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Salary Story: My Leap Of Faith Paid Off & I’m Earning 13k More

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Illustrated by Jordan Barton.
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.
Been in the workforce for at least five years and interested in contributing your salary story? Submit your information here. Published stories receive £100.
Age: 28
Location: Yorkshire
Current industry and job title: Flood risk consultant
Current salary: £38,000
Number of years employed since school or university: Six
Starting salary: £20,000
Biggest salary jump: £25,000 to £38,000 in 2021
Biggest salary drop: £31,000 to £25,000 in 2019
Biggest negotiation regret: I started a new role within the public sector. A few months in, they wanted to use my skills in another team and called it a 'development opportunity'. I later realised they had me covering maternity leave for a colleague who had been paid on the grade above me and I was carrying out exactly the same work. I wish I had considered the opportunity more. I said yes and was appeasing as it was a fairly new role and I wanted to please people.
Best salary advice: Always negotiate. They always have a number they can push to, even if it is just a couple of grand more. Every little helps!
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