Average Salaries by Profession 2019

Careers, Jobseekers / 25 January 2019

Thinking of a career change, or wondering exactly what you could be earning in your next role? Whatever your current employment goals are, knowing what a job should and could pay is always useful. It can also be helpful to know what kind of long term prospects a profession has, especially if you’re just starting out.

Salary information is important in other ways too. Employers tend to ask you what your salary expectations are during the application process, or at your interview (find out how to handle any upcoming job interviews by reading our guide), so knowing what you should be earning before hand makes sense. You can also use it to determine your value to a potential employer or business, especially if you’ve got a lot of experience in a particular profession.

So, without further ado, here are the salary ranges (correct at time of writing, January 2019) of some of the most popular professions in the UK.

Accounts

Accounting is an area that’s in demand in every business. Starting salaries are pretty good too, and you can expect to earn around £25,000. If you’re living and working in London, then this can increase to around £32,000 (although keep in mind the cost of living in London is much higher in general as well). Chartered accountants can earn just over £35k per year.

Some companies offer higher salaries than others as well. KPMG, for example, a well known chartered accountancy firm, tends to offer higher earning potential than other companies.

Administration

Much like accountants, administrative jobs are an essential part of any company’s structure, and can range from general office administration to payroll admin. All of these roles are slightly different of course depending on the department they support. Admin roles can start at around £16-17k a year. The most experienced administrators, which usually move into the office manager role, can earn in the region of £25-30,000, or slightly over.

There currently tends to be a lot of administrator demand in the public sector, especially in health.

Marketing

Marketing can include everything from social media to advertising. Entry level marketers can expect to earn at least £21,000 to start with. There’s excellent opportunities for specialisation and career progression too. Most mid level marketing executives take home £30k, and there is the potential to earn around 50k at senior levels.

While it can take time, building a marketing career can be financially rewarding, as well as satisfying. It’s one of the top rated career choices for 2019 as a result.

Purchasing

If you enjoy organisation and logistics, then purchasing can be a good option. Purchasing roles generally cover the sourcing of goods and equipment for companies. This could be anything from office computers to construction vehicles. Purchasing roles start at around £20,000 per year, and with experience and time, you can expect to take home just over £30k at managerial level.

An additional bonus of pursuing a purchasing career is the fact that many managers have access to profit share, which can bump up your salary by as much as £5,000 per year.

Sales

Sales can be demanding, but it also offers a lot of earning potential thanks to commission schemes. If you’re getting into sales at the junior level, then salaries start at around £21,000. Sales roles can see pretty fast salary progression though, so you could be earning £30k, almost double your starting salary, in about five years. Most sales managers earn around £35,000, which might not seem that much of a rise from mid level, but it doesn’t factor in commission.

Including a generous commission structure, top level sales directors can reach up to £90k and over. As you might expect, consistent performance is a big factor in earning potential here.

Warehouse

Warehouse salaries vary depending on what your particular role is, but managers generally start on around £20,000 a year. This can rise to £24,000 after five or so years. Experienced warehouse managers can make £30,000 or more. Some positions might offer even more than this, as it can vary by company, so it is possible to earn up to £35k per year in some cases.

Maintenance

Starting out as a maintenance worker, you’ll earn around £9 per hour on average. While this isn’t as much as some other professions in the early stages, there are some other advantages to consider. Firstly, there’s currently an increased demand for maintenance workers, so getting a foot in the door could be easier. Secondly, it’s an excellent entry way into roles like maintenance manager or more specialised engineer roles.

Managers can earn up to £40,000 per year or more, with engineer or specialised jobs offering around £30k on average, possibly rising to £40,000.

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