stupid number plates.

[AdamW]

What are the average and modal salaries at the moment anyway?

If I recall, average is somewhere in the low twenties. I would suppose modal would be around 15-20.

Graduate salaries are also a lot lower than people might expect, on average it is about £12K in the first year. This is due mainly to people coming out of uni and not being able to get graduate jobs. My first job out of uni was £5.15 an hour pulling pints, mixing G&Ts, waiting tables and driving a golf cart. Would have worked out to about £10K a year. It kept the wolves at bay, but the problem with the catering industry is you get treated like dog-dirt a lot of the time. Managers, chefs, certain club members. It was the only job I ever came close to getting fired from (and the closest i have ever come to b*tch slapping the boss!)

 

[ninebob]

I have no idea what the average salary is. But I'm sure it depends entirely on where you are in the country.

Personally, I earn £14k. For those like Adam who live in London that might sound like a pittance, but then I don't pay silly money for property. I have a lovely flat which costs me £235 per month in rent. A similar flat in Brighton used to cost me £600 per month, so in London who knows? £1100+ ?

So I guess it's all relative...

 

[AdamW]

It's all about standard of living. This is why people move to countries like Oz and NZ. You get paid considerably less, but that buys you a great big house surrounded by oodles of land, and things like food, drink and going out are cheaper. Not to mention cars and petrol.

You have hit the nail on the head with property prices against salary: a mate of mine lives in a s**g-pad in the Docklands. Very swanky. But, his 1-bed flat costs him £1000pcm, plus bills (I think the service/maintenance charge is covered in the rent). So that is £12K per year on rent alone. Which is the equivalent of about £18-20K of gross salary. Just on a roof over your head!

If you can live happily on your salary, and you like your job, that is better than selling your soul into a job you don't enjoy. Another mate of mine came out of uni, went into investment banking for £40K + bonuses, fast-track pay rises, £10K tax free just for starting. He went out and bought a plasma TV, but he never got to watch it! Don't know what he does now, all the 100 hour weeks took their toll and all he did was sleep and work.

 

[securespark]

Now I'm intrigued, Adam.

If you don't mind, what is your line of work?

If you do, show me the fingers!!

 

[AdamW]

Well, I have one of those jobs that isn't so easy and clean cut to explain.

I am a systems analyst. This means I assess the requirements of "the customer" (in the corporate sense of the word) and then decide what is needed in order to meet these requirements. The job's pretty good, but I doubt many 6 year old boys say "When I'm grown up I want to be an analyst!" Not that you would believe this of course, but I am effectively a professional pedant. Great stuff!

Unfortunately, I don't earn those massive city salaries that my friends who signed their souls away to the Hades of Finance do. I was tempted, oh boy was I tempted! But I think it would be nice to enjoy life instead Of course it would be nice to be stinking rich too.

Where is the fingers emoticon anyway?