do you get IT staff saying look I installed that package perfectly, how about a bonus.

 

[Justwishfulthinking]

I'm a qualified accountant (CIMA) in the South. Earn 53k plus 10k average bonus. I did AAT first aswell. CIMA will boost your earnings no doubt!. Iv been qualified for 3 years now. Earnings were 22k with AAT alone and have gone up to 53k in 6 years.

I’m at that stage in my life and I’m looking at retraining. Was considering starting a CIMA course. Would yourecommend doing the AAT first?

Would you recommend it as a career? Is there any industry you would recommend working in? Thanks x

 

[Rose18778]

I earn around 25k as a secretary (in a primary school, school hours but all year round although I can work from home mostly in the holidays). I took a 15k pay cut for this job, before I worked as a legal PA much longer hours and worked for really stressy people. My boss and colleagues are lovely and I like being around the kids, I’m involved in all the school trips, assemblies etc. But there’s no way up in the job in terms of promotion or significant pay rise etc... However I never get that Sunday night feeling of dread that I used to get so that alone is worth the pay cut!

 

[kazizzle]

Local government in communications and PR earning around £25k. I’m really hoping for a wee promotion soon though - I’m nearly 30 but on the most junior role in my team after doing some travelling after uni, and then moving from another junior role in the LA to the one I’m in now. I’ve been the most junior person for three years and went for a promotion last year but it went to someone else (who had been in the role longer than me and was acting up to the promoted post anyway so fair enough). Just hoping it’s my turn next.

 

[thelurkingvegetarian]

I work in the civil service as a Registration Officer and earn just over £24,000 a year.

 

[MissTeddy]

So my last time was in luxury travel doing marketing and I was on 20k (since being made redundant I’ve been told a lot I was underpaid and they expected me to be on 27k at least with what I was doing). I do find that there’s often a divide between sales and marketing, and I often got annoyed with sales guys who expected commission just for doing their job? I mean I’m sure I would be loving life if I was in their position.

Also, often the sales I.e people picking up the phone came from things myself and the team were doing such as social media posts, email newsletters, offers in our brochure etc. Yet we didn’t receive commission, bonuses or the chance to travel unlike the sales guys. When I brought up that the whole company deserve bonuses for all the hard work we do, one of the other managers said that the sales guys were the ones who made the money and deserved it. Thoughts?

Generally sales team will be a lower basic salary and they are incentivised to boost this through the commission they earn in sales. Sales can be quite soul destroying, you get a lot of knock backs - particularly at the lower end, so the commission structure is there to act as their boost to keep picking up the phone. I can see how it would seem unfair but for most sales people if they don’t sell - they don’t earn and the basic salary can be VERY basic.

 

[Monkeybum]

I’m at that stage in my life and I’m looking at retraining. Was considering starting a CIMA course. Would yourecommend doing the AAT first?

Would you recommend it as a career? Is there any industry you would recommend working in? Thanks x

I'm another CIMA girl! I didn't do AAT, I did the CIMA certificate then straight into the main qualification. I think there's pros and cons to both, the certificate level wasn't as in depth as AAT but then some of my fellow students who did AAT said they struggled as the language is slightly different.

I'm a civil servant so don't know about various industries. I've had 2 promotions and earning around £30k more than pre CIMA so definitely worth the personal investment. It is tough, I basically had no life for 2 years as pushed for qualification as quick as I could, but it's paid off thankfully

 

[Mulholland Drive]

Almost £9k for November, which is £3k more than last month, which I'm happy about being self-employed in IT.

Of course the problem is that I still have to be paid once I've invoiced my clients at the end of every month. And quite often they will drag their feet for weeks or even months before they finally pay up.

From the £6k I made last month, only £3k has actually been paid. Which is just one of those harsh realities of going it alone I suppose

 

[Tommyb]

I’m at that stage in my life and I’m looking at retraining. Was considering starting a CIMA course. Would yourecommend doing the AAT first?

Would you recommend it as a career? Is there any industry you would recommend working in? Thanks x

Like a previous poster said there are pros and cons to both. For me I did AAT straight out of school and wouldn't have understood anything to with accountancy if I started CIMA straight away. If you have worked in finance/accounts before you might not need the AAT first but im glad I did it.

I basically taught myself from my books and didn't attend classes etc but there are some avaliable for CIMA if you prefer to learn that way. Doing it at home meant I qualified in just over 3 years. Especially now all exams apart from the case studies are online and you get your pass/fail immediately rather than having to wait 8 weeks like before!.

It can be hard going like any job. Its a great career if you want to earn great money for a pretty easy job(once qualified) . There's rarely a need to work overtime for me and with flexibility working coming into play in office environments il now be doing only 2 days in the office and 3 days at home so saving on travel costs etc.

Another good thing about being an accountant is more job security. Its obviously not 100% but over covid both mine and my boyfriend companies have let 70-90 people go and noone from finance has gone (he's ACCA accountant) from either of our companies.

Industry wise I have worked in software, education, government and financing and to be honest it hasn't really made a bit of difference. The job is pretty much the same wherever you go. My boyfriend works in property with also seems pretty good. If you can find a company you like then you have stuck gold.

Hope this helps!.

 

[Patsy Stone]

So my last time was in luxury travel doing marketing and I was on 20k (since being made redundant I’ve been told a lot I was underpaid and they expected me to be on 27k at least with what I was doing). I do find that there’s often a divide between sales and marketing, and I often got annoyed with sales guys who expected commission just for doing their job? I mean I’m sure I would be loving life if I was in their position.

Also, often the sales I.e people picking up the phone came from things myself and the team were doing such as social media posts, email newsletters, offers in our brochure etc. Yet we didn’t receive commission, bonuses or the chance to travel unlike the sales guys. When I brought up that the whole company deserve bonuses for all the hard work we do, one of the other managers said that the sales guys were the ones who made the money and deserved it. Thoughts?

I am part of management in retail sales (not luxury so not sure how they work) - my role is to be the highest seller in store. My salary is £18k a year. We do our own marketing, social media etc however the company I work for does have a social media team who shares deals with us 3 times a week. If we get a booking through a deal they’ve sourced the commission is shared between us - £5 for me for example & £5 for the social media person who helped booked. It’s the same if we call head office sales for help with a quote the incentive is shared equally - only if we booked it ourselves on the system do we keep the £10 but you cannot book multi centres or complex itineraries on our system. I’ve been in travel for 6 years and commission has never really been a thing for us and if it is it would be £5 a booking, so no big bucks. My old company we used to get a quarterly bonus of £300 if the store achieved 110% of target

 

[Days28]

I'm a qualified accountant (CIMA) in the South. Earn 53k plus 10k average bonus. I did AAT first aswell. CIMA will boost your earnings no doubt!. Iv been qualified for 3 years now. Earnings were 22k with AAT alone and have gone up to 53k in 6 years.

Wow that’s brilliant, thankyou for replying (I definitely need to get qualified ASAP)!

 

[Justwishfulthinking]

Like a previous poster said there are pros and cons to both. For me I did AAT straight out of school and wouldn't have understood anything to with accountancy if I started CIMA straight away. If you have worked in finance/accounts before you might not need the AAT first but im glad I did it.

I basically taught myself from my books and didn't attend classes etc but there are some avaliable for CIMA if you prefer to learn that way. Doing it at home meant I qualified in just over 3 years. Especially now all exams apart from the case studies are online and you get your pass/fail immediately rather than having to wait 8 weeks like before!.

It can be hard going like any job. Its a great career if you want to earn great money for a pretty easy job(once qualified) . There's rarely a need to work overtime for me and with flexibility working coming into play in office environments il now be doing only 2 days in the office and 3 days at home so saving on travel costs etc.

Another good thing about being an accountant is more job security. Its obviously not 100% but over covid both mine and my boyfriend companies have let 70-90 people go and noone from finance has gone (he's ACCA accountant) from either of our companies.

Industry wise I have worked in software, education, government and financing and to be honest it hasn't really made a bit of difference. The job is pretty much the same wherever you go. My boyfriend works in property with also seems pretty good. If you can find a company you like then you have stuck gold.

Hope this helps!.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I just really feel like I need a career change where I earn decent money and have career prospects. I’ve had a really low day and I think a lot of it comes from my job. I just feel like I’m not doing anything of purpose. That if I didn’t turn up no one would notice. I just think we spend so much of our lives at work should get something from it...job satisfaction, money, or ideally both.

 

[Tommyb]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I just really feel like I need a career change where I earn decent money and have career prospects. I’ve had a really low day and I think a lot of it comes from my job. I just feel like I’m not doing anything of purpose. That if I didn’t turn up no one would notice. I just think we spend so much of our lives at work should get something from it...job satisfaction, money, or ideally both.

Yes I understand that completely. When I'm having a tough work week it helps that I earn good money. The higher up you go the more projects and process changes you are involved it. I love that part of my role. Also its a perfect mix of having half the month being routine and knowing what I'm doing with the other half being projects etc.

What is it you currently do? Sorry if iv missed it. I went to college to do AAT and there were all walks of life in there retraining. One of the best people was a 38 year old mother of 3 and i thought she was wonder woman being able to do all that!

 

[The Dowager]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I just really feel like I need a career change where I earn decent money and have career prospects. I’ve had a really low day and I think a lot of it comes from my job. I just feel like I’m not doing anything of purpose. That if I didn’t turn up no one would notice. I just think we spend so much of our lives at work should get something from it...job satisfaction, money, or ideally both.

For me, I want a job to deliver two out of the following three;

- pay and benefits at the upper end of the market range;
- engagement / passion; I’m never going to do ‘worthy’ work or anything that saves the world, but what I mean here is something that challenges me, keeps my brain occupied and has enough ‘passion projects’;
- more flexibility than the norm for my role

I don’t expect any job to deliver on all three, although I’d be thrilled to find one that did.

It sounds like accountancy may not light your fire, but if it’s a solid career that has the potential to pay well, then it can at least give you the means to do the things outside of work that do light your fire.

I don’t think I’ve expressed that very well, but basically steady but inherently dull jobs can provide an excellent base for the other aspects of your life. Some people need to feel really connected to the work they do, but others don’t. We have to strike our own balance.

 

[Tommyb]

For me, I want a job to deliver two out of the following three;

- pay and benefits at the upper end of the market range;
- engagement / passion; I’m never going to do ‘worthy’ work or anything that saves the world, but what I mean here is something that challenges me, keeps my brain occupied and has enough ‘passion projects’;
- more flexibility than the norm for my role

I don’t expect any job to deliver on all three, although I’d be thrilled to find one that did.

It sounds like accountancy may not light your fire, but if it’s a solid career that has the potential to pay well, then it can at least give you the means to do the things outside of work that do light your fire.

I don’t think I’ve expressed that very well, but basically steady but inherently dull jobs can provide an excellent base for the other aspects of your life. Some people need to feel really connected to the work they do, but others don’t. We have to strike our own balance.

This is incredibly true and very well put. Lucky for me I have found an excellent company that treat you like a human being rather than a staff member. They are only 5 years old so technically a 'start up'. That in itself is exciting to me. My job will never be really interesting and accountancy can be boring. But its worth it to me for the flexibility, money and opportunities.


Also if you are CIMA/ACCA qualified there are other routes to go. You may start as an accountant but we have financial planning and analysis who are very key members to the business, finance manager, finance director, finance controller , project manager, cost accountant, tax accountant, investment analysis and chief financial officer.

 

[Rxt156]

For me, I want a job to deliver two out of the following three;

- pay and benefits at the upper end of the market range;
- engagement / passion; I’m never going to do ‘worthy’ work or anything that saves the world, but what I mean here is something that challenges me, keeps my brain occupied and has enough ‘passion projects’;
- more flexibility than the norm for my role

I don’t expect any job to deliver on all three, although I’d be thrilled to find one that did.

It sounds like accountancy may not light your fire, but if it’s a solid career that has the potential to pay well, then it can at least give you the means to do the things outside of work that do light your fire.

I don’t think I’ve expressed that very well, but basically steady but inherently dull jobs can provide an excellent base for the other aspects of your life. Some people need to feel really connected to the work they do, but others don’t. We have to strike our own balance.

Very well put!

Money
Free time/holiday/good working hours
Enjoyable/don’t hate it

At least 1/3 is good!

I think everyone would like more money but if that results in far less free time is have to turn it down

 

[duffy1301]

I love this convo!

Think it’s super important to talk about wages, it’s the only way you can ensure you’re getting paid fairly these days...

I’m a social media manager in London on 25k

 

[Pinkblush]

1,975 a month after tax

 

[Mulholland Drive]

Very well put!

Money
Free time/holiday/good working hours
Enjoyable/don’t hate it

At least 1/3 is good!

I think everyone would like more money but if that results in far less free time is have to turn it down

This is one reason why I went the self-employed route a couple of years ago. I enjoyed the work, the money was good, but the people were by and large a pain in the arse to work with/for. This may have been because I was the only female in a a male-only department (IT), and perhaps they resented my presence.

Going it alone is bloody hard work, and the money is never guaranteed, and an accountant is a must. But I do have that sense of freedom with what work I do, where I go, for how long; and above all I never have to associate with clients for very long whether they like me or not.