A question about graduate pay and **** taking

[Countdown]

CustardOnChips said:

It might have been. However, consider that Accountancy is considered to be one of the areas most easily automated in the future. What career opportunities will exist if accounting is fully digital and autonomous.

Accountancy won’t suddenly come to an end, it will evolve. I started 25+ years ago and the work that a junior accounts clerk does now is massively different. There’s less number crunching, more analysis. Where headcount has been reduced is on the transaction processing side (APAR).

[InitialDave]

I think dad being a bit surprised at the salary while son doesn't seem that shocked is the key factor here.

I don't want to be rude, but a lot of older people - especially those with well established careers - have rather unrealistic ideas about the value of degrees and the level of starting salary for "professional" career paths.

I have contemporaries with multiple degrees and a doctorate on top who earn no more than I do, and people with no further education who easily clear another 30% over my wage.

The trick as I see it is to make sure you earn "enough" while being mindful of what your net money-to-hassle ratio is for achieving it.

[CaptainSlow]

rgw2012 said:

He will be a trainee Accountant (Auditor) with a degree in Chemistry that has no bearing on the job - his starting salary should be expected to be the bottom of the ladder as he is without any relevant qualification or experience, same as any other newbie to that profession. I would imagine his learning capability, as demonstrated through achieving a degree, will stand him in good stead as he progresses up the ladder (debatable I know) but aren't there industry specific exams that he would also need to pass in order to improve his market value.

I'm not surprised at the salary level being offered. If he had a degree in Accounting for example then I would expect him to be starting at the £30k+ sort of level.

You can expect but you'd be wrong.

The subject of a first degree is irrelevant for joining the Big 4/5 as a trainee auditor. For some reason there's always a glut of Geography grads.

The degree classification and where you studied are far more important.

From this career course perspective the OP's son has wasted 4 years working and 1 years Masters and brings no more value to the role than a 21 year old History graduate.

The £22k salary is pretty much standard, welcome to the real world where many grad interns in London are working gratis just to get the experience. Three years of work and study and a new qual in London will be £50-60k, £100k within 5 years after that.