London/UKers were your salary expectations realisitc?

hey there
I am doing some investigation into the old "what would I be worth in the UK" - mostly by looking at similar jobs online etc-

I guess what I am wondering is whether I would be looking at less pay for being from a smaller country, a wee explanation of likely benefits (I don't want to be a contractor) and anything that I will need to consider before coming over. (i.e. potentially getting client references as well as employer references etc)

muchly appreciated

oh and industry - I'll be looking at advertising agency/marketing communications agency roles specifically in the online space.

Ele, I'll do some research for ya. Girl at work just came from Proximity, and I can ask my other 2 agencies for salary expectations at your level if you like. Be careful with recruitment site quotes etc, they can be misleading.

What's your title / level at the moment?

Took me a while to get a decent wage here, had to step back from what I was doing in NZ, even now nothing is as challenging and exciting as what I was doing when we shared an office.

Marketing / Comms / Advertising is generally not as well paid over here, not by much but enough to notice. Lucky for you most agencies are in town (Soho, Farringdon, Victoria) so no commuting like me out to Slough!

Also, coming from NZ should not make any difference.

Can you explore transferring within the network?

current title is Senior Account Manager - I'll be Account Director by the time I get there (yay)

I work in Interactive - on some pretty cool brands (email me if you want details!)


Yeah I've noticed I'm going to get a bit of a pay cut coming over - bit gutted about that to be honest.

Yeah definitely am going to try and transfer - but who knows...

thanks heaps

You'll probably have to slog it out on less pay when you first get over there - especially in online. UK experience goes a long way, so after a year or so don't be afraid about asking for a payrise or looking elsewhere. In the area you're looking at it should be no problems finding something else through contacts you'll make etc.

Who do you work for in NZ? I'm workinhg for a advertising coms agency in Lonodn and was doing the same in NZ for the last 6 years.

May even have a few options for ya.

here is our site www.aia.co.uk

I currently work for TribalDDB

thanks for the link I'll have a look round!

i think account directors should sit between 45,000 and 52,000!!

does that sound about right for you guys working in those positions.

One thing to keep in mind is London is experience is huge.

Also I have also found the typical, it's not what you know, but who you know still applies in London.

In terms of Salary I wouldn't know too much in your Industry, but in mine (which is IT), salary has met my expectations, but I am contracting. If I went Perm, there would be a huge drop which I really don't think Holidays and Benefits would cover.

I work in PR (agency) and if I was working permanently, I would be on what I was told to expect but I fell into freelancing by accident and it pays a lot more. And the more experience you get, the more you can increase your day rate

However, there is the stress of finding the next contract which I found recently and was out of work for 3 weeks and still catching up financially but now have a good length contract.

I'm also on PAYE so still get 24 days holiday as well

I work in PR (agency) and if I was working permanently, I would be on what I was told to expect but I fell into freelancing by accident and it pays a lot more. And the more experience you get, the more you can increase your day rate

However, there is the stress of finding the next contract which I found recently and was out of work for 3 weeks and still catching up financially but now have a good length contract.

I'm also on PAYE so still get 24 days holiday as well

Hi elro,

The best bet is to check out what salary is on offer on UK Jobs Sites and check out in particular their London Jobs section.

Be aware that often the salary mentioned is the most that they are willing to pay for that job and the reality is that it can be much less depending on your experience.

Ian