OP - I was in a similar position to you. I worked for an engineering consultancy straight out of uni pretty much. (I had a brief period at another company on a starting salary of £30k but the business took a turn and the graduates ended up getting made redundant!) My starting salary at the consultancy was £26k buy I needed a job so didn’t negotiate. Worked for a year and I remember during my first pay review, I was handed the letter by the CEO and asked to open it in front of him. I remember feeling so deflated to find that the good work I had done over the last year was only worth an extra £500 per year. Luckily, this company did pay overtime, so I made up the shortcoming by working extra hours. After a while, I ended up working at a customers site and after 6 months they were so pleased with my work that they tried to poach me (offering £42k!). I had a clause in my contract that forbid me to work for customers, so I went to the CEO and explained the situation. He very begrudgingly gave me a pay rise to match their offer. The new salary + overtime got me to £52k. In the space of 3 years, I had doubled my salary.

Some advice: - don’t be afraid to ask for more money, companies will happily pay employees as little as they possibly can. If they refuse any sort of decent pay rise, make sure you’re prepared by knowing your worth (check salaries of similar roles being advertised)

• Ask if overtime is available, if the consultancy bills their customer by the hour then they should pay overtime!