Mar 08 2011 March 8, 2011 March 8, 2011 61Comments by ben

Money!

Posted in

Such an issue, isn’t it?

How much do you start on, how much do you end on, do you get more then the team next door?

Well, in the interests of not giving a shit about all that bollocks, I thought I’d let you know how much I earned in my years in the business (if you fancy sticking your own in the comments, we might find that enlightening):

Age 22: £10,000

Age 23: £12,500

Age 24 (fired and back to square one): £12,500

Age 26: £17,500 then £22,500

Age 27: £27,500

Age 28: £32,500

Age 29: £38,500

Age 30: £43,500

Age 31: £70,000

Age 32: £80,000

Age 33: £85,000

Age 34: £99,500

Age 35-37: freelance day rates vary too much to be accurate, but the 20% tax rate is very pleasant indeed.

I do have other sources of income (slave trading, moonshine production, go-go dancing for coins etc.), but you needn’t worry yourself about those.

I’d guess I plodded along a bit in my early years then accelerated as things went along. That might be down to the percentage pay rises (30-40% early on, then closer to 10% later, although that equated to a larger sum of money). I’m not really sure if that’s a little or a lot for my time/awards/responsibilities/work etc., but I never really moved agencies and have been through several recessions and pay freezes. Also, wages have changed a great deal (downwards in real terms) in the last decade, so I’m perfectly happy with what I’ve earned, but it’s never enough, is it? (Smiley face made out of punctuation.)

I hear kids these days start on £25,000, but does that translate to a higher sum later on, or is there a bit of a ceiling that keeps you down? Is middleweight about £50k or £60k? Do you have to take on client responsibilities if you’re on six figures? Do you earn less outside London?

Let’s have a frank (yet almost certainly anonymous) discussion about such things.