Discretionary Bonus

That puts your compensation at over $700,000! That’s incredible given how well you seem to balance work and life, well done!

Top 1% salary is a lot less.

err... no. Not in the UK at least.

https://ifs.org.uk/tools_and_resources/where_do_you_fit_in

Good tool if you're interested.

also from the .gov website:

https://assets.publishing.service.g...hment_data/file/974381/NS_Table_3_1a_1819.ods

I wish I did earn £500k a year though :)

I'm not that worried about chasing more than I'm on, if anything in less than 10 years or less I want to start ramping down. In my 40s now and want to spend more time with the family but offer them the best life possible as well.

Nice tool. Although that's for income, not increase of wealth through other means (dividends, landlords, capital gains, etc). So someone on £200k a year would be in the top 1% of income, but nowhere near the top 1% in terms of how much that income actually increase their wealth.
 
Top 1% salary is a lot less.



Nice tool. Although that's for income, not increase of wealth through other means (dividends, landlords, capital gains, etc). So someone on £200k a year would be in the top 1% of income, but nowhere near the top 1% in terms of how much that income actually increase their wealth.

Fair point. anyway regardless, my point was, that it took me nearly 15 years to break into a decent salary, it was a bit of a slog - compared to our younger gens who seem to think it's ok to earn that sort of salary after 5 years! (tonge somewhat in cheek).

20+ years with a bit of luck you should be able to be in a decent financial position.

had I been there 10 years ago I'd have been delighted but probably less sensible, I think having children tempers your income / investments / spending somewhat.

Anyway apologies this wasn't meant to be a comment I expected to be picked apart. I'm sure most people's earning power in this forum is in the top tier of society.
 
Fair point. anyway regardless, my point was, that it took me nearly 15 years to break into a decent salary, it was a bit of a slog - compared to our younger gens who seem to think it's ok to earn that sort of salary after 5 years! (tonge somewhat in cheek).

It kind of is if you went to a good uni etc.. Don't look at US salaries in big tech as they don't even need to wait 5 years, they get that sort of comp fresh out of undergrad.
 
Fair point. anyway regardless, my point was, that it took me nearly 15 years to break into a decent salary, it was a bit of a slog - compared to our younger gens who seem to think it's ok to earn that sort of salary after 5 years! (tonge somewhat in cheek).

20+ years with a bit of luck you should be able to be in a decent financial position.

It's unreasonable to expect to get to the top 1% of income just after 5 years, although it's actually possible these days in tech, finance or corporate law. You have to be a top talent though.

Based on my experience, the first 10 years determine how your career will go from there. If you don't develop specialities and jump between careers and keep starting from scratch, it's unlikely you'll be anywhere decent even after 20 years. We have a lot of people in their 40s and 50s earning under £30k even though they have 20-30 years of experience (according to ONS median gross salary is about £34k for people in their 40s and 50s).

It kind of is if you went to a good uni etc.. Don't look at US salaries in big tech as they don't even need to wait 5 years, they get that sort of comp fresh out of undergrad.

US big tech salaries are just too tempting. I'd be earning more than 2x over there, although expenses are also significantly higher (but taxes could be lower depending on location).
 
It kind of is if you went to a good uni etc.. Don't look at US salaries in big tech as they don't even need to wait 5 years, they get that sort of comp fresh out of undergrad.

Fair comment - that said, I'd not want to work in the USA, I don't particularly like their work culture, and a lot of other elements - but it has to be said it is the land of the rich and opportunity (if you have what it takes and "get" what they want). I doubt I personally would have the maturity to earn that sort of salary in my early 20s, but I'm sure many do. It does skew reality a little in my opinion - but there is money to be had there... but everything costs a lot there too! :D

I can't wind back the clock, and I was never aggressive enough or clever enough to do law or banking and tech wasn't really as hot as it is now. Don't get me wrong if I could have got to where I am now sooner I'd have been delighted, but burn out is also a thing.

@HACO you're spot on, I think if you don't find a niche or an expertise, or don't run your own business or work as a consultant it's easy to end up in the middle rung as you move around.
 
I think it's also down to competency/attitude/intellect etc as well as approach (niche/self employed/consultancy), by which I mean the median salary point is in the middle partly because you will have the 'dregs' that just don't have the aptitude to be financially successful regardless of the approach they take filling up most/some of the bottom quartile or whatever.

The shift away from 'bums on seats' towards productivity is likely to be helped by the changes in working practices; in the old days someone could be 'present' in the office and hence potentially hard to challenge if they were not delivering. Nowadays someone working from home is no longer judged on presenteeism (aside from scheduled meetings of course) but rather on their outputs. Maybe the younger generation are just more willing to challenge the status quo, they haven't spent decades clocking on and clocking off so to them time-keeping is not that important if they feel they are contributing. If I need to deliver X by the end of the day why does it matter if I am working from 9am or 10am on it so long as X is completed that day? Of course, as highlighted by the timesheeting example above, where it sometimes falls down is where people don't see the value in something personally but fail to properly consider the impact on others. I've had issues with this from my team in the past, even from someone who themself is a manager.

As for specialisms, I just got lucky that I took a new job and was placed by chance on a project/system with a very forward thinking team (in hindsight, visionary in some areas) in a growth sector. It was a small startup that had been acquired by my employer shortly before I joined so I was working with a different sort of calibre/mindset of people. I then developed an affinity for that sector but it wasn't something I'd have actively sought out. It's quite scary really how much of my career direction has been dictated by luck rather than me actively pursuing a specific direction.
 
There was me thinking we may have a thread with Freefaller participating where he wouldn't feel compelled to remind us all about his salary.

Ahh well, maybe the next one eh?
 
Just because I didn't give you a bonus...

Apologies if I did do that, that is a little douchey :(

I think he's only messing :)

Personally I quite like this subforum, it's generally sensible and you get to see a range of views, not generally an issue when people have differing views either, no one tends to get particularly offended by simple disagreements or differing perspectives as people experiences do vary and comments about personal experiences are all valid and useful to hear.

Some of that might also mean hearing about people's successes, indications of pay etc.. (especially in a thread about bonuses) and that should be fine too.
 
Thanks but yes it's hard not to draw on your personal experiences. This is one of the better forums and there is some amazing advice here as generally most of us are at work with some form of frustration or knowledge to share!
 
Thanks but yes it's hard not to draw on your personal experiences. This is one of the better forums and there is some amazing advice here as generally most of us are at work with some form of frustration or knowledge to share!
All screwed if HR check our posting hours and volumes though :cry:
 
1. If you receive a discretionary bonus as part of your contract, were you given an indication as to what percentage/amount it would be when signing up for the job?

2. Did/Does it meet your expectations?

3. Have you ever NOT received a discretionary bonus even though you, personally, had a productive/goal-meeting/box-tickingly good year?

Had a few awkward conversations with team members who don't appear to understand the word "discretionary" and "indication".

Curious as to how these work and what experiences people have outside the two organisations I've worked for where the following answers apply;

I joined the military from school. Nuffield said.
 
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