What is an average salary for someone in their 20's?

[splodge24]

What is an average salary for someone in their 20's to be on with a BA Hons Degree? I'm currently working but feel a bit shortchanged. I wanted job satisfaction above all else but now i've realised how important the money is when looking to mortgage etc.

[morg_monster]

depends on where you are working, whether the degree is a requirement of the job, how long you've been working there for. Impossible to say without knowing!

friends at uni when starting jobs requiring a degree started at salaries ranging from 18k (eg public sector, outside london) to 30k (investment banking type hard core jobs in London)

[rumanshu]

I agree with morg_monster.  It all depends on the job and your degree, etc.  A general rule of thumb someone told me is to aim for your age in �thousands, but I've always earnt under by a couple of grand. 

I think that the fish4jobs website has a salary guide for some jobs.  You can always phone up recruitment agencies and pretend you're looking for work to find out how much you should be on.

[Miss Zippy]

How long is a piece of string?  As morg monster says, depends on the industry you are working in. Are you in a �graduate� entry level job at the moment or are you following a defined career path or profession? Having a degree in itself does not guarantee you will ever earn a decent salary. It�s your performance in a job, the application of the knowledge you have and the experience you gain that is valuable to employers and which will mean you can command a higher salary. I�ve heard a similar guide as rumanshu, which is in your mid 20s, �average� earnings for a graduate will be their age in thousands but in your late 20s (when you will have some decent work experience under your belt) �average� earnings will be your age in thousands plus 10% and in your thirties, your age in thousands plus 20% (e.g. an average 35 year old would be earning �42k). Apparently, your earnings potential peaks in your late 30s/early 40s (earlier for women apparently, especially those who take a break to have children) so the �average� earnings are not expected to rise significantly after this age.  All seems a bit arbitrary to me mind you!   

[Dom Tuk]

But even if you did find out that you are on a lower wage than someone else with your qualifications and age group, you cannot use that as any leverage. Your employers are not duty bound to pay you a wage that othersin diferent companies earn. They will pay you what they think they can pay you or else someone else is willing to do your job for that wage. However if your job is very specialised and no one waiting in the wings to take over you have a chance.

[hugoboss]

I'm in my mid-twenties and earn �24k, but hate my job. i'm jacking it all in though to go back to Uni for a year and train to be a teacher. job satisfaction much better than good money!

[Gef]

Good luck hugoboss- hope you find job satisfaction in being underpaid, undervalued and given no respect.

[hugoboss]

Thanks Gef, but you won't take the wind out of my sails. There are pros and cons to all jobs.

[Gef]

Sorry hugoboss I was not trying to take the wind out of your sails. I was just expressing how I feel after thirty years in teaching. Every year gets harder which is why the Government's proposal to raise the retirement age to 65 is ridiculous. I really do wish you luck, teaching needs young and enthusiastic recruits.

[rosssurfer]

I honestly think the government misled us all by suggesting that we all need to get degrees.  I spent 3 years doing mine at a huge cost and found the only place I could get a job was in a University on �16,250!!!

Since then I have studied my ass off to get Microsoft Certifications and 22 months since I got my degree I have just been offered a perminant job on �25k, and a contract role on �34k.  I have just turned 24, and I believe the key to getting offered these jobs was the fact that I have worked hard in my own time.  Seems employers recognise I have a real determination to get on in life, and want someone with a get it done attitude.