Show Your Manager All Your Positive Feedback

Illustrated by Eutalia de la Paz.

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: 29
Location: Portsmouth
Current industry and job title: Maritime engineering, systems and control engineer
Current salary: £56,000
Number of years employed since school or university: Eight

Starting salary: £26,000 in 2017
Biggest salary jump: From £37,600 to £56,000 in 2024.
Biggest salary drop: From £47,000 to £37,600 in 2022.

Biggest negotiation regret: Once I changed jobs and when I got the contract, I saw they didn't have good work perks (no pension matching above government mandated 4%, no additional paid maternity leave above government mandated six weeks). My previous job was much better in this regard, and I didn't take this into account when negotiating a new starting salary.

Best salary advice: I got positive customer feedback and took this to the head of engineering and asked for a raise. Know your worth and fight for it, especially if your customers see your value.