Work and career progression apathy.. Is it much more prevalent now?

[bigmike20vt]

Whats a relative pittance? under 40k?

lol that is some strange perspective there if under £40k is a pittance.
I am on around that (a bit more perhaps , not exactly sure due to complicated set up) and it is the most I have ever or likely will ever earn.
whilst I am not loaded , equally with a bit of money management I am more fortunate than many and have a comfortable life style.

at least in the 2 places I have worked there is this obsession with how will you push yourself out of your comfort zone to move up the ladder next.
so what happens is people who are good at their job are promoted often into positions they no longer are that good at, they didn't want and don't enjoy.
I am open about the fact that that isn't me. I know I am good at what I do (and do it better imo than people paid way more than me due to glass ceiling of no PHD.
I am definitely looked down upon however for not being ambitious , but that does grind my gears.
what is wrong with doing a job, doing it well and keeping doing it?.

 

[throwaway4372]

Wouldn't more bands be better? So there are fewer cliff edges? I dunno

should be one band only, a "single rate of income tax", a percentage, which, by definition, is "the more you earn the more you pay", a phrase used to justify the punitive tax bands we currently have.

 

[200sols]

Wouldn't more bands be better? So there are fewer cliff edges? I dunno

A complete redesign with more focus on wealth taxing tbh. Land taxes etc. But if we can't do that at least a system were the allowances increase with inflation so everyone doesn't get poorer each year.

 

[413x]

lol that is some strange perspective there if under £40k is a pittance.
I am on around that (a bit more perhaps , not exactly sure due to complicated set up) and it is the most I have ever or likely will ever earn.
whilst I am not loaded , equally with a bit of money management I am more fortunate than many and have a comfortable life style.

50-60k seems alot to me. But my lifestyle hasn't crept too much. Holidays have cut back my saving. But other than that. No.

I live in a cheap area and have cheap core costs. So the appeal of going higher isn't that appealing.

30-50 seemed huge. But even 45-55 felt like 'more to save' then anything matterial.

 

[413x]

should be one band only, a "single rate of income tax", a percentage, which, by definition, is "the more you earn the more you pay", a phrase used to justify the punitive tax bands we currently have.

Have to disagree. That's insanely crippling to the poorest.

 

[Narj]

50-60k seems alot to me. But my lifestyle hasn't crept too much. Holidays have cut back my saving. But other than that. No.

I live in a cheap area and have cheap core costs. So the appeal of going higher isn't that appealing.

30-50 seemed huge. But even 45-55 felt like 'more to save' then anything matterial.

Those little chunks of "more to save" really do add up over time though. It's insane the difference it makes. I'm right on the edge of what I can tolerate right now as far as work/life balance goes.

I could probably move to something like a hedge fund and earn perhaps another 40-50K total package but can't deal with the extra stress.

Have to disagree. That's insanely crippling to the poorest.

That's why you have a personal allowance that's set at a level to make sure they don't suffer.

 

[413x]

Those little chunks of "more to save" really do add up over time though. It's insane the difference it makes. I'm right on the edge of what I can tolerate right now as far as work/life balance goes.

I could probably move to something like a hedge fund and earn perhaps another 40-50K total package but can't deal with the extra stress.


That's why you have a personal allowance that's set at a level to make sure they don't suffer.

I still think that would be too much in favour of the mega rich. Because there's so many people at the bottom you probably couldn't raise the threshold enough. You still need some uplift on higher salaries

I'd does add up. But my mind has convinced me I need to focus on now and that most peoples retirements suck. Unless you have an enormous pension

 

[bigmike20vt]

should be one band only, a "single rate of income tax", a percentage, which, by definition, is "the more you earn the more you pay", a phrase used to justify the punitive tax bands we currently have.

that would only work if all jobs paid equivalent. as they don't then imo it is clear if your system was put in place half of the population would be screwed (probably 20% would about break even and then the top 30% would be loaded.

kind of what we have now but even more unfair.

 

[slinxy]

It has been recorded in serveal surveys that most people earn their lifetime highest salary betweent 40 and 49, after that it goes down hill.

Not sure if that's by choice with people stepping back, discovering their dream role is a nightmare or if people post 49 have it harder to find similar salary work due to their age if they are made redundant or have to move companies due to relocation or something.

For me, it comes in peaks and troughs. There's been times in my career where I wouldn't say I've been career minded but dead interested in what I was doing and as a result produced my best work and promotion/recognition is just an side affect.

There's been times where I remain professional and just do my job. Zero interest in the actual work or adding any additional value benefits and as a result progression was slow..

At the moment, I'm in a trough. I'm not in a position to make decisions, all of our work is security and business driven. We was in that much tech debt that what we are doing now, I'm done most of in the past, I'm just doing it in a different way now, so it's not exciting work. I rely on other people to tell me what I need to know and then look into it and even then due to the environment we operate in, it will be some wierd frankenstein of a solution..

 

[arknor]

lol that is some strange perspective there if under £40k is a pittance.

It's not a pittance to me but the poster said "relative pittance" compared to a lucrative oil field career they had previously.

and this forum I suspect a lot of people consider 40-60k to be a "modest" wage.


Whats the national average supposed to be like 35l? From most the jobs I see advertised I'd suspect the majority of people are on around 23-29k and would see 35 or 40k as a high wage.

I'm up North though so maybe the wages are just crap, and I'm not going out of my way to look at job adverts, I just take notice if I see any.

 

[413x]

It has been recorded in serveal surveys that most people earn their lifetime highest salary betweent 40 and 49, after that it goes down hill.

Not sure if that's by choice with people stepping back, discovering their dream role is a nightmare or if people post 49 have it harder to find similar salary work due to their age if they are made redundant or have to move companies due to relocation or something.

For me, it comes in peaks and troughs. There's been times in my career where I wouldn't say I've been career minded but dead interested in what I was doing and as a result produced my best work and promotion/recognition is just an side affect.

There's been times where I remain professional and just do my job. Zero interest in the actual work or adding any additional value benefits and as a result progression was slow..

At the moment, I'm in a trough. I'm not in a position to make decisions, all of our work is security and business driven. We was in that much tech debt that what we are doing now, I'm done most of in the past, I'm just doing it in a different way now, so it's not exciting work. I rely on other people to tell me what I need to know and then look into it and even then due to the environment we operate in, it will be some wierd frankenstein of a solution..

Unless I make a change I think I'm peaking now

 

[200sols]

should be one band only, a "single rate of income tax", a percentage, which, by definition, is "the more you earn the more you pay", a phrase used to justify the punitive tax bands we currently have.

Not really punitive are they, only the tax traps are punitive and wrong. As I said if they increased with inflation things would feel much better.

 

[Narj]

Unless I make a change I think I'm peaking now

Not sure if many others in that age range like myself fall into the same rut, but yeah, I'm keenly aware that I'm probably at my peak earnings potential now, which is why I'm clinging on.

I feel like I don't have the techy sponge brain I used to have, so learning a lot of the newer stuff to a very high level is much more difficult than it would have been in the past. Things are also changing much more quickly now, and unfortunately I do find that I'm losing my enthusiasm for it somewhat. I just see it as a means to an end rather than something I truly enjoy now.

If I was younger, it would be sink or swim now, but in my position I'll be glad to see the back of it all in a couple of years.

 

[413x]

Same. Definitely find learning less appealing and I'm less able to pick me things up. Part of that is interest and part age/fatigue

Not sure if many others in that age range like myself fall into the same rut, but yeah, I'm keenly aware that I'm probably at my peak earnings potential now, which is why I'm clinging on.

I feel like I don't have the techy sponge brain I used to have, so learning a lot of the newer stuff to a very high level is much more difficult than it would have been in the past. Things are also changing much more quickly now, and unfortunately I do find that I'm losing my enthusiasm for it somewhat. I just see it as a means to an end rather than something I truly enjoy now.

If I was younger, it would be sink or swim now, but in my position I'll be glad to see the back of it all in a couple of years.

 

[Diddums]

But in that 50-125k..for those that are there... Who do have the stress.. Its it worth it?

40yo, earn fairly well. My next step will likely be around £80k. Yes the stress can get a bit much, but my work can also be very rewarding and I enjoy being the best at what I do. This is mainly due to my client, but I've also worked for clients who made me hate work to the point I'd often just sit in the car in the car park for 10 minutes before each day just to try and calm the anxiety down. I lasted 11 months in that role and I was the longest serving manager in that position in at least 15 years. Odd flex I know, but I am still a bit proud that I managed to stick it out longer than any of my predecessors despite the hilariously hostile client I was working for (who I recently learned was "invited to no longer work there").

For context, I have an apprenticeship in HVAC installations, I started in London as a general maintenance person doing whatever needed doing and was generally regarded as a necessary evil in most workplaces. I worked my arse off and am now the technical manager of one of the most famous museums in the world, and without wanting to toot my own horn, people generally respect me and I thoroughly enjoy working with them.

Make no mistake, this is the happiest I've been in my career but it's taken some serious dredging to get here. I earn a lot less than many but I actually enjoy my job and I've learned that if you can afford it, go for something you enjoy.

 

[OpenToSuggestions]

40yo, earn fairly well. My next step will likely be around £80k. Yes the stress can get a bit much, but my work can also be very rewarding and I enjoy being the best at what I do. This is mainly due to my client, but I've also worked for clients who made me hate work to the point I'd often just sit in the car in the car park for 10 minutes before each day just to try and calm the anxiety down. I lasted 11 months in that role and I was the longest serving manager in that position in at least 15 years. Odd flex I know, but I am still a bit proud that I managed to stick it out longer than any of my predecessors despite the hilariously hostile client I was working for (who I recently learned was "invited to no longer work there").

For context, I have an apprenticeship in HVAC installations, I started in London as a general maintenance person doing whatever needed doing and was generally regarded as a necessary evil in most workplaces. I worked my arse off and am now the technical manager of one of the most famous museums in the world, and without wanting to toot my own horn, people generally respect me and I thoroughly enjoy working with them.

Make no mistake, this is the happiest I've been in my career but it's taken some serious dredging to get here. I earn a lot less than many but I actually enjoy my job and I've learned that if you can afford it, go for something you enjoy.

Money matters to a point, but once living a life at a level you are happy with then it is all about the job satisfaction.

 

[slinxy]

I feel like I don't have the techy sponge brain I used to have

You sure it's just not your interest levels? I look though dozens of high and low level designes, change implementation plans a week.. the stuff that interest me, I tend to understand straight away.. some of the stuff I couldn't care less about I struggle to get the overrall bigger picture.

If I was younger, it would be sink or swim now, but in my position I'll be glad to see the back of it all in a couple of years.

Maybe your too comfortable and let yourself slip? I've been in orgs where the buck stops with me, or it was on me to get x,y,z done else it hits the fan. I tend to find that I work better in that environment.
At my current place, we seem to design by committee, some people have near to zero technical ability and just want to put their 2 pence in to make it out that they doing "work"...

I've been asked to move into management and done a load of soft-skill management courses in the past, I think my next role will be more hands off just not sure how many years left I can manage being hands on.

 

[Sheff]

I'm earning a decent amount for the area I live in, but I've pretty much reached my maximum unless I go into management or using my powers for evil.

Instead of trying to push for promotions I've been looking at reducing my outgoings... and encouraging my wife to earn more!

 

[throwaway4372]

Not really punitive are they, only the tax traps are punitive and wrong. As I said if they increased with inflation things would feel much better.

I think it's punitive. A modest amount of success is greeted with a higher tax bracket.
People blame "the rich" for their problems and say they should pay more, and at the same time tell their kids to try at school, go to uni, etc. They don't realise they're blaming their own kids (assuming kids do as told and become successful).
(caveat: "the rich" is an unclear term, usually means anyone better off than them, but by the time it becomes policy it means higher tax payers)

Instead of trying to push for promotions I've been looking at reducing my outgoings... and encouraging my wife to earn more!

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Is it just me or is this becoming scarily ubiquitous now? I always thought this was just for camgirls and the like but I've spoken to 2 women in my local area who say they do it, one of whom has a boyfriend and he doesn't see any problem with it. :eek: I personally think this is a deal-breaker...

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[Narj]

You sure it's just not your interest levels? I look though dozens of high and low level designes, change implementation plans a week.. the stuff that interest me, I tend to understand straight away.. some of the stuff I couldn't care less about I struggle to get the overrall bigger picture.


Maybe your too comfortable and let yourself slip? I've been in orgs where the buck stops with me, or it was on me to get x,y,z done else it hits the fan. I tend to find that I work better in that environment.
At my current place, we seem to design by committee, some people have near to zero technical ability and just want to put their 2 pence in to make it out that they doing "work"...

I've been asked to move into management and done a load of soft-skill management courses in the past, I think my next role will be more hands off just not sure how many years left I can manage being hands on.

Possibly. I think it's partly a side effect of just wanting to get out of London and slow down my pace of life though. I am definitely not the only one in my team that feels this way, however.

I'm top of the tree escalation-wise and I do still enjoy troubleshooting and fixing complex issues that have been pushed up to me even though it can be quite stressful. I've always enjoyed poking around in the guts of things, even if they're outside of my remit, and I do still enjoy doing the bespoke designs and implementations.

What I'm definitely not that interested in is the stuff that's shifting towards code, APIs and GUIs where you don't actually see what's going on underneath. I had roles that involved coding in the past - apart from doing it to make my job easier through automating stuff, it's not really something I enjoy.

I was toying with taking a pay cut and moving into pen-testing at one point as my background and past jobs are a huge advantage. I spent quite a lot of spare time doing certs, labs and stuff but not sure if it's for me.

I don't think I could stomach any sort of management role in all honesty.

Maybe I'll go back to just being a deployment/implementations monkey at some point and enjoy the lack of responsibility while still being hands-on.