What's your idea of a good salary?

What's your idea of a good salary?

Poll: What's your idea of a good salary?

Total Members Polled: 1067

£10k+ per annum: 0%
£20k+ per annum: 1%
£30k+ per annum: 12%
£40k+ per annum: 20%
£50k+ per annum: 17%
£60k+ per annum: 12%
£70k+ per annum: 6%
£80k+ per annum: 7%
£90k+ per annum: 2%
£100k+ per annum: 22%
Author
Discussion

a311

5,789 posts

176 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
djc206 said:
I love the area but yes you're right. An average single income here is a sentence to pay someone else's mortgage for eternity, I can imagine that's a bit depressing.
Do you work for NATS? The way I understood there was NATS controllers and then some airports recruit their own? I looked into this but failed the aptitude test. Didn't put enough effort into the prep and by time I could have re-applied a year after at the time I think? I'd moved onto other things.

Mates dad was in management and organised for me to go in the tower in Manchester airport-was pretty cool. Wish I'd made the visit pre aptitude test as it may have motivated me to put more effort into it!

Snollygoster

1,538 posts

138 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
In general, I would have said £40-50k is a good salary. 25% of people at time of writing think £100k is a good salary. For me, I would class that as exceptional personally.

Perks of a job can make a huge difference though. I currently don't earn in the £40-50k bracket, but once I take into account the perks of a company car, plus good 18 month lease rates for my immediate family which they all take benefit of, onsite gym, onsite canteen at dirt cheap prices so I have cooked meal at work rather than home which costs a lot less, health and dental care etc. easily make up for taking a slightly lower salary.

Ultimately though, and not to detract from the point of the thread, but for, job satisfaction and happiness are far more important IMO. This will be within reason, so as long as you have an okay salary to support your lifestyle. A couple of years ago I earned around £10k more a year, but hated it, worked all hours on earth and didn't have any time for me. Having less money, but actually being able to use what I have rather than being too stressed to do much is a far better position to be in.

djc206

12,245 posts

124 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
Yes I work for NATS. NATS controls all UK upper airspace (area control which is what I do) and some airport and approach units. Yes there are a large number of airports who provide their own or contract other companies to provide their ATS. You can go down the route of paying for your own training or getting one of these other companies to sponsor your training at non NATS colleges. I know a couple of people who've done it. It does limit your income potential though.

That's a shame. The tests do eliminate a large number of candidates early on but again I know of a number of people who through visits, research and in some cases just being a bit older and wiser have made it through on their second or even third go.

djc206

12,245 posts

124 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
jakewright said:
Still, 3/4 times national average and 7k in the bank each month aint too bad. Good conditions too I understand.
I think you underestimate how much the tax man dips in to your pay packet slightly :-) it

Yes pretty good conditions.

I'll stop thread jacking now

Shnozz

27,422 posts

270 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
djc206 said:
theboss said:
The notion of £70k+ and 'starter homes' makes me glad I moved out of the South East a while ago!
I love the area but yes you're right. An average single income here is a sentence to pay someone else's mortgage for eternity, I can imagine that's a bit depressing.
Assuming you live within a short commute of NATS, that is the area I grew up (Sarisbury Green) and I think the house prices are no different to the nicer parts of West Yorkshire where I live now.

I was fortunate/sensible in that I bought my first place at an early age (20) so paid about £62k for it back then, and I was on about £20k at the time.

a311

5,789 posts

176 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
djc206 said:
Yes I work for NATS. NATS controls all UK upper airspace (area control which is what I do) and some airport and approach units. Yes there are a large number of airports who provide their own or contract other companies to provide their ATS. You can go down the route of paying for your own training or getting one of these other companies to sponsor your training at non NATS colleges. I know a couple of people who've done it. It does limit your income potential though.

That's a shame. The tests do eliminate a large number of candidates early on but again I know of a number of people who through visits, research and in some cases just being a bit older and wiser have made it through on their second or even third go.
I was young and naïve-probably around 19 at the time. The aptitude tests from memory were mostly around being able to visualize things in 3D (makes sense) so was like nothing I've done before. If I remember correctly the training college is somewhere down south? Bournemouth possibly?

It sounds like a good career and financially rewarding-What's the minimum requirement to apply? It must have been GCSE's/A levels max when I applied. You do have thousands of peoples lives in your hands so guess it's a lot of responsibility too!

okgo

37,859 posts

197 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
I don't think they're really all that stands between a plane and a plane crash. That would be a little too much of a risk surely...

djc206

12,245 posts

124 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
Shnozz said:
Assuming you live within a short commute of NATS, that is the area I grew up (Sarisbury Green) and I think the house prices are no different to the nicer parts of West Yorkshire where I live now.

I was fortunate/sensible in that I bought my first place at an early age (20) so paid about £62k for it back then, and I was on about £20k at the time.
Yeah that sort of area. The nice parts around here are crazy though eg Hamble, Swanwick, Botley etc You can get some 'cheap' property but only in some fairly miserable places.

Just looked on rightmove at modern 3 bed semis in Sarisbury Green and £250-300k seems to be about right.

djc206

12,245 posts

124 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
a311 said:
I was young and naïve-probably around 19 at the time. The aptitude tests from memory were mostly around being able to visualize things in 3D (makes sense) so was like nothing I've done before. If I remember correctly the training college is somewhere down south? Bournemouth possibly?

It sounds like a good career and financially rewarding-What's the minimum requirement to apply? It must have been GCSE's/A levels max when I applied. You do have thousands of peoples lives in your hands so guess it's a lot of responsibility too!
I believe it's still 5 GCSE's including English and maths.

It was Bournemouth its moved to Whiteley now. They sold the old Bournemouth site.

Ross_T_Boss

163 posts

217 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
Generation can make a big difference - in that circumstances will be much different. I found it rather frustrating seeing colleagues on similar salary but 10+ years my senior with a comfy lifestyle when I was struggling on the same. Mostly down to housing costs. I'm going for the 'earn my way outta the trap' approach as complaining isn't going to get me anywhere.

I think 3k net family income with a couple of kids should do it outside the SE - as a single earner this is going to be around 50k. As has been touched on, another 1-2k per month in income just allows you to take a lavish annual holiday abroad, rent a slightly bigger house and put a new BMW on the drive, without otherwise feeling much better off. If you're used to that lifestyle then anything less isn't going to be 'good', although others with a £600 mortgage and no debt happy with a UK summer hol and 5yr old car on the drive will think you're nuts and suggest half the amount...

Chris Type R

8,018 posts

248 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
I have to agree with the other comments that it be nice to aggregate allowances.

In pretty much at the ceiling of what I can charge, so can only increase income by working more hours.

So I've managed to replace my wife's salary while she takes off a few years to raise our child. I also have to work a lot harder as this is all taxed at 40℅ Oh, and no child benefit for us, despite having paid into the system for years.

So, in my view, the dream salary would depend on how many earners there are in the household.

Chicken Chaser

7,744 posts

223 months

Sunday 19th October 2014
quotequote all
Location is everything. I said £40k, and in the North East, that buys a fair amount of stuff. Granted cars/food etc will all be pretty much the same, but the biggest debt anyone will have is their house and when I can get something which is 1200sq ft for £160k in a nice area with good schools, you're taking on much less than someone paying 4x that amount in the SE.

I'm not too far from said figure, at 33 dependent on overtime. I do however, have a massive pension to pay into which sucks over £400 a month out, so in reality, I earn a lot less than others in the same wage bracket.

Whilst I do agree that more money generally means bigger and better spends, I'd rather get rid of that mortgage debt than have the latest motor on the driveway. Pay it down now, provided I can afford it and I'll have some comfort later in life with a little or no mortgage.

liner33

10,642 posts

201 months

Monday 20th October 2014
quotequote all
It is down to location and age I reckon although I find the cost of housing generally crippling , we are thinking about moving from Berks to Cambs but the house prices seem pretty similar. We have paid off out mortgage but there is no way we could afford to buy the house we live in today and we have a lot of money coming in each year. Dont even have anything special car wise, no idea how some people afford the cars they drive

It seems to me whatever you earn most people work to live with very little left over

dtmpower

3,972 posts

244 months

Monday 20th October 2014
quotequote all
As an aside , to buy the house my parents bought as the 'family house' in 1984 would be ~£4000/month mortgage today (with 10% deposit). So I'd need about £100k of equity and a £100k salary just to be able to buy the house....yet in their 60s they are living there mortgage free.

gibbon

2,182 posts

206 months

Monday 20th October 2014
quotequote all
dtmpower said:
As an aside , to buy the house my parents bought as the 'family house' in 1984 would be ~£4000/month mortgage today (with 10% deposit). So I'd need about £100k of equity and a £100k salary just to be able to buy the house....yet in their 60s they are living there mortgage free.
Not entirely sure what point this makes. Most home owners live in their houses mortgage free in their 60s, its kind of how mortgages work, and demonstrates the major upside of home ownership.

Also your figures don't work, I assume you mean the house is valued at around 1m (from your 10% figure or 100k), you would need to be earning more like 200k to afford to buy this with a 10% deposit.

dtmpower

3,972 posts

244 months

Monday 20th October 2014
quotequote all
gibbon said:
dtmpower said:
As an aside , to buy the house my parents bought as the 'family house' in 1984 would be ~£4000/month mortgage today (with 10% deposit). So I'd need about £100k of equity and a £100k salary just to be able to buy the house....yet in their 60s they are living there mortgage free.
Not entirely sure what point this makes. Most home owners live in their houses mortgage free in their 60s, its kind of how mortgages work, and demonstrates the major upside of home ownership.

Also your figures don't work, I assume you mean the house is valued at around 1m (from your 10% figure or 100k), you would need to be earning more like 200k to afford to buy this with a 10% deposit.
£100k salary just to be able to buy the house - net income about ~ £5k a month ? My parents never earned anything like £200k a year, ever in the whole time they've lived there.

gibbon

2,182 posts

206 months

Monday 20th October 2014
quotequote all
dtmpower said:
£100k salary just to be able to buy the house - net income about ~ £5k a month ? My parents never earned anything like £200k a year, ever in the whole time they've lived there.
That's my point, you wouldn't be able to buy it with a £100k salary, you would need over 200k, I suggest you look in to mortgage lending criteria and affordability. Your point regarding your parents income is irrelevant. They were able to afford to purchase it at the time they did, its current value is irrelevant to that, income multiples are only usually the critical factor during the early stages of a mortgage due to the repaying of the mortgage and inflation / house price growth.

dtmpower

3,972 posts

244 months

Monday 20th October 2014
quotequote all
gibbon said:
dtmpower said:
£100k salary just to be able to buy the house - net income about ~ £5k a month ? My parents never earned anything like £200k a year, ever in the whole time they've lived there.
That's my point, you wouldn't be able to buy it with a £100k salary, you would need over 200k, I suggest you look in to mortgage lending criteria and affordability. Your point regarding your parents income is irrelevant. They were able to afford to purchase it at the time they did, its current value is irrelevant to that, income multiples are only usually the critical factor during the early stages of a mortgage due to the repaying of the mortgage and inflation / house price growth.
I know about lending criteria and multiples - 100K was the maximum salary on the thread questionnaire. I was just pointing out, that a 'good salary' considered here is not even enough to buy the equivalent family house that I grew up in as a child.

jakewright

93 posts

114 months

Monday 20th October 2014
quotequote all
liner33 said:
It is down to location and age I reckon although I find the cost of housing generally crippling , we are thinking about moving from Berks to Cambs but the house prices seem pretty similar. We have paid off out mortgage but there is no way we could afford to buy the house we live in today and we have a lot of money coming in each year. Dont even have anything special car wise, no idea how some people afford the cars they drive

It seems to me whatever you earn most people work to live with very little left over
I wouldn't go that far. A 22k 370Z is hardly undesirable!

jakewright

93 posts

114 months

Monday 20th October 2014
quotequote all
gibbon said:
That's my point, you wouldn't be able to buy it with a £100k salary, you would need over 200k, I suggest you look in to mortgage lending criteria and affordability. Your point regarding your parents income is irrelevant. They were able to afford to purchase it at the time they did, its current value is irrelevant to that, income multiples are only usually the critical factor during the early stages of a mortgage due to the repaying of the mortgage and inflation / house price growth.
It is relevant. If I am not mistake, one of the points he is making is that money does not go as far as it used to.