Salary Story: I’m 26 & Make £104,000 By Contracting
In our series Salary Stories, women with long-term career experience open up about the most intimate details of their jobs: compensation. It’s an honest look at how real people navigate the complicated world of negotiating, raises, promotions and job loss, with the hope it will give young women more insight into how to advocate for themselves — and maybe take a few risks along the way.
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Age: 26 Location: London Current industry and job title: Project management, project support officer Current salary: £104,000 (£400 day rate) Number of years employed since school or university: Seven
Starting salary: £10 p/h in 2015 Biggest salary jump: £47,000 to £104,000 Biggest salary drop: £36,000 to £22,000
Biggest negotiation regret: When speaking to recruiters, I’d sometimes let them reduce my desired day rate when I knew it wasn’t what I wanted. I guess you’d call it imposter syndrome — I was scared to say my worth in case it put them off. That led to me almost accepting a role at the same rate as the job I was leaving. Never again! Know your worth and add tax.
Best salary advice: Don’t be afraid to take contract roles. Everyone seems to be scared about the “lack of security” but what is job security nowadays? Your permanent job could let you go at any time. At least you’ll be prepared and be well compensated if you contract.
As a student, I needed a job that allowed me to work flexibly and was near to home. The pay was good (£10 per hour, equivalent of £36,000 a year) and I was part of a great team.New management took over the business and made the environment very toxic. I was forced to take a permanent role as they were phasing out bank staff (we were making more money). This meant guaranteed shifts but a salary reduction of £14,000 to £22,000. I was unable to negotiate my salary and holiday allocation was based on managers’ preferences.
I left three months after becoming permanent. My mental health had been severely impacted while I was there. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do career-wise but I knew it wasn’t that.
After one week of working in this new role on £28,000, whispers of COVID reached my boss and we were made to WFH before the rest of the country. I lost my job a few weeks after that due to business slowing down. I enjoyed this role although it only lasted two months.After being out of work for eight months because of COVID, I managed to land this contract at the equivalent of £20,000 annually. It felt good to be doing something to help the general public in relation to the pandemic. As the world started to open up again, I began thinking about my next steps and a career path. When my contract wasn’t renewed, I was back on the search and still unsure of which industry I wanted to go into.Due to COVID, the job market was a shambles. I had multiple interviews but all the roles were getting put on hold. I was still not set on working in a specific industry and was just trying to find any job as my mental health was being severely impacted by not working.
I had been offered an in-office admin job in the social service sector that paid £24,000 and was given a deadline of 12pm that day to accept. However I also had an interview at 12pm for this PSO (project support officer) role, which was remote and had a higher salary. I was hesitant and desperate for work but I had wanted to get into project management for so long and decided to take a leap of faith. I declined the admin job and went into the interview knowing I had to get the job. Thankfully the interview went well as I had relevant experience and transferable skills. I bagged the contract, paying £150 a day (aka £39,000)!
I had been offered two extensions to my initial contract but they were starting to request that we return to the office five days a week. I wasn’t willing to do so and decided to see what was out there. I was informed of this role but wasn’t interested as the salary jump wasn’t big enough. That said, I was told the company would negotiate for the right candidate. They were pleased with my relevant PSO experience and achievements. I interviewed while sick with COVID and received the offer the next day (my birthday!). I was able to negotiate my rate from £160 per day to £180 per day (£47,000), fully remote.I loved my previous role but unfortunately they couldn’t afford to extend me due to budget issues. I was informed of this public sector role, interviewed at 4pm and received the offer at 8am the next morning. The hiring manager stated she had specifically asked for a PSO with NHS experience and I fit the bill. I didn’t negotiate the rate as I was in shock they felt I was worthy of such a salary (imposter syndrome again). I am extremely happy with it — I manifested this salary at the start of the year and now I’ve got it! I never thought I’d go from £150 per day (£39,000) to £400 per day (£104,000) in the space of a year, especially at my age. I’m so proud and excited for what I can do in the next year.
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