What are the salaries in retail, sales and customer services?
The gradireland Graduate Salary Survey 2008 found that the median starting salary for retailing, sales and customer service (across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) is €24,000–€25,999, with an average salary of €26,625. According to the survey, this is the sector that appears to least value postgraduate study. 52 per cent of companies will not pay any extra salary for students with a postgraduate degree, with only 17 per cent saying they would pay a premium. While starting salaries for graduates may seem low compared with other sectors, opportunities for progression are good. There are also many non-pay benefits which can top up your basic salary considerably, such as commission on sales, performance-related bonuses, in-store and cross store discounts, or company cars. Graduate store managers with a number of years’ experience might expect an average salary of €50,000 in ROI and £40,000 in NI. One Irish retail graduate, with a significant degree of work experience through
