Did you choose your career knowing what you might earn in 15 years' time?

Of course money isn't everything, but when thinking about what career to pursue when leaving school or university many people will look at starting salaries. In fact, very few people go into a profession with a real understanding of what to expect to earn 5, 10 or 15 years into a career, but this information will inevitably have a big impact on your life plans.

The rate at which salaries and bonuses increase with experience actually varies dramatically for different professions, and thereare actually some really interesting trends:

Average salaries in local government, accounting, marketing, HR and media vary by just £5k (less than 16%) for executives with less than 5 years' experience. However, 15+ years into a career the difference between media and local government is as much as £63k, with media executives earning 87% more. Marketing, media and accounting professionals can expect to get their biggest pay rises after 5 years' experience, with 75%, 83% and 67% respectively. HR professionals see an 85% increase when they reach 10 to 15 years' experience. Average salaries in the charity sector are typically the lowest of the professions compared, but the stats reveal a huge step up for executives with over 15 years' experience, usually taking up the top charity management roles.

The breakdown of average salaries by profession and experience level are as follows:

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