To make it clear, perhaps the OP is underpaid and he would be best placed to make that judgement with his experience in the industry and presumed contacts, recruiters salary reports. I'm more commenting on the amount of salary is not enough to live on.
Do any well-paid jobs exist in the UK?
- Thread starter captain dilbert
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To make it clear, perhaps the OP is underpaid and he would be best placed to make that judgement with his experience in the industry and presumed contacts, recruiters salary reports. I'm more commenting on the amount of salary is not enough to live on.
Soldato
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I think I've found your problem....
Firstly, you chose Civils. The UK is among THE lowest paid and the lowest paying in that general industry. As an Engineering Technician, I'm nowhere near even 30K and about 75% of the world pays more than £48k for my role.
Secondly, it sounds like you're not even Chartered... If you want to get anywhere as an actual Engineer in Civils, you want that... and then, that's just the starting point.
Secondly, just to give you an idea - In our little corner of the water industry, a senior Chartered Engineer over 55 and working 40+ hours a week, gets £42k, including London Weighting. A field-based Chartered Engineer gets £28k.
If you want the big bucks in Civils, you either become a spit-hot consultant or get a job with the works contractors. If you don't mind the variable pattern shifts, even a basic Back Boy on a survey rig earns £31k... and it'll be £34k once he gets his HGV licence.
I can kind of see where he is coming from possibly - from 2006 to 2017 the rent of my old flat has increased by approx. £8400 a year while people in the same kind of work have seen around £2500 or so rise in their yearly salary and in many cases no increase at all.
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Point of the thread is one should be able to earn a very good income as a civil engineer - given the technical background and importance of civil engineering work - and if one cannot, predictably a very high percentage of the population is existing on an unacceptably low income. Second point being that the UK has serious issues with undervaluing work - an issue that needs addressing (I won't play the game otherwise).
FYI your response devalues the discipline of civil engineering which is a mistake. Qualifying as a civil engineer is equally as challenging as other engineering disciplines and is equally important. You erroneously imply that becoming a chartered engineer is somewhat easy - gaining chartership is a very onerous process taking many years of practice, dedication, experience, evidence and personal financial cost - for (as you correctly point out in the case of your colleague) not a great deal of financial gain. As the situation stands I've no intention to even practice in the field any more, never mind become chartered.
Enough internet for today.
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Surely at 33k you’re closer to 1900/2000 a month net, unless your pension contributions are huge?
Thats 30% more than your ‘living wage’, so I dunno what you’re moaning about
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LOL - guess I should have been happy with my 30PC 'extra' for busting my balls everyday. Guess I should completely ignore the fact that the average UK home costs 223000GBP as well.
Soldato
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Are you chartered?
How old are you?
Where do you live?
I agree it's foolish to jack in your job for the reasons you mentioned.
How old are you?
Where do you live?
I agree it's foolish to jack in your job for the reasons you mentioned.
Well, I'm pretty sure that if anybody received your CV and linked it back to here you'd be rejected at CV stage.
The way you come across, or I perceive you to be from this, is someone who would make life difficult if I were to employ you.
You need to adjust your attitude, accept that £30k odd a year is more than sufficient to have a decentish lifestyle and get your head down to prove you deserve more, not throw your toys out the pram at the perceived injustice of the world.
The world ain't gonna change for you, suck it up or forever be miserable with your fantasy expectations about what you're owed by virtue of being born.
The way you come across, or I perceive you to be from this, is someone who would make life difficult if I were to employ you.
You need to adjust your attitude, accept that £30k odd a year is more than sufficient to have a decentish lifestyle and get your head down to prove you deserve more, not throw your toys out the pram at the perceived injustice of the world.
The world ain't gonna change for you, suck it up or forever be miserable with your fantasy expectations about what you're owed by virtue of being born.
Exactly this.
Everyone has to bust their balls as you say. If you want an easy job then go stack some shelves or flip some burgers, but don't complain about the drop in salary.
£138k gross
That figure reminded me of an article in the paper from Saturday.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tax/income-tax/hammond-expected-attack-higher-earners-stealth/
A quick search shows from October to December 2015 there were 31.42m people in work (labour report). Of that, just 22m are full time. So OP - you believe your pay should be in the top few percent of people working the UK?
Soldato
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Your salary is determined by supply and demand so if your job was worth 138k younwould probably be earning close to that amount. Also you must have known what a civil engineer typically makes while you were reserching your career options?
Permabanned
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Good luck getting a job after attending an interview having not showered for a month thanks to living in a van.
With no permanent address.. you won't get a penny in job seekers or housing benefit.
Leaving a job for no reason (ie, discrimination, redundancy, employer malpractice etc) and you'll lose months if not all entitlement to benefits.
I'm not trying to say salaries here are good, they're not... but you stomping around like a child while throwing all your toys out of the pram is going to go largely un-noticed and is only going to hurt you.
Degrees might be appropriate to certain jobs, like yours... but with the right mindset - you can earn well without one. I'm a university drop-out and was earning more than you in my first job nearly 10 years ago, then quickly scaled up to earn a 6 figure salary from a UK employer by age 25... then went to Switzerland for a few years, where salaries are higher... came back and at 29 I made Technical Director for a well established company.
There are ways to earn... you just have to find a niche or develop your skillset in a way others can't or don't. Sometimes it's just luck...
I ain't got any degree, dropped out of Uni and have a decent career and earnings.
Painting a picture that your gods gift to civil engineering and deserve £130k a year - I think someone needs to have a long hard look at themselves and rethink their way forward in life.
Suck it up and get on with your life. Stop thinking/believing the world "owes" you something. It doesn't
Painting a picture that your gods gift to civil engineering and deserve £130k a year - I think someone needs to have a long hard look at themselves and rethink their way forward in life.
Suck it up and get on with your life. Stop thinking/believing the world "owes" you something. It doesn't
from what I see d
I didn't go to uni and do ok (nothing like the 130k mentioned) none of my mates have degrees and all have done well, in the long term hard work and a good attitude will get you a lot further than anything you got from uni
if the OPs skills and application are good then the market will pay what he is worth, if that's not enough then you have the wrong valuation of your worth
I didn't go to uni and do ok (nothing like the 130k mentioned) none of my mates have degrees and all have done well, in the long term hard work and a good attitude will get you a lot further than anything you got from uni
if the OPs skills and application are good then the market will pay what he is worth, if that's not enough then you have the wrong valuation of your worth
Soldato
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My dad came through on the civil side, but ended as the commercial director for, firstly Mowlem, then they were bought so it was Carillion, then he worked for Skanka/ BB JV after that, and was on more than your outlined gross demands by the time he retired... he didn't start at that, because it's not possible?! You need to work your way up, it's the only way.
Soldato
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Oh, you can... just not in the UK.
Go to Germany or some other place where Engineer is a protected term like doctor, rather than anyone being able to call themselves an engineer (note lower case).
Then you won't be playing the game then, Sonny Jim.
We have a metric ****-ton of people more qualified than you, who are willing to do the job for a lot less.
Jog on Matey-Boy... stop by Costa Coffee on your jog and smell the coffee.
Sorry, do WHAT, now???!!!
You do realise where I work, right? You did read the post, right?
My response is the REALITY of Civil Engineering - That is actual salaries right now for the fully Chartered Engineers I'm sat next to right now and have worked with for over 20 years. Nothing to do with devaluing anything.
This is what the UK values your role as. You can **** right off if you think you're going to blame this **** on ME!!
Where did I say that?
Colleagues. Plural.
And as ALL of them will tell you, becoming Chartered or Incorporated is just the first step in your Engineering career.
May not be easy, but it's required.
You are basically a doctor who has just left medical school and thinks you should be on the same salary as a SHO or Consultant, because you're "a doctor, dammitt"...
OK, so you have an Engineering degree. Big whoop.
You want to make money, be a Project Manager like most of the other Engineering graduates. Apparently Engineering degrees teach better PM than actual PM degrees.
^ All of these being our contractors, as mentioned above.
