# Birmingham salaries



## Hellsbells (May 31, 2016)

Just discovered I started an identical thread in 2008  

Anyway, been looking at jobs in B'ham, mostly university admin & the starting salaries seem to be around 18.5K. Having lived in London for so long, this salary seems REALLY low to me. Is it low for B'ham or reasonable? 

I live a fairly frugal lifestyle but I want to be earning enough to apply for a mortgage at some point (combined with my boyfriend's salary and a pretty good deposit)


----------



## moomoo (May 31, 2016)

I wish I earnt £18.5k!!


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (May 31, 2016)

Hellsbells said:


> Just discovered I started an identical thread in 2008
> 
> Anyway, been looking at jobs in B'ham, mostly university admin & the starting salaries seem to be around 18.5K. Having lived in London for so long, this salary seems REALLY low to me. Is it low for B'ham or reasonable?
> 
> I live a fairly frugal lifestyle but I want to be earning enough to apply for a mortgage at some point (combined with my boyfriend's salary and a pretty good deposit)



Don't know about Brum specificaly but it doesn't seem awful. Have you looked at rents?


----------



## BigTom (May 31, 2016)

22k was the median salary here maybe 2 or 3 years ago. Assuming an 8 hour day, I think that £18.5k is around £8.90/hr, living wage is £8.25/hr so I think that wage will be fine.


----------



## Looby (May 31, 2016)

It's not great money but I don't think it's particularly low for an admin role.


----------



## Addy (May 31, 2016)

I'm based in Wolves and  work for a large buisiness and they pay welders and assembly workers 23-26k p/a, so I don't think 18.5k for an admin role is that bad... in fact i'd say its good based upon my wifes salary.


----------



## discokermit (May 31, 2016)

Addy said:


> I'm based in Wolves and  work for a large buisiness and they pay welders and assembly workers 23-26k p/a, so I don't think 18.5k for an admin role is that bad... in fact i'd say its good based upon my wifes salary.


any jobs going?


----------



## Addy (May 31, 2016)

discokermit said:


> any jobs going?



Only on agency ATM ...


----------



## discokermit (May 31, 2016)

it's all fucking agency these days. ugh.
ta.


----------



## Addy (May 31, 2016)

Agency pay £9 p/h and a contract with the employer after 2 yrs service ;/


----------



## Hellsbells (May 31, 2016)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Don't know about Brum specificaly but it doesn't seem awful. Have you looked at rents?


Compared to London, rent & house prices seem amazingly cheap. Will apply for those jobs. Although they're advertised as being for 'internal and external candidates' which makes me think its just the usual crap of getting people to re- apply for their own jobs so an external candidate stands no chance


----------



## gawkrodger (Jun 1, 2016)

yeh, that's about standard


----------



## miss direct (Jun 1, 2016)

Sounds rubbish to me compared with what I know some friends earn there, but they have been with the same company for a whole and got raises.


----------



## bi0boy (Jun 1, 2016)

Sounds about right. Cambridge University here pay £18,734 as a starting salary for admin assistants. This would be requiring GCSEs and some IT knowledge (e.g. MS Office). A junior receptionist  role (no experience/quals necessary) would start at £16,357.


----------



## miss direct (Jun 1, 2016)

As a starter for a youngster, decent. But the lady asking has extensive experience. (Don't you Hellsbells?)


----------



## bi0boy (Jun 1, 2016)

Obviously if the admin role requires more experience then the salary would be higher. For example I am looking at an advert here in paying £21,605-£25,023 for a Research Grants Administrator that states "Previous experience of clerical work and administration is essential; report-writing skills and a familiarity with grant administration would be very welcome"

If someone has worked in a similar job previously they'd typically start you off on a salary within the range that is equal or one increment higher than the salary you had previously.


----------



## Hellsbells (Jun 1, 2016)

miss direct said:


> As a starter for a youngster, decent. But the lady asking has extensive experience. (Don't you Hellsbells?)


I don't have the specific experience required for any of the higher paid admin jobs


----------



## Hellsbells (Jun 1, 2016)

bi0boy said:


> If someone has worked in a similar job previously they'd typically start you off on a salary within the range that is equal or one increment higher than the salary you had previously.



This isn't what I've been told at interviews. They've all said everyone starts at the bottom of the salary scale regardless then move up on increment each year they're in employment with that company.


----------



## bi0boy (Jun 1, 2016)

Hellsbells said:


> This isn't what I've been told at interviews. They've all said everyone starts at the bottom of the salary scale regardless then move up on increment each year they're in employment with that company.



Have you previously worked in a uni admin job? If you're "moving sideways" they shouldn't drop you down the pay spine.


----------



## Hellsbells (Jun 1, 2016)

bi0boy said:


> Have you previously worked in a uni admin job? If you're "moving sideways" they shouldn't drop you down the pay spine.


Kind of. I worked in basic uni admin about 9 years ago, then FE college admin for 6 years. I've not worked in admin for the last 2. Although that could be argued .... teaching involves huge amounts of admin!
All my admin was work has been in London though. I'm not expecting to get the same salary elsewhere.


----------



## Hellsbells (Jun 3, 2016)

Been doing my application today. The starting salary is actually £18,500 to £19,900. Then it increases annually up to 23K 
Doubt I'll even get that far in the process, but if it did happen, I'd assume I'd be put on the higher starting salary and don't think almost 20K is atall bad. 
Worked out that I spend double on housing costs in London than I would if I lived in B'ham. Therefore £20K is the equivalent of me earning 40K in London. Which is LOADS and nowhere near what I earn at the moment!


----------



## Hellsbells (Jun 3, 2016)

miss direct said:


> Sounds rubbish to me compared with what I know some friends earn there, but they have been with the same company for a whole and got raises.


Doesn't your friend work in finance or accounts or something though?


----------



## Hellsbells (Jun 3, 2016)

There are suddenly loads of jobs at Birmingham university. Does this mean most of them don't actually exist? I feel like I'm wasting my time here 
And what's really annoying is it's one of those endless online applications and despite the fact the jobs are all really similar, I still have to type in all the same bloody info again.


----------



## kebabking (Jun 5, 2016)

I know it's tedious Hellsbells and an appalling waste of a nice sunny day, but honestly, the effort you put into getting a job in the Midlands and relocating here will be rewarded 50 fold by the lifestyle you have.

Birmingham isn't my cup of tea, no city larger that Bath or Edinburgh is, but it's a decent enough place, and its grace - for me - is that almost wherever you are in Birmingham you aren't far from the countryside. Working at Brum Uni for example would mean you could choose to live in the achingly fashionable city, or in the commuter towns like Redditch, Bromsgrove, droitwich, Kidderminster, or in the beautiful, bucolic countryside that runs between them all.

You can still buy a 3 bed Victorian/Edwardian terrace in Kidderminster for £99k...


----------



## baldrick (Jun 5, 2016)

Hellsbells said:


> There are suddenly loads of jobs at Birmingham university. Does this mean most of them don't actually exist? I feel like I'm wasting my time here
> And what's really annoying is it's one of those endless online applications and despite the fact the jobs are all really similar, I still have to type in all the same bloody info again.


Don't forget there's two other unis in Birmingham so you can look for jobs with them too. On the salary note I've found that Birmingham uni doesn't pay all that well in the kinds of jobs I'd like to do, so it's no surprise you're finding the same thing in admin posts tbh.


----------



## moomoo (Jun 5, 2016)

kebabking said:


> You can still buy a 3 bed Victorian/Edwardian terrace in Kidderminster for £99k...



Really?!

I don't hate Kiddy tbf...


----------



## kebabking (Jun 5, 2016)

moomoo said:


> Really?!
> 
> I don't hate Kiddy tbf...



Yup.

Ok, not in the best streets in the town, but it's not south central LA by any stretch of the imagination. Kiddy is the butt of Worcestershires jokes, but as you say, there's no reason to hate the place - good transport links, excellent schools, good and plentiful housing stock, surrounded on all sides by amazing countryside. The town centre is a bit of a disappointment, but that's true of many town centres...


----------



## moomoo (Jun 5, 2016)

kebabking said:


> Yup.
> 
> Ok, not in the best streets in the town, but it's not south central LA by any stretch of the imagination. Kiddy is the butt of Worcestershires jokes, but as you say, there's no reason to hate the place - good transport links, excellent schools, good and plentiful housing stock, surrounded on all sides by amazing countryside. The town centre is a bit of a disappointment, but that's true of many town centres...



I live in Redditch...


----------



## kebabking (Jun 5, 2016)

I'm Worcester, so, you know, well posh.

Except my bit, obviously...


----------



## moomoo (Jun 5, 2016)

kebabking said:


> I'm Worcester, so, you know, well posh.
> 
> Except my bit, obviously...



You're in Dines Green then.


----------



## binka (Jun 12, 2016)

Hellsbells said:


> I don't have the specific experience required for any of the higher paid admin jobs


Lie. Seriously as long as you think you are capable of doing the job there's no reason you shouldn't lie about your experience. Everyone else does it anyway


----------

