The 5 year plan to £50k

[rich_g85]

If you're stressed you're doing it wrong! Pressured is how I'd describe it.

Good money awaits if you can get through the training process. I'm in my second year of being fully valid now and I'll reach the high-70s after 5 years. Potential for £100k+ if I worked for NATS.

 

[rubberduck]

I still think my suggestion of CFD engineer would be a good fit for OP as I believe he has done some programming in the past. Would have to take some basic hydrodynamics courses but after that he could start to work as a trainee engineer... Getting to £50k wouldnt happen overnight but if he kept learning it could happen within 10 years.

 

[Puzzled]

Aren't air traffic controllers considered to have one of the most stressful jobs in existence? Granted though, it's an easy win to good money...

Just gotta keep the little dots from hitting each other innit

 

[bJN]

So you're saying it's just Flappy Bird but with bigger consequences?

 

[Diagro]

Just gotta keep the little dots from hitting each other innit

Basically a computer game, that goes wrong will kill lots of people?

 

[Puzzled]

So you're saying it's just Flappy Bird but with bigger consequences?

Basically a computer game, that goes wrong will kill lots of people?

High score players need only apply

Yeah I think I'm best avoiding high stress jobs that have life or death consequences. I can go over the most unimportant details in my mind for hours so don't think I'd ever sleep if I had to deal with proper responsibility

 

[bJN]

Life or death aside, it's how you go about your job and handle yourself. My job has the potential to easily kill myself and a hundred co-workers if I'm not paying attention to what I'm doing, devastating the local environment and villages as well as bringing the national gas supply to a grinding halt / supply limitations should things really go pear-shaped. Yet I carry on every day without so much as blinking because I'm used to it. Risk normalization and all that...

 

[Chris1712]

Does anyone have good ideas for getting beyond 50k? Like many it was a goal of mine but now I'm there I realise how little it gets you in the modern economy. Fact is 50k in the 90s and 00s was great, but nowadays it covers rent and a cheap transport and that's about it.

The easy answer for me is 'move to London'. But ofcourse the cost of living goes up a lot aswell, though not as much as the salary I suppose. I don't especially want the London lifestyle any more, I like space and being able to jump in my car for a quick blast any time.

FWIW - Software Engineer

Graduated 2011
2011 - 25k
2012 - 27k
2013 - 31k
2014 - 33k
2015 (Moved company) - 46k
2016 - 48k
2017 - 52k

I know really I need to move company again, it's just so depressing. I'd really like a 'career path' that I hear to much about but software companies in the UK just don't seem interested. I've done plenty of project management and planning as cover or deputy but actually stepping up into a role like that seems like I have to take my chances at other company interviews .

 

[randomshenans]

Depends where you see yourself and where you want to be career wise. You could simply go contract and crack it right up past the 50k mark, but you'll not get any progression as in management etc.

 

[daver]

Oop North is pretty competitive for skilled IT roles. I know we generally pay around your level plus 15% bonus and other benefits for Devs and we struggle to hang on to decent ones.

 

[Russinating]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with aspirations, but I would say 52k six years after graduating is pretty good going, even for this forum which is naturally massively skewed towards middle/upper classes in technical/skilled/postgrad roles.

I know a lot of people's parents won't have goin much over 50k in their entire careers.

 

[Buffman]

Fact is 50k in the 90s and 00s was great, but nowadays it covers rent and a cheap transport and that's about it.
.

Inclined to agree but possibly because Somerset is an expensive area (I assume?)
Option could be to either move oop north or London?

I have no idea about software salaries but always see large day rates contracting in London... Sounds a pretty easy move to a commuter town if you're renting?

 

[Chris1712]

Oop North is pretty competitive for skilled IT roles. I know we generally pay around your level plus 15% bonus and other benefits for Devs and we struggle to hang on to decent ones.

Yes this is something I'm considering. London has skewed CoL in the south but not salaries, somehow. Oop north seems that CoL is still very low, but the wages aren't actually any lower? There are just fewer jobs in general to pick from? Tricky.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with aspirations, but I would say 52k six years after graduating is pretty good going, even for this forum which is naturally massively skewed towards middle/upper classes in technical/skilled/postgrad roles.

I know a lot of people's parents won't have goin much over 50k in their entire careers.

Absolutely. I'm super grateful and aware that overall I'm doing OK, and 50k was like many a target of mine. The issue is now I'm here it's not what I thought! Fact is rent has more than doubled in the last 5 years around here, Council Tax is up ~30% and day to day expenses are following that trend.
It's more the fact that UK/EU attitudes towards SW are pretty poor I think. We are first and foremost a cost, a negative, a sink. We're not seen as investments or creatives like many US companies (appear) to approach SW. Similar to a lot of IT departments complaints really.

Anyway onwards and upwards, going to write a master plan today and fire it up the chain - see what happens.

 

[Azza]

What sites / recruiters do people use to find IT contract jobs?

 

[Daaaavvveee]

What sites / recruiters do people use to find IT contract jobs?

Jobserve.co.uk is quite good

 

[Semple]

One reason why I like being in tech pre sales, it’s still techy (enough) for me, no people management what so ever (arguably not much responsibility as well), but decent reward

What tech do you pre sales in?

I've considered a pre-sales / tech marketing role in the industry i'm in (storage). But then i get fed up on a weekly basis of our pre-sales guys not explaining things correctly to customers, and then we get it in the neck.

Edit: Actually storage sounds lame (almost like cardboard boxes), the term that's getting thrown around a lot now is data protection...

 

[Ev0]

What tech do you pre sales in?

IT Security products

 

[Azza]

Jobserve.co.uk is quite good

Yeah jobserve is on my regular search list.

 

[BubbySoup]

Actually storage sounds lame (almost like cardboard boxes), the term that's getting thrown around a lot now is data protection...

Ha, don't joke. My friend's brother runs his own business that's something to do with cardboard boxes - or at least cardboard. He's way past the 50k mark judging by the huge house he lives in and the 8 series BMW.

It's weird how something as everyday as cardboard can make some people a lot of money.

 

[malachi]

Ha, don't joke. My friend's brother runs his own business that's something to do with cardboard boxes - or at least cardboard. He's way past the 50k mark judging by the huge house he lives in and the 8 series BMW.

It's weird how something as everyday as cardboard can make some people a lot of money.

True, my friends brother started his own online company back in his uni days selling bra's for the bigger ladies. 6 years on his company is valued at over 50k and has people interested in buying the company.

Certain business ideas for everyday items you never think it be worth money.