The Official "How Much I Earn/What Job I Do" Information Thread

alx

alx

Soldato
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Just googled the office is about 5min walk from my flat :)

KaHn

You probably wouldn't notice it if you walked past haha, the entrance is slightly set back from the road and fairly non-descript.

I know you work in oil and gas and have explained before, but exactly do you do again?
 
Soldato
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I know you work in oil and gas and have explained before, but exactly do you do again?

I'm on my phone so can't give a huge answer but basicall I'm a structural lead engineer/project engineer for the heavy lift/pipeline/sub sea installation/survey/irm this means I'm assigned to a project (or multiple) to design/analyse/install steel structures so they can be used to lay product (umbilical/pipeline) in normally very deep water.

Last two projects were the kizomba b sats in Angola and aquilia near Italy bot subsea development of fpsos in deep water. So installtion of mooring chains, manifolds, jumpers, risers and umbilicals.

I'll post some pictures of stuff tomorrow when I'm in the office but I've posted quite a few before from other projects :)

KaHn
 
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I was lazy as hell at school and dropped out of uni after a year but as soon as I realised people would pay me good money to work (obviously I'd had menial jobs as a kid) my attitude changed massively. I was lucky (and always have been) to get a fairly good job straight after I dropped out and seeing that £4-500 a week in my bank account gave me instant recognition of what that work was giving me, rather than the promise of a piece of paper with some grades on it and maybe a bit of extra money when I got a job in x years time.

After that I've worked incredibly hard to get to and to keep myself at the level I am at today.
 
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[TW]Fox;18186476 said:
This is because education is a long term thing.

In 20 years time you'll have 28 years experience (Though I hasten to call time spent fiddling around with PC's when under the age of 16 experience so lets call it 25 years) but they'll have 20 years and academic credentials.

By the time you get to those numbers, the fact you had 5 years more experience will be completely immaterial.

People who look at the position they are in mid 20's and use that to judge the value of undergraduate and masters degrees are either missing the point or trying to convince themselves it doesn't matter.

I never had the need for a degree, I almost went when I finished my A levels but my vocation was with the Armed Forces (still would be if not for circumstances beyond my control).

My current job I got by having experience in a management environment (albeit in the RM) and applying that at each stage of my career progression over the past 6 years, beginning at local level and rising pretty quickly up to (just last year) to my present position. Having a degree would have allowed me to work less and in all likelihood entered at a higher level than I did, thus cutting down the time it took to get where I wanted (there was some luck and contacts involved I admit), but not having one would not have stopped me showing what ability and drive I had and obviously reaching my goal anyway.
 
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[TW]Fox;18188277 said:
But you certainly received an education instead through the RM :) An education like no other, which has much value in the private sector as you've since discovered.

Absolutely, which is partly my point on there being a little too much emphasis on University degrees, when many of those attending would be better served in a vocational and not academical environment.
 
Soldato
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Absolutely, which is partly my point on there being a little too much emphasis on University degrees, when many of those attending would be better served in a vocational and not academical environment.

I totaly agree with this, I also am a firm believer in the fact that some people just are not "academic".

When I left school I had no gcse's bar 2 Bs in science (due to the "wrong" crowd etc...), I managed to scrape my way into college and pass my electrical qualifications. I have been in full time electrical work since I was 18 and the experience and knowledge I have picked up through working on site and dealing with clients has served me much better than if I had gone to uni, I earnt £30k at 21 with no student loan and am now on just over £40 at 23 plus private work.

It would have taken me many many years to have the disposable income I have now if I had gone to uni, sure I have been lucky with the firms I have been employed by over the years but I look at some of my mate who have been out of uni for a year now and most are in customer service jobs such as wickes and bar staff (One has a criminal forensics/biology degree another has some form of law degree) with huge debts.

Is not all roses though, I want to start my own firm but its so hard coming from a well paying job to jump into the unknown...
 
Soldato
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I'm

22-25, £12001-15000,Retail, Level 4 education, 40 hours pw.

I want to get that a bit higher but I chucked studying my accounts degree and I'm not getting any younger. Might just stay in what I'm doing now and try and jump into one of the bigger suppliers we use in the future.

Ideally I could take over the shop from my boss and take a nice wage whilst paying him some sort of pension or something. He does ok for himself with a 4 bedroom house and driving around in his range rover wearing his breitling.
 
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Man of Honour
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The paper-round comment is there because most of my peers 'couldn't be arsed' to get out of bed at 6:30am to earn a crust doing a SINGLE round, I got up an hour earlier so I could squeeze four in. The ONLY reason I did it was for money, I hated the early mornings, I loathed the uphill rounds and I disliked the changeable British weather - but all that hate was endured for financial gain.

You either want it, chase it, grab it and fight, blood, sweat and tears for it... or you sit idly by complaining about your lesser position, all the 'ifs' and 'buts'. I've worked in office environments where 90% of the staff are this way, they hate their jobs but they do little to nothing about it, they just sit and habitually moan!

The thing is though there are plenty of people without excessive amounts of fight/blood/sweat/tears who are still more successful than the moaners. Not saying that being driven doesn't help, but there is more to it than that.

Oh as for the education thing, one thing I've come across during my postgrad OU studies is that a helluva lot of my academic peers (in 'good' jobs) are having their courses paid for by their employers. So not only are they getting paid a decent salary but their employer is even stumping up the cash for them to extend their education. Makes you wonder sometimes, I reckon talented people can probably get away with leaving school at 18, get a decent job, employer pays for your education a few years down the line, and then you are setup to really kick on during your 30s (alternatively they might have their own business, in which case qualifications are a bit of a moot point anyway).

If I had my time again I would definitely consider not going to uni or perhaps having a year in industry to beef up the experience and prospects.
 
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Soldato
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Location
Liverpool
Age: 21-25
Salary: £20001-£25000
Education: Level 2/3
Job Sector: Military(Army)
Hours Worked: 40>

Should be working a lot more hours as the year goes on, getting ready for tour, 6 months hard graft, can't wait :D.

Know I could potentially be earning more money if I'd carried on a college, and ended up going to University. But would I be as satisfied in my job as I am now in the Army, I doubt it. Army is a life style, more than just a job or career. Glad I made this choice in life rather than uni, after staying in contact with mates who I was in college with, and seeing how their lives are going, I think I made the right choice, for me anyway :).
 
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31-35.

£20001-£25000.

Public Transport (Bus driver to be specific).

Level 3.

41-50 hours per week.

Location: South Yorkshire.

With a dash of overtime I'd be in the 51-60 hours and £25001-£30000 categories.
 
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Man of Honour
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What figure would suggest a contractor uses for this then rather than the salary?

Average yearly income before tax but after expenses deducted perhaps? It's difficult isn't it because contracting income is obviously higher but then so are costs and, critically, there will be times when a contractor has no work.
 
Soldato
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South Shields
I think I need to start moving towards becoming a pipeline engineer!! :D:p

If you can get it, its normally the case that the closer you are to taking the oil out the ground the more you get paid.

Still as a contractor I will jump to 80-120k/year (before tax etc) so isn't too bad :)

Got an email at work this morning about doing the companies fast track project management course which I think I'll sign up for :)

KaHn
 
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