About CareerMetrics

What is CareerMetrics?

CareerMetrics is a free tool that helps you visualise and understand UK salary trajectories across different career paths. We believe that career decisions — some of the most important financial decisions you'll make — should be informed by real data, not guesswork.

Whether you're a graduate choosing your first career, a mid-career professional considering a switch, or simply curious about how different paths compare, CareerMetrics gives you the data to make informed decisions.

Data Sources & Methodology

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)

Our core salary data comes from the ONS ASHE dataset, accessed via the NOMIS API (dataset NM_99_1). ASHE is the most comprehensive source of earnings data in the UK, based on a 1% sample of employee jobs from HMRC PAYE records. Our regional data uses 2025 provisional figures for full-time workers' gross annual pay across all 12 UK regions and nations.

Career Progression Models

Career progression paths are modelled based on typical UK industry timelines, informed by ONS SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) occupation-level data and industry salary surveys. Entry-level salaries are anchored to observed ASHE data for the relevant SOC codes. Progression timelines (years to each stage) reflect typical industry norms.

Regional Adjustments

Regional salary multipliers are derived directly from ASHE regional median pay differentials. For example, London's median full-time salary is approximately 32% higher than the national baseline, while the North East is approximately 9% lower. These multipliers are applied uniformly across career stages, which is a simplification — in practice, regional premiums vary by occupation.

Percentile Distributions

We show 25th, 50th (median), 75th, and 90th percentile salaries at each career stage. These reflect the spread in pay for workers at each level, capturing the range between lower and higher earners in the same role.

Limitations

  • Salary figures are base pay and do not include bonuses, equity, or benefits — which can be significant in finance, tech, and sales.
  • Career progression is not guaranteed and varies significantly by individual, company, and market conditions.
  • Regional multipliers are applied uniformly but in reality vary by occupation.
  • Public sector roles (NHS, teaching) follow nationally agreed pay scales which are more predictable than shown.
  • Self-employment and freelance income are not captured in ASHE data.

Built in London

CareerMetrics was built to make UK salary data more accessible and actionable. All data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Salary data from ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) via NOMIS. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.