Re:Salaries in the UK (Score 1)

What interests me is how the industry you work in affects both your compensation package and the relative regard in which you are held.

Consider: I work in the agricultural machinery industry. This is actually a very small industry and we are a small company (turnover approx. £16 million, 60 employees) yet one of the major players in the market. My job title is "IT Manager" and I am responsible for all computer related activities, including strategy, network admin, buying etc. I also have responsibility for telecoms. Basically, as the only IT employee, I end up installing/configuring/supporting more or less anything with a plug on it. I have no formal computing qualifications (other than Netware CNA) and in fact trained as a mechanical engineer. Circumstances have conspired to put me in this job.

I enjoy a senior management position and am paid accordingly (relative to my peers - there's no money in agriculture!). I feel like a big fish in a small pond. However, if I was in the retail trade (for instance), I'm sure I would be a fairly junior member of a large IT department and would have to be a small fish in the ocean.

So if you can live with a respectable but not outstanding compensation package, and you would like to have your ego regularly massaged, follow these tips: Pick a small company in a non-computer related, slow-paced sector. Forgot getting a degree and get lots of experience instead. For preference, get some experience of the business first. Sticking with one company for as long as you can bear it helps as you can acquire seniority simply by being there.

Just don't choose the agricultural machinery industry - I don't need the competition!