My £8,000 salary

There were more tales of woe yesterday about the ludicrously low wages of local newspaper reporters. A report in The Guardian suggested some hacks were starting on as little as £10,000.

£10,000? They were lucky. Even taking inflation into account (inflation calculator), the £8,000 I started on as a trainee reporter nearly 10 years ago must take first prize for low wage of the year. Let me know if you can beat it by posting a comment.

Today's money making tip: don't go into journalism.

- Andrew Oxlade

Comments

[Dave Bray]

When I joined the Navy many years ago, my
weekly pay was £1.10/- and I had to send the 10/- home to Mother every week.

Ah the days before decimalisation.

[OJ]

From low to high

Go to Winchester there is a job advertised @ £24k for a Nappy co ordinator its only rate payers money

[Terrence Harper]

£1/10/=? When I did my National Service it was 4/= a day, £1/8/= a week.

I thought that I ought to save a bit so arranged to have 10 bob put in the National Savings Bank each week, not realising that "clothing credits" were going to be deducted, so I ended up with 10/= a week in my hand.

Fortunately after initial training we progressed to being Acting Pilot Officer on probation at £16 a month. Riches beyond our wildest dreams.

[Tony Watson]

4/- a day...... A fortune china, When I did my National service I had to pay them!!!

[Andrew Oxlade]

Come on Tony - you can't leave it there. Why did you have to pay them?

[kelly love]

I work as a dispenser in a pharmacy and i get 8,500!! think i need a new job?

[uncle wiggy]

£8000 eh? I would have swapped for ny first job...1986 YTS scheme, £30 per week for 40 hour week...an overwhelming 75pence per hour! And all thanks to the lovely Margret Thatcher...thanks mags...don't exactly miss you! At least i'm probably still safe while David Cameron's in charge!

[Bus-ter]

I remember the YTS too, that was slavery, but it got me a job in an industry where I enjoyed working. Not many were as lucky.

Ten years ago I started driving buses for £3.50/hour making just over £7k for a 39 hour week, getting up at 3am one week, coming home at 1am the next. No overtime or anti-social hours rates with the occassional pleasure of being verbally and physically abused by a customer.

[kitty gould]

In 1991 I was in the west end production of Joseph and his Amazing Technicoloured Dreamcoat-with Jason Donovan - I was paid £10.00 a week. Beat that!

[Ross Hamilton]

Wow, and I thought my salary was bad when I got paid £13,500 to stack shelves at Tesco...(nights mind)...Local government now though :o)

[me]

Do you know that many well educated people in Russia earn less then US $500 per month? 1000 $ is really good salary in not so big cities there.

[Tim Linsley]

British Cathedral Organ scholars earn around £3,500 pa as a full time position.

[b brown]

TO PERSON SAYING
"£8000 eh? I would have swapped for ny first job...1986 YTS scheme, £30 per week for 40 hour week"

DO YOU THINK THAT THE DISPENSER WOULD HAVE EARNED "£8000" BACK IN 1986 ??
BACK THEN MY FIRST HOUSE COST JUST $15,000 AND LOOK AT THE PRICES TODAY BETWEEN £150,000 TO £200.000 FOR THAT SAME HOUSE

[Hannah]

Italy have the worst salaries around, my boyfriend is a qualified engineer and earns just 800 euros / month because he is young (27 years old) has no contract and no contributions. His employer is a top-level university no less!

[tony]

I started work in 1958 on less than £6 a week plus board and lodging and managed to save £250 in the first year - life was much simpler and cheaper then - it was easy to get casual work and there were few material goods to buy - although petrol and music were much more expensive - my first LP cost over a days wages !! I have lived for some time in southern Italy where unemployment is endemic and shop staff have to agree to accept half the minimum wage to keep a job and doctors earn around £30000 a year almost a third of their income here - I offered a graduate 15Euros an hour to teach me italian and she would only accept 10 !!