In certain jobs it can pay to move

Depending on where you live could see you earn up to 140% more than the national average salary for exactly the same job, new research reveals.

Bus drivers, for example, can earn up to £34,244 by working in Birmingham – 44% above average, compared to just over £20,000 for bus driver jobs in Glasgow – 16% below national average.

Analysis of 167,000 jobs available on independent online job board, CV-Library, discovered substantial differences in salaries for doing the same work, extending beyond the presumed NorthSouth divide.

Specifically looking at jobs in Dundee and the surrounding area, the research found that quality engineers, those responsible for the quality of a company’s products, can be paid up to 39% more than their counterparts around the UK.

For doing exactly the same job, a quality engineer located in Fife could see themselves paid up to 50% below the national average.

Beyond that, support workers and dentists in Dundee were found to command wages 17% and 14% above the average.

The picture isn’t all rosy, however, as multiple jobs titles in Dundee came in below the average, suggesting that people doing the following jobs could be better paid elsewhere: HGV drivers (12% below), customer service advisors (12% below) and staff nurses (4% below).

Zooming out across Scotland, it was discovered that chefs in Edinburgh get nearly 20% more money than those around the UK and that dentists in Glasgow get 14% more – congratulations if that’s you.

For the research as a whole, the company focused on 24 locations from across the UK and Republic of Ireland and discovered surprising differences in salaries for doing exactly the same job.

A summary of key job titles featured in the research, with average UK salaries and the highest paying city.

While research was conducted to mitigate differences in salary based on experience, it is interesting to look at jobs such as primary school teachers or HGV drivers to determine their location variance. For a primary school teacher, jobs down in Liverpool offer up to 20% less salary than the national average of £26,379. Yet move further down to London and you could potentially secure a teacher’s salary 18% above the average.

Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, said: “While it’s not groundbreaking to suggest that those living in London get paid higher wages on average, it is surprising to see how much people’s salaries can vary for doing the same job depending on where they live.

“It is reassuring to see jobs which are critical to the welfare of people, such as staff nurses and support workers, showing small levels of variance around the country with under £10k difference between low and high salaries.

“In comparison, competitive industries such as dentistry or web development are seeing a salary difference of over £50k depending on location.”

Picture: iStock. Analysis has found substantial differences in salaries for doing the same work in different places.