You might be planning a future career path, already be holding down a job and looking to earn a higher average salary, be considering a career path pivot (changing profession or business sector), or believe you are working in one of the highest-paid jobs in the UK. Whatever your case, to set realistic career and earnings goals, make informed decisions, or check if you really have achieved a top salary, you need to review our national statistics for total pay by sector and consider the factors that affect the maximum salary benefits you can achieve within each industry and job.
In this report, we explore:
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How much can I earn in the UK?
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The top 10 highest-paying business sectors
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How much you should earn by sectors
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How to ask for a pay rise
How Much Can I Earn In The UK?
How much you can earn in the UK depends on many factors including whether you work for a public sector or private sector employer, your age, location, gender, and occupational skills and education. All of these factors can affect your hourly pay, while your annual average salary may also be affected by working patterns, such as if you work full-time or part-time.
AGE
It's a fairly obvious observation that as we grow older, we accumulate more experience, which translates into higher salaries.
Individuals who have just finished school and entered the workforce typically earn some of the lowest salaries, owing to their lack of work experience. University graduates, on the other hand, can anticipate higher salaries owing to their advanced education. Starting salaries for different career paths can vary greatly.
However, it's not until we reach our thirties that we hit our stride in terms of earnings. By this time, we have acquired some experience, as well as education and/or qualifications.
Individuals in the age range of 40-49 tend to be among the highest-paid, having amassed more than 15 years of experience by this stage.
Naturally, there are always exceptions to the rule. In certain fields, such as investment banking and the financial sector, talented employees may achieve significant earning potential at a young age. Nonetheless, this is generally the exception rather than the norm.
LOCATION
It should not come as a surprise that jobs in London and other major cities often offer higher salaries than their counterparts in smaller cities or towns.
However, it's important to keep in mind that the cost of living in a large city, as well as the expenses associated with commuting to one, can be very high. These costs mean that a seemingly impressive salary on paper may not necessarily translate into more disposable income.
With the significant increase in remote work and the reduced need for employees to work in a physical office, the impact of location on average salaries for a particular job or industry may be diminishing. Nevertheless, if you work in a physical workplace, location remains a factor worth considering.
GENDER
Although the gender pay gap has considerably decreased over the past two decades, unfortunately, there is still a disparity between men and women who hold the same position. This is not the case in all industries, and many businesses are improving at compensating workers equally for the same job, regardless of gender.
Nevertheless, in certain fields, a gender pay gap still exists, which necessitates being mindful of it while negotiating salary. The most effective method to determine if you are being paid less than the average wage due to gender is to engage with your colleagues and be transparent about your earnings. You can then discover if your pay is lower solely because of your gender and discuss it with your supervisor to ensure you receive a just salary.
OCCUPATIONAL SKILLS AND EDUCATION
Different industries require particular expertise and this knowledge is often evidenced by your education and qualifications. Your perceived value and average salary might be affected by whether you have a relevant degree or other industry certificates or associations.
Health, accounting, finance, and legal firms, may stipulate very comprehensive qualification requirements (bachelor’s or master’s degree). A retail firm, estate agent, sales business, insurance and banking firms, and food services companies, may look for personal characteristics, a diploma, or on-the-job training at the start of a career path, but of course, the average salary will be lower for these employee groups.
However, personal characteristics and soft skills still provide the foundation for good career development and will help you earn more total pay in the long run. Almost every industry is looking to hire job seekers with excellent interpersonal, team working, empathy, compassion, management, and communication skills.
The Top 10 Highest-Paying Business Sectors
Our salary data and national statistics show which employment sectors pay the highest average salary. The top ten best-paying business sectors in the UK are as follows:
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Leadership
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Information Technology (IT)
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Professional Services
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Telecommunications
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Marketing
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Science
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Clergy
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Legal
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Construction
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Banking and Insurance
How Much You Should Earn By Sectors
How much you can earn in every sector is detailed here:
How To Ask For A Pay Rise
Employees, whether part-time or full-time, may encounter the difficulty of requesting a salary increase to augment their earnings. This process can be intimidating and uneasy, but with sufficient groundwork, it can yield a positive result.
To aid in this conversation, our report titled How To Ask For A Pay Rise, presents a detailed manual on how to prepare and negotiate a salary hike, providing you with the necessary assurance to rationalise your appeal and convince your employer to offer a higher salary. Ultimately, this can help alleviate financial struggles and improve your standard of living.
We also recommend reading our guides on What To Consider Before Taking A Job Offer and Should I Accept A Counter-Offer?
Average Salary FAQs
Here we answer your average salary questions.
WHAT IS THE TOP 10% SALARY IN THE UK?
According to national statistics, a top 10% salary in the UK exceeds £62,500 per year.
WHAT IS A GOOD SALARY IN THE UK 2023?
The median pay for full-time employees could be considered a good salary. The median salary is the borderline figure where an equal percentage and proportion of workers earn more and less pay. The median figure provides an accurate reflection of average salary, removing the extremes at either end of the scale.
WHAT IS A DECENT SALARY IN UK?
What constitutes a decent salary in the UK depends on many factors such as your age, working patterns, the level of responsibility jobs require, industry/sector, job title, location, skills, and qualifications. Our wage data for sectors and jobs indicates the average salary for employees at different levels working in finance, banking, health, food services, and more, for office workers, investment analysts, estate agents, data scientists, sales, bricklayers, solicitors, and more than 800 job titles.
WHAT IS THE MINIMUM WAGE UK 2023?
The UK minimum wage for 2023 rises on the 1st of April to £10.42, for adults over 23. This salary rise means those employed on minimum wage will receive at least a 9.7% rise in salary benefits.